DirecTV Adds Local HD Channels: Channel 5 (ABC) and 25 (Fox)

[HFK]

Hi Folks,

Just a heads-up to DTV customers: sometime late last week I noticed a duplicated Channel 5 (Local ABC) and 25 on (Local Fox) on DTV's line-up. Last night I discovered that they're not actually duplicates: they're HDTV versions of the two channels. This is especially welcome in the case of Channel 5, as it is the only major player in the metro that transmits it's digital signel in VHF, rather than UHF and, consequently, some Over-the-Air (OTA) folks have trouble receiving it out here in the Burbs (my attic antenna is UHF-only, as is my LNA: I wanted to achieve as much UHF gain as possible, and I get great reception at 30miles + from the antenna farm, but at the cost of VHF).

Not sure when the other locals will be added and, of course, all of this was supposed to happen last year, but at least it's finally getting done.

Preliminary, and cursory, comparison of OTA HD Fox and DTV HD Fox during some NASCar last night seemed to reveal that the DTV signal is not quite as sharp as the OTA signal but I didn't really expect it to be. Don't get me wrong: it looks great. I suppose that, after I got hooked on HD, I got a bit spoiled too: I want every bit of clarity possible.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Did DTV cave to Hearst-Argyle or something?

[drumsncode]

All this talk of HDTV inspired me to look into getting my world upgraded. I was thrilled to learn that the signal is actually better over the air than anywhere else. "Revenge of the antenna nerds!"

I still have standard resolution, but I just ordered a Samsung HD Tuner which will allow me to tune in digital signals and feed them to my existing stuff. I'll get clarity I've never had, and when it's time to take the plunge on an expensive TV and Hi-Def DVD recorder, I'll be ready.

When it comes to electronics gear, my motto is "He who buys last, buys best". It gets better each year and cheaper each year. (Kinda like me, only I get older each year, and stingier)

Thanks HFK, for the original post which caused me to take the initial plunge.

[PUGalicious]

I was thrilled to learn that the signal is actually better over the air than anywhere else.

According to whom?

[drumsncode]

According to all my reading on Google, and my point is supported by the original post.

Cable companies often compress the signal to save bandwidth, so I suppose they can jam more channels onto the cable. The over-the-air signal does not suffer from this. The difference might not be visible, who knows, but I like FREE, and over-the-air is free!

I'm sure there are some serious TV guys on this site than can really bring the detailed facts, but after reading for several days, I'm convinced.

My Samsung Hi-Def Tuner will arrive in a day or two. Once I get it hooked up and feed a standard resolution signal to my existing TV, I'll report back and let everyone know what differences they can expect.

NEWS9 has a signal right now that is already insanely great, I can hardly wait for no traces of ghosting, and I look forward to getting the micro-snow out of my Channel 5 picture.

[PUGalicious]

I use both over-the-air and Cox HD, most because of necessity because of 5 and 25 not making their signals available on Cox.

It may be true that the over-the-air signal at its source is superior to cable, but my experience is that the cable option is still the best for a few reasons:

1) The over-the-air HD signal is adversely affected by various electronic interferences, including mobile phone usage and other issues that we've yet to be able to figure out. Depending on the day and the time of the day, we have problems with the over-the-air signal being degraded significantly and/or dropped altogether. It can be very frustrating when watching a sporting event and the signal skips repeatedly and/or drops altogether. I haven't run into that issue with cable in the last year.

2) The HD quality on Cox HD is as good as I've seen anywhere else. The HD picture is amazing on Cox's HD channels. I cannot see any difference in the quality between over-the-air and cable signals of KFOR and KWTV. If there is compression of the signal, I don't see it affecting the clarity of the HD picture at all.

3) To my knowledge, ESPNHD, ESPN2HD, Discover HD Theater (which has amazing programming with stunning HD pictures), National Geographic HD and several other HD channels are not available over-the-air. I wouldn't give up my ESPNHD or Discover HD Theater for anything. They are definitely worth the price of admission.

I could probably find a better over-the-air antenna, but then that would cost a pretty penny and then what am I really saving with the "free" over-the-air signal?

[drumsncode]

I live about 15 miles from the antennas in a flat area, so it will be interesting to see what happens. I plan on using a relatively good Radio Shack antenna indoors, and we'll go from there. If things work out well, that should be all I need according to what I've read, but then again, you never know until you try.

I'll report back and everyone can have the benefit of my "experiment". Some people out there are probably wondering if they should take a partial plunge into HD without buying all the gear at once.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

I wouldn't give up my ESPNHD or Discover HD Theater for anything. They are definitely worth the price of admission.

I could probably find a better over-the-air antenna, but then that would cost a pretty penny and then what am I really saving with the "free" over-the-air signal?

I'd give up most of my HD channels if it meant I could keep the Planet Earth series Discovery has been showing lately. It's the best HD content I've seen in the several years I've had HD. Amazing.

Oh...And drumsncode...Unless I'm mistaken (it happens), you aren't going to get an HD signal to display at all on your standard def TV. If you do, it's because that tuner box you bought is going to down-step the signal to 480i, negating the point. You'd get the same picture by buying a decent OTA antenna instead of $8 rabbit ears.

[PUGalicious]

I live about 15 miles from the antennas in a flat area, so it will be interesting to see what happens.

I live in Edmond less than 10 miles from all the TV towers... I can actually see them from my front porch... and I still have trouble getting consistent, quality, uninterrupted signals from either of those stations. I hope you have better luck at twice the distance.

I plan on using a relatively good Radio Shack antenna indoors, and we'll go from there.

I purchased a not-inexpensive HD over-the-air antenna from Radio Shack myself with the "promise" that it should provide "cable-quality" HD reception, especially considering how near the stations I live. It's fallen woefully short of expectations. I hope you have better luck with your Radio Shack antenna.

[drumsncode]

I'd give up most of my HD channels if it meant I could keep the Planet Earth series Discovery has been showing lately. It's the best HD content I've seen in the several years I've had HD. Amazing.

Oh...And drumsncode...Unless I'm mistaken (it happens), you aren't going to get an HD signal to display at all on your standard def TV. If you do, it's because that tuner box you bought is going to down-step the signal to 480i, negating the point. You'd get the same picture by buying a decent OTA antenna instead of $8 rabbit ears.

I wasn't claiming I would be seeing a Hi-Def signal on a standard TV, I am looking just to get clean, digital tuning, and let the Samsung convert the signal to 480i. There are switches on the back of the unit to handle that. It's a very flexible piece of equipment and that's why I wanted to get it early.

I do not have $8 rabbit ears, it's a reasonably nice Radio Shack antenna with enough controls to drive me crazy.

The bottom line is that I'm just trying to "get ready" for true HD, and getting a nice clean digital signal is my first step. I'm tired of the slight ghost on NEWS9 and the micro-snow on KOCO.

It will do me good to get the Over-the-Air antenna problems solved early, before I ever take the plunge into spending a small fortune on a new TV and a hi-def DVD recorder.

If everyone has the reception problems that people are reporting, there's going to be a lot of complaints to the stations. I've read quite a few of them myself on the web coming from different metropolitan areas.

[SoonerDave]

The biggest problem I believe you would see reported most consistently is with Channel 5's OTA HD signal. I live in SW OKC, and am in that deadzone wherein you can barely get their analog broadcast, let alone HD. It has to do with Ch 5 consciously weakening their signal to protect stations in Wichita Falls and Little Rock, IIRC. When Hearst-Argyle pulled KOCO's HD signal from Cox in their little blackmail scheme, Cox viewers were left in the cold - and I squarely blame Hearst Argyle for that. But that's a side issue.

There's a website that has a scheme for drawing in the Ch 5 HD signal via the use of some channel traps and filters, and it supposedly works, just haven't had the time to build something similar. Just frustrating that Ch 5 is allowed effectively to block their signal from a significant part of the greater metro..

Aside from that, my $5 UHF antenna picks up just about every other HD station here in town just fine...a few quirks here and there, but the things I want to watch generally come in just fine...

-soonerdave

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

I wasn't claiming I would be seeing a Hi-Def signal on a standard TV, I am looking just to get clean, digital tuning, and let the Samsung convert the signal to 480i. There are switches on the back of the unit to handle that. It's a very flexible piece of equipment and that's why I wanted to get it early.

I do not have $8 rabbit ears, it's a reasonably nice Radio Shack antenna with enough controls to drive me crazy.

The bottom line is that I'm just trying to "get ready" for true HD, and getting a nice clean digital signal is my first step. I'm tired of the slight ghost on NEWS9 and the micro-snow on KOCO.

It will do me good to get the Over-the-Air antenna problems solved early, before I ever take the plunge into spending a small fortune on a new TV and a hi-def DVD recorder.

If everyone has the reception problems that people are reporting, there's going to be a lot of complaints to the stations. I've read quite a few of them myself on the web coming from different metropolitan areas.

I'm really not trying to dissuade you from buying it, heck, I'm one of the worst when it comes to buying what *I* want, not what others think I should. It's given me a very nice home stereo/theater setup that makes my front door rattle, but it HAS bitten me in the behind a few times too. I'm just trying to understand where you're getting the idea that complicating your setup is going to give you a better picture.


Unless I'm REALLY missing something here....Here's my main issue with that decoder box...It's already pretty much obsolete because just about all HDTV's sold right now come with a HDTV decoder built right in. All you need is an antenna and Bob's your uncle. That's why there aren't stacks of off-brand HDTV converters sitting at WalMart for $29.99...Only $200 ones if you can even find them.