Daniel on the MPEG4 subject. Well the comparison is not going to be fair because it also uses 8PSK and more specifically the DVB-S2 standard and ATSC uses 8-VSB. Well ,anyways, to the point . This weekend I locked to the Uruguayan Mux or multiplex on Hispasat 1D @30W and it broadcasts 6 SD channels from Uruguay obviously plus 3 or 4 radio stations I think. Uruguay uses the European PAL system therefore has more vertical resolution that the old NTSC as we know. The amazing thing is that they are squeeeeezing those 6 SD channels on only 7.2 Mhz of bandwith !!! on that TransPonder # 80 which BTW is also shared with at least 4 SD channels more but those are using regular QPSK and maybe even that TP could also be up to 72 Mhz wide (on that bird there are TP from 24 to 72 Mhz bandwith).

7200 Msps is the SR on that Uruguayan mux therefore only 7.2 Mhz are dedicated for the Mux and the picture quality is very good , obviously SD grade, but you do not see any macroblocking or any compresion effects that you normaly see on other TV Channels that are using similar SR but with regular QPSK and MPEG2 combination. In other words for the cost of only 7.2 Mhz of Satellite bandwith which is always expensive they are effectively broadcasting 6 SD channels. The catch the SAT receiver has to be DVB-S2 and MPEG4 capable and those are more expensive than regular DVB-S receivers but undoubtly a lot of an improvement. Anyways I do not see ATSC implementing MPEG4 in the near future either.

Just a comment.

New to the Forum (been lurking for years) !!! Just noticed 2-3 is up notifying that retro TV is coming soon. Also, full analog cutoff is extended to June 26 with DTV cutover at 1:00 p.m. tomorrow.

As an aside, I am having trouble with 17 (WNED PBS). Any suggestions as to compass location from west end of Toronto? Had Lou from Hosick install a CM rotor on my CM 4228, increase the height as I live in the Humber Valley and now this is the only channel I have problems with.

Cheers.

and they keep extending it! unbeleivable !!. If they keep adding subchannels the Picture quality on Cable or Satellite will be better than OTA one of these days , lol. But anyways , for Retro TV fans is very good news.

Just an FYI for those East of Toronto. I monitored the Cutover of WPXJ Batavia. They came online 30 seconds after WNLO Shutdown their analog transmitter. I had to rescan to recieve them with their 3 sub-channels. Their DT Ch-23 signal is exceptionally strong at my location in Stouffville. I didn't expect to get such a good signal from them. I believe WNYO will cutover back to ch-49 at 11AM this morning, and I will monitor that one as well.

Retro TV is now broadcasting on 2-3 in 480i sd. Quality certainly beats 2-2 usa sports and doesn't seem to affect main hd broadcast quality.

WPXJ has 3 sub-channels and they do look better than what WGRZ is providing with 2. I think its how they allocate the bandwidth. We wouldn't want WGRZ to drop the quality too much of their HD programming so they are being conservative to what they give their sub-channels.

Hi Warrencres

I too am having trouble with 17 (WNED PBS) recently, their signal in Richmond Hill is not as good as before, not sure what they have done this past month or so. However, chn 17 (RF 43) is about 10 degrees east of due south from your location, or try about 15 degrees but it will be hit or miss if it is as I receive them. Best time is after 7 PM for me.

I actually requested info from WNED but only got standard cookie mill reply ---> check antenna etc. I asked them why not revert back to rf 17 after analogue shutdown since the Toronto OMNI on rf 44 will drown them out in a year or two when OMNI goes full power, follow chn 49 lead????

Good luck.

PS: Channel 2 is my most reliable station, seldom disappears.

Nueatit

Finally found a pixelated 17 after some work You're right about being east of south. Hopefully it will be better tonite. Finally found CTS - the last holdout!!!

I just re-scanned (5:00pm) and did not find the WPXJ. WNLO is still using 23-1 as their PSIP, so my TV reverts to this when I enter 23. Anybody else getting WPXJ?

RTN is back!
Plus ION has arrived!

Glow-Ball [if anyone remembers the SCTV clone of the early '70s] just ran a bit on their 'Consumer SOS' segment.
At least they were honest about antenna use, CFTO/CTV never mentioned OTA alternatives on their news.
I'm getting WGRZ-DT's 2.3 subch. I've entered high VHF D7 for WNGS but see only a blank screen.

6:30 PM..

What the hell am I picking up on D-16?......hold it, that was 1/2 hour ago now I'm getting PSIP......it is WSEE-DT,
..found out...CBS in Erie PA!! 7:14PM....WSEE just winked out but I'm keeping it in the main *.mcl file.
It seems to have two sub-channels.....WPEB-DT and WICU-DT....wooo-hooo!, now if they will only stabilize!
WICU is the NBC affiliate.....an all-in-one operation I guess.

Hey Daniel! how about covering Erie PA in the charts?

C & P from plumbot:

WBEP is the CW affiliate for Erie, Pennsylvania. It broadcasts on cable as part of The CW Plus, as the Erie market is ranked below 100. It is co-operated by WICU-TV and WSEE-TV. WBEP also airs as a digital subchannel of WSEE.

The station primarily covers the Northwest Region of Pennsylvania and portions of Cattaraugus County, New York (not adjacent to WBEP's coverage area).

Beginning in June 2009, WSEE will move its 11:00 newscast to 10:00 and air it on WBEP, so that it no longer competes with sister station WICU. Eventually, as contracts expire, WSEE and WICU's news teams will merge, so that the same news team is producing newscasts for all three stations.
75 kW of power with equipment acquired from Axcera.

What I get on DTV 16 is WXXI Rochester, but not consistently. I've never gotten WSEE on 16, but I guess its because I'm much closer to Rochester.

Did any of the Rochester stations change channel allotments today?

However Erie PA isn't very stable, the program material just duplicates Buffalo and I get better picture quality from Buffalo.
What irks me is if I can receive 75 Kw signals from there then I should be gettin all Canadian stations but the only one I can count on is CBC digital. As said in the past, for me, CFTO-DT is hit and miss,like tonight...couldn't get the news...so watched on analogue but then the HD came in during the CSI repeat. Global/CIII I only watch the news during supper on 41..have never got the DT, nor any Hamilton stations.

You say ION has two subchannels? .... I'm just getting the one and no PSIP data yet,which is needed to set the subs.
I feel sorry for the PBS station in Erie, they have had a bad couple of years, according to an article on the WICU site.

As of this edit, I now have WPXJ UHF 23 I see all of their output and they do it by just having four SD channels, appropriate for their retro reruns, sports and kids' programs but that worship channel got the chop! Still no PSIP TV listings yet.

Actually I like them on UHF 43, as I'm trying to get CHCH-D18 but no luck so far.