Philadelphia, PA - OTA - Page 117

I am in Bensalem, have kept the GE antenna indoor. May be the RCA antenna will help with the VHF channels.

61-1 Is IOn, right ? what are 61-2 and 61-3 ? Similarly 65-1 is Univision and 65-2 is a sister channel ?

BTW, why are channels numbered with a "-" ? To group channels whose frequency are closer ?

Each original analog channel can carry data for more than one digital channel if the bitrate (and thus picture quality) of each channel is somewhat reduced from its theoretical maximum. So for example, RF channel 31 (UHF) is used by WPPX to transmit three digital channels, identified by the PSIP identification 61.1 (or 61-1), ION Tv; 61.2 (or 61-2), Qubo, a childrens cartoon network; and 61.3 (or 61-3), ION Life, which typically airs old movies, infomercials, and various inspirational programming. The main digital channel 61.1 is High Definition (720p), while 61.2 and 61.3 are Standard Definition (480i). The additional digital channels are called subchannels. KYW has no subchannels, while WPVI, WCAU, and WHYY each have 2. And so it goes - as you see channel 48 has 4 subchannels plus a main channel, although they are all SD (480i). Whenever there are subchannels, the main channel suffers a bit in quality, and the subchannels are usually of rather low quality. WHYY, channel 12, strikes a happy medium with one HD channel and two SD subchannels, all of reasonably acceptable quality, though nothing to write home about.

That being said, if you are a former cable viewer, of course you are blown away by the quality of all the digital channels because the cable companies always reduce the quality of every station to squeeze the max number of channels into the limited bandwidth of the cable, while OTA reception is at the original picture quality generated by the station.

With indoor antennas (rabbit ears), it always has been a song-and-dance routine, where every channel requires some slight adjustment of orientation. Then the picture may go funny when somebody moves around in the room. Been that way for 50+ years, not going to change.

I am Wilmington, DE and was inquiring if the AntennaCraft CS600 Suburban VHF FM HD TV Antenna will pick up ABC 6.1 out of Philadelphia? I am 27 miles out and have a DB4 attic mounted for UHF and pick up all the Philadelphia channels. I can put the VHF antenna in the other attic window aimed toward Philadelphia. Thanks.

You might want to try this first (the twinlead folded dipole) http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...1#post16593441 . Since it's specifically for channel 6, it won't take up as much room as a full-band VHF antenna and may just give you a clue as to how easy/difficult 6 is going to be from your area.

I got two (unrelated) problems:

-I did a rescan on my DVR (philips 3576) some days ago, and now WNJT appears mapped to the RF channel (43.1) and not 52.1 anymore. I repeated the rescan several times. On my TV it is still 52.1 but I did not dare to do a scan. What could be the reason?

-On WPHL (17.1) the closed captions are lagging behind 2-3 sec, which makes it useless. Can anyone confirm?

That would happen if you scanned at a time when the station's PSIP data was missing. Is WNJS Camden doing the same thing (22.1 instead of 23.1)?
Confirmed... in fact this morning it's more like 10 seconds.

I did not check 23., but I got 8.1 instead of 58.1. I assume I'll have to rescan - the device will not correct it once the PSIP is back?


So it is not me. I'll send them an e-mail if I find out where to complain.

Thanks

Many ATSC devices only set the physical<->virtual mapping at the time of a scan (as well as some other PSIP info like the name/call-sign of the channel). So most likely you'll have to re-scan. I just did a re-scan on a CECB and 52.1 is correctly identified.

Just like they used to say on Amrican Bandstand, "It's got a good beat and you can dance to it."

Arnott you have my sympathy. I still think that you need to try just a UHF bowtie. At my home in Haddonfield 16 miles from the Philadelphia antenna farm, my display's built in tuner picked up everything. I only ran into reception issues when I added TiVo DVR. Good luck and keep us posted

I'm seeing some small changes on WWJT. All 4 subchannels show stronger signal than was the case a few days ago - now about 60 and solid on my DTVPal DVR where before they were about 55 and barely locking. Also the WWJT logo card on 7-1 has been replaced with color bars. 7-2, 7-3 and 7-4 have the same color bars they had before. No actual video or audio yet but I'm thinking we may see something in the next few weeks.

Email from Rovi yesterday seems to be tossing the ball back into KYW's court:

---------------------------------

Hello Frank,

I apologize for the delayed response. Unfortunately, there has been no updated information provided to us by KYW-DT CBS as to when they plan on fixing the issue on their end. Until this is done, there would be nothing we can do with regards to this issue. We are aware this is affecting your area, and they are aware. As the hardware is hosted at the station, they are working on the situation. You have a case currently in our escalation queue, and you will be notified if we receive any update at all from KYW.

CE Technical Support

Rovi

---------------------------------

I got the mohu antenna from Amazon and have been testing it for the past 2 days. Did not get ABC till tonite. After moving the antenna to get ABC, lost 61-1,2,3. Now I can also get PBS at 12-1,2,3.

Channels with mohu:
3-1
6-1,2,3
10-1,2
12-1,2,3
17-1,2,3,4
23-1
29-1
35-1,2,3,4,66
48-1,2,3,4,5
57-1
65-1,2

Wondering, if the mohu with the amplifier will do even better.

Arnott you have done well. I am happy to read that the Mohu Leaf worked out for you. The only channel of interest that you might try to adjust for is WPPX ION Channel 61. I enjoy the original Law & Order reruns.

Cheers, Michael

Just got the Antenna Direct V21 by FEDEX. I already have the DB4 in the attic and pick up all the Philadelphia (27 miles) channels (except ABC 6.1 VHF). My plan is to roof mount the V21 aimed toward Baltimore (63 miles) and hopefully pick up the Baltimore affiliates including ABC. I am able to pick up ABC out of Baltimore if I move the DB4 around in the attic but lose some of the Phillly channels. I plan on putting an A-B switch on the DB4/V21 combo to have the Baltimore/Philadelphia stations on the main downstairs TV. I will report back on the Baltimore receptions after mounting the V21.

I needed a small solution to receive OTA signals and bought the ANT751. Originally, I used it indoors, but recently got it on the roof of a 2 story dwelling and I am really impressed with the performance. TVFool has me about 15 miles from Roxborough and 51 miles from Allentown, PA.
From Phiily, I am getting all the majors:
3.1, 6.x, 10.x, 12.x, 17.x, 29.x, 35.x, 41 (ANALOG), 48.x, 57.x, 61.x.
From Allentown:
60.1 (Some Drop-outs), and 69.x
Others:
23.1 (NJN), 44.x (South Jersey), 7.x (WWJT-Low Power, some drop-outs), 30.1 (Low Power) and 38.x (All Infomercials)
Unless noted, all these signals have been solid. I am pleased with these results for such a small antenna.

I tuned my VOOM box to KYW right at 3pm and it bombed out. Is TVGOS back or just some objectionable signal now?

I've been watching KYW on the VOOM for quite some time now (ever since it first went out awhile back) and this is the first time I've had a problem since it went out.

Translation:

Rovi sent CBS a 'fix' for the problem that was causing issues with Closed Captioning and on air outages. CBS implemented it and found it did not do what was expected. They removed TVGOS from their data stream, again, at least on WCBS. The individual CBS owned and operated stations, like KYW, are subordinate to the CBS corporate engineering group at the Broadcast Center in New York City, which may explain why KYW isn't responding to Rovi, if this is really the case.

Bottom line is that the problem is with Rovi and not CBS. It's their software and they have to fix it. CBS is not going to let TVGOS software cause cable customers to not get Closed Captioning or cause on air outages.

Please see my previous posts on this subject in the New York OTA topic and other local topics.

See my comment in the New York OTA topic.

I had a picture on 7.1 and 3 subs briefly a few weeks ago, but have not been able to receive it since. At a friends house nearby, i saw that they had a fixed screen on 7.1 and color bars on 7.2, 7.3, and 7.4.

Out of curiosity, I searched the web and they now have the beginnings of a web site, so I called the contact number. I was told they are still testing with a very weak signal, but expect to up the power in about 30 days to 15 kW and launch their programming. The website lists the following networks: "SOUL OF THE SOUTH, TUFF TV NETWORK, MY FAMILY TV NETWORK, TELOS TV, TVC + LATINO VMAS TELEVISION, as well as Philadelphia local entertainment, religion, and lifestyles with a consistent demographic appeal."

They are broadcasting on physical channel 48. A coverage map is available on their website. http://channel7philly.com/our-market.php

Have always had it, now I can scan for it or watch it on TV's that had it previously. I am at a lost as what to do to get it back.

Maybe your VHF antenna connection came undone or your VHF antenna/elements got mis-positioned? If your antenna is outdoors, perhaps the wind blew it so that it no longer faces Roxborough.

Where are you located and what type of antenna are you using? Is it indoor or outdoor?

but PBS is listed as VHF as well, I still receive that as full power. The map shows it in a similar direction to ABC. I am located in Marlton, almost Berlin, NJ. I have an outdoor antenna, pretty good size. I thought something may have changed recently. End of December is when I was getting ABC, last time I checked.

WHYY (PBS) is on channel 12 which is VHF-HI, an entirely different band from 6 (VHF-LOW) and much easier to receive, even with a UHF antenna. VHF-LOW needs a long dipole (optimally around 66 inches for channel 6) oriented at right angles to the direction of the transmitter, and is very sensitive to electrical noise. Perhaps you've added a new light bulb or switching power supply in your home and that is interfering. Or perhaps it's new electrical noise in the neighborhood.

A friend of mine just decided to go OTA only (he's very happy with the decision by the way), he bought this UHF antenna for just $33 including shipping, and it gets every station rock solid (even vhf) just sitting on his ground floor inside the house (he is in collegeville). The antenna also has excellent customer reviews. Just thought I'd mention it for anyone looking. There is a slightly more expensive unit by the same seller that doubles the elements/size, probably overkill for most people but might be a good choice for those with bad reception. Many people can get away with an inside the attic install (roof mount might be required if you have especially bad reception).

Me and the misses have been thinking about getting rid of our dish network. Which led us to start looking into how we were gonna get our tv fix on. I have a nice network running and we stream hula, netflix, amazon and a few others.

Somebody mentioned why not get an antenna. I looked at them funny because to me an antenna meant the old types that my grandma had on the roof with a box that would spin the mast and we would get a few fuzzy channels on and one or two half way clear (upstate NY at the time). I was told, nope - things are different now with digital.

Funny thing was, when we moved into this house many years ago - there where two antennas already mounted inside the garage on the top rafters. After researching a bit and seeing the old antennas work with the new digital i thought I would just hook it up and see what I would get. About 8-10 channels came in with the first sweep!

I have to say I was shocked with my initial connecting up to the antenna real fast on just how clear 3-4 of the stations where out of philly (35 miles away).

I will have to show in another thread the picture of the two antennas together. I don't think they are coupled together. Not sure if i can or should couple them.

My main problems seem to be - when the garage door is open I get more channels. When its closed I lose about half. But the antennas are above the garage door - so I don't know why its having an effect.

My first sweep i was able to get many channels. With the ones we got I was most interested in these

3.1 kyw
6.1 wpvi
17.1 wphl
29.1 wtxf fox
10.1 wcau

But a day later I still get 3.1 and 10.1 crystal clear but lost the others. I moved the antenna slightly and I get 29.1 (barely) but I can't seem to get 6.1 at all anymore. And we tried rotating the antenna, opening the garage door and closing and nothing we can do gets 6.1 back. And it was crystal clear the first day. when I get 29.1 in barely now - 3.1 stays good but I lose 17.1. I'm not sure if maybe I should move the antenna to the roof? or be able to couple the antennas together somehow or......?

At 35 miles away you're much better on the roof. An indoor antenna loses something like half of the available signal.

Just from being inside I lose half? That might explain why I get more channels with the door open.........

These are the two antennas I currently have. Not sure if they both need to go on the roof or how to couple them. Not sure what that smaller blue yagi type antenna was used for before I tried hooking up to it. So if I go for a roof mount i have a better chance to get wpvi 6.1 and fox 29? Do I need to couple both of these antennas on the roof somehow? or just move the big one? or get a newer or bigger antenna then whats here?

Hmmm can't post the links or pictures yet as I need one more post - so I hope this is #3