Charlotte, NC - OTA - Page 6

yes, it does. Deviating from the liscensed power more than 30 days requires notification to the FCC. We aren't at liberty to decide what power we want to run..

Well I dropped VOOM today. They were unable to assist me in getting the local HD stations. They only offer one antenna and it is unfortunately not designed for stations that are located less than 10 miles away. They were quite rude about it as well. They will not let the customer use their own antenna without voiding the warranty of the service.

I decided I would buy an OTA HD STB and figure out the locals myself and then when I have it working I will call and order it minus the antenna.

In my opinion they should stop advertisements that say they will get the locals working. They simply can't expect one type of antenna to service all clients. Also it would be helpful if they would use installers that are familiar with OTA HD antennas.

Soooo... I see SIR-T351 OTA HD tuners all over e-bay. Is this a good box? and is the Terk TV55 a good antenna to start with?

Thanks for all the help!

No...I suggest the Silver sensor or Winegard SquareShooter. I live on the
Matthews end of Mint Hill, and I get all 9 locals perfectly with the SquareShooter!

As to receivers, the LG/Zenith boxes have the best tuners available.

Thanks, I will start with the Silver Sensor. Where is a good place to find LG/Zenith boxes?

Thanks for the info. I think I am ready to get cooking with this. My goal at this point is to look for a box that has two inputs. I will start with one Silver Sensor and go from there.

Do they make rotors that work via infrared? Then I can buy a remote that will run a macro when I hit the station of choice. I know wishful thinking. Easier to just keep cable!

I need to find out how my neighbor is getting the HD locals. He has VOOM with no antenna. Gotta go and beg the wife for more home theater money...

A bit more like 90 I think, based on Dallas around to WUNG's which is closer to Concord. Either way, by pointing my squareshooter towards
the middle of all, it works very well.

Due to the directionality of the squareshooter, I've wondered if in cases
like this if phasing two together facing opposite directions would work.
I've had mixed results doing this with other antennas, but most others have really poor f/b ratio, especially the silver sensor. Which is why I suggested it originally. In working with several of the local dealers,we've
found that no single antenna configuration will work everytime in every location.
Sometimes, moving the antenna a few feet in ANY direction will provide
a sweet spot that just works. It also depends on the receiver, as some have far better performance in rejecting multipath, which can be an issue here. I think that when the new LG/Zenith units hit early next year, difficult
locations such as Charlotte may no longer be as problematic.

I'm fortunate to be in a good location fiarly high up.

My RCA has an A and a B antenna connection on the back, so i put up 2 antennas and pointed them in opposite directions and on the A i get greenville,sc market and on the B i get charlotte and columbia,sc market.

Hey Bill, good to hear from you!

Having a hard time finding OTA HDTV Receivers with two RF antenna inputs. What model number is your RCA?

The RCA F38310 with the built in D* and OTA tuner.

Very nice. Dual ATSC Tuners. That's a nice TV. I need a STB though.

[quote]Originally posted by wolfpackjohn
[b]This is my first post in this forum. I would appreciate others' experience and opinions.

My location is Lincolnton, NC (zip 28092) about 30-35 miles northwest of downtown Charlotte.

I have just purchased a Panasonic PT-50LC13 LCD projection HDTV. I also purchased a Samsung SIR-TS360 HD receiver. I hooked the HD receiver to my existing rooftop antenna. With no adjustments, I can pick up the following digital channels:

WJZY (channel 46.1 or 47)
WWWB (channel 55.1 or 39)
WCNC (channel 36.1 or 22)
WBTV (channel 3.1 or 23)

For WCCB (channel 18.1 or 27), signal strength varies from 0% to 54%. However, I do occasionally get audio/video dropouts and pixelation.
For WSOC (channel 9.1 or 34), I can't get a watchable picture. Audio/video dropouts are common if I can get a picture at all.

I haven't gotten a signal at all from WTVI , WUNG, or WAXN, but I'm not really concerned about them since I rarely watch them.

I don't have any hills or buildings (only trees) between my antenna and the transmitters.

John:

Along with bdfoxdoe, I have a lot of professional broadcasting experience (40+ years ) and have built serveral DTV stations from scratch. Bob and I have worked together for about 25 years.

Would you consider PMing me with your street address or at least your street in Lincolnton. The zip code just isn't enough to do much good.

Bob and I are both surprised you can't get the stations to the east. We would like to come to the street and check this out. While we can't do this for every reception problem, yours is interesting. It should work in your area without any big problem. Even with the early generation receivers we're all using.

Thanks in advance.

Hey, Dale.

I've been thinking about this, as well. Seems like the NBC HD feed (it's the same on cable, BTW) is a rehash of the previous day's activities, which in turn is usually a primetime rehash of things earlier in the day. It also appears they use a totally different crew, announcers, and cameras for the HD broadcast, as well. It seems like a total waste of money. Why can't they just simulcast the broadcasts like they do with football and other sports?

My theory is that NBC wants people to watch their regular channels -- particularly their main affiliates -- for ratings purposes. As Bob has pointed out in the past, HD channels are not currently measured for ratings, and they therefore make no money off those channels right now. If they simulcast the regular primetime broadcast, those with HD would flock in droves to the HD channels, pulling viewers away from their (Neilson measured) affiliates. Yes, the commercials would be the same, but there would be no way to measure those viewers from a ratings perspective.

The reason they do an HD broadcast at all I guess is to show that they are innovators or something. But it seems like they would just rebroadcast at a later time the same broadcast (but in HD) from the night before or something. Why a whole new crew, etc.?

Maybe Bob has some thoughts on this, coming from the industry.

But, yes, Dale, I totally agree that it's lame.

Charles

NBC has openly said they do not want to risk the possibility of the HD coverage affecting the analog ratings, thus the 1 day delay.

Do we really need such comments here as "WTF?"

It'll be nice when are numbers reach the point that when a local affiliate decides to switch over to special weather coverage, they can justify throwing up an SD feed of network programming on -2 or -3. Tonight wasn't bad, just a couple of minutes, but when the snow comes.......

I don't think you'll see that Matt, especially any time soon. The costs and complexities to do that just don't work. Besides, legally, we won't be in compliance with the EAS rules if we were to do so.

Do the EAS rules apply to all sub-channels? Or is it that they would frown on offering counter-programming that could draw viewers away from public safety info?

Anyone having problems receiving WCCB-DT and or FOX 8-10pm Tonite?

Thnaks Dale-
Which receiver(s)?

bdfox18doe,

WCCB-DT Fox18 signal strength is alot lower then it used to be for me. I am getting picture break up as well. Has Fox 18 lowered their signal output?

No JW, we haven't. I'm not seeing any problems here at home..
Where are you and what receiver are you using?

Looking really good here. Studio stuff is very nice

Directv HD Tivo, HR 10-250 in North Iredell