2 D.C. Stations Lost to Viewers in Digital TV Transition

Washington Post ^ | June 17, 2009 | Kim Hart

[La Lydia]

Your Nation's Capital. I am beginning to think this entire conversion scheme was imposed by Congress in order to benefit the cable TV industry.

[mountainlion]

Did they really expect the government HDTV to work?

[xcamel]

Same thing with CBS-6 in Albany, NY, who insisted on keeping their VHF-6 frequency.

Bad idea.

[hoosierham]

Of course it was.And also DirectTV.

[pnh102]

When I lived in downtown Silver Spring back in 2006 I had a similar problem. I was able to tune in the Baltimore HD channels perfectly but the DC HD stations did not come in at all.

[Red_Devil 232]

This is great! Now if we can only make the same thing hapen to the NBC stations!

[bgill]

Ever since ours went to the supposed new and improved system it’s been nothing but a headache. Pictures are all pixilated or there’s no signal or it jumps or pauses or some other annoyance. And the cable company has been out twice and finally got us back onto the Military channel but we still can’t get the NHL channel which we used to get. Not to mention our bill went up. Thanks so very much!

[WayneS]

Unfortunately, both of those stations are coming in clearly at my house.

[hedgetrimmer]

Yes it was. because broadcast TV is free, and now everyone has to pay a ‘service provider’.

By running out all the tv broadcasters off the bands promised to them by the FCC, they have opened up a host of new bands for the cellular industry and of course the politicians will benefit greatly from the corporate lobby for doing it.

Broadcasting tv doesn’t pay politicians, citizens are not represented by Congress. More corruption , all the time.

[1rudeboy]

Are there any electronics nerds out there who can explain something to me? I hooked-up one digital box (made in China) at my parent's house and they now receive 8 channels. I visited a friend about five miles away, and her digital box (made in Taiwan) was receiving about 20 channels.

The TV sets involved here were both old (my parent's was probably nicer), both digital boxes were wired the same way, and my parent's antenna is nicer.

Will "tuning" the antenna make that much of a difference? Did five miles make that much of a difference? (Illinois where the Earth is flat).

[pepperdog]

Poor DC no ABC. Wouldn't it be lovely if ABC across the country went down during the Healthcare Obamathon?

[Jim Noble]

Watching TV drops your IQ by 10-15 points.

The ones who couldn't figure this out can't afford those points - it's all that's keeping them alive.

So, shutting off their TVs is actually doing them a world of good.

[GeorgiaDawg32]

when I worked contract in jacksonville, illinois, I hooked up my digital box and was only able to get 2 stations consistently..IF I adjusted the antenna, I lost those stations but picked up, albeit briefly, 3 other stations that would go, then come back, then go..etc..

Over Christmas, I was able to get about 20 stations (including sub-channels), but those went away if there was a cloud somewhere..

All in all, 5 miles can make a big difference when talking about digital tv unless the antenna is perfectly tweaked and even then it may have to be re-tweaked to pick up other stations (meaning you may lose those you currently have)..

[ArrogantBustard]

I pick up 7-1 (ABC), 7-2 (Weather plus WTOP audio), 7-3 (Retro TV), 9-1 (CBS) and 9-2 (Wx RADAR) just fine.

In the Shenandoah Valley.

Using the mast mounted aerial I've been using for 10 years.

[Renkluaf]

Actually, the most interested parties were the wireless carriers. They wanted/needed the spectrum freed up from analog broadcasts.

[Sig Sauer P220]

Ever since ours went to the supposed new and improved system it’s been nothing but a headache. Pictures are all pixilated or there’s no signal or it jumps or pauses or some other annoyance.

Same here.

[KarlInOhio]

Pointing the antenna will make a difference. It is possible that five miles farther from where the transmitters are will bunch them into one general location on the compass, while a closer location will make them appear at many different headings so the receiver can't pick them all up with the antenna pointing in one direction. That brings back memories of my parents old antenna rotor.

Also, the quality of the RF amplifier in the tuner makes a huge difference.

[freekitty]

People in Washington DC should call the WH for an ABC connection since they have taken up residence there.

[1rudeboy]

By tuner, you mean the digital box itself? I was thinking of swapping-out the box first.

[KarlInOhio]

By tuner, you mean the digital box itself? I was thinking of swapping-out the box first.

Yes, the digital box. The TV will have nothing to do with how good the reception is if you have an external digital tuner and are just running either composite, S-video or component video signals from it to the TV.

One site to try out is www.tvfool.com which allows you to enter your address (and your friend's) to see which direction the TV stations are.