WTAJ in PA to carry Super Bowl in HD..

[jckelsey]

WTAJ in western PA (one of our local channels) announced that it will broadcast the super bowl in HD and everybody will be able to watch it......EXCEPT for Dish Network customers. The local cable companies and DirectTV have agreed to broadcast it in HD, but Dish Network would not.

They made a big thing about it on the news, making it sound like Dish could also broadcast it, but refused to do so. We don't have HD locals here yet...which makes DirectTV awful tempting :mad:

[garys]

Dish in the past has added a channel for people without their local HD channel just for the Super Bowl. Not sure if they are doing it this year.

[RasputinAXP]

They made a big thing about it on the news, making it sound like Dish could also broadcast it, but refused to do so. We don't have HD locals here yet...which makes DirectTV awful tempting

If you don't have HD locals, how would Dish have provided that station to you anyway? That seems...paradoxical.

[brant]

if missing one program in HD is that important, by all means, jump ship.

[Bucatrain40]

I thought WTAJ is a CBS station,isnt the super bowl on NBC this year?

[rrmcdonald]

Can you receive it OTA? That is how I get all of my locals HD

[dennispap]

I thought WTAJ is a CBS station,isnt the super bowl on NBC this year?

They seem to be a cbs affiliate.
http://www.nexstar.tv/wtal.html

The superbowl is on nbc so i am not sure how that is going to happen???

[jckelsey]

If you don't have HD locals, how would Dish have provided that station to you anyway? That seems...paradoxical.

I thought that too, but the news implied that DISH could offer it in HD, but refused to do so for some reason.

Can you receive it OTA? That is how I get all of my locals HD

Tried that, too far away.

They seem to be a cbs affiliate.
http://www.nexstar.tv/wtal.html

The superbowl is on nbc so i am not sure how that is going to happen???

You're right. Its WJAC...not WTAJ.

Here is the blurb about it
http://www.wjactv.com/news/18515784/detail.html

[RasputinAXP]

I thought that too, but the news implied that DISH could offer it in HD, but refused to do so for some reason.

Not refused. They can't because they don't provide HD locals. It's not Dish saying "NO, MUWAHAHAHAHAH" it's Dish saying "Yeah, sorry, no HD locals."

[jsk]

That report isn't entirely correct. Dish network customers can recieve their station in HD if they have a TV antenna connected to their HD reciever and can recieve their signal OTA.

Also, they are making it seem like E* doesn't want to flip the switch to provide their station in HD. I would imagine that it takes a lot of extra equipment to uplink a TV station in HD and they can't do it for every small TV market in the US.

Someone mentioned that E* might add an extra HD channel for the Super Bowl. If this is true, I'm sure that WJAC doesn't like that idea very much because that station won't be airing their local commercials. Maybe that is why they urge E* customers to watch it somewhere else.

[Michael P]

I have family in the Johnstown area (I even hooked up an OTA antenna years ago for my aunt). The terrain obstructions are horrendous! For example even though they are only 20 miles or so from their local ABC station in Altoona, they get better reception from the Pittsburgh ABC station 70 miles away. Now this is with analog stations, the multipath issues that those mountains create may make OTA digital reception impossible.

Dish should consider smaller DMA's with terrain issues over larger ones with fewer issues when deciding which HD market to carry next. OTOH they have to have a spot beam hitting the DMA. There is another DMA in PA where the western end is out of the Spot Beam for the HD locals (Wilkes Barre/Scranton). Keep in mind that the 61.5 satellite was purchased from Cablevision/Rainbow/Voom with the spots preconfigured for Rainbow's plans. Perhaps one of the other "eastern arc" locations could carry the local HD's?

The OP's in the far reaches of the DMA, not in the same counties as the transmitters. I heard that WJAC recently put up a digital repeater in State College.

Here is the coverage map for WJAC-DT: http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=DT1251093.html
DuBois is inside the circle. You might be able to get it with a tall tower. I can see now why State College got a repeater, even though they are tecnically a little bit closer, they are outside the coverage area circle. If you are inside the circle you stand a good chance of getting the signal with a good tower. For example I'm inside the coverage circle for WKBN-DT out of Youngstown, even thiough I'm 57 miles away I can get it with an indoor antenna 24/7 (I'm on high ground and Youngstown is in a valley). I can't get the other 2 Yongstown stations 24/7, not even with an outdoor antenna, since thier coverage area falls short. I get them occasionally when the atmosphere helps, but since I'm outside the circle I can't count on getting them.

Here is the WJAC digital repeater in State College:
http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/FMTV-service-area?x=LD1218507.html
It's on RF ch 42.