St. Louis, MO - HDTV - Page 420

Is the forum not accessible from Arizona without an APP? I've never found an "APP" to contribute anything to a website. All they seem to do is scale down the site to a useless mess. I use Android & IOS and do find the Android to be less restricting. I've found both useless and always opt or the desktop version.

+1

I wish my iPhone had an option, "prevent forums from nagging me to install their crappy apps." I really don't need these things littering up my phone, one for each forum I visit.

The forum is "accessible," but cramming the page in a web browser into a tiny cell phone window is not a pleasant experience. Granted I'd rather do this on a desktop or laptop, but I don't have either of those handy at the moment.

Try the Dolphin browser and set it to desktop mode.

Thanks, but I'm fine using Safari on my iPhone. I don't browse on my phone often enough to worry about installing alternate browser apps. I'd rather save the space for more music.

Is your record indicator still working?

Yes, it seems fine, at least on the HR20 I'm looking at now.

Dish has had this 'autoshutdown' feature for quite some time. It doesn't mess with your timers or really turn the unit off. The primary reason for it is to put the unit into a mode where it can accept software upgrades. It apparently can't while programming is being displayed. Dish has a menu item that allows you to change this from 2 to 4 to 8 hours.

Just a heads up to anyone who has one of the listed sets. According to the this article: Persistent Failures Strike Numerous Samsung TV Buyers.
Finally Samsung has agreed to offer its users some financial relief. Users who paid out-of-pocket repairs costs on certain sets prone to capacitor failures can now seek to get up to $300 USD in compensation. Even users who did not pay for repairs may be eligible to a smaller settlement.

The settlement covers various plasma, LCD and DLP models.

EDIT: Here's a link to Samsung's settlement page.

I recently installed a yagi type antenna rated at 45mile range (antennas are at 30 mile range from my house). I installed it in my attic and ran straight to my TV. I am having tiling issues though. It seems like the tiling is worse in the wind or rain even though my antenna is in the attic.

At one location I got 2,4,5,11,24,30 but the tiling was pretty bad, so I moved it and now the tiling is better (though not gone) but I lost 24. I have never had 9 (and would like it).

What is my problem? Do I need an amp to eliminate tiling and to get 9?

First, those mileage estimates are just that --- ESTIMATES. You may simply need a better antenna. It makes a difference if you're located up high on a hill or down low in a valley. Before you exchange the antenna for a better model, try the following:
1- Make sure it's pointed towards South County - go to antennaweb.org for exact transmitter locations
2- purchase one of those amplifiers that attach at the antenna and are powered by a splitter down by the TV.

I'm not sure what you mean by "tiling". All digital video consists of tiny (square) pixels, and this is normal when compared to old analog television. If the tiles get very large at times or during fast motion, that could be a weak signal. If the signal is really too weak, you'll also see picture freezing and possibly complete loss of the picture.

What I mean is I will get blocks about a half inch by half inch go to a solid color randomly in the picture (and there can be multiple across the entire picture), as if all those pixels were covered up by a tile. I am not on a hill, and I do have the antenna pointed in the correct direction. I think my first course of action will be to get an amp and try it, can someone suggest one?

If you post an exact address TVFool report link (your address is obscured for privacy), we can evaluate your reception.

Loss of reception during bad weather is often caused by trees.

I'd suggest holding off on an amp until more data is provided. There's a lot of stuff that might be going on and an amp may or may not be useful.

FWIW, I live in a valley about 20 minutes south-west of Six Flags and am surrounded by trees. In order to get KETC and KPLR especially, I had to go with a modified (11') 91XG at 45' AGL with a pre-amp to get a station only 19 miles away with a TVFool-predicted NM of more than 20 dB! Sometimes, we have to go to great lengths to work around the limitations of our environment.

Here is my TVFool report: http://www.tvfool.com/?option=com_wr...0b8688740e0686

It shows that I should be able to get the stations I want with an indoor antenna. The antenna I have says it has around 10dB something, though I can't remember what. I am quite the novice at this and the random sound loss and picture holes is really frustrating. The picture I do get is very nice quality though.

Maybe I need to try some more locations in my attic. I have it pointed towards St. Louis, but perhaps I am a couple degrees off or something. I will get a compass and make sure. But any more thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

I have a friend that is having audio issues on American Idol using U-Verse. He has a new Onkyo receiver that just had the HDMI & processing boards replaced (due to this issue) and he has it connected via HDMI and is watching the HD channel (1000 and above on U-Verse). He says that when any show is broadcast in dolby digital that the sound is fine, but when the receiver gets a DPLII flag and switches over the sound cuts out so bad that the show is unwatchable. He said when someone is talking it's fine, but as soon as the music starts, the sound starts to cut out.

Anyone have any ideas?

BTW, as of today, Dish has the Hopper/Joey receiver available for current and new subs. I just ordered mine. Typical cost for current sub is $100 per hopper and one free Joey. New subs can get a Hopper and 3 Joeys for Free with the AT200 programming package. The Hopper will cost a $6 DVR Fee, $4 Whole Home DVR Fee and each additional Joey or Hopper will cost $7/month. (These fees are for new and current subs.) You cannot keep your existing equipment with a Hopper/Joey setup.

What's up with 16.1 (RTN)? It's been stuck on a static picture for over 2 days now... isn't anyone in the control room monitoring what's going on with their signal?!

If anyone is interested or has a similar problem in the future, the U-Verse box was replaced over the weekend and that solved the problem.

Hoppers and Joey installed over the weekend. The new UI is cool and very fast.

This is one very cool device. If they'd only let me use my old Dish 211 with this system, I'd have one in a heartbeat. Looking forward to hearing more about it in the coming weeks.

Is it better?

- Trip

Yep. Nice moving pictures now.

Only took them 3 days to cycle the power switch on their MPEG receiver!

We (RTV) gave them a call this morning.

- Trip

So I was out on a job for the past 2 weeks and had no time to mess with my antenna. I got back in the office today and am able to give you an update.

I borrowed a small inline amplifier from a friend and hooked it up plus I also routed my coax around my surge protector. It had been previously going through it. After a channel scan I got some new channels (9.1-9.4) but their signal is not 100%. While the picture problems are fewer I do still get occasional loss of sound and/or the picture freezing or breaking up in places.

To answer some of the questions ferl asked:
The line is 2 pieces of CAT5 Charter left me hooked together by a coupler. The total length is 25 to 30 feet.
I do a channel search after any adjustment.
I am not sure what you mean by adjusting the vertical axis. Can I move the entire antenna up or down along a pole? No, my attic is very tiny (the antenna is mere inches from the roof). Can I tilt the antenna's nose up or down? Yes.
I do not have aluminum siding.
More information, there are large trees in my neighborhood and the signal has to shoot through them. This might be why on windy days or storms the picture problems happen much more frequently.
I have not used a good compass to orient the antenna but done a general direction towards the towers based on the satellite image and direction lines.

Gee..... This place has died. When there's nothing to post, there's nothing to post. Sadly, I have nothing to say other than I have nothing to say.

Yes, that appears to have been the intent of the original answer. Tip the nose (end closest to the transmitter) up 10 degrees or so.

FWIW, I am using this antenna in my second-floor office in the Central West End. The signal has to pass through several "stately trees" of the CWE and then through a wall built in 1902 of three courses of brick. KETC, 13 miles away, is plenty strong, rated by my OnAirGT receiver as having a signal-to-noise ratio of 29dB. KNLC, 25 miles away, shows 20dB S/N and is 100% viewable with no artifacts.

I'm new to OTA after years with DirecTV only. I installed this antenna in my attic today. I have great reception on all the locals with the exception of 5 and 30. It's not even a weak signal - it's no signal.

Is there something in this equation I am missing?

If it helps - I live in Arnold and have this facing north.

Antenna booster(s).

I live in Washington (50 miles west of St Louis) with an old but large antenna in my brick surrounded attic and am getting GREAT reception of all channels.

I use a Radio Shack booster that has one part at the antenna, then a second part (the booster) plugged into AC before the splitter to the rest of the house in the basement. That worked ok before the change to HDTV .

I now run that booster into ANOTHER booster before it splits off to operate 4 TVs and 2 Magnavox DVR/DVD units.

HTH

Try a different mounting location, preferably outside the attic. You have the antenna in a dead spot for those two stations.

The outside unit is the amplifier, the inside is the power supply (except certain RS units have amps in both modules, it depends on what model you have).

It is rarely necessary (and usually detrimental) to chain amplifiers in a system.

Sadly, with no second booster, absolutely NO picture. I guess it's possible the RS booster may have lost some of it's ability, it is 20 years old or older. However, the need for the 2nd booster wasn't required until my conversion to digital.

Detrimental for quality of signal (too many db?) or to the TV's?

I don't doubt that it's not recommended, but it's been working for almost 4 years.......

Those transmitters are only about ten miles from you so either the attic is a problem or you live in a deep valley. Depending on where you live in Arnold the towers are about 14 degrees east of north.