Digital Transition Information from DirecTV

**Chris Blount** · 06-12-09, 06:15 AM

Received this from DirecTV:

As you know already full power stations that have not already transitioned to a digital signal will be doing so on Friday 6/12. Overall we expect very few problems with the transition but here are a few last minute notes:
WNBC in NYC is expected to be down for 2 hours in the afternoon as they retrofit their transmitter. We will have on screen messaging up while this is happening and redirect to another station if needed.
We expect temporary outages for the following stations

Thursday June 11th:
6/11/09 – 2301 MT – Davenport, IA/Rock Island, IL/Moline, IL: KWQC 6 (NBC). Expected outage 1 hour.
6/11/09 – 2301 MT – Jackson, MS: WLBT 3 (NBC) Expected outage 2 hours
6/11/09 – 2335 MT – Cincinnati, OH: WKRC 25 (CW) Expected outage 2 hours
6/11/09 – 2335 MT – Cincinnati, OH: WKRC 12 (CBS) .Expected outage 2 hours

Friday June 12th:
6/12/09 – 0500 MT – Greenville- Spartanburg, SC/Ashville, NC: WLOS 13 (ABC) Expected outage up to 1 hr
6/12/09 – 0500 MT – Portland OR: KGW 8 (NBC) Expected outage - up to 1 hr
6/12/09 – 0500 MT – Seattle- Tacoma, WA: KCTS 9 (PBS) Expected outage 1 hour.
6/12/09 – 0700 MT – Washington DC-Hagerstown, MD: WDCW 50 (CW) Expected outage 1 hour.
6/12/09 – 0800 MT – Kansas City, MO: KMCI 38 (IND) Expected outage 1 hour.
6/12/09 - 0900 MT - Lansing MI: WKAR 23 (PBS) Expected outage 1 hour.
6/12/09 – 1030 MT – New York NY: WCBS 2 (CBS) Expected outage 2 hours
6/12/09 – 1030 MT – New York NY: WCBS – DNS 80, 380 & 390 (CBS) Channel will be in outage for approximately 2 hours
6/12/09 – 1130 MT – El Paso, TX: KTSM 9 (NBC) Expected outage- up to 1 hr
6/12/09 – 1200 MT – Salt Lake City UT: KTMW (IND) Expected outage 1 hour.
6/12/09 – 2159 MT – Miami-Ft Lauderdale. FL: WLTV 23 (IND) Expected outage 2 hours
6/12/09 – 2200 MT – Miami-Ft Lauderdale. FL: WSVNHD 7 (FOX) Expected outage 45 minutes
6/12/09 – 2159 MT – Tri-Cities, TN-VA: WCYB-CW 6 (CW) Expected outage 1 hour.
6/12/09 – 2159 MT – Tri-Cities, TN-VA: WCYB 5 (NBC) Expected outage 1 hour.
6/12/09 – 2200 MT - Boston MA: WMUR 9 (ABC) Expected outage 1 hour.
6/12/09 – 2258 MT – Salt Lake City UT: KUTH 32 (UNI) Expected outage 1 hour.
6/12/09 – 2259 MT – Topeka, KS: KSNT 27 (NBC) Expected outage 1 - 2 hours
6/12/09 – 2300 MT - Cedar Rapids, IA: KIIN 12 (PBS) Expected outage 6 hours
6/12/09 – 2300 MT – Des Moines- Ames, IA: KDIN 11(PBS) Expected outage 6 hours

Saturday June 13th
6/13/09 – 0059 MT - Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX: KBMTHD 12 (ABC) HD -Expected outage 4 hours
6/13/09 – 0059 MT – Chico-Redding, CA: KRCR 7 (ABC) Expected outage 1 hour.
6/13/09 – 0059 MT – San Francisco- Oakland- San Jose, CA: KRON 4 (MNT) Expected outage 2 hours
6/13/09 – 0100 MT – San Francisco- Oakland- San Jose, CA: KTVU 2(FOX) Expected outage 6 -12 hours

The following stations will be going dark after the transition:
Buffalo NY - WNGS Ch 67 (Ind)
Eugene OR - KTVC Ch 36 (Ind)
Fort Myers-Naples FL - WEVU Ch 4 (UNI)
Fort Smith AR - KPBI Ch 34 (Ind)
Little Rock-Pine Bluff - KKYK Ch 49 (Ind)
Oklahoma City OK - KUOK Ch 35 (UNI)
Salt Lake City UT - KCBU Ch 3 (Ind)
Salt Lake City UT - KUTF Ch 12 (TFT)
Spokane WA - KQUP Ch 24 (Ind)
Springfield MO - KWBM Ch 31 (MNT)
Butte-Bozeman MT - KBTZ Ch 24 (FOX/MNT)

Nick · 06-12-09, 06:33 AM

Thanks for posting, Chris -- a couple of thoughts, and a question...

- one would think that after all the time in preparation, the actual switch-over for these stations would be accomplished more quickly.

- Iowa: 6 hours to switch -- what's up with that?

Has Dish published a similar list of delays?

dodge boy · 06-12-09, 06:46 AM

Thanks for the info. Any idea where someone could find out if and when their OTA locals will change frequency? I use an AM21 to pick up my locals. Thanks.

ndark · 06-12-09, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Blount

Received this from DirecTV:

The following stations will be going dark after the transition:
Buffalo NY - WNGS Ch 67 (Ind)
Eugene OR - KTVC Ch 36 (Ind)
Fort Myers-Naples FL - WEVU Ch 4 (UNI)
Fort Smith AR - KPBI Ch 34 (Ind)
Little Rock-Pine Bluff - KKYK Ch 49 (Ind)
Oklahoma City OK - KUOK Ch 35 (UNI)
Salt Lake City UT - KCBU Ch 3 (Ind)
Salt Lake City UT - KUTF Ch 12 (TFT)
Spokane WA - KQUP Ch 24 (Ind)
Springfield MO - KWBM Ch 31 (MNT)
Butte-Bozeman MT - KBTZ Ch 24 (FOX/MNT)

What is the deal with these stations. I am in one of these markets and I rely on this station for Cardinals Baseball on Sundays. Are they gone for good? Is it DirecTV or the stations fault?

micster5 · 06-12-09, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ndark

What is the deal with these stations. I am in one of these markets and I rely on this station for Cardinals Baseball on Sundays. Are they gone for good? Is it DirecTV or the stations fault?

Most are gone for the forseeable future due to bankruptcy or lack of funds to convert to digital. I believe there are a total of 31 stations in the country going dark.

micster5 · 06-12-09, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick

Thanks for posting, Chris -- a couple of thoughts, and a question...

- one would think that after all the time in preparation, the actual switch-over for these stations would be accomplished more quickly.

- Iowa: 6 hours to switch -- what's up with that?

Has Dish published a similar list of delays?

Some stations are having to replace existing equipment with digital equipment which can't be done until the signal is down. Others are having to move transmission lines. It depends on the station and their situation.

Flash cut stations will be hit hardest as they didn't have a separate digital frequency to broadcast on so they have to go from say 18 analog to 18 digital with no alternative broadcast location.

ndark · 06-12-09, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by micster5

Most are gone for the forseeable future due to bankruptcy or lack of funds to convert to digital. I believe there are a total of 31 stations in the country going dark.

So it is the stations fault and not D*? That makes me feel better. I was not going to be a happy customer.

**Chris Blount** · 06-12-09, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dodge boy

Thanks for the info. Any idea where someone could find out if and when their OTA locals will change frequency? I use an AM21 to pick up my locals. Thanks.

Basically "SOS" (Scan on Saturday). It would be a good idea for everyone to run the scan on their OTA boxes Saturday morning. Some stations are changing frequency.

TBlazer07 · 06-12-09, 07:37 AM

New York City "flagship" CBS & NBC networks down for 2 hrs. I'm really surprised. You'd think they'd have figured it out by now.

They must be using the elevators in the ESB to move gear.

Quote:

"WNBC in NYC is expected to be down for 2 hours in the afternoon as they retrofit their transmitter"

"New York NY: WCBS 2 (CBS) Expected outage 2 hours"

dodge boy · 06-12-09, 07:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Blount

Basically "SOS" (Scan on Saturday). It would be a good idea for everyone to run the scan on their OTA boxes Saturday morning. Some stations are changing frequency.

Thank you... I can scan with my TV and hope that the networks updated their info to Tribune...

tvjay · 06-12-09, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick

Thanks for posting, Chris -- a couple of thoughts, and a question...

- one would think that after all the time in preparation, the actual switch-over for these stations would be accomplished more quickly.

My local stations made the switch in less then five minutes. My guess is that these stations that are taking longer have some very specific and challenging RF problems.

My questions for DirecTV is when will our OTA channels that are changing frequencies be working again on DirecTV?

harsh · 06-12-09, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dodge boy

Any idea where someone could find out if and when their OTA locals will change frequency?

With the AM21 what is important is when the guide data changes. Obviously the guide data shouldn't change before the station changes but less obviously, the guide data has to sync up before any of the modern DIRECTV OTA solutions will work.

cover · 06-12-09, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tvjay

My questions for DirecTV is when will our OTA channels that are changing frequencies be working again on DirecTV?

That is my question, too. WMC (NBC) in Memphis changed frequencies early AM, but HR20-700 still seems to be trying to tune the old frequency and getting a 771. I understand that this is a big deal, but there was _lots_ of warning and time to prepare.

**Greg Alsobrook** · 06-12-09, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cover

That is my question, too. WMC (NBC) in Memphis changed frequencies early AM, but HR20-700 still seems to be trying to tune the old frequency and getting a 771. I understand that this is a big deal, but there was _lots_ of warning and time to prepare.

FYI... WREG is switching at 9:23... So you should be able to test them in a bit as well.

David MacLeod · 06-12-09, 08:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cover

That is my question, too. WMC (NBC) in Memphis changed frequencies early AM, but HR20-700 still seems to be trying to tune the old frequency and getting a 771. I understand that this is a big deal, but there was _lots_ of warning and time to prepare.

until tribune updates the database from the info given from the station there is nothing D* can do.
if the database has been updated a rescan of ota channels would help.
it took 2 weeks last february to get 1 channel here corrected.

harsh · 06-12-09, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by micster5

Some stations are having to replace existing equipment with digital equipment which can't be done until the signal is down.

Antennas don't discriminate based on content; they discriminate based on wavelength. If the digital channel is staying where it is, there's no new hardware required. If the digital channel is taking over where the analog channel used to be, there's no new hardware required.

The problem is when they need to swap out the antenna itself to make a change to an entirely new frequency.

CopyCat · 06-12-09, 08:47 AM

Charleston SC switch times for today

WCSC (CBS) — 6 a.m.

WCIV (ABC) — Noon

WCBD (NBC) — 11:30 p.m.

harsh · 06-12-09, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David MacLeod

if the database has been updated a rescan of ota channels would help.

What is this "rescan of ota channels"? Modern DIRECTV OTA tuners don't have this capability and any other ATSC tuning devices aren't dependent on any database.

Steveknj · 06-12-09, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TBlazer07

New York City "flagship" CBS & NBC networks down for 2 hrs. I'm really surprised. You'd think they'd have figured it out by now.

They must be using the elevators in the ESB to move gear.

Why wouldn't they do this at 2AM instead of 2PM. Seems odd they'd do it smack in the middle of the day. I know in the IT world, ALL conversions are done after hours.

VARTV · 06-12-09, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tvjay

My questions for DirecTV is when will our OTA channels that are changing frequencies be working again on DirecTV?

Good question!!! We lost our MNT station on 4/30 and the ABC station this morning...

David MacLeod · 06-12-09, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steveknj

Why wouldn't they do this at 2AM instead of 2PM. Seems odd they'd do it smack in the middle of the day. I know in the IT world, ALL conversions are done after hours.

wondering about that myself, saw a few doing this in daytime. wondered if it was due to payroll/overtime issues

VARTV · 06-12-09, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David MacLeod

until tribune updates the database from the info given from the station there is nothing D* can do.
if the database has been updated a rescan of ota channels would help.
it took 2 weeks last february to get 1 channel here corrected.

What?

say-what · 06-12-09, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by harsh

What is this "rescan of ota channels"? Modern DIRECTV OTA tuners don't have this capability and any other ATSC tuning devices aren't dependent on any database.

Um, people do have other ATSC equipment in their households - also, "rescanning"/redoing OTA setup on a DirecTV box will refresh the OTA guide data on the box.

harsh · 06-12-09, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steveknj

I know in the IT world, ALL conversions are done after hours.

Funny you should mention that. The time-keeping company that my employer uses is updating their website software at 2pm next Wednesday. As we're two time zones later, it hits us when we would clock out for lunch.

I'm guessing that daylight and security are overriding concerns in operations like changing out broadcasting gear.

Steveknj · 06-12-09, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David MacLeod

wondering about that myself, saw a few doing this in daytime. wondered if it was due to payroll/overtime issues

The only thing that makes sense to me was that not all of their resources (perhaps outside sources) were not available outside of business hours. Especially union folks. Although I wonder if things like that were covered by Federal money.