Cedar Rapids, IA - HDTV - Page 8

Is anyone getting short audio cutouts on KCRG?

Yes, I am also getting the audio cutouts thru Mediacom digital. I haven't tried OTA lately to see if it's there also. Last night I counted 7 dropouts during a 1 minute period on the local news at 10pm.

Not only audio dropouts on Housewives and Grey's but also pixelization on both shows made me quit watching. Added to the fact they were both recap shows od the entire season made my decision easier

fwiw, I had one or two (only) OTA Sunday - wasn't sure if it was the station or new software for my VP. Sounds like you have confirmed it as the station. Thanks. (DVDO also says thanks. )

Please help a totally confused newbie here.

I just hooked up a TH-42PX60U (latest Panasonic 42" HD plasma with QAM) to regular Mediacom cable (no STB of any kind) in Cedar Rapids. I did a channel scan (which by default scans analog and digital) and it found all kinds of stuff in addition to the normal analog channels. Music channels, etc, that I have no interest in.

What channels should I be watching to see KCRG, KWWL, KGAN and Fox in HD without a STB? Two Medicacom reps told me that although there was a "long" waiting list for HDTV STB and DVRs that I could get local channels with the regular cable through the QAM but we did not discuss further.

Looking through the channels that scanned in, it looks like NBC is coming in on 114.1 and KCRG was coming in on 115.2, FOX on 115.4, etc. Is this what I should be trying to get? Is this the HD signal?

Confused as Hell here, would be extremely grateful for any help! I will say that the regular feeds on the local channels look very good to me, I was very surprised.

Sounds like you found them - it depends on your tuner, and the actual cable system, what numbers you will see. But that is what you want. As long as they are giving you the HD channel, you are seeing HD when it is broadcast.

fwiw, with my LG tuner, thru local cable, locals are like 107.1, etc. But I get no music stations, even tho the provider said I probably would. OTOH, parents Hitachi picked up the locals on their "correct numbers" - 2-1,2-2,7-2, 7-1, etc.... Oddly enough, when they put in the cable card, they lost the 2-1, and now, instead get the HD of KGAN on 402. Go figure.

You got it. The locals are on 114 & 115 on MC (Minus KGAN, of course). I forget the exact sub channels, but you should have NBC, ABC, FOX, & PBS.

It is in HD when there is HD material being shown.

Thanks much appreciate the help.

Watched Medium on NBC in HD tonight, looked great.
What's the deal with the audio dropouts and picture glitches on KCRG? Is this a temporary problem?

And why isn't KGAN available on Mediacom?

KCRG has been having on & off glitches for a few weeks. Hopefully they can get them corrected soon.

KGAN is owned by Sinclair broadcasting. You should do a search on the other forums to read why they are being A**holes...

What's up the KFXA? Idol isn't in HD.

Nothing - just the usual level of competence we have come to expect of KFXA- it became HD around the 20 minute mark - it also began in HD, but immediately cut to SD. I SOOO wanted to see Paula do the fake crying thing in HD. But at least I got to hear the girl with the fake Southern accent sing virtually an entire song flat. Now THAT is hard to do. She should win for that alone.

btw, I left at that point, so have no idea if they went back to sd or not. HD didn't seem to help the Pickle girl's vocals, so I wouldn't count on it for the rest of them.

402 is the re-map that we do for KGAN-D, and the other QAM stations. KWWL is 106.1 and KCRG is 106.2, but we remap them to 407 and 409 in the STBs (including the cable cards).

As usual, KGAN teenage weekend master control operators don't monitor the HD channel. The audio has been bad from at least Saterday evening and is still band Sunday AM. They really don't care.

Glad I'm not the only one seeing dropouts on KCRG the last week or so. ............

KCRG/ABC had about 15-20 dropouts, the split sec kind during Gray's Anatomy last night.

Somebody please tell me that KWKB is/will be working on upgrading their station to full HD compatibility, and going to at least 500MW, this summer.

It'll be the first - for any of us - to see either The WB or UPN in HD, starting this fall. Ok, technically, the combination of the 2 networks will be The CW, but they'll be taking the best of the 2 and making it 1 very good network. (If only Enterprise was still on UPN/would be going to The CW).


Wait a sec, I guess I should ask, is KWKB switching over from The WB to The CW? I know KWGB is, in the Quad Cities DMA.

The latest word I've seen is that KWKB will be the CW affiliate here. That's what the trade magazines are reporting. I would have been real shocked if it went to the current "UPN 22" since they're a Bic lighter compared to the 5 MW blowtorch KWKB analog is.

Checking the FCC's website, it appears that they're asking for an extension of their DT construction permit until the end of this year due to a number of issues, including a backlog in orders from its supplier and delays in getting funding for the upgrade. They think they'll get the equipment by August, but they're asking for a full extension until December 31 "to allow for any further unforseen circumstances that may arise." (The application is here.)

This is just to get the 1 MW DT signal on the air and has nothing to do with whether it will be HD or not.

Anyone here notice the underscan on KGAN-HD? I see a very thin 1/4" black bar at the top of my TV. Every other HD channel is fine, so I assume it's either KGAN or the feed they're getting from CBS.

Does anyone know if the weather feed on 9-2 is going to be permanent?

The dropouts on KCRG have been going on for several weeks now. ALthough maybe not as bad as usual, one commercial in particular was real bad on Lost last night. So It must not be a local thing. I do recall this same problem back when digital TV first started. I almost want to turn over to the analog station. IS anybody at KCRG aware of this?

There is a member in here that works for KCRG, but he hasn't posted in a few weeks. I keep hopin he will pop in and update us on the dropouts. They do seem a touch better, but it's still quite annoying.

I don't work for KCRG, but I happen to know that they are aware of the problem and are trying to find the source of it so it can be fixed.

Have just learned it's highly likely (can never be 100% sure) that the CW will be offered in HD in the QC market. Don't have a time frame, but the source of the information is very reliable. CW will be connected to the Fox affiliate, KLJB, in Davenport. They're putting up a new, digital tower...not sure of the location, and not sure when it will be operational. More news to come later.

The FCC has a construction permit for KGWB (WB26 for Burlington, which wants to expand to include the Quad Cities) to build a 500kW transmitter on a 1,290-foot tower slightly southwest of Aledo, IL. Here's a link to an FCC map showing its estimated coverage area. Currently, they're on a special temporary authority for 2.73kW from Burlington proper.

The new tower should easily serve the QCA, Muscatine, most of Clinton and perhaps even Iowa City if the map is to be believed. KGWB-DT operates on channel 41.

(This is also posted in the Davenport thread, but there is some overlap so I figured I'd post it here as well.)

Hi iaHawkeye. How do you like the new panny? I am actually looking at getting the 50px600u (if it ever comes out). Hows the picture on yours??

Did anyone else notice a lot of pixelization problems on KWWL during Las Vegas and Conviction? It was really bad and pretty much un-watchable. I'm watching through Mediacom.
-Rod

Yes. Me Too.... Seems like when the weather is down, so is the quality of KWWL on MC. OTA seemed much better, but unfortunately had a phone call that forced me to have to timeshift using the MC feed.

You out there Dick? This is getting old.

Somewhat off topic, some good news I noticed: I walked through Wal-Mart on Blairs Ferry today. Saw a few analog TVs on the shelves, but not many; SD sets available in the $200-300 range; an HD tube set with tuner for around $450; several widescreen LCD sets for three figures ... and perhaps best of all, the "monitor" sets which require an add-on tuner are disappearing from the shelves.

Again, I'm not endorsing the store, but I'm mentioning this because if it's on the shelves of Wally World, it goes a long way toward being mainstream.

Now if only the bars would feed their newfangled sets an HD signal rather than putting a stretched analog cable feed on them ...

The TH-42PX60U it great, I love it and I consider myself fairly critical. But it's my first HDTV, so it's not like I'm an expert on the differences from one brand over another.

My biggest surprises so far:

1) That local HDTV signals have all of the issues mentioned in this thread. There have been several times when I have had to switch back to the analog channel because of audio dropouts or picture problems. These are the kind of early adopter problems I would have expected the first six months of DTV, not years into it. In spite of that, HDTV is really, really nice most of the time. Don't know who to blame, the local TV station or Mediacom.

2) I'm surprised how well the Panasonic stretches SD channels over the 16:9 screen. I really thought it would drive my crazy but the "Just" mode isn't that bad. On the 42" screen, a good quality signal from an SD cable channel isn't painful at all.

3) The most pleasant surprise was how great widescreen DVDs look on the Panasonic. It's really like seeing them for the first time. From my seating distance (10-12') standard DVDs look great and are plenty good enough for me. At this point I have no interest whatsoever in high-def DVDs. It's interesting how much better some DVDs look than others. If Hollywood can't even get decent prints or take the time to do the transfers well on standard DVDs I don't hold out much hope for HD-DVD formats being that great anyway.

So far no regrets. I signed up for Netflix to exercise the new Panny and was pleasantly surprised that Netflix has a distribution center in Cedar Rapids as the movies arrive overnight.

Sorry to hear you folks are still having problems with the Mediacom feed. Do me a favor and send me your addresses so that I can give some specific info to Mediacom.

Email me at "dickw4rno@gmail.com " (the Raycom email is down).

Thanks,

Dick