Houston, TX - OTA - Page 97

51.1 is still on the air. I'm picking it up here in the northwest suburbs (24 miles out) with an attic mounted DB-8 antenna.

Try to find it by rotating your antenna in very small increments. Even just a few degrees left or right can make a difference for a weak signal.

Just noticed your post, dwix. Glad to hear that you got KUHT well. About KUHT-DT: Is 8-1 broadcasting in HD 24/7, or is it a widescreen 1080i refeed of 8-2 with black bars on the side? Also, when 4-2 broadcasts programs that have a 480p or greater source, is it always simulcast in its full glory on 8-1?

With KUHT reception so low, you'll have a difficult time picking it up with thunderstorms in the area of your house. In addition, KHOU and KTRK will be moving their HD transmission to VHF in 2009, and I can only expect quality of those channels to be similarly low at that time as well. Therefore, I suggest returning the UHF antenna you just bought, and installing a RadioShack VU-90 VR VHF/UHF antenna in its place, which will supplement the old antenna's VHF-receiving capabilities while maintaining or even improving UHF reception. However, basing things on how KUHT reception dropped after you installed the UHF antenna, I suspect that all signals will be stronger if there is no antenna combining at all. Go ahead and experiment to confirm or deny that, though. If it turns out that I'm right, perhaps you could use that old antenna for another room later on, or you could gift it to someone.

51-1 is currently broadcasting at 12.5 kW under a special temporary authority, and is difficult to receive in your area. They have a construction permit to go to one megawatt.

Thanks for the reccomendations. I am trying to contact them now. Wish me luck.

He is scheduled to come to my house tomorrow! I am SO excited....

Jeff Meier just calibrated my Pioneer Elite FHD1 as well as my audio system on Tuesday. Highly recommended. His website is accucal.org.

8-1 has programming independent of 8-2. Usually it's HD, sometimes it's upconverted SD. But it always needs more bandwidth. Dang multicasting.

Matt

What was the final cost?

The pricing varies with the level of service. I suggest you check my website for more details on this.

www.accucal.org/pricing.htm

Dwix,

Welcome to the madeness !! Don't worry about 51.1. Their signal is so weak that I doubt is they can get it in their studio. I live in Spring also and pull 88 to 95's on all the OTA channels with a Winegard mounted to my roof. Don't let the HOA give you any grief . If you want to mount an antenna outside, there is no way they can stop you. There is federal law to support you. But if you are happy with everything else except 51.1, you should stay with what you have.

Bill

12GAGUE,
I'm using a RShack VU90-XR, (VHF/UHF/FM attic mounted in a 2 story hse) and getting a very decent signal. However, I'm only about 7 mi from the MoCity Farm.
I agree with mikemikeb about the RShack Antennas and Cables being good, and their other stuff, splitters, line amps and other accessories seem to be of marginal quality.

This particular model, has a 80 boom. Better have enough Attic for it !

mikemikeb.
From what I can tell, the specs on the VU90-XR haven't changed any. Bought mine in 1997. I guess if it works, don't mess with it, right !

dwix,
Glad to hear you're getting good reception! But, the last time I tried to hook up two antennas reversed thru a Splitter, I got a LOT of ghosting, how'd you get by that ?

wjg,
Thank you for your warm welcome to this website.

PS:
See where several of you are measuring Signal Strength, how, what with (Mfg/Model)?

I have the 80" RadioShack combo VHF/UHF/FM antenna in the attic and I have no problem getting all the major channels from NW Houston (a few miles north of 290 on the Beltway). I'm even using a passive splitter to run feeds to the living room and office. I tried channel 51.1 last night and was able to get a signal; although it was weaker than the channels I regularly watch I didn't seem to be getting dropouts or other problems during a few minutes of testing.

If your attic can't fit the VU-90 XR, dwix, then the VU-75 XR should do fine as well. Maybe there'll be a slightly lower signal than the VU-90, but there should still have enough to capture a signal in most cases. In fact, the VU-75 should be more than enough from your house, SWHouston. Maybe you could buy a new VU-75 and sell dwix your VU-90 XR for the cost of the VU-75?

mikemikeb, thanks for the comments. As BigRig mentioned 8.1 KUHT-HD (PBS) seems to always be 1080i and 16:9 but independent of both SD 8 and DT 8.2 (480i), all 3 channels are broadcasting different programs. Maybe I should have went with the UV-90 VHF/UHF but it looks like my old big antenna (VHF/UHF) and all I'm lacking is 51.1. 8.1 at 34 signal strength seems to stay locked in maybe because it's VHF, a UHF channel at 33 would not lock in, will see what 8.1 does in bad weather. When 51.1 gets approve for 1 megawatt and online I should be set, then I can drop DirecTV local channels. I haven't gotten the HD/DVR (HR20) yet ($299), still using the DirecTV/TIVO box and regular DirecTV looks pretty good and OTA HD is awesome.

WJG, thanks for the welcome, I know about the federal law but I just can't stand dealing with the HOA... I'll go to war only if I have to :-).

SWHouston, I use my Hitachi 51" CRT projection TV (51F59) which has a built in HDTV tuner and signal meter. The reverse splitter (passive) seems to work, I just used the signal meter to see if it increased with both antennas hooked up, UHF channel increased by 10. Ghosting, are you referring to an analog channel ghosting? A few of my VHF analog (SD) channels are ghosting (8, 11) and one poor (11), but all UHF SD looks good, but then again I'm using all the DT (HD) channels. except 51.1.

dwix,
Thank you for your most informative reply. My Olevia LT42HVi has a dual tuner, but, not a Meter. Given the cost (hope they're not too expensive), I think I'd really like to have one, possibly one that could be placed inline. If someone knows where I may check that out (website url), I'd appreciate the reference.

YES, at the time I experienced the Ghosting, I was in the VHF area. I'm sure it was from some reception from the sides or back of the second antenna (no doubt), and it's apparent that UHF is not as sensitive to that setup as VHF. I wonder though, IF one were to use two very directional antennas, some/all of that might be eliminated ? Anyone had any experience along these lines ?

However, given my location, where there are seven Towers around me in a semicircle from 7 to 45 miles, if having a Omni might be a better choice for me. I have my VU-90 set to the two in MoCity which are giving me 95% of the watchable Channels. I'd like to (as simply as possible) get all available, from all Towers. I'm really not sure just why, but, I either herd or read where Omni's reception (even a big one) is not as good as a directional. I know there's a LOT of things that may effect that, but if you/anyone has experience with a good quality Omni, that'll reach out (45+mi), please let me know.

JKohn,
Umm, the VU-90 seems to be a bit more popular than I thought ! Actually, I brought it over to this house from another, when I moved here. My previous residence was not in a HOA like I am now , and I had to put it in the Attic here.
I recently had to replace my Roof. I used some new style Plyboard, with a Aluminum foil covering (faced inward to the attic) which is supposed to be energy efficient. I guess I'll find out next year! Anyway, even with the Foil and Attic placement, the VU-90 punches through all that, and I am very pleased with the signal strength (for the most part).
It seems as though you are aiming at the MoCity Towers, given that you mentioned Ch 51.1, but, have you tried to set your antenna to get any of the other Towers (for Ch 22.1) or any of the VHF (Ch 30, 49, 53) that are North-East of us? I admit those are not my preference for watching, but, was just wondering what range/signal strength you may be acquiring with your VU-90.

mikemikeb,
Thank you for your idea about the swap, that'd be a great deal for 12GAGUE, but.I think I'll hang onto it for now! My comment about Attic size, was directed to caution about how large the VU-90 was. Given the 80 boom, which most attics will handle, one also needs to consider the vertical space for the upper and lower Wing Boom Elements, of which about 24 is needed. I admit that doesn't sound like much, but when you're trying to preserve a little storage area too, the VU-90 can be quite space consuming.

Actually, considering my aversion to Omni's, I had thought to possibly use an A/B Switch, getting another directional Antenna for the MoCity Towers, and using the range VU-90 to reach out to the more distant (45mi) Towers.
However, that may not be very convenient, IF I have to do an Auto-Scan, each time I changed from A to B. Anyone had any experience using an A/B like that ?

This may be unnecessary, but just in case someone is not familiar with the VU-90:
Radio Shack, VU-90 XR, Cat#: 15-2152, 32 Element, 80 Boom,
VHF: 90 mi, UHF: 70 mi, FM: 70 mi, Nov/2006 @ $ 59.99.
PS: I do NOT work for or have Stock in RShack!

AVS'ers (all),
It is SO nice to join a website like this. Polite helpful people, doing what they can, to help others in need. I've had some rather bad experiences on some other websites, smart ash guys, the holier than thou types, condemning, condescending, and SO in love with themselves and their own setups, they don't have time to help a guy out, who's just starting in HD.
Thank ALL of you, for being here for guys like me, and no doubt others (if I have anything to do with it) sharing this level of fellowship.

I've not tried pointing at anything other than the MoCity towers, as it's really only the 5 major networks that I have any interest in.

How is it that FOX 26 can give us such a beautiful 720p football game. When 11, and 2 games are so so? I think 11 & 2 use 1080i, is that the problem? I love the PQ I get from the games on 26.

It's not just 720p versus 1080i. Ch 2 & 11 are mulitcasting SD channels, while Fox is not so they have more bandwidth for the HD channel.

I just created a new, Houston specific HD site for HD-philes. It's free, no ads, and specfic to the Houston area.

Check it out at:

HoustonHDTV.com

Well, that was fun watching the Saints stick it to the Cowboys. But everytime the image on screen changes drastically (Like when the neon peacock flashes through), the picture turns very soft and blurry for a couple seconds, then returns to looking sharp. I think it's been documented as an issue with the noise filter setting on the encoder?

Matt

At least it softened out the crappy macroblocks some. When are NBC and CBS going to get it through their skulls to STOP MULTICASTING on 1080i. At least find a way to turn it off during HD games or something.

Rob..

It's not the multicasting's fault. It's the encoders. Appearently, it's the consumer that needs to get that through our skulls.

Personally, it doesn't matter to me if it's the encoder, multicasting or engineer's lack of knowledge, it needs to be fixed!

I'm sure encoder makes a difference, but multi-casting also plays a part. CBS in particular used to have excellent picture quality before they started multi-casting.

There's no doubt that the present generation of encoders and flexicoders (that help parcel out the bandwidth to various subchannels) at the stations is 1st generation. If everyone were reequiping right now, we'd certainly see improved HD pictures. At the same time, although KHOU/11 has a couple of subchannels, they are simply weather radar and don't require much bandwidth.

From my personal viewpoint, ABC/13's 720 has always looked a bit softer than Fox's and that's probably due to the fact that Fox's equipment is much newer and....the network sends the HD programming to them already encoded into a 19mb stream. In fact, Fox did the HD installations at every affiliate. Of course, they were about 3 years late to the game, but the advantage is that their LA network operations center was built from the ground up to deal with HD. I'm not sure that CBS is even prepared to distribute 5-6 or more HD feeds during the NFL season, which may well be the reason they are not offering all the games in HD.

On the other hand, the original HD equipment is aging and engineering at the station groups knows this. The explosion of HDTV sales and the public's coming up to speed on and expecting their new HD sets to produce high quality pictures will pressure stations to begin replacing the older HD hardware. Also consider that much of the equipment in our local stations is aging...cameras, switchers, etc. My suspicion is that they've depreciated it as much as they can, and that maintenance costs will continue to increase. No doubt, when that equipment is replaced...in a major market like Houston, they won't be buying new SD hardware.

It's interesting to note that ch-13/ABC has a new "HD-Tower Cam" and I believe an "HD-Chopper Cam". Again...common sense would indicate that these are not isolated purchases, but part of a bigger plan. The only question is "when" they will implement additional changes.

Me thinks this might be a watershed year in the evolution of HDTV.

I don't think 13 is too far away from locally produced HD product...
I noticed on KPRC one night that during Leno, there was severe weather in the area and they had to switch to the SD feed so they could have a crawl and weather graphics on the screen. The fact that you can hear the anchors talking in the background on 13 while showing Tower Cam HD would indicate they have more flexibility with HD product and are likely further along than KPRC. (which isn't surprising).

here is one of the greatest reasons that I would subscribe to an out of market channel. KHOU 11 decided to preempt tonight's new episode, "How I met Your Mother", and replace it with a paid advertising program of "Fire and Ice: Galleria Holiday Special". I lost my distant networks via Dish and have no option available via my local market to watch a New episode of HIMYM for a commercial. KHOU runs three channels (two subchannels devoted to weather) and could not foresee or could care less that a signficant portion of their viewing audience would like an option to watch the national programming. During last years Rita KHOU ran their national programming via KNWS before switching to their secondary sd channel the last days. I guess noone at KHOU who can make these decisions has the technical knowledge to foresee possible solutions that were once implemented. No luck calling the station as they were unaware that programming had sandbagged them with no notice. Told to contact programming tomorrow and voice your displeasure. I guess I need to go BEV in addition to dish to rectify. I realize that we are dealing with a Belo station. I also realize that this station is able to archive hd programming which most stations cannot do at this time. Regardless, I would have watched the programming in sd if given an option as was done before. I know I can watch via innertube via cbs.com starting next week; but , that is worse than sd.

I was wondering about that, I figured that HIMYM must have been a re-run for them to preempt it but if not then that really ticks me off.

Yeah I don't think it's a coincedence that KRIV is not multi-casting and they've got one of the best HD pictures in town. They may have been late to the game but not that they've adopted HD they're doing it right (including much of their own advertising, reality shows, sports, etc). I'm always excited when the Texans play an NFC team because I know if the game is on Fox instead of CBS it'll probably be in HD.

A known and acknowledged problem, at least as it applies to KPRC. However, if you happened to notice (and I did), the Chargers game on KHOU (via OTA) was suffering from much of the same macroblocking.

I understand what EZ told us about his encoder problems, but when KPRC & KHOU are having HD PQ problems and KRIV isn't and considering that both KPRC & KHOU are multicasting and KRIV isn't, it begins to quack a whole lot like a duck.

I really don't care what the cause is; let's please get it fixed!!

I think EZ's point would be that FOX's encoders are newer than the gen1 encoders that KPRC & KHOU are using.

OK, but how do you explain that KHOU had outstanding picture quality until they were purchased by Belo and started multicasting? There was a time when CSI was some of the best looking HD on television (film, not hdcam). They didn't have the fequent dropouts and glitches back then, either.