View Full Version : HD Locals: Harrisburg, PA
Doug Brott
08-27-08, 12:07 AM
Please post broadcast issues with DIRECTV satellite delivered HD Local Channels only
DMA: Harrisburg, PA
Established: 3/28/2007
Rank: 41
HD Locals available in this DMA
ABC - WHTM (27)
CBS - WHP (21)
NBC - WGAL (8)
FOX - WPMT (43)
PBS - WITF (33)
For instructions, please visit this thread (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=137643)
Harrisburg/Lancaster, PA HD LILs - video issues lately -
Channels affected -
WHP 21
WHTM 27
WGAL 8
WPMT 43
I've been noticing much more artifacting and green blocky screens lately while watching our HD locals from D* lately. The past 2 few weeks, the condition has been much more frequent than normal and almost unwatchable at times. If need be, I can post screen shots to show the blocky green screens.
When I switch over to OTA, the signals are crystal clear. I go back to D* LIL, and the video still has problems. At one point last evening during the 6pm news on WGAL, it was unwatchable for 4 minutes with green and grey pixelation. The audio continues as normal. Saturday Night Live last week @ 11:30pm (WGAL) was unwatchable for the entire last half hour.
It doesn't seem to be related to anything related to my setup. No trees in the way, no rain/snow. Not quick enough to switch over and get a signal strength reading on 103s transponder 15. Possibly a tweak needed at the DT signal collection site (located at WHP-TV) for this area?
Others in this area running the HR2x (based upon feedback from our local "HarrisburgHDTV" Yahoo email group) are also having this problem. To date, I've received reports from quite a few other D* customers around here with the exact same problems on the various HD LILs provided by D*.
LowandSlow
11-21-08, 05:32 PM
Count me in as another local user with problems. I have an HR20, no obstructions by my dish, only channel I am having problems with is WGAL. Watching Biggest Loser on Tuesday, had the same problem n3ntj is reporting -- audio fine, but green screen with extreme pixelization.
drkashner
11-25-08, 08:06 AM
I'm having the same problems. I have the HR20-700. No obstructions for my dish. The only channel I'm having problems with is WGAL. I can switch to OTA and it is perfect. Many problems with the local news at 6:00 pm on 11/24.
chewwy420
11-25-08, 08:15 AM
I'm having the same problems. I have the HR20-700. No obstructions for my dish. The only channel I'm having problems with is WGAL. I can switch to OTA and it is perfect. Many problems with the local news at 6:00 pm on 11/24.
Seeing same thing!
bgregg77
11-29-08, 04:46 PM
I have been having this problem with DTV for about a year. My local HD's constantly drop out and get so pixelated that I can't watch. I have had DTV at my house 4 times and 3 new receivers with no results. My dish is not obstructed and I'm ready to drop DTV, they just can't figure out the problem and fix it. One DTV tech actually told me that it was some software problem on DTVs end and that he couldn't fix it. Any input on why this happens or anyone who learns how to resolve it would be most appreciated. I like the DTV programming but I can't keep having my HD locals drop out at key moments (like now during the FLA St. FLA game) or last year during NHL playoffs...
Thanks
I have been having this problem with DTV for about a year. My local HD's constantly drop out and get so pixelated that I can't watch. I have had DTV at my house 4 times and 3 new receivers with no results. My dish is not obstructed and I'm ready to drop DTV, they just can't figure out the problem and fix it. One DTV tech actually told me that it was some software problem on DTVs end and that he couldn't fix it. Any input on why this happens or anyone who learns how to resolve it would be most appreciated. I like the DTV programming but I can't keep having my HD locals drop out at key moments (like now during the FLA St. FLA game) or last year during NHL playoffs...
Thanks
You problem is not related to the recent issues with HD locals. Create new thread asking for help in the DIRECTV forum.
I'm still having issues on WGAL. Watching Sunday Night Football is freezing.
I also noticed WGAL having some big issues last night during the football game. I also saw similar issues this morning on WHTM and WGAL. We now have many reports of recent issues with our D* provided HD Locals and we all seem to be reporting similar problems. I hope D* is working on what is going on and finding a possible fix for us. Paying for D* HD locals and then having to watch them OTA is not what I am paying for.
Please keep reporting issues you guys are having. The more reports we submit, the more D* may believe our issues are real and not something to simply be fixed with a reboot.
Out of no where I seem to have lost signal for Whp 21 digital on my over the air antenna. All the other locals on OTA are fine but not WHP. I get it on satellite but not on OTA. Makes me wonder if they dropped signal strength.
I live in Perry County and typically get good signal till just yesterday. Anybody else notice a problem?
No idea as I can't get WHP-DT OTA where I am located (near Hershey). I don't think WHP-DT's output power could have gone down any lower than it was...hi hi.
Incidentally, and don't take this the wrong way, but this thread is only for DirecTV provided HD Local Channels, not OTA channels. Hopefully the reports in this thread will somehow make it to D*'s eyes so they can fix the problem that many of us around here have been having lately with our D* provided HD Locals.
Actually, to me it is a Directv issue too. That is how I first noticed no signal. I use my Directv HR 20 to record locals and that is where 21.1 was first lost. I had begun recording on 21.1 because of pixelation issues that were occuring on the 21 Directv channel.
Anyway, it is something Directv needs to be aware too. Thanks.
Doug Brott
12-09-08, 02:00 PM
Actually, to me it is a Directv issue too. That is how I first noticed no signal. I use my Directv HR 20 to record locals and that is where 21.1 was first lost. I had begun recording on 21.1 because of pixelation issues that were occuring on the 21 Directv channel.
Anyway, it is something Directv needs to be aware too. Thanks.
As instructed in the first line of this thread:
Please post broadcast issues with DIRECTV satellite delivered HD Local Channels only
This thread is for reporting issues of DIRECTV satellite delivered HD local channels only.
We are still getting pixelated screens on our HD local channels as of last evening's newscasts. Sometimes the PQ is very good and other times, the local channels are unwatchable. I watch WGAL the most of any of our HD locals, so I don't know if the issue is as bad on the others (WHP, WHTM, WPMT) as WGAL.
Still getting pixelating screens at times on our HD local channels. Still unwatchable at times. My signal level on 103(s) transponder 15 is about 91. I believe that is where our HD locals come from. I don't have these problems on the national HD channels, just local channels. I hope D* is listening..
John R. Metzger
12-18-08, 09:05 PM
WHTM-27 is very bad tonight. It has all kinds of colors floating around in the picture. It is NOT pixelating and looks like either a station problem or a problem between the station and the point of reception by DirecTV.
The 11pm news on WGAL was unwatchable for 23 minutes. I recorded it to watch at 11:45pm, and only got through the 1st few minutes and then it was similar to how you describe WHTM. The fact that the similar problem was on more than one local channel would make me think of an issue either with how D* receives the local HD channels OTA or something else down the line.
D*, are you listening? These problems have been going on for over a month.
John R. Metzger
12-19-08, 10:25 PM
I actually think the problem with WHTM may have been WHTM's. This morning I saw WHTM on Lewistown Comcast. Although it was not an HD channel they had a picture that had "frozen" at some point prior to me seeing it and was still frozen at the time I saw it. I suspect they were usiing the HD version to feed their SD channel and completely lost signal.
The newscast was mostly unwatchable again last night on WGAL. I took some photos of the screen just to prove to D* our problems and have attached them for you all and hopefully D* to see. Why are we paying for our HD local channels if they look like this? I don't watch TV on local channels during the day, but often parts or the entire newscast looks like the attached photos on most days. Sometimes, it is only 3 or 4 minutes and sometimes it is 25 minutes. These problems started a little more than a month ago and are almost a daily occurance. My signal level on 103(s) transponder 15 is still approx. 90~93. I flipped around to some other non-local HD channels and all of those looked OK while our locals were all messed up.
Are these screen shots similar to what you others are seeing in the Harrisburg/Lancaster DMA regarding our local HD channels as provided by D*? The newscast is not HD but only 4:3 and you can see this garbage all over the screen (as shown in the photos).
D*, please fix this problem ASAP.
I contacted WGAL and emailed the screen shots and this is the response I got:
"DirecTV and Dish Net take our picture off the air and I can tell you that our off-air picture does not display the issues that you have describe.
Dish Net has been a problem for some time. DirecTV picks our HD signal up at WHP in Harrisburg (not a good location for our signal). We have offered to deliver the signal to them by fiber (as we do with our analog signal because they could not receive it well at that location) but so far they have not accepted.
DishNet picks us up in York from a site where you can clearly see our tower (it is less than five mile away from the tower). We have discussed these issues many times with them and it never get fixed.
We accept responsibility for the audio issue for the last few days but not the pixelation."
Looks like the ball is now in D*s court to investigate the problem and fix it.
Can anyone at D* please confirm that this problem is going to be fixed anytime soon?
cheerioboy26
12-26-08, 01:22 PM
I have seen the same problem as well. I also have an OTA antenna - it is pointed at Philly but I usually receive 8-1 pretty well although I don't use it for NBC season passes. I will have to check the news using 8-1 and see how it looks.
I got a call from D* that they forwarded the info I submitted to their engineering/broadcast dept. I told D* what the guy at WGAL told me about WGAL's offer to supply D* with the WGAL feed via fiber instead of OTA. The D* guy had no knowledge of this. Hopefully, it gets fixed soon.
Update - Parts of WGAL's digital programming through D* last night was unwatchable at times.
Beefcake
01-03-09, 09:47 PM
Finally, others have discovered WGAL's HD feed sucks! This has been going on for over a month now and is indeed "unwatchable" sometimes. I have asked many others in my local area if they were experiencing any issues w/ WGAL and the story is always the same. The HD feed is horrible at times, but the SD has no hiccups. I have been informing frustrated friends that it isn't their system; it's channel 8. Now that playoff football is on NBC many more will notice and this will most likely generate svc calls that cannot be fixed, which leads to unhappy customers. Thanks for letting me vent DBS talkers!
Finally, others have discovered WGAL's HD feed sucks! This has been going on for over a month now and is indeed "unwatchable" sometimes. I have asked many others in my local area if they were experiencing any issues w/ WGAL and the story is always the same. The HD feed is horrible at times, but the SD has no hiccups. I have been informing frustrated friends that it isn't their system; it's channel 8. Now that playoff football is on NBC many more will notice and this will most likely generate svc calls that cannot be fixed, which leads to unhappy customers. Thanks for letting me vent DBS talkers!
I STRONGLY recommend contacting WGAL and D*. I've been in contact with both since mid-November to no avail. The SD feed is via fiber, so that is why it looks ok. The HD feed is OTA. WGAL offered a fiber feed of WGAL-DT that D* declined, according to WGAL.
D* keeps telling me that I am the only person complaining about WGAL. Until more people complain, they probably won't do anything. Look to the date of my original post above. All of the local HD channels from D* have had some minor problems from time to time, but WGAL has been very bad A LOT of the time and is unwatched very often. Please call and email D*.
Email Bob Good at WGAL to complain - rgood@hearst.com
Several of us have been reporting these issues on the Harrisburg HDTV Yahoo forum as well.
I am having the same severe pixilation issues with WGAL and have been for the last several months.
I just finished sending an email to Bob Good of WGAL and will call D* as well.
Beefcake
01-04-09, 05:40 PM
I STRONGLY recommend contacting WGAL and D*. I've been in contact with both since mid-November to no avail. The SD feed is via fiber, so that is why it looks ok. The HD 0feed is OTA. WGAL offered a fiber feed of WGAL-DT that D* declined, according to WGAL.
D* keeps telling me that I am the only person complaining about WGAL. Until more people complain, they probably won't do anything. Look to the date of my original post above. All of the local HD channels from D* have had some minor problems from time to time, but WGAL has been very bad A LOT of the time and is unwatched very often. Please call and email D*.
Email Bob Good at WGAL to complain - rgood@hearst.com
Several of us have been reporting these issues on the Harrisburg HDTV Yahoo forum as well.
I know how you feel. I started a thread on Nov. 10 or 11 about 103 spotbeams (thinking it was possibly my system). After realizing that it was a problem that I couldn't fix, I began to survey the locals in my area. Should I contact D* or WGAL? It sounds like WGAL has offered to remedy the problem and now the pressure should be put on D*.
wrxg33k
01-04-09, 09:20 PM
I have been having audio issues with WGAL/NBC for some time now. Every 2 - 3 minutes there is a slight audio glitch - less than 1 second. It was quite noticeable tonight during superstars of dance. It does it when the audio is set to my surround sound and the tv alone. It also does it when I force the receiver to a set audio type of pro logic and when I let the receiver auto detect the audio signal type. I will email WGAL.
Yes, please keep the pressure on D* and WGAL about these repeated issues. Call and email both daily, if you have to. It appears no one is doing anything about the problem yet, from what D* tells me whenever I call or email to complain. Each time I call, D* tells me no one else has complained about their WGAL-DT feed, but they see I have called in several times from their records.
WGAL reported a few weeks ago that they know of some audio problems and it is related to their digital signal's transmission, but is no way related to the pixelating issues we're all been saying. I emailed Bob Good at WGAL my screen shots that I DVR'd of the intense pixelation and he responded as such. Personally, I haven't really noticed any audio issues with WGAL. All of my problems have been video in nature..sometimes it's minor and other times it is major and lasts 30~60 minutes.
Last night, I was watching the Saturday Night Live Sports show that I recorded on WGAL @ 7pm Sunday. The last half hour was totally unwatchable. Whenever I do switch over to OTA when the D* feed is bad, the WGAL-DT OTA signal is fine; the D* delivered WGAL-DT is the one with the problems.
Let's keep up the pressure on WGAL and D*. I know WGAL has little control over the issue, but since they are directly affected, they may have more pull with D* than any residential customer. Feel free to post your correspondences with WGAL or D* here, unless thread rules forbid this.
wrxg33k
01-09-09, 02:52 PM
I have not heard back from WGAL yet...
Did you also contact D* (email and/or phone)?
Beefcake
01-11-09, 07:13 PM
Just a follow up. I called D* and made them aware of the issue. After explaining everything I know, they said that they would send my complaint up the food chain to someone who can look more into it.
I also have made contact with the local Harrisburg office and they assured me that D* is aware of the problem and is working on it. I honestly don't know if I believe them or not, but here's to hoping the problem gets fixed.
Thanks for contacting them. Hopefully this will get fixed soon.
Has anyone noticed that the other HD LILs in our area also have been having some issues lately? I noticed WHTM-DT (27) and WHP-DT (21) have had some break-ups lately, but still nothing as bad as WGAL-DT (8) is almost on a nightly basis. I hope D* works out these problems soon.
Beefcake
01-23-09, 03:57 PM
I have seen it on ABC 27, but it not even remotely as bad as WGAL. Maybe after it happening during the Super Bowl everyone in central PA will start to complain! I wish NBC wasn't carrying the game this year just because of this stupid issue.
I recently received this email from Bob Good at WGAL:
"You are right, our over the air feed does not have the severe problems that exist on DirecTV. The fact is that we have very little impact on making DirecTV do anything. We have tried and tried but nothing ever seems to change. We continue to work on this matter but it has proven to be very frustrating. We have spent money to have experts come in and evaluate our signal to see if there is anything specific to our signal that would cause this problem at DirecTV. I do know that we are using some of the most expensive encoding equipment available and it does do some things slightly differently than other encoders (the process is to provide the highest picture quality). The experts feel that our signal is fine but we having them take another look at it on Monday.
As far as fiber goes, some at DirecTV agree with us and they seem to think the conversion of the present fiber feed (between WGAL and DirecTV for the analog programming) to HD would be a great idea but others at DirecTV (who can make things happen) do not respond. I think they want to remove the circuit so they can save money."
The next logical step for WGAL and D* would be to convert the current analog feed via fiber to their WGAL-DT feed in mid-Feb. I would think this would mean the least work and least $$$ for both involved, and providing the viewers with the best product, a clean, non-pixellating TV signal that we can watch reliably. This is NOT what we currently get.
I would continue to recommend all of you to continue to report your issues with WGAL-DT and any other local digital station here on dbstalk.com and call D* to also report these problems. Whenever I call D*, they act as though I am reporting this problem for the first time (I've actually been reporting it since Nov.) and seem unwilling to thoroughly investigate and fix the problem correctly.
I am also in Central PA and see this same problem on this channel. It's awful. Glad to see there are others who are not accepting this quality either.
I don't watch a lot of channels, and hardly any SD feels, but of all the HD fees, this is the worst for the dropouts and stutters. Typically when I am watching or recording a program during primetime, like Thursday night on a 1/2 hour program like the office, I'll have 2 dropouts each half hour. I have not checked to see if there is a timing issue between them in regular intervals or what.
So it sounds like talking to WGAL isn't going to matter because DirecTV are the problem here? And it sounds like calling DTV will get us nowhere?
What do we do here? I agree this is going to be an annoyance to all my guests for the Superbowl this year. After seeing that I bet they are all going to be glad they stuck with Comcast and didn't get DTV. Especially if the dropout happens during a big play. My dropouts cause an audio stutter, picture freeze with garbage/artifacts, and a loss of around 5 seconds of audio and video each time. We miss whole jokes, punchlines, etc when watching comedy shows, etc.
It truly STINKS.
Just a follow up. I called D* and made them aware of the issue. After explaining everything I know, they said that they would send my complaint up the food chain to someone who can look more into it.
I also have made contact with the local Harrisburg office and they assured me that D* is aware of the problem and is working on it. I honestly don't know if I believe them or not, but here's to hoping the problem gets fixed.
Just curious.. what do you mean by "the local Harrisburg office"?
An aside.. can you local guys please post your signal strengths for the 103(s) satellite for transponders 15 and 16? Supposedly our local HD locals are on transponder 15, yet I only get a mid-70s reading, and transponder 16 is 100 for me.
I am also in Central PA and see this same problem on this channel. It's awful. Glad to see there are others who are not accepting this quality either.
I don't watch a lot of channels, and hardly any SD feels, but of all the HD fees, this is the worst for the dropouts and stutters. Typically when I am watching or recording a program during primetime, like Thursday night on a 1/2 hour program like the office, I'll have 2 dropouts each half hour. I have not checked to see if there is a timing issue between them in regular intervals or what.
So it sounds like talking to WGAL isn't going to matter because DirecTV are the problem here? And it sounds like calling DTV will get us nowhere?
What do we do here? I agree this is going to be an annoyance to all my guests for the Superbowl this year. After seeing that I bet they are all going to be glad they stuck with Comcast and didn't get DTV. Especially if the dropout happens during a big play. My dropouts cause an audio stutter, picture freeze with garbage/artifacts, and a loss of around 5 seconds of audio and video each time. We miss whole jokes, punchlines, etc when watching comedy shows, etc.
It truly STINKS.
All I can suggest is to continue to call D* (1-800-DIRECTV) and email D* (via their website) about these continued problems. D* and WGAL say the problem is being worked on, but I won't believe it until I see reliable PQ without dropouts and without pixelation.
I agree it stinks for us in this area that NBC has the SuperBowl this year (errr... the "Big Game" as some lamely call it) and I will be watching OTA on WGAL-DT 8.1 this year. As we can all probably expect, we may miss an important play or something if we watch on the D* WGAL feed.
Keep up the fight and keep calling D* until someone fixes this problem!
No problem with WGAL for the Superbowl. Hopefully things are fixed for good.
I am out of town right now, but my wife documented several issues with WGAL during the Super Bowl. When will things finally be fixed?
WGAL still definitely has problems. Watching last night found times of minor and major pixelation b/w 8pm and 11:30pm.
Is it me, or has WGAL-DT been much better lately? I've watched shows on WGAL all this week in the evenings and I've not seen any pixelation. Maybe D* has fixed this problem?
Is it me, or has WGAL-DT been much better lately? I've watched shows on WGAL all this week in the evenings and I've not seen any pixelation. Maybe D* has fixed this problem?
No problems watching the Super Bowl. No problems with Leno for the past week. Maybe they fixed it...
Piratefan98
02-13-09, 10:38 AM
Good here too.
Jeff
Let's pay close attention to WGAL for the next few days and see if we get the pixelation or not. If, after a week or so, its clean, then I'd assume maybe it has been fixed. Crossing my fingers.
I was watching the Rangers-Flyers game today on WGAL (via D*) and I had quite a few video breakups, but they looked different than the previous pixellation issues we had all seen in the past. I was watching it recorded, so I couldn't flip to OTA (either of WGAL or WCAU) to see if it was a network, station, or D* issue. Anyone else see these issues?
I got this update today from Bob Good at WGAL -
"DirecTV has converted to a fiber feed and what we see at the station in monitoring DirecTV seems to be stable. At the present time, we are no longer receiving any complaints from DirecTV customers.
In any event, you have to understand that while the industry works diligently to correct problems ASAP, knowledgeable industry insiders will admit that many types of DTV issues are both common and often very difficult to resolve. Part of the complex nature of digital TV, is that while noticeably superior in many ways, it has more difficult problems than analog TV. They are problems none of us are used to working with and we note that these problems can be extremely annoying, particularly since the video and audio are so much clearer in stark contrast.
Analog TV technology, was far less complex, it's application and it's fixes were fully refined and understood after more than 60 years of development. Meanwhile, DTV technology is a relative infant in technological terms - not fully matured, with lots of reliability improvements yet to come. All of us are really starting over with a new system that is extremely complex. Every station, satellite provider and cable company have been struggling with all of the various issues involved with the digital system. It will take years for the digital technology to have the same level of reliability and robustness that existed in the 60-year old analog technology.
Bob Good"
Anyone else notice WGAL has been pixelating a bit lately as well as audio dropouts? This has been going on all weekend. I checked the OTA feed of WGAL-DT and all was 100% perfect there. I also checked the other local stations D* carries in HD and all of those were fine as well. The issue appears to be a D* issue.
I wanted to report that WGAL-DT has been having some major issues again on DirecTV. For a few weeks, WGAL-DT was crystal clear, but for the past week or so, there has been quite a bit of pixellation and audio drop out. This seems to happen most with motion in the video. The Office, Law and Order:SVU, etc. have all had this problem recently. Primetime is about the only time I watch TV, so it may be happening during daytime programming, too.
When the video is relatively still, the issue subsides. When I see these problems, I flip over to the OTA feed (via antenna) and all is crystal clear with that signal. The problem appears to be either via the fiber link (b/w WGAL and DirecTV) or something on DirecTV's end. These problems with WGAL have been going on and off since at least last November.
I've checked WHP, WHTM, and WPMT and none of these stations show any of these issues.
jrodfoo
04-27-09, 10:46 AM
if you go to the directv website, it says the DC Locals are now available along with the Harrisburg HD locals in my parents zipcode, 17044, is this correct?
Piratefan98
04-27-09, 01:27 PM
if you go to the directv website, it says the DC Locals are now available along with the Harrisburg HD locals in my parents zipcode, 17044, is this correct?
On the DirecTV website, it says the same for my zip code (17325), but the DC locals aren't showing up on my guide. I'm still just getting the Harrisburg locals.
Jeff
jrodfoo
04-27-09, 01:42 PM
On the DirecTV website, it says the same for my zip code (17325), but the DC locals aren't showing up on my guide. I'm still just getting the Harrisburg locals.
Jeff
yeah, I thought it was curious and wanted to see what was up with that. probably just a glitch perhaps on the website? Thanks for checking..
chewwy420
04-27-09, 10:03 PM
So according to the guide (browse Channel) in the iphone DTV App, it is showing all the DC locals. I did a check in my guide on my HR20 and the only one that shows up is CW channel 50 out of DC. If I tune to it it says "program not available in your area." Wonder if they are going to be adding them. Would like to see Philly before DC, as I am on the edge of the Harrisburg market and Philly is closer then DC. The local cable company carries both Harrisburg and Philly.
chewwy420
07-04-09, 10:29 PM
Wonder if they will ever add CW15 to the HD lineup!
Pixellation issues on WPMT Fox 43 the past 7~10 days
Has anyone else been having all sorts of pixelation and picture break-ups with WPMT Fox 43 the past week or so? I've noticed this only on Fox 43 and no issues on the other HD locals we get from D*. I've confirmed this problem on my HR20-700 and HR22-100.
John R. Metzger
07-11-09, 03:32 PM
I am seeing the same thing here in Lewistown.
Pixellation issues on WPMT Fox 43 the past 7~10 days
same here in Chambersburg
Anyone still have problems on WGAL 8 as well? I get a freeze and sound jitter pretty much every 10 minutes or so on the HD feed and it's done that for the past 6 months.
John R. Metzger
07-15-09, 10:59 AM
No problems with WGAL but WPMT was awful during the All-Star Game last night!
I have had no issues with WGAL in a while..back over the winter, WGAL was terrible via D*, but since around March, apparently D* and/or WGAL fixed that issue. I had contacted D* and WGAL numerous times over the 4 or 5 month span to report the problem.
I've been having to watch either WPMT OTA or WFTX (from Phily) OTA for Fox programming. Has anyone formally reported this issue with WPMT to D* yet? I don't know if posting the issue here is enough, as I don't know if anyone responsibly for HD locals reads this form..
maybe Doug can shed some light on this?
John R. Metzger
07-16-09, 05:39 PM
I reported it to a CSR last evening. She said she would report the problem.
I reported it to a CSR last evening. She said she would report the problem.
Thanks. I will send D* an email as well. If only 1 or 2 customers complain, D* assumes it's an equipment problem. The more customers who complain about a channel, the more likely D* may actually look into the problem as something on their end or the station's end.
I ask that all of you with this same WPMT Fox 43 problem to contact D* either via phone or email.
WPMT still has repeated pixellation issues from the D* HD feed. Has anyone else called or emailed D* about this? I emailed and was told it was the first time anyone told D*. Not sure if that's true or not. C'mon folks, if you're having the same problem, let D* know so we can get this fixed.
John R. Metzger
07-28-09, 10:19 PM
I just reported the problem with Channel 43 again. I told them that I had reported it on July 15th and been told that they would send it through. I also told them that someone else had reported it today and been told that no one else had notified them of the problem.
Thanks John. Let's keep them on top of this so it gets fixed. It took 3 or 4 months for them to get the WGAL pixelation issue fixed earlier this year.
TERRYB2241
07-31-09, 02:05 PM
I just talked to a John in the engineering department of channel 43 and he said there have numerous calls about the signal with DirecTV. They picking up the signal off the air in Harrisburg and sending it to Colorado. He has talked with DirecTV numerous times. He said we need to keep contacting DirecTV to resolve the problem. If you look back on this thread you will see that WGAL is now sending their signal to DirecTV by fiber and the problem has gone away. When I switch to my cheap $15 antenna I have no problem with the signal from 43. I am located in Harrisburg is have my antenna in the attic. It is a omni-directional FM antenna that I am using that cost me $15.
Do we know for sure that WGAL is sending their signal to D* via fiber? I wasn't aware we knew that for sure. I do know that when WGAL had dual analog/digital feeds, that they were sending their analog feed to D* via fiber and digital feed was OTA pickup. I got that info directly from an engineer at WGAL. We don't know what D* is using for WGAL now, but that may be using fiber since their signal is very clean now.
I got the engineer from WGAL to contact D* and the issue was soon fixed. Can we possibly get WPMT to contact D*? I would think they'd have more pull than us.
As for WPMT, we just gotta keep complaining to D* about it. Send them emails, call D*.. whatever we gotta do to get this fixed. It took months to get the WGAL issue fixed.. let's hope it doesn't take this long with WPMT. I agree that the WPMT OTA feed is clean.
The WPMT pixelation is still alive and well. No fix so far. I've contacted D* several times the past few weeks and all I get is "they are aware of it". At least, they're not still telling me I am the first person to report it..
Anyone have a contact person for WPMT?
raoul5788
08-07-09, 08:22 AM
The WPMT pixelation is still alive and well. No fix so far. I've contacted D* several times the past few weeks and all I get is "they are aware of it". At least, they're not still telling me I am the first person to report it..
Anyone have a contact person for WPMT?
They have a website with a link to email the chief engineer.
TERRYB2241
08-07-09, 01:17 PM
I just talked to DirecTV amd they told me they are aware of the problem and are working on it. She said they have no idea when the problem will be fixed. I guess we just need to keep calling. The more complaints maybe it gets moved up on the priority list.
I just talked to DirecTV amd they told me they are aware of the problem and are working on it. She said they have no idea when the problem will be fixed. I guess we just need to keep calling. The more complaints maybe it gets moved up on the priority list.
Yep, keep calling and emailing D* until this gets fixed. I emailed WPMT and got a response with D* copied to the response. Apparently, quite a few viewers have contacted WPMT.
Update from WPMT.. they and D* are working on the pixelation issues that have been affecting WPMT for the past month or 2. Hope it gets worked out very soon.
jwalker95
08-28-09, 01:50 PM
still having issues with Fox 43? I have picture pixel everyday. I also notice a few voice pixels on HGTV and discovery everyonce in a while
Does getting new receivers help?
Thanks
Jeff
I still have problems with Fox 43 WPMT via D*.
I am working with D* and WPMT on the continued issues. D* confirms the problems we are seeing. They are monitoring WPMT's HD signal and are logging the issues. We hope to have the issues worked out soon. Last night, their signal was very clean.
Please monitor WPMT's HD signal via D* this weekend and report back.
Anyone see any issues lately with WPMT? I reported a few last night during the news but otherwise is much cleaner than it's been. I think our work is paying off as WPMT and D* is closely monitoring WPMT's OTA feed via D*'s feed and making adjustments.
Anyone else having lip-sync issues on Fox 43 today?? It's really bad. Like not even close, on both my receivers, an HD standalone as well as an HD-DVR. If anyone can turn on Fox 43 HD and let me know I'd appreciate it. Maybe just the NFL on Fox feed that's the problem so if you turn it on let me know if it's during the game or after.
Thanks.
pennStateFootball
09-13-09, 04:03 PM
The audio and video on 43 doesn't match for me either. I've talked to two other people who have the same problem, one of them said that it has been that way for a few days. It's starting to become ridiculous. 43 was the best of our 4 HD locals until this summer.
21 CBS goes SD anytime there is a scrolling msg or warning on the screen. Are you telling me that they can't figure out how to remain HD and tell me there is a storm coming.
Last year, I don't think one episode of lost was HD for the full episode on 27 ABC, same with Grey's.
8 NBC goes SD anytime the WGAL 8 logo comes on.
None of these problems are D* fault but our locals have to be some of the worst. You have no guarantee at all when watching anything that the whole thing will remain in HD or if the voices will match up.
Am I the only one this bothers?
Is there any chance that we ever get secondary locals? If we did and they were from a bigger market, at least if the local go SD you can change the channel.
While I'm ranting, CSN Philly would be nice but that's never happening.
I agree with every single word you have said. I thought after the digital switch our locals would not have to go to SD when they had a storm warning or logo. No such dice on any channel. And then like you said, someone there is forgetting to flip us back to HD and often during primetime we get to watch ugly SD on our HD channels.
I know I am the only one this affects, but if I am getting pixelation and audio dropouts regularly like every 15 minutes on NBC, should I have someone come look at that from service? NBC has been that way for me since I signed onto DTV last year. My guess is that I'm not getting a good signal on that transponder or something? Any way I can check? It's pretty bad. And no one else here in the forum seems to have problems with WGAL 8.
At least I know I am not the only one with lip sync issues on Fox 43 today. I hope they get enough complaints to fix it today.
As for Comcast Sportsnet and now Versus, I guess Comcast just wants to keep them in their pocket like DTV does with Sunday Ticket so Comcast can lure Philly market customers back in. I know my Dad hates his DTV since he can't see Phillies or Flyers games anymore, and I don't blame him. It's terrible. I'm not sure if it's DTV being unreasonable or Comcast with the price. My guess is that Comcast is asking a LOT for those two channels and DTV refuses to be bullied. With Phillies and Flyers on DTV it would be the ultimate Philly sports offering.
The way it is now if FIOS comes around, who I believe does carry Comcast And Versus, I would sign. I'm just wondering if the price to FIOS for those channels was a lot less than the price to DTV.
Comcrap won't give D* their CSN signal.
I've also seen the pixilation on 8 and 43. It's 10:37pm and just got 771 on ch. 8. No weather issues and 93% signal on 103s Xponder 15.
Most local stations don't have the equipment to pass 16:9 HD programming when the station takes local control.
pennStateFootball
09-13-09, 10:51 PM
Most local stations don't have the equipment to pass 16:9 HD programming when the station takes local control.
Why is there no urgency to get that equipment? WPMT must have the equipment because they don't go SD for a scroller so why wouldn't WGAL or WHP get that equipment. The answer will probably be that they can't afford it. Well then, they should be required to get it. The 4 NYC networks don't go SD for scrollers.
I'd take Comcast network over the scrolling SD fix anyday...But I fear you are right, that Comcast will just set the price for their own channels so high that DTV can never afford it, at least, not in a way it makes good business sense. Should be illegal really. I could see if you could only get CSN Philly on Comcast but if FIOS has it, and other local cable companies have it (my Dad's private lake cable company had it even), why can they somehow price DTV out of it? I just don't get it.
Piratefan98
09-14-09, 06:51 AM
With regard to the Harrisburg DMA .... I wish they'd open up the Neighboring Local Channels that they are providing to the 172xx portion of this DMA to the rest of the DMA (I'm in 173xx). 172xx Harrisburg DMA customers get soooooooo many more locals than we do in 173xx.
Jeff
Really? What extra channels do they get in 172xx? I'm in 170xx...
Piratefan98
09-14-09, 07:08 AM
They get a bunch of DC channels, including:
WRC 4 - NBC
WTTG 5 - FOX
WJLA 7 - ABC
WUSA 9 - CBS
WDCA 20
WMPT 22 - PBS
WETA 26 - PBS
WDCW 50
And almost all of these come in HD.
We get 4 HD locals in 173xx. People in 172xx get around 10 because of the neighboring local additions.
Taltizer
09-14-09, 07:08 AM
[QUOTE=BDP;2215480]I agree with every single word you have said. I thought after the digital switch our locals would not have to go to SD when they had a storm warning or logo. No such dice on any channel. And then like you said, someone there is forgetting to flip us back to HD and often during primetime we get to watch ugly SD on our HD channels.
take your complaints here i bet you'll get some help with your locals quick.
http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPageIFnorail.jsp?assetId=P4960016#h:689.829
Wow, that is NICE! Yeah 172xx is Shippensburg area south of here I guess, I used to live there years back. That's a nice lineup for sure.
I'd love to have a HD CW local too.
pennStateFootball
09-14-09, 07:47 PM
[QUOTE=BDP;2215480]I agree with every single word you have said. I thought after the digital switch our locals would not have to go to SD when they had a storm warning or logo. No such dice on any channel. And then like you said, someone there is forgetting to flip us back to HD and often during primetime we get to watch ugly SD on our HD channels.
take your complaints here i bet you'll get some help with your locals quick.
I sent them a msg using that link and immediately got a phone call. I went over everything with them including the network local HD problems I mentioned and Comcast Philly not being available. They weren't very helpful. But the quickness of the reply was nice. Obviously all of these problems are related to the channels themselves and not Directv. I asked her how I could encourage the channels to do their HD better and she said there really is nothing. Is there a law restricting one channel from broadcasting say NBC in one area? There is nothing pushing any of these channels to get better.
I live in 170xx and I have ch. 50 (WDCW) from DC in my guide although every show is blacked out. Not sure how just that one shows up. I bet someone screwed that one up.
I just got this email from WITF about the carriage of WITF-HD on D*:
"Thank you for your email. There is an agreement in place with DirecTV that should allow public broadcasters to have their HD channel carried on the DirectTV system. We are working with APTS and PBS to lobby for WITF carriage. Unfortunately, we do not have an ETA."
I guess that means to keep bugging D* and WITF for carriage of WITF-HD on D*.
I also have channel 50 but blackouts. Very frustrating. Is that an HD WB? Would love an HD WB. Lost that when I switched from cable.
Still having awful audio dropouts on WGAL HD. Makes watching prime time shows like The Office a real pain. It's been doing this for as long as I have had the service now, 8 months and counting. Anyone else?
I've also noticed some of the audio problems on WGAL lately.
Ch. 50 is an SD CW affiliate from DC.
I also have channel 50 but blackouts. Very frustrating. Is that an HD WB? Would love an HD WB. Lost that when I switched from cable.
Still having awful audio dropouts on WGAL HD. Makes watching prime time shows like The Office a real pain. It's been doing this for as long as I have had the service now, 8 months and counting. Anyone else?
Have you guys experienced some major pixilation issues today and tonite on WGAL? I've been monitoring WGAL OTA 8-1 on one tuner and D* supplied WGAL on the other tuner. The OTA feed is perfectly clean. Other channels I try are ok, too.
BTW... I did a complete reset of my HR20-700's OTA setup and started from scratch setting up my local (Harrisburg) and secondary (Philly) OTA stations. This didn't fix the WYBE 35.x problems.
Is anyone just seeing a black screen on WGAL this afternoon? The other local HD channels are fine.
pennStateFootball
01-26-10, 04:46 PM
Anyone else noticing problems with both 27 and 43?
27 has been pixelating pretty bad 4 to 5 times during an hour long show and 43 has had lip sync issues. 43 was pretty bad during 24 last night.
Confirmed both issues here in Enola. Really terrible. I could barely watch House and 24 last night and when I checked 43 at lunch it was still off even after a receiver reboot.
27 also has been pixelating terrible now along with 8, making 3 of the 4 locals all pretty awful in quality lately. 27 has been bad to the point of missing a good 5 or 6 seconds of a show about 5 or 6 times per half hour.
Not sure what to do, I have heard calls to DTV about this usually fall on deaf ears?
punkindust
02-06-10, 08:23 AM
BDP stated: (27 also has been pixelating terrible now along with 8, making 3 of the 4 locals all pretty awful in quality lately. 27 has been bad to the point of missing a good 5 or 6 seconds of a show about 5 or 6 times per half hour.)
I have to agree with BDP. Channel 27 is really bad lately. Where is n3ntj when we need him. <grin>
ActiveHDdave
02-14-10, 12:13 PM
All the locals are down in HD Just in time for the Great American Race!!!!!
Doug Brott
02-14-10, 12:32 PM
If you are trying to watch the Daytona 500, DIRECTV posted the following on Twitter:
NASCAR fans missing Fox: Tune to channels 795-798 for Daytona coverage on Hotpass
whitey2755
02-16-10, 09:56 PM
I too am having issues with ABC 27. Have not yet been able to watch a full episode of Lost without MAJOR pixelation issues. Luckily for me however it does not seem to affect the commercials which is really what is important.:new_cussi:new_cussi
Some additional info on the pixelation. Only affects the picture, not the audio.
Agreed 100 percent. Let's all call DTV this week about this. It's been going on for over a month now. I hate situations like this because I feel like they get little to no attention unless you know exactly who to talk to. But I am going to try and call it in. It's ruining LOST for me and a million other shows especially ones the wife likes. It does it regularly without fail every single night.
Also just picture, no audio problems, and I zap commercials but it does seem like the ads run fine.
Maybe we will get lucky and one of our complaints will reach the right person who will actually see this mess and fix it.
John R. Metzger
02-17-10, 11:16 PM
Channel 27 is practically unwatchible!
I called and put in a ticket with the engineers, they tell me they will investigate within 2-3 day timeframe. Let's see if it gets any better. I would still suggest anyone else reading this email do the same so it gets the attention it needs. It only took me 5 minutes to call in and report the problem. Just say "representative" at the voice prompts to get to a real person.
I too am having problems with abc27 along with other people i know in the area. it is a wide spread problem and i hope they finally get it fixed. i called today to report the problem and the individual i talked to said they had no record of any issues. i really don't want to drop dtv, but if they don't get it fixed i will be looking at other options.
Wow, no record of any issues. That's ridiculous they don't have a better system. They told me 2-3 days and you can bet I'll be calling again Monday if it's still doing it on Sunday night.
pennStateFootball
06-05-10, 10:47 AM
Does anyone else care about seeing the french open finals tomorrow? WGAL 8 is showing some telethon so the french isn't on. It may be on some channel that D* doesn't carry but that really doesn't help me. Anyone know any way that we can see it on D* in the Harrisburg area?
Our locals are completely clueless.
The French Open was on TV49 (49.2) OTA. If you have an antenna, you can always watch it also on WCAU 10.1 from Philly.
pennStateFootball
09-25-10, 05:06 PM
21 seems to be terrible this year when football is on. When they show the field level view and a player runs by, it pixelates badly. Anyone else seeing this? I'm going to call but I wanted to see if anyone else is seeing this first.
whitey2755
10-07-10, 04:07 PM
21 seems to be terrible this year when football is on. When they show the field level view and a player runs by, it pixelates badly. Anyone else seeing this? I'm going to call but I wanted to see if anyone else is seeing this first.
Yes, CBS21 is the only channel I have this problem on
whitey2755
10-07-10, 04:08 PM
Does anyone else see that it appears PBS 33 now in HD?
Does anyone else see that it appears PBS 33 now in HD?
Yes, it was announced and turn on yesterday to the Harrisburg/Lancaster, PA market. Now, if we could just get WLYH-HD on D*.
pennStateFootball
10-07-10, 04:36 PM
Yes, it was announced and turn on yesterday to the Harrisburg/Lancaster, PA market. Now, if we could just get WLYH-HD on D*.
Does anyone know if there are any plans for this? It's bad enough that we don't get phillies games very often due to not getting CSN but when we do get them on 15, it's SD and not even good SD.
Does anyone know if there are any plans for this? It's bad enough that we don't get phillies games very often due to not getting CSN but when we do get them on 15, it's SD and not even good SD.
No word from WHP (who operates WLYH). If you want WLYH-HD, you can currently simply use an over the air antenna. All Phillies games this year on WLYH were in crystal clear HD on that free channel. It would be nice to get WLYH-HD on D* sometime soon. Heck, we've been waiting for WITF-HD to be added for about 4 years.
pennStateFootball
10-08-10, 05:17 PM
No word from WHP (who operates WLYH). If you want WLYH-HD, you can currently simply use an over the air antenna. All Phillies games this year on WLYH were in crystal clear HD on that free channel. It would be nice to get WLYH-HD on D* sometime soon. Heck, we've been waiting for WITF-HD to be added for about 4 years.
Right, unfortunately I live in reedsvile (near Lewistown) and we can't pick up any of the channels OTA
chewwy420
10-29-10, 07:58 PM
Anyone hear anything about us getting the CW in HD? I mean the new sat its up and everyone else seems to get local CW how about our market!
hbg ota nut
12-02-10, 10:40 AM
By the way, the "significantly viewed stations" list is made public by the FCC and you can find it online. This guarantees that a cable or satellite provider can (if they want) make the svc's in a given county (not DMA) available to that county, and the control network in the home DMA cannot restrict it's carriage. I called about a month ago to request WJZ, WBAL, and WMAR for those of us in York county as we are entitled to receive it per the FCC. I spoke with a tier 2 supervisor (poor csr had no idea what I was talking about but when I dropped the FCCs name he was more than happy to bump me to a supervisor) and she put the request in but I haven't heard or seen anything.
Can any of you get the CW50 station in DC? It shows up as a 'local' station on my end, although it is always blacked out. I would guess that maybe some of you in the H'burg/Lancaster DMA in York or Adams Counties may have this station turned on.
Just curious.
Good question. I live in center of Perry County. This station is on my Directv menu but always blacked out. So who gets it and why does it show up as a local?
John R. Metzger
12-06-10, 12:32 PM
In Lewistown - I'd also like an answer to that question. It is even listed as "A3 Harrisburg 50 W..." in the Favorites "Edit List" area:confused:.
hbg ota nut
12-06-10, 02:41 PM
Can any of you get the CW50 station in DC? It shows up as a 'local' station on my end, although it is always blacked out. I would guess that maybe some of you in the H'burg/Lancaster DMA in York or Adams Counties may have this station turned on.
Just curious.
On channel 50 it is always blacked out. On the distant locals block of channels, I can get PBSe (weta) and CWe (wdcw) and they are never blacked out. Disclaimer, they are not in HD.
On channel 50 it is always blacked out. On the distant locals block of channels, I can get PBSe (weta) and CWe (wdcw) and they are never blacked out. Disclaimer, they are not in HD.
I get these as well... the PBS east feed is something like 385, if I recall, and is only SD. I can also get the WDCW CW (SD) feed up in the 380s as well, but the channel 50 HD feed is blacked out like everyone here noted.
The fact that is says A3 Harrisburg... seems like it's an HD local that D* thinks we are supposed to get (and is supplied as an HD LIL) but blacks out for us. Odd.
D* and Hearst TV (WGAL's parent) have not come to an agreement for WGAL carriage past 31 December. http://www.wgal.com/news/26092086/detail.html
Hopefully they will get a deal done soon.
BTW.. WGAL's first widescreen newscast is tonight at 5pm (but it will not be HD).
Is WGAL news really broadcast in HD, 720 or 1080, or is it just some type of widescreen, stretch vision? Doesn't look that great, other than it filling the entire screen.
:confused:
It was definitely not an HD broadcast. I actually talked to someone at WGAL yesterday and they told me that the widescreen newscast is the "next step towards an HD newscast". Some of the shots did look good, near HD, and some of the shots (mostly remote shots and the Traffax girl) were definitely not HD. I would call it 16:9 widescreen SD.
I don't know if WGAL has a specific date set for HD newscasts. As few people probably noticed, all of the ads that WGAL have shown only say "widescreen".. they never said HD. Most people assume these are the same thing, but as we know on dbstalk.com, it is not always the same thing.
pennStateFootball
12-15-10, 12:11 PM
No one seems overly worked up about the possibility of losing WGAL for some period of time due to the Hearst issues with Directv. Does anyone have any insight into this? It's my only NBC and we'll miss the Jan 2 Sunday Night game(possibly the Bears/Packers for the division) and also the following Sat they have an NFL playoff doubleheader.
From what I've read Hearst owns stations in bigger markets too. So I'm not sure that the station isn't going to be pulled at least for some short period of time. Probably enough to miss the NFL games though. At least the super bowl isn't on NBC this year.
pennStateFootball
12-15-10, 12:16 PM
We have to have the worst locals for a top100 market in the country. WGAL brags about having a widescreen newscast(not HD mind you, just widescreen). WHP has to be the worst CBS in the country. It is in 2.0 and has the worst motion blur. CW (which we only get in SD on D*) is the worst SD of any of my channels, you can't even watch a phillies day game. When there are shadows, you can't even see the ball. WHTM and WPMT I have no actual problems with but the news still isn't HD.
It is time to do away with affiliates!
Give me a break. End of rant.
hbg ota nut
12-15-10, 05:47 PM
We have to have the worst locals for a top100 market in the country. WGAL brags about having a widescreen newscast(not HD mind you, just widescreen). WHP has to be the worst CBS in the country. It is in 2.0 and has the worst motion blur. CW (which we only get in SD on D*) is the worst SD of any of my channels, you can't even watch a phillies day game. When there are shadows, you can't even see the ball. WHTM and WPMT I have no actual problems with but the news still isn't HD.
It is time to do away with affiliates!
Give me a break. End of rant.
+1
hbg ota nut
12-16-10, 01:07 PM
What in the world is wrong with WHP's HD football telecasts? I have never seen such poor "hd" quality in all my life. Even my wife complains about it. Every week I pray they don't pick up a game I want to watch so that I can watch the national feed on Sunday ticket instead. Has anyone talked to the engineer(s) there to see what is going on?
pennStateFootball
12-16-10, 01:58 PM
What in the world is wrong with WHP's HD football telecasts? I have never seen such poor "hd" quality in all my life. Even my wife complains about it. Every week I pray they don't pick up a game I want to watch so that I can watch the national feed on Sunday ticket instead. Has anyone talked to the engineer(s) there to see what is going on?
I feel the exact same way. The games are so much better on the Ticket than WHP that it is pathetic. The SEC 3:30 games were very annoying all year. When they show a FG from behind the kicker, it pixelates as it goes thru the posts. I complained to D* but they didn't really say much.
hbg ota nut
12-16-10, 03:46 PM
I feel the exact same way. The games are so much better on the Ticket than WHP that it is pathetic. The SEC 3:30 games were very annoying all year. When they show a FG from behind the kicker, it pixelates as it goes thru the posts. I complained to D* but they didn't really say much.
Sadly it's not d* because I have an OTA setup as well, and it is just as bad. Something is seriously wrong at the station.
pennStateFootball
12-16-10, 04:27 PM
Sadly it's not d* because I have an OTA setup as well, and it is just as bad. Something is seriously wrong at the station.
That's interesting to know. You'd think they'd take a little pride in their station. They also own CW15 and that is pretty crappy too. I only get it in SD but's it's horrible.
Rob Hershey is the engineer at WHP/WLYH. Give him and call and see if he can lend some insight into what's going on.
No one seems overly worked up about the possibility of losing WGAL for some period of time due to the Hearst issues with Directv. Does anyone have any insight into this? It's my only NBC and we'll miss the Jan 2 Sunday Night game(possibly the Bears/Packers for the division) and also the following Sat they have an NFL playoff doubleheader.
From what I've read Hearst owns stations in bigger markets too. So I'm not sure that the station isn't going to be pulled at least for some short period of time. Probably enough to miss the NFL games though. At least the super bowl isn't on NBC this year.
Hoping this gets figured out so I don't miss the Winter Classic on Jan 1 between the Pens and Craps.
hbg ota nut
12-17-10, 01:05 PM
Rob Hershey is the engineer at WHP/WLYH. Give him and call and see if he can lend some insight into what's going on.
Just sent Mr. Hershey an email... Let's see if he responds.
John R. Metzger
12-17-10, 02:48 PM
I hope you get an answer. I used to think it was a CBS problem but then found that the replays shown on CBS College Sports look great in comparison to WHP's HD telecasts.
Yep, please let us know what he says. I assume you mentioned in your email to Rob Hershey that the OTA feeds have the same issues that you posted above? Otherwise, he'd probably blame D*.
hbg ota nut
12-17-10, 06:26 PM
Yep, please let us know what he says. I assume you mentioned in your email to Rob Hershey that the OTA feeds have the same issues that you posted above? Otherwise, he'd probably blame D*.
Yes, I specifically referenced the OTA feed of WHP.
I will keep everyone posted.
73's
KJ3E
chewwy420
12-17-10, 09:55 PM
CBS is horrible, opening of csi miami makes me cringe.
and still no CW HD, good thing I can get it ota.
This may be of interest from earlier discussion on this thread regarding Channel 50 on Directv and why it is blacked out. 50 is WDCW-TV out of Washington DC.
I have discovered for myself that I get WDCW-TV on Channel 394. It is the exact same programming displayed on 50 but is not blacked out. Channel 15 has the same programming except they do have their local programming news etc.
So anyway what i am trying to say is we get 50 but it is on 394 (at least I can verify this where I live in central Perry County). I still have no clue why Channel 50 is displayed at all since is says blacked out.
Note- 394 does not have any local programming just like 50.
Hopefully those who were into this issue may find this of interest and have furthur thoughts on it.
But it appears that the ch. 50 feed is CW HD (that is blacked out) but the 394 that is open is only SD.
WPMT Fox 43 is slated to debut their HD local newcasts (real HD, not just SD widescreen like WGAL) some time in January.
Our market is the largest in the USA (#39) without at least one local station providing an HD local newscast.
pennStateFootball
12-26-10, 02:03 PM
Did whp respond to your email?
hbg ota nut
12-26-10, 02:56 PM
Did whp respond to your email?
No, no word yet... I figure I'll send another email or phone after the holidays.
pennStateFootball
12-26-10, 05:12 PM
I emailed them myself a few months ago and never received a response so I wouldn't expect anything but hope you get a response
Nothing new from Hearst/WGAL and D*. I guess they are still 'working on' a new agreement. Hopefully this will get done by Friday.
pennStateFootball
12-28-10, 05:29 PM
So if we don't get wgal by jan 1 we'll miss the winter classic and rams/saints. If we don't have it by the 8th we'll miss 2 NFL playoff games. At least those of us that can't get NBC over the air
So if we don't get wgal by jan 1 we'll miss the winter classic and rams/saints. If we don't have it by the 8th we'll miss 2 NFL playoff games. At least those of us that can't get NBC over the air
Yep....SUCKS!:mad::mad:
Any chance that Direct TV would open up the National (New York) NBC feed for us?
John R. Metzger
12-28-10, 06:33 PM
:confused:Yep....SUCKS!:mad::mad:
Any chance that Direct TV would open up the National (New York) NBC feed for us?
I was wondering if those of us in "white" areas would be eligible for the national feed.
I think we'll be stuck with OTA feeds if an agreement isn't met by midnight on Friday night.
pennStateFootball
12-30-10, 08:05 PM
In case you guys haven't seen it yet, they reached a new deal today so we're good to go
Yep, the announcement was made yesterday afternoon. It would have made a lot of people really mad if they had lost a local network affiliate tomorrow.
pennStateFootball
01-16-11, 03:31 PM
Just sent Mr. Hershey an email... Let's see if he responds.
Did he ever respond?
hbg ota nut
01-18-11, 09:29 AM
Did he ever respond?
I just sent a follow-up email to him this morning.
I'll keep everyone posted.
hbg ota nut
01-18-11, 09:33 AM
WPMT Fox 43 is slated to debut their HD local newcasts (real HD, not just SD widescreen like WGAL) some time in January.
Our market is the largest in the USA (#39) without at least one local station providing an HD local newscast.
I've seen Fox 43's commercials advertising "HD Newscast Coming January" during the NFL playoffs on FOX.
They are really going after WGAL's "Widescreen" newscast, calling it out for what it is, not true HD.
Got this reply today from Holly Steuart from WHP-TV about whether DirecTV will soon be adding WLYH-HD:
"DirecTV always says to contact the station, but the fact is they are getting the network prime time and network sports in HD from us as a pass through just like we send it to Comcast or over the air. It's DirecTV's decision not to give enough bandwidth to providing WLYH in HD. We will be trying to make that happen when we renegotiate our retransmission consent agreement with them in the near future."
By "they are getting the network prime time and network sports in HD from us as a pass through", I found that Holly meant that D* collects the HD signal for WHP and then down-converts the HD feed to SD for their WHP SD feed.
Also, the WPMT HD news does look good..would be nice when WGAL finally moves to a full HD newscast instead of using widescreen SD for many of their shots.
chewwy420
08-05-11, 09:19 PM
So where the he'll is CW in HD? That's the only one we are missing!
hbg ota nut
08-06-11, 10:58 AM
So where the he'll is CW in HD? That's the only one we are missing!
I know! I took matters into my own hands and put up an OTA tower and now I not only get CW in HD, but also WNEP, Baltimore & Philly markets... All in HD!!!
ilikeyoureyes
10-15-11, 07:36 PM
Channel 33 WITF is completely unwatchable today, from at least 10 am on. It has been very spotty for at least a month.
I have never had an issue using my own antenna to this station.
pennStateFootball
10-29-11, 02:50 PM
Abc out for the penn state game. That's just nice.
What happened to Fox 43 WPMT HD? Trying to watch the Arizona Cardinals game.
jrodfoo
11-20-11, 05:09 PM
when did the HD WLYH channel 15 get added? just was curious. My parents will be thrilled for phillies games next spring.
John R. Metzger
11-20-11, 06:00 PM
It was added this week. Thursday, I believe.
pennStateFootball
11-20-11, 08:14 PM
when did the HD WLYH channel 15 get added? just was curious. My parents will be thrilled for phillies games next spring.
Although the guide lists the shows as HD, I have yet see anything actually in HD. I just started looking tonight though. Have you seen anything actually in HD?
John R. Metzger
11-20-11, 09:38 PM
Only CW programming is in HD. The shows on tonight were not from the CW network and as a result no HD. Note that they are operated by WHP-21. Because WHP has no HD recorders syndicated shows like "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy" show in their guide as HD but are not shown that way. I would guess that if they don't have the recorders for WHP that they also do not have them for WLYH. As a result although those syndicated shows are available in HD, WLYH does not have the equipment to show them that way. I did see one of the CW shows was in HD on Thursday evening.
chewwy420
11-20-11, 09:43 PM
when did the HD WLYH channel 15 get added? just was curious. My parents will be thrilled for phillies games next spring.
Not showing up in my list. Still only the sd channel.
jrodfoo
11-21-11, 12:29 AM
Not showing up in my list. Still only the sd channel.
ah, rats. The online TV Guide on Directv.com shows the HD channel.. Hmm... so much for wishful thinking. :lol:
pennStateFootball
11-23-11, 10:09 AM
Only CW programming is in HD. The shows on tonight were not from the CW network and as a result no HD. Note that they are operated by WHP-21. Because WHP has no HD recorders syndicated shows like "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy" show in their guide as HD but are not shown that way. I would guess that if they don't have the recorders for WHP that they also do not have them for WLYH. As a result although those syndicated shows are available in HD, WLYH does not have the equipment to show them that way. I did see one of the CW shows was in HD on Thursday evening.
That's a pretty good explanation, I always did wonder why jeopardy was never HD on 21. That really stinks though for 15 because other than the Phillies, I don't watch anything on that channel but I would start watching Big Bang re-runs there if they were HD and they aren't. I assume Phillies will be HD since 21 has CBS sports in HD.
Any idea why these 2 channels are only in 2.0 audio? Is it a bandwidth thing? This company really needs to improve to catch up. WGAL, WPMT and WHTM are all far superior with both HD news and HD syndication. (granted WGAL is just widescreen news)
John R. Metzger
11-23-11, 11:14 AM
That's a pretty good explanation, I always did wonder why jeopardy was never HD on 21. That really stinks though for 15 because other than the Phillies, I don't watch anything on that channel but I would start watching Big Bang re-runs there if they were HD and they aren't. I assume Phillies will be HD since 21 has CBS sports in HD.
Any idea why these 2 channels are only in 2.0 audio? Is it a bandwidth thing? This company really needs to improve to catch up. WGAL, WPMT and WHTM are all far superior with both HD news and HD syndication. (granted WGAL is just widescreen news)
I don't know about the audio. I did hear somewhere that an HD recorder had been in the WHP budget for 2011 but then was postponed because of the economy. WHP and WLYH certainly do have a lot of catching up to do to compete with the rest of the market. I would think you are right about the Phillies games because it would be a live feed like that coming from the CW network.
Especially with WHTM news going HD, WHP is really left in the dust. That may just get them ramping up a little faster are they are the only area newscast now still in all lowly SD.
Last I heard when I talked to WHP, as noted above, they had HD recording equipment in their budget for 2011 but who knows when they will actually happen.
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