FYI
June 10th, 2009 at 5:03 pm by Dennis Majewicz under TV Tech Talk
As I write this, it’s one day and about sixteen hours to go for WIVB and WNLO to shut down our analog transmitters. But did you know that not everyone in this market will shut down at the same time?
If you’re keeping score:
WIVB-TV, WNLO and WKBW-TV are all shutting down analog service at 9:00AM Friday, June 12th.
WPXJ is expected to end analog operations at 9:00AM. At the same time, it will begin digital operations on UHF channel 23 (when WNLO analog vacates that channel).
WGRZ-TV is scheduled to cease analog programming at 1:00PM on Friday. However, they will maintain what is called a “Nighlight” service for two weeks after that. This service is a loop of informational programming that gives details on the DTV transition and tips on how to receive digital transmission on your set.
UPDATE: WNYO-TV will cease analog operations at 11:00AM Friday morning. They will then “Flash Cut” their current digital assignment from UHF channel 34 to UHF channel 49.
As you know, WNED-TV and WUTV have already ceased analog operations earlier this year.
We want to stress that you do a fresh channel scan sometime after these changes to ensure that your receiver finds any channel changes that may have occured.
Please add to your info that “Rabbit Ears” could still work if you have an HD tuner on a more recent set. We have been watching HD for 2years…..we went through the change in Florida early this year when it was originally scheduled and our “Rabbit Ears” was all we needed for our Flat Screen TV’s.
I hate to see people being scared for the wrong reasons. But there are those, I realize, who just “just won’t get it” until they have to.
Excellent point Gary. Something overlooked in all this is the fact that all TV’s manufactured after the spring of 2007 must have a digital tuner. In fact, after May of 2007 any set that does NOT have a digital tuner must be clearly labeled as such.
There may be a lot of viewers who are ready for digital and perhaps didn’t know it.
An obvious indicator is the on-screen display when you change channels. If it says 4-1 or 23-1 you are watching a digital channel.
Personally I use rabbit ears at my house for over-the-air reception and they work just fine but may not in all cases. It’s certainly worth trying before purchasing an expensive antenna.
THERE IS LITTLE OR NO SIGNAL IN THE DAYTON – SOUTH DAYTON AREA. ALL I CAN GET IS CHANNEL 26-1 AND 26-2 WITH A ROOFTOP ANTENNA. WE GOT 6 CLEAR LOCAL CHANNELS BEFORE TODAY. THANKS FCC.
we have a hd ready tv hooked up to a 100 mile plus antenna some stations…MAINLY CHANNEL 4 and 2 keep freezing and breaking up!! whats up with that? thinking this hd/digital stuff is for the birds! any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!we are in niagara falls and shoukld be getting buffalo stations with no problems!
I think it’s for the birds as well because I can only scan four channels on my upstairs TV and two of those cutting out all the time! I’ve been watching channel 4 from Buffalo for as long as I can remember and now most of the time all I get is a black screen with “no signal”. If it does come in it’s only for a few seconds and then it’s gone again. Extremely frustrating!!! Is there any way to correct this??
A good antenna, properly installed with good quality cable to the set (we recommend RG-6, not RG-59). You may need professional help with antenna installations.
what is going on with Channel 49 I can’t get it I did a scan and nothing!
A good antenna with professional installation sounds like a lot of money that I do not have to spare but thanks for your advice Dennis.
I’m still waiting for the answer what is going on with Channel 49 MYTV Buffalo I’ve been scanning daily and no channel????
Michael,
Call them and ask the question. We have nothing to do with that station.
Well I didn’t get any new stations and lost WNYO, the only analog UHF station I got. I will admit I am still a happy camper.
The reason I writing is maybe this information will help some one. Last summer I hook up an converter box on a combo UHF-VHF antenna for an elderly couple . They live on hill all of 2500 feet up, they are on the highest point on that hill, they also got great analog reception. Although their location is very wooded, the reception was great, I was looking forward to seeing what the convert box would do. It was terrible, I got 4 and 7 bouncing in and out. I came back a week later with a pre-amp, hoping I would have better success, and I didn’t. They were considering going to satellite, but as always they go south for the winter, they decided when they came back this summer to have another try at it. Now the combo VHF-UHF antenna they had, had a long UHF element, but nothing to speak of as far as corner reflector. Anyhow I suggested a new UHF only antenna, from a retailer online. We moved the antenna, put it on a new mast and got a lot of height on it, plus ran all RG6.
It work, they got 2,4,7, and WPSU a PBS station out of Clearfield Pa. On June 13th I went up and added ch 51 for them. With sub-channels they get 12 channels and are happy. The bottom line the location of and what I suspect was a weak UHF element in the antenna didn’t cut it. My personal opinion, a lot of UHF-VHF combo antenna’s are made for great VHF reception, but have a lot to be desired for UHF. If you live a good distance from the transmitters, you want something that has great UHF reception, you at least want some idea of what the UHF element is rated for, not the VHF.
Interesting story, Warren. Can you give me a general idea of their location? Regarding WNYO, they changed channels and moved from 34 to 49. Did you do a rescan? You may have to do a factory reset and then a channel scan to get them again.
Dennis ,I live a few miles north of Wellsville, right next to the Genesse river, in the valley and I really thought I would get WNYO and with moved back to their old transmitter, I felt the odds were good that I would still receive WNYO, but the reality is different. As far as WNYO analog signal, it was the only UHF analog signal I got 100 percent of the time. When you live where I do, you get use to noise in your TV picture if you watch anything over the air, and WNYO had noise. Even with DTV noise is a factor, for example WIVB is almost all the time at 80 to 90 percent signal strength and 100 percent signal quality, WGRZ about 90 percent signal strength but only around 24 percent signal quality, WKBW about 70 percent signal strength and 6 to 8 percent signal quality, but a solid picture, bottom line lots of noise where I live, although sometimes I get WGRZ and WKBW at 100 percent signal quality.
Back to WNYO. I can tune to Ch. 49, the actual frequency and I could a get little signal about 50 percent signal strength now and then bounce in and out, but no picture and no signal quality. Tuesday morning, I believe what they call Tropospheric Ducting were the difference in air temperature is different in the upper atmosphere anyhow, you know more about that then I do, I am not into UHF DXing, I don’t even know if TV stations send out QSL cards. Anyhow Tuesday morning with ducting I got WNLO 23 and WPSU Clearfield Pa. and for the first time WNYO on 49. WNYO stay in the longest after every
other station faded out and I began to think I would get it again, but eventually it disappear like the rest, ( with the exception of WPSU, which I get signal on 100 percent of time, just not enough for a picture). Consider the solid picture I got before on WNYO and the according to this web site, http://www.recnet.com/cdbs/fmq.php?facid=67784 I am right on the line of their contour, I would at least see signal on WNYO 100 percent of the time, but I don’t even get that. I do get a picture at least one you can watch about 50 percent of the time out of Toronto, on UHF, CH 19 and 25 being the best for reception and sometime CH 41 and 47. Almost all the time I can see CH 19 and 25 flicker in and out and I use them as a gauge as to want might being going on as far as ducting, I have also pick up CBLT DT on CH 20 but rarely.. Not bad consider my laptop GPS puts my home at around 1370 feet above sea level.
Sorry for writing a book here. The elderly couple I mention above, live further north from here and are a lot higher up then I am, with a rotor on their antenna, and they can’t get WNYO , so I don’t feel that bad. For the record I did play with the position of one of my antennas to try to get WNYO with no positive results, so I set it for WPSU, I have two different antenna mast with different antennas. Thanks for reading this, I promise I will keep it briefer next time
Out here in the Little Valley area most of are getting nothing. We bought a new antenna and it didn’t help, we still got no signal. Today is June 22 and we still have no tv. I am told that there are no transmitter towers in our area and will have to wait to get some in the area. I think this whole thing stinks big time.
well at least somebody is getting the point what they should do is this start doing a signal test like before because lately all channels are not strong some are scrambled
In the past when our power went out I turned on our battery operated emergency (analog) TV to watch for school closings, traffic reports, weather reports… Any suggestions for what to do now other than listen to the battery operated radio for when Buffalo weather socks us with power outages?
It is July 3, I still don’t get signal out here in Little Valley. I’m finding it’s like quiting smoking, the longer you go the easer it gets, soon I wou’t miss tv at all. So who gets hurt in the long run? It I feel this way how many others are feeling it too? I find I get alot more done and am doing more without the tv to keep me company.