Peoria, IL - HDTV - Page 67

I don't know how many of you heard this news, or read the Radio-Info TV boards on their site, but there's a thread on their National TV message board concerning Fox's threat to dump some local affiliates over program fees (links to related stories within the start of the thread). One of the replies mentioned station groups like Sinclair could have their Fox affiliates affected.

Of course, WYZZ is owned by Sinclair. If such a threat by Fox comes to pass, could Peoria see something that has never happened in the market since WMBD's sign-on in 1958 (taking the CBS affiliation from channel 19, then with the calls WTVH): a "big switch" of network affiliations?

And if this happens, could ABC somehow seize this as an opportunity to dump their affiliation with WHOI--perhaps a Fox-ABC switch with WYZZ (Fox going to 19 and ABC to 43 or even 59 could be a possibility)?

I wonder if Peoria could be affected by this mess--and perhaps any other surrounding markets (KLJB in the Quad Cities had their Fox affiliation suspended from 1988-90 for constant preemptions). Just some food for thought.

Radio-Info National TV thread link on this subject:

http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/ind...topic=184875.0

Anyone know why WMBD isn't broadcasting in HD today? They switched a couple times during the Illini game but now nothing for the Grammys. Champaign CBS is in HD fine.

Same here via Dish Network.

Still SD today.

I checked their web site and no info. Wrote the station to see if they have any insight into when things will be back to HD again.

Big black eye missing the Grammy Awards in HD. I recorded it, but deleted the recording once I noticed it was in SD.

Comcast actually removed the 14 analog channels they said they were going to and already added all but 3 of the HD channels they were to add on the 16th.I am impressed; cudos to those that made this happen as well as having the channel guide information up and running.The picture quality is excellent ,excited to receive the next batch on the 9th of March.Channels that didn't show are Lifetime Movie Network (929),Biography HD (932),Planet Green (933).Whatever happened to ESPNU HD (961) ?

What HD channels were added? I'm not seeing anything new.

my dad had a **** fit today when he talked to Comcast and they told him he'd need a box. They already have a TivoHD, but he likes to use the regular tuner on the TV as a third channel when two are recording. He had to go to the office, stood in line 50 minutes and asked for a box, and an M card for my sister's TivoHD (she just moved home) and they told him they wouldn't give him one - someone needed to come out and install it. He was irate, and still is.

Events 3D (333),ESPN 3D(334),CNBC HD(622),QVC HD(626), Disney XD HD(680),Bravo HD(683),Hallmark Movie Channel HD(684),Independent Film Channel HD(613),MGM HD(614),WE HD(615),Fuse HD(617),Fox Business Network HD(623),Encore HD(631),ESPNEWS HD(962),NHL Network HD(965),Hallmark Movie Channel HD(684),NFL RedZone HD(964) .Our area hasn't received Lifetime Movie Network HD(929),Planet Green HD(933),Bio HD(932) as of yet this morning.

I assume your Dad is in Peoria (your profile says Chicago). We knew over 2 years ago that digital was coming. (I think you went digital in 2007?) The notices have been sent for months with several delays and more notifications. The delays were caused by all of the people who ignored all of the notices; however, I think people who already had digital service or only had the low end basic package missed many of the early notifications which could have included your Dad.

Some analog channels will remain. (2-22+98) These include the locals for third channel viewing.

Date was moved from November 16th,2010 to January 25th,2011 to February 15th,2011 with hd adds starting february 16th,2011. the next analog removal scheduled for March 8th,2011 and hd adds March 9th,2011.That will be the big adddition 45 channels or so.

Is anyone else missing the PSIP for 49-2??? Running OTA just north of Springfield. All other channels have info. This is the only one saying "No Data".

Thanks

I live in North Bloomington near Wesleyan and have been on an Peoria OTA mission for some time now. Long story short, I purchased an amplified directional outdoor antenna and tried it a few different places. In my living room I received NBC 25, CBS 31, and Fox 43 well. When I moved it to my second floor I could also get ABC 19 and 59, if positioned right. Now it's on my roof and I get PBS 47 too. Even though it's a directional pointed at Peoria I also pick up some of the Champaign/Decatur/Springfield channels pretty well too.

In my experience a living room antenna didn't cut it. Of course I have a friend on the SW edge of town in Fox Creek who has an amplified indoor antenna on the 1st floor and it works great for him.
Location, location, location!

I could have sworn the "Price is Right" was in HD this morning. Could it be that WMBD has finally gained the ability to show Syndicated programs in HD?

The Price is Right isn't syndicated, it's a CBS network program.

- Trip

Okay, that explains it. I was thinking that FreeMantleMedia was a separate entity. I have not watched the Price is Right on my HD set for a long time, but it seems like it was in SD for a while. I know for a fact that "Wheel of Fortune" is syndicated, so that's the one to look for.

Oh, and as far as local news in HD is concerned, from what I just read, it very well could be that WEEK may not have a newscast at all. Granite should have been allowed to go under in the first place, just about every other corporation is capable of doing a better job.

http://wjbc.com/week-tv-anchors-clai...ce-local-news/
http://www.pjstar.com/news/x94563930...te-unions-case

i wish the union would tell WEEK to switch over to HD or else

Comcast removed the rest of the analog expanded channels around 12:30 this morning and soon there after added the new high definition channels all are working except BET HD and CMT HD.We got the CSN sports New York and the Bay area and MTN .Only channel we don't have that some do is ESPNU HD but it was not on our World of More Card.Thanks to everyone that made this possible, sorry for being so impatient,nothing to complain about now !! It seems as though we even got faster internet as well, downloads up to 16mbs and uploads pushing over 5 mbs on triple play that was 10mbs down and 1.5 up. Thanks again to the A-team you did good !!!

anyone know whats going on with local pbs? I see 47.1 47.2 47.3 and a new 47.4 the last few days just broadcasting a test pattern?

I noticed this new channel (47.4) on Wednesday, the 23rd. It just appeared on my Zenith CECB box automatically. I checked WTVP dot com, but there is no info on this additional subchannel.

Did you get a partial decode from WTTW-11 in Chicago? It comes on RF47, is PBS, and has 4 subchannels.

No, WTVP has added a 47-4.

- Trip

Not to mention, WTVP is on RF 46...

Just an FYI.
If you are experiencing picture interference on cable boxes connected to TVs using channel 3 coax connections, it is the fault of Comcast.

Previously Comcast - Peoria had left channel 3 completely clear - only snow if you attempted to tune it in. I assume that this was to minimize interference between the various RF modulators found in VCRs, DTAs, and cable boxes all simultaneously outputting a channel 3 signal. Recently they have added a channel 3 carrier. It has no audio or video data but it can interfere with RF modulators giving a flickering bar pattern on the screen.

Your "assumption" makes no sense because a cable system, as well as an RF mod in a VCR, DTA, etc. is a CLOSED broadcasting system. So as long as the connected equipment is properly working, there would (should) be no interference between what's coming in on the cable, & those RF mods. MANY, MANY cable systems (including ours down here) still use ch 3 for analog or digital RF carriers, & (obviously) do NOT have such problems.

If someone IS having such a problem, then either it's a problem with the connecting (coax) cables leaking signal, or the connected equipment is having an internal problem.

As far as why ch 3 was blank - IIRC, ch 3 up there was used for ION TV (which previously was PaxNet) awhile back. After CC took over, they made it digital ONLY (up in the 200's) & simply removed it on analog ch 3. (same thing happened to us down here, except ours was on ch 20) The carrier you see on their now is probably a new digital QAM they just lit up, since there is not an analog signal on it & it can be used for more bandwidth. (again, same thing happened on our ch 20)
Has NOTHING whatsoever to do with "RF mod" conflict...

Channel 3 here now has an analog signal present, not digital. (just with no audio or video present - its not snow but a black screen) Previously it had no signal at all, not digital. An analog tuner will have a different snow pattern for digital vs empty. I can only guess as to the reasons. Channel 3 here had been used for MTV in the past.

With a channel 3 present (either analog or digital) feeding into a DTA/VCR (which also produces a channel 3 signal) there is a real potential for co-channel interference. It depends on the quality of the RF modulator inside the DTA/VCR regardless of the cabling integrity. Yes, some people still use VCRs for recording from cable boxes and a lot of VCRs and DTAs have poor modulators/antenna switches - not defective, just cheap.

I was just commenting that some people might see interference and assume that their equipment had failed when it was actually a change that Comcast made. Co-channel interference on cable systems when VCRs are present is, and has always been, a (minor) problem.

Maybe they are getting ready to either add an analog signal back on ch 3, or move an existing analog ch TO ch 3.
The point is - it makes NO difference whether it analog, digital, white screen, black screen, white snow, black snow, etc.... there is NO technical reason why CC can't put a signal on ch 3. They are NOT going to scrap 6 mhz of bandwidth on the VERY, VERY slim chance of co-ch interference because someone doesn't know how to properly hook up a DTA, VCR, cable box, etc., or is using a defective or cheap VCR.


No, it depends on the quality of the internal "A/B switch", at least in the case of VCR's. Since DTA's have NO such switch, the only thing that matters, is how well the incoming RF signal to the DTA, is (internally) isolated from the ch 3 mod output. (same applies to other types of cable boxes) I am VERY certain the CC & other cable co would NOT be putting in tens of thousands of DTA devices that could cause interference on their own systems.

And I'm sorry, but bad (coax) cabling CAN, & DOES cause the very same kind of problems you originally addressed - probably WAY more than cheap/bad VCR's (or cable boxes). I've seen it (& corrected it) myself many a time.


And even if they were still recording from straight cable, you would still have the same problem of interference of analog ch 3 w/the ch 3 VCR mod. The solution - fix or ditch the bad VCR. Again, NOT CC's "fault" & NOT a problem in their DTA's...


Agree to a small point - again, see previous post...

I never said they couldn't or shouldn't use channel 3. It was just a nice courtesy that they had left it blank. It also allowed TVs to do a channel scan without adding a useless channel 3 entry.

That is determined by the quality of the modulator, as I mentioned.

Sorry but that is wrong. They have, do, and will continue to use RF modulators that can and have caused interference. I have been fielding those calls from my customers since the first days of cable companies in this area. Fortunately for Cable Companies most customers ignore the problem, or buy into the "bad cable" explanation. The problem is most obvious when the incoming signal is quite strong - not usually the case with the typical multi-outlet cable installation.

The fact that this is true does not negate the fact that the modulators can also create the symptom.

Fixing or replacing an antiquated VCR is not an option any more. Current VCR/DVD Combo units contain the worst A/B switches and modulators ever built. So your solution is to quit recording on anything but the Cable supplied DVRs?

In order to solve a problem you have to understand the cause. In this case the cause of the symptom to an unsuspecting client would be the addition of a previously absent signal. A possible solution would be to reduce the incoming signal level (if too high), feed the RF ch3 to the VCR and switch the VCR output to channel 4 or use the line output on a newer TV. To know to do that you need to understand why the symptom suddenly showed up.

So I wake up this morning to watch the French Open Men's Final and WEEK doesn't show it. WTF!!! Instead there's some stretched charity thing. What a bunch of yahoos.

I'm not a tennis fan, but that would bother me too. Up here, the Chicago stations kept pre-empting my wife's soaps with coverage of Da Mare's last days in office. This is where it's handy to have an antenna that can grab another city; the other NBCs were carrying the French Open, as far as I could tell.

I have a question, does anyone know if Comcast started to encrypt the local HD Channels? I used to get them through my computer's tuner, and I checked today, and I don't get them anymore. I don't know when I stopped getting them, but I am curious if it is a problem for me or everyone has the same issue.

Thanks, Sean