Dothan, AL - HDTV

You're the first posting from Dothan - just keep updating this thread if you find out any new info. I'll add this thread to the Official Index so if any new members join from Dothan, they'll be routed here.

Just to add a little info; Dothan's WTVY is currently broadcasting DTV on channel 36 at 90kW on a 1800 tower (same tower that analog ch 4 uses, localed north of Bonifay, Florida).

Wade, the station engineer, said that they have no plans to increase power to DTV transmitter. When the analog cutoff date comes around, WTVY will change their DTV channel from 36 to 4 and go full power then.

My parents have HD, they live in Ashford Al, via Graceba.

Man I hope I can still pull them in when they go to Ch 4 fro DTV. And I was about to get rid of my big ol' VHF antenna. Better rethink that.

As of mid June, Comcast in Dothan promises HDTV by the end of the year.

No idea about the cause of delay.

I have just found this forum and was wondering if anyone knew the status of Fox 34. I live just North of Elba. WTVY & WSFA are very strong. I can get PBS on 11 (2) and 44 (43). ABC (too weak) and Fox is the only 2 major networks I cannot get.

Just found WTVY-TV will be adding adjacent digital channels as soon as WDJR-FM moves to their new tower. (WTVY-TV leases tower space to WDJR-FM) They will also being going to 1 megawatt with their digital signal (this will double their digital coverage area) when the switch happens as well.

4.1 = CBS-HD
4.2 = All Dothan Weather
4.3 = Sports
4.4 = UPN


I just got a DVR from Comcast and it's HD-Ready according to the tech who installed it. Comcast just has to offer the channels, anyone know when this will be?

-Greg

P.S. WDFX Fox 34 city grades Dothan...not much else. They broadcast from 500 tower in Wicksburg. I doubt they have any interest in anywhere but Dothan/Enterprise.

I just put a new antenna and I am now getting WDFX-DT. To my dismay they are not passing on the 720p Fox signal. Does anyone know when they might be passing the HDTV signal on to us. Hopefully before the MLB Playoffs!

WDFX-DT has now started passing on the Fox HD signal on their digital channel. I just wish they would quit putting that irritating FOX symbol in the bottom right hand corner.

Any updates on HDTV options in this area (Southeast AL, NW Fla)? It does seem like things are improving (Comcast, TimeWarner and Graceba all now offer HDTV, but the channels seem a bit sparse with only 5 or 6 channels as of now.) Which seems to be the bets option out there? Anyone with an antenna pull in WSFA-TV 12 from Montgomery in HD?

At this time, does it appear satellite is the better choice for HDTV than cable for those in this viewing area? (I'd hate to make a change to a dish only to have the cable companies add more channels.)

Bump to avoid archiving.

I recently moved to the north end of Dothan from the middle part of Dothan where I had NBC HD, Fox HD, CBS HD, PBS HD, and selected on demand HD content with Comcast. Because my new address is for some reason technically a Midland City address, Comcast said they would not service my new address. I called Graceba and I got the same answer. Time Warner actually told me this too at first. They said that their system showed my address as not serviceable and they told me to call a number, which would provide me with the proper cable company to call. The irony was that when I moved in I had Time Warner basic and standard cable. I told Time Warner that the previous owners had service, but they told me to call the number anyway because my address was not in the system. I asked Time Warner, "What happens when the number sends me back to you," and they said that it wouldn't. Well, guess what. It did. This time I spoke with another person at Time Warner who performed a lookup by using the previous owners' last name instead of using the address. This time, Time Warner was able to pull up the previous owners' old account and found that the address was entered as Dothan, AL 36305 instead of Midland City, AL 36350. They also told me the previous owners had cut off their service and that I would have to pay for installation. Apparently, Time Warner had the service cut off in the system, but hadn't physically cut it off yet. Anyway, after I finally cleared things up with Time Warner, I had to decide on whether I should go with Time Warner or get satellite.

After doing some research on satellite, I cancelled out DirectTV due to Dish not requiring a contract. Dish also offers more HD channels as well as a better DVR. The negatives with Dish were the startup costs. I would have to pay $200 for an HD DVR, $50 for installation, and about $6 monthly if wanted the warranty, which I thought was dumb because I would be renting the receiver - not owning it. With a cable company, I don't own the receiver and I can easily switch it out for a new one for free if it malfunctions.

Another negative is that I would not get local channels unless I paid 5 or so extra dollars. It would also supposedly be another 5 or so dollars to get CW. According to Dish's website, it is an extra 5 or so dollars to get WB and UPN. Because the WB and UPN mergerd into the CW, I called dish about the superstations and they said I would get CW while sounding like they weren't sure of their answer. I also found out the extra money I would spend getting locals would not get me NBC. Plus, I would only get the locals in standard definition. Dish also wanted another 5 dollars because I didn't have a landline.

I told Dish that not getting all of my locals would be a deal breaker and they said they could submit a waiver for an NBC distant network, which would not guarantee that I would get NBC. At the time, they didn't bother telling me that in a few days (Dec. 1) a court order would prevent me from getting a distant network via a waiver. After finding this out, I considered getting Dish and then paying about $20 for basic cable through Time Warner so that I could get all my locals. Because I already decided to get Road Runner from Time Warner, the extra $20 would not have really been an extra $20 because I would be saving about $10 off internet for adding cable tv service. I would also save an additional $10 by not paying for locals and superstations (or rather CW) with Dish.

Anway, I decided to give up the approximately 30 HD channels I could have gotten with Dish and go with Time Warner. I'm getting Time Waner installed today. I'll be getting all the HDTV channels they offer which are outlined below.

Local Broadcast channels - no additional charge:

202 WGIQ-DT PBS Louisville
204 WTVY-DT CBS Dothan

Premium channels - no additional charge for the HD versions if you subscribe to the digital premium channel:

225 HBO HD
230 Showtime HD

Digital channels - no additional charge:

275 Discovery HD
276 TNT - HD

HDPlus Tier - $9.95 monthly charge
(order NOW for the limited time promotional price of $7.95 per month!):

250 INHD
251 INHD2
260 HDNet
261 HDNet Movies
265 ESPN HD
267 Universal HD

Has anyone in the Dothan area been successful in receiving WJHG or WMBB from Panama City via antenna? I am willing to do whatever necessary to pick up these two channels in Dothan.

Threads merged.

Intheswamp: If you check out the Thread Index at the top of the forum, you'll find a listing of all threads for each television market. Dothan and Montgomery are separate DMAs, so some of your questions regarding Montgomery stations might have a better chance of getting answered in the Montgomery thread.

No problem, took me a minute to figure out where the thread went to, though.

Any advice on antenna selection for HDTV reception in the Dothan city limits? I likely can't get my cable setup for a few weeks and was wondering if it would be wise to try a cheap indoor antenna to receive local HD channels. I really don't want to go through the trouble and expense of putting up an outdoor antenna if I can help it.

Matt, I know it's been over a week since you posted but did you ever do anything about an OTA antenna? I'm really not in the Dothan market, but *kinda* got directed here.

Holler back.

Ed

Ed, I haven't purchased the new TV yet, as I'm just getting ideas together on what I may need. I still haven't heard a definitive answer on this situation, and I suspect it will come down to finding someone who has antenna access around here. That way, I can hear the first-hand experience. If I hear anything further, I'll let you know.

You could simply go to wallyworld and pick up a plain-jane set of rabbit ears and 25-50' of RG-6 cable. The newer rabbit ears are coming setup with coax cable so you don't have to fool with a separate balun. I taped a pair ($5.95 at a dollar store) to the tip of a 18' bamboo pole for my nephew and he's easily pulling in stations 30+ miles away. I wouldn't worry about getting one of the fancy indoor antennas since you're not really going to be using once you get your cable hooked up. But, having the rabbit ears and the coax cable would be handy in times of "cable outage". If you decide you want something more powerful you could go with something like the 4221 4-bay bowtie. It could be placed in a window or even in a closet...would have much more gain than the rabbit ears or fancy indoor antennas. Getting whatever antenna high up and within line of sight of the xmitter does wonders.

If you have some free time and like to tinker you could build a 2, 4, or 8 bay bowtie from information at this link . It is a rather simple build and the antennas work quiet well. Basically they are a knock off of the DB4, DB8, 4221, 4228, etc.,.

Best wishes,
Ed

I have a friend who was on the phone w/ DTV 2 days ago to try to get a new hd dvr from them. He told me the rep on the phone was telling him about the new HD channels coming nationally and then mentioned Dothan would be geting locals via DTV in October?

Anyone else hear anything.

I previously posted the Time Warner HDTV channels for Time Warner. Since my post, FOX HD and MOJO have been added. INHD and INHD2 have been dropped (they were actually combined and renamed MOJO). Basically, I have as many HD channels as when I started. One of them, CBS HD is unwatchable. The sound constantly drops out. I finally got around to contacting technical support today. Hopefully, the issue will get fixed. Does anyone else currently experience any sound issues with Time Warner Dothan CBS HD?

Hi, Has anyone in Dothan getting all the OTA digital stations? If so, what is your attenna setup? I called TW about getting just the local stations, they wanted $20!!!!. I would love to get the Dish HD package, but without the local stations the others in my house would miss them. So no Dish for now.
the only reason I would need the local network station is for sporting events in HD.

I live in the Dothan area and have had limited success with OTA reception. A couple of caveats; first, I have a home-built 4-bay antenna, second, I live near a river so my elevation is not so great, and third, I can't convince my wife that a 70 foot tower is more important than food.

That said, I have received WTVY channel 4 and PBS channel 43 without any problem. They appear to be the leaders in the early adoption of digital transmission. I have also had some success with ABC, channel 18/21. But FOX, with their 11KW transmitter and NBC in Montgomery, being so far away, have not been great.

Since a tower does not seem to be in my future, I am considering an XG91 for UHF, a 7-13 variant from any one of a number of manufacturers for NBC in Mont (they move from 14 to 12 post-2009), a 0256DSB preamp, and a rotator since everything is spread around. I think I can get Columbus and Panama City (do at times now with my experiemental gear) with a more powerful setup.

As I look around the area, I see plenty of aged UHF/VHF antennae but few UHF only antennae. I am sure the landscape will change as we get closer to the changeover.

What are the rest of you using? Maybe we can get some new life in this thread!

Since my last post, ESPN2 HD has been added to Dothan Time Warner Cable. However, I do not currently get it because I am still on an old channel lineup that doesn't have the channel. Apparently, there is a new slightly more expensive fee structure to go along with the new channel lineup and so I don't plan to change over until I am forced to switch or until more HD channels are added to the new channel lineup.

As far as new HD channels are concerned, I am interested SCI-FI HD (Battlestar Galactica), CW-HD (Smallville, Supernatural), ABC HD (Lost) and NBC HD (Heroes, Bionic Woman, Office), to name a few, and would be very interested to know the best solution for picking up the latter 2 (is CW a possibility?) via antennae until they become available through cable. As I have zero experience using an antennae to pick up OTA HD, I too would like to know what other people are using and to what success.

I recently purchased a Winegard MS 2000 omni and put it on top of my house. I now have a new respect for omnidirectional antennas.

I am located along Alabama Highway 167 in extreme SW Dale County AL. My elevation is at about 280ft, and the antenna is on an eave mount at about 35ft above ground level. I use directv, and so I plugged the antenna into my HR21-700 model receiver.

I am getting the following average signal strengths (0 to 100)...

WTVY (CBS) Dothan AL @ 100%
WMBB (ABC) Panama City FL @ 95% (yes, 95% I'm not kidding)
WDFX (Fox) Dothan AL @ 90%
WDHN (ABC) Dothan AL @ 85%
WGIQ (PBS) Louisville AL @ 30%

WSFA (NBC) Montgomery AL @ 25% (watchable most of the time)
WDIQ (PBS) Dozier AL @0% (shows a bump ever now and then)

How are you guys doing in your areas?

Their transmitter is N.E. of Panama City and they use I believe it was, 700KW digital on UHF channel 19? This is from memory but I think it's 19 anyway its UHF and quite a lot of power.