[BillBibeau]

Happy Sunday everyone! It is December 1st. and I'm sure many will be watching football. We all will most likely be busy this month with the upcoming Holidays!

 

[robrien]

Hey! How come we are not getting the "FOX Widescreen" broadcast of the Rams/Eagles game? This is the Fox "A" game.


OB


p.s.


What happened with WTKR and the LSU/ARK game on Friday it was HD? But not in Tidewater!

 

[robrien]

Thanks! Just checked and the switch was flipped. Eight minutes left in the 2nd.


OB

 

[Theo1080]

WTKR-DT LSU/Ark.


I was out of town during the holidays. On Monday I will check and see what happen to Friday's game.

 

[Les Garrenton]

Quote:

Originally posted by robrien Hey! How come we are not getting the "FOX Widescreen" broadcast of the Rams/Eagles game? This is the Fox "A" game. Thanks! Just checked and the switch was flipped. Eight minutes left in the 2nd.

OB,


I apologize for our delay in getting the widescreen feed on today. It will be tomorrow before I can find out exactly what happened, but I suspect that there was a misunderstanding at the studio as a result of the first game not being a widescreen broadcast.

 

[tojohnso]

Hello everyone, new to HDTV reception tonight (have had a monitor since Feb. '02). Just bought the Samsung SIR-TS160.


I watched "Alias" and "The Practice" tonight on ch13-1. Must say that I was impressed with the picture and sound (5.1...sweeet for over the air). However, I noticed that the volume of the commercials was extremely loud. When the news came on at 11pm, the sound was louder than the commercials. Good thing I have a good amp and speakers. Is it always like that on WVEC HD, or is that something that needs to be fixed?


I was watching the game on FOX earlier and noticed that toward the end, the picture seemed to go from 16X9 to 4X3. I say that because the picture went from filling my screen (16x9 monitor) to black bars on left/right. Was that a local issue or national?


One more thing....I don't recall the exact post, or who was involved in the conversation in a previous thread, but a question was asked about having either black bars or grey bars display on the left and right side of a 16X9 display when the signal was 4X3. My vote is for the grey bars since I believe it's better for a rear-projection screen (help prevent burn-in?).


Thanks!

TomJ

 

[Earl Dunham]

Tom, I think I was part of the discussion of black and gray bars. I had the same concern as you about burn in. I think the bottom line was that a 16:9 format with a 4:3 image being sent does not have black bars generated but has no excitation of the phosphors in the black area. So my thought was that the 4:3 region of the screen is aging while the black areas are not so a long time of watching a 16:9 format of a 4:3 image would produce a brighter region on the edge of a 16:9 image when it was viewed. One of the station engineers indicated that from his experience of watching lots of letterbox format stuff on the station monitors that this aging of the 4:3 area would not be a problem. I think it was also not possible to generate gray bars for a 4:3 image in 16:9 format with their current equipment. So in may case, I decided to be happy with any form of DT they send me. I can expand or fill a 4:3 DT signal and for a 16:9 signal in 4:3 image format I can chose weather to watch it or the analog channel. For a analog signal my TV fills the side with gray bars but it can't do that for a 16:9 format with a 4:3 image.

Earl

 

[Theo1080]

WTKR-DT


The LSU/Ark game was not shown in HD because of a traffic department error. They did not indicate that the game was in HD, therefore the automation did not switch to it. The NYT DOC operator did not pick up on it either. Sorry for the problem.

 

[pdennant]

When starting a new month's thread, please include the links to the previous threads as this is a resource for new DTV viewers. I believe we'll be seeing a lot of them in the coming weeks!


Click here for the February 2002 thread,

Click here for the March 2002 thread,

Click here for the April 2002 thread and

Click here for the May 2002 thread.

Click here for the June thread.

Click here for the July thread.

Click here for the August thread.

Click here for the September thread.

Click here for the October thread.

Click here for the November thread.

Quote:

I watched "Alias" and "The Practice" tonight on ch13-1. Must say that I was impressed with the picture and sound (5.1...sweeet for over the air). However, I noticed that the volume of the commercials was extremely loud. When the news came on at 11pm, the sound was louder than the commercials. Good thing I have a good amp and speakers. Is it always like that on WVEC HD, or is that something that needs to be fixed?

Tom:


This is this first "complaint" we have had on our WVEC-DT audio levels. I'm sure it has to do with the fact that the HD feeds from the network come to us via a seperate path and the commercials and newscasts are upconverted from our analog operation. We'll look into the situation this week.


Glad to have you on board.

 

[VARTV]

Quote:

Originally posted by pdennant When starting a new month's thread, please include the links to the previous threads as this is a resource for new DTV viewers...

Bill,

That one's for you

 

[robrien]

Quote:

Originally posted by tojohnso Hello everyone, new to HDTV reception tonight (have had a monitor since Feb. '02). Just bought the Samsung SIR-TS160. I was watching the game on FOX earlier and noticed that toward the end, the picture seemed to go from 16X9 to 4X3. I say that because the picture went from filling my screen (16x9 monitor) to black bars on left/right. Was that a local issue or national? One more thing....I don't recall the exact post, or who was involved in the conversation in a previous thread, but a question was asked about having either black bars or grey bars display on the left and right side of a 16X9 display when the signal was 4X3. My vote is for the grey bars since I believe it's better for a rear-projection screen (help prevent burn-in?). Thanks! TomJ

Tom:


Welcome! As far as the Fox question goes here is the answer: It was national. At the end of the Rams/Eagles game they changed to the San Francisco game. It was not being carried in "Widescreen". Not all of the games are presented in widescreen.


About "Burn In" Earl gave you an excellent response. However, his TV is an RCA FD38 (tube) not an RPTV. I have an RPTV and this has not been an issue with me. My HDTV is not for my primary viewing as I only use it for HD and DVD's. My TV (Toshiba 56h80) has been in use now for two years this month. I have watched a couple of hundred DVD's with black bars above and below the picture with no visible harm being done. What you need to do is keep your "Contrast and Brightness" set below 50. If this is possible on the Samsung. If you do not have an "AVIA" disk, get one and use it to calibrate your tv. Then this will not be an issue for you. Enjoy you new TV.


Good Luck!


OB

 

[jheimerl]

Here's the latest PBS SD/HD programming update from Beth:


Upcoming PBS Digital Presentations: High Definition,

Widescreen Standard Definition and Digitally Enhanced


Please Note: The list below should only be used as a reference guide, as it indicates the original feed date and time for upcoming PBS HD and Widescreen SD programs. All

programs listed below are stereo, unless otherwise noted.


December 2002


A CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING

WQPT

1/60

December 1, 2002, at 1:00 PM (PBS PLUS)

HD


IDAHO EDENS

Idaho Public Television

1/60

December 1, 2002, at 2:00 PM (PBS PLUS)

Widescreen SD


SECRETS OF THE DEAD "Search for the First Human" (R)

Thirteen/WNET

1/60

December 10, 2002, at 9:00 PM

Widescreen SD


KILIMANJARO: A "NAKED PLANET" SPECIAL (R)

Wall to Wall Television

1/60

December 10, 2002, at 10:00 PM

Widescreen SD


JESSYE NORMAN -- A HOLIDAY HOMECOMING (R)

GPTV

1/90

December 12, 2002, at 10:00 PM

HD


KARTCHNER CAVERNS: ALIVE WITH WONDER (R)

KUAT

1/30

December 16, 2002, at 10:30 PM

HD


THE MAIN STREAM

Thirteen/WNET

1/120

December 17, 2002, at 9:00 PM

HD


MUHAMMAD: LEGACY OF A PROPHET

Kikim Media

1/120

December 18, 2002, at 9:00 PM

Widescreen SD


NATURE "Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies" (R)

Thirteen/WNET

1/60

December 22, 2002, at 8:00 PM

Widescreen SD


GREAT PERFORMANCES

"'The Merry Widow' from the San Francisco Opera"

Thirteen/WNET and KQED

1/150

December 25, 2002, at 9:00 PM

HD


NATURE "Song of the Earth with David Attenborough" (R)

Thirteen/WNET

1/60

December 29, 2002, at 8:00 PM

Widescreen SD


January 2003


STAGE ON SCREEN: WAITING FOR GODOT

Thirteen/WNET

1/120

January 1, 2003, at 9:30 PM

Widescreen SD


NATURE "Under Antarctic Ice"

Thirteen/WNET

1/60

January 12, 2003, at 8:00 PM

HD


RIVER OF IRON: DREAMS OF A GRAND CANYON RAILROAD (R)

KUAT

1/30

January 14, 2003, at 10:30 PM

HD


SECRETS OF THE DEAD "Tragedy at the Pole"

Thirteen/WNET

1/60

January 15, 2003, at 8:00 PM

Widescreen SD


NATURE "The Octopus Show" (R)

Thirteen/WNET

1/60

January 19, 2003, at 8:00 PM

Widescreen SD


NATURE "Dogs: The Early Years" (R)

Thirteen/WNET

1/60

January 26, 2003, at 8:00 PM

Widescreen SD


OVER ALASKA (R)

KCTS

1/60

January 28, 2003, at 10:00 PM

HD


AMERICAN MASTERS "Juilliard"

Thirteen/WNET

1/120

January 29, 2003, at 9:00 PM

Widescreen SD


February 2003


THE REPTILES

Thirteen/WNET

4/60

Sundays at 8:00 PM, February 2-23, 2003

Widescreen SD


NOVA "Mountain of Ice"

WGBH

1/60

February 11, 2003, at 8:00 PM

HD


SECRETS OF THE DEAD "Bombing Nazi Dams"

Thirteen/WNET

1/60

February 12, 2003, at 8:00 PM

Widescreen SD


THE SHAKESPEARE SESSIONS

Storyville Films

1/60

February 13, 2003, at 10:00 PM

Widescreen SD


March 2003


EXXONMOBIL MASTERPIECE THEATRE'S AMERICAN COLLECTION

"The Ponder Heart" (R)

WGBH

1/120

March 23, 2003, at 9:00 PM

Widescreen SD


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

Beth Marshall

Sr. Program Associate

PBS Programming

703-739-5402
[email protected]

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

 

[jheimerl]

QUOTE

" Yesterday 11:01 AM


robertawillisjr

Perpetual Student


Registered: Feb 2002

Location: Hampton, VA

Posts: 159


I guess people have been enjoying the holiday. It hasn't been a very good week end for HDTV so far. A number of programs listed as HD showed as SD until later in the program. One last night had sound problems at first (Robbery, Homicide...). Just seemed that a few gremlins crept in as we were enjoying the festivities. I suspect that personnel were on standby or some such.


PBS was its usual superb self - with actual programming even . I had a number of people in and out the past few days and they were bowled over by the picture quality. I even had to watch most of the UGA - Ga. Tech blowout because I wasn't allowed to touch the dial."



Robert - Thanks for the compliment!


Now if we could just get someone to shoot another game in HD!


JH

 

[lewarkmd]

Anybody else have trouble receiving ABC HD last night?

 

[garydean]

lewarkmd,


I watched NYPD Blue... seemed OK to me... although it was a repeat.

 

[sdf777]

Watched "Jim" and it was o.k.

 

[kwdavis]

ABC, NBC, and PBS all looked and sounded ok to me. Tuesday is a great night for HDTV around here. FOX widescreen and UPN SD also looked good. Still no WB.


CBS had a couple of times where there were some very large pixelation blocks for a second or so. I never lost lock on the signal or sound. I assume it was just a "burp" during the transmission.


Keith

 

[tojohnso]

Earl,


Thanks for the input on the bars. OB was right in that RPTV sets are different in relation to burn in than CRTs. My understanding is that they are more sensative to burn in. I too am happy, though, getting any kind of Digital signal. I'm really amazed at how good the picture looks in HDTV. My friends are too. When I switch between Cox cable (until DirectTV is installed) and an HDTV signal, it's hard to believe the difference.


Peter,

Thanks for looking in to the volume of the commercials. I'm used to them being louder than the shows and understand why that is, but it seemed that it was set a little too high. I'll let you know when I notice the difference.


OB,

Thanks about letting me know about the game. Appreciate the input and tip on getting the AVIA disk. I bought it after my speakers were upgraded and discovered how rich it was for adjusting the TV. The Samsung I have does allow for some key adjustments so keeping the contrast and brightness below 50 isn't a problem. In fact, it has three automatic settings, "mild" being one of them. So until I finalize my settings based on AVIA, I'll keep using it. It seems to be taking a while for me to get through everything.

 

[VARTV]

The COX system in Fairfax offers a HDTV converter box to rent(!) for $9.99/mo to receive HDTV signals from its cable. This strays from other COX systems (Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Diego etc and eventually Hampton Roads) where COX will require you to purchase a convertor box ($499) to receive HD signals from them.


The link for the HDTV pricing in Fairfax...

http://www.cox.com/fairfax/DigitalTV/hdtvrates.asp

 

[raycer]

If what I'm reading in some other threads is accurate, then certain integrated HDTV tuners which can decode QAM hd signals may not require a box from Cox for the locals (if that is the encoding Cox is using), although for the premium hd channels, the Cox box would be required.