I asked CBC basically the same question, and I got this reply

"With regard to promotion of over-the-air signals, I think stations should promote the fact that the over-the-air signal is at the bit-rate the station transmits. Depending on the cable company or satellite provider, they may "transrate" from 1080i to 720p, and/or lower the bit rate. Bell ExpressVu downgrades us to 720p, and some of the channels to 12 mbits from 19.4."

Frustrating to see the beatiful new TV's connected to the Ch 3 output of a satellite receiver

Probably because for many of their regions, this is true. There aren't a huge number of HDTV channels broadcasting yet in Canada, and what there are are limited to major cities and/or border towns.


Same answer as #1. In locations such as the GTA they'd be wrong, *but* you do have to take into account the installation, reliability and inconvenience factor for new people setting up antannas. Most people want plug and play 100% reliability.

I'm just north of Toronto in Markham with a rather large and expensive antanna system that I love the picture quality from, but even still south Buffalo for me completely disappears during inclement weather and is also difficult for me to get in summer months. If I'm not around I set my Rogers DVR to record a program, not my OTA DVR, since I usually have to be there to guarantee antenna reliability.

Chances are people further south, higher up or just not in a valley like I am don't go through all my difficulties, but it's just an example of why antennas aren't for everyone everywhere.


Chicken-and-egg problem, mostly due to there being limited places they can actually be used. I don't think any electronics retailer that actually sells to Canada (ie. J&R, B&H) would block receiver sales, but if they do perhaps they've had a lot of people who can't actually make use of them buying and returning them.

I agree with you that an antenna is not for everyone and is site specific. You may be to far from the broadcast towers or blocked by an apartment building. Or, you may really need/want a specialty channel.
However, a significant percentage of the Canadian population live in the "Golden Horseshoe" and can receive the best available digital and high definition television free directly from the stations broadcast towers. This means that the advertising and generally populated perception is false and misleading. Especially so in the areas along the border eg. Lake Ontario/St Lawrence from Montreal to Niagara Falls. But still in any market that has just one available digital broadcast station (most will have converted by 2011).

I think the real reason is financial. Rogers or other cable providers have absolutely no interest in promoting over the air HDTV... in fact, they would rather it would go away. The remaining analog channels in Toronto look for every opportunity to delay HDTV over the air ... ie look at Global and OMNI TV. There is no incentive for them to broadcast in HD since the vast majority of their customers watch them on cable. Why should they risk upsetting the cable providers, their bread and butter.

The same goes for Best Buy and Future Shop ... its more profitable to sell a set-top box from Rogers or equivalent then to sell an antenna. Also, they would also risk upsetting the cable providers by promoting over the air hd.

OMNI is owned by Rogers.
Some may like the prospect of eliminating all free television.

Anyone Please Help !!!

I have an RCA amplified UHF/VHF HD ready antenna and I was receiving all the channels in HD (PBS, FOX, NBC, CBS etx) up until a week ago. I can still view analog channels but the HD ones show as No Signal on my LG HDTV.

I tried connecting another HD antenna to see if the Antenna was damaged but no luck. I got the same result.

I tried to do another search to see if the channel numbers changed. Everything is just like your post says (14-1 for Fox, 32-1 for CW etx). I don't understand why I can not view the HD channels anymore. Seeking advice from anyone that can help.

Thanks,
Mark

Which store in St. Catharines did you get it from??

Hey, newbie here, so please forgive me if I'm re-asking old question(s).

#1 - Can anyone tell me if the CTV HD feed in toronto (40-1 or 9-1) broadcasts the "CTV Toronto" feed, or the "CTV Southwestern Ontario" feed? The answer has certain football-watching ramifications :)

#2 - Just got an HDHomerun that tunes ClearQAM and 8VSB OTA signals. I live in a condo that's directly southwest of the CN Tower, but unfortunately I face away from the tower (I face west, and a tall building obstructs my view). I'm also in a ~10floor unit.

A very cheap pair of rabbit ears by the window pulls in intermittent CTV (40) and CBC (20). I could put an actual antenna on my tiny balcony and angle it so that it faces SSW. I'm just wondering if I can realistically expect to pull in anything else, either from Buffalo, or from the CN tower via multipath.

Last complication - there's strong wind in my area, so whatever antenna I use has to be quite sturdy.

Can anyone here chime in with success/failure stories, or recommendations for antennas or amplifiers?

Much appreciated, and keep up the excellent work guys.

#1 I believe CTV HD 9-1 is CTV Toronto.

#2 With a better antenna you should be able to get CTV, CBC, CityTV and SunTV. It would be harder to get Buffalo without a good sight line, but you won't likely know for sure till you try it.

I should mention that you MIGHT be able to get the Toronto stations. If you don't have line-of-sight to the CN Tower then you're relying almost purely on reflections for reception, which can be unreliable due to multipath (which means one "reflection" gets to you at a different time then the other, and your HDTV receiver can have difficulty picking out which one to use).

Thanks guys -- Vanslide, I should mention that someone in the digitalhome forum claims that the CTV HD East feed will carry my game of interest ('boys and lions), while the CTV Toronto feed will carry the 'Fins and Bills game. He didn't cite his sources, so I guess we'll find out who's right on Sunday...

Daniel - I'm so close to the tower and in such an odd location that multipath due to reflection is likely a significant issue, as you pointed out. The HDHomerun is supposed to have a decent rake receiver to deal with multipath in urban settings, but that might just be marketing hype. An acquaintance has an AntennasDirect DB4 that he's willing to loan me so I'll give that a shot and see what happens. Thanks again for the info!

Hi,

Has anyone experienced any changes in CITY-TV? I'm operating off a PCI card in my computer. I have a DB4 in the attic. I had it initially, but it does not come up on recent scans.

Thanks in advance.

Paul

I am in north york and use a pci card as well with a phillips amplified indoor antenna. I have seen no changes to CITY TV. Signal strength is high and has not changed. Check your antenna or cables.

I have been able to receive a new subchannel on WKBW Buffalo at 7.3 that is identified as WCSN (World Championship Sport Network). Don't know if this is a distant signal being picked up as a result of the recent storm or a new addition at WKBW. Any one else able to see this channel?

Daniel,
An update for 38-3 - WCSN in Buffalo is needed for your channel map.


Thanks