How are you liking the fancy DTV so far?
By Paul Lundgren on Feb 18, 2009 in Media Watch
WDIO dropped its analog signal and went fully digital last night. Folks with digital televisions (or with converter boxes) have to rescan channels today in order for WDIO to come in. The station will not be at full power until Feb. 20. In the meantime, don’t break your rabbit ears.
I’m just trying to get the DVD player hooked up to it. Otherwise, signal varies around 60s and 70s. WDIO is fragile, but it’s nice to hear it may improve. While trying to find a good spot for the rabbit ears I accidently dropped them upside down behind the TV. Picture was the best I’d seen so far.
What’s the skinny with KDLH? We had them as 6-3 for a long time. Now it is just gone. I noticed in my online listings they are now 3-1 though 3-4, but I can’t pull them in at all.
I’m not sure what listings you are referring to, Krlars, but I think KDLH should be just 3-1 and 3-2. (Yeah, 6-3 was basically simulcasting 3-1 for a while, and now I’m not getting it either. Not sure why.)
Here are the Duluth listings:
3.1 KDLH (CBS)
3.2 KDLH (CW2)
6.1 KBJR (NBC)
6.2 KBJR (My9)
6.4 KBJR News Now
8.1 WDSE (PBS)
8.2 WDSE (PBS)
8.3 WDSE (Create)
8.4 WDSE (MN Channel)
10.1 WDIO (ABC)
10.2 WDIO (Weather)
21.1 KQDS (Fox)
Keep in mind that digital / hi-def TV signals are broadcast on the UHF band… so your best bet is to have a VHF antenna (bunny ears) along with a UHF antenna (the circular kind). You can pick up digital signals with bunny ears, however you will get a better, and more stable, digital signal with a true UHF antenna.
There are reasonably priced DTV antennas you can buy (Channel Master 4221), but if you are adventurous, there are some fun DIY antennas that can be made fairly easily with a piece of wood, screws and washers, some old metal clothes hangers and a balun (which can be found at Radio Shack). Just do a google search for: DIY hd antenna
Reception Sucks. What antennas y’all using?
Hmmm weird…. my cable is coming in clear as a bell.
I love the digital TV but what happened to the ‘killing’ channel and why do we need two weather channels?
I followed the instructions on this youtube video () and the results were astonishingly great. I had powered rabbit ears before and the signal strength was about 2/10 bars. Now I get between 8 and 10 bars for each station.
Um, I guess nested replies don’t work here. My above reply was regarding Starfire’s question about antennas used for HD reception.
Well, I get all the latest shows and ….oh wait. That is hulu…online.
I forgot I don’t have a TV. (yes I wear it like a badge of honor)
If you keep forgetting you don’t have a TV, Mevdev, it’s really going to tarnish your image.
I’ve been on digital for a while; still don’t get ABC in Central Hillside; I guess their range sucks. Fox is a little iffy, too. CBS and NBC look great when they move over to primetime 1080i, though.
My DTV works perfectly.
Of course, with me the “D” stands for “Direct”.
Step into the 21st century, folks.
Danny, it’s not that people PREFER to have broadcast television over cable, satellite, blah blah blah. Broadcast television is free (minus the TV and converter box, of course).
If you want to spend your money on TV channels, that’s your decision, but no one is deciding not to because they’re afraid of “the 21st century.”
K. Thanks.
Isn’t satellite a bit 20th century? I’ll take true HD signals over-the-air (or downloaded to my mac- shhhh!) over compressed satellite HD.
I’m sure I’d love it, if we got any damn reception at our house.
All of our equipment’s fine, it’s the signals that don’t reach over here. Well, not into our yard, anyway--I hear people who live in clear spots around here can pick up most of the channels off-and-on, at least. In order to get our antenna to work, apparently we’d need to raise it above the treeline, which’ll be tough, especially in the middle of February.
At least we’ve still got 3 & 8 for the time being…
The 21st century starts with hulu.com (which is also free) and goes on from there.
meh. yet to be impressed, really. some channels work, some don’t, and we’re just up the hill from starfire and nick.
i too was puzzled with the deletion of 6.3, just when i was getting used to the new channel lineup. the 3′s don’t come in for us so I’m once again sans Craig Ferguson.
unwiling to shell out XXX dollars to have cable/sat tv racket, as we have other more important things to spend our money on. over the air TV is free…and we don’t spend enough time sitting in front of the tube to justify the hassle and expense. not knocking, just not an option for us.
isn’t the signal/reception supposed to get better/stronger at some point when they finally do away with the analogs?
Check out this link for a better how-to video to construct your own antenna on the cheap. There’s also a pdf of the plans you can download.
http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/01/maker_workshop_dtv_antenna_steadyca.html
I thought this posted before… but I guess it didn’t post….
DTV / HDTV over-the-air signals are broadcast over the UHF bands, which is typically the ring-shaped antenna you will see on some antennas. While your bunny ears pick up VHF signals… they will also pick up UHF signals, but not as well as an actual UHF antenna.
There are decent commercial antennas you can buy (Channelmaster 4221 for example), however you can build a DIY antenna out of screws, washers, some wire clothes hanger, a long strip of wood and a balun (which can be acquired from Radio Shack for less than $5). Most of the commercial antennas are best for outdoor use, but you can always hang it on your wall inside as long as you face the antenna farm on top of the hill.
The signals will get stronger as more places upgrade their equipment, however having a proper antenna will help tremendously regardless.
Come on folks- that TV ain’t gonna watch itself!
I’m not afraid of the 21st century; I’m just not much interested in it. Decided this would be a fine time to eliminate television from my life.
Reception sucks. My analogue signal was perfect even without an antenna. I bought a better antenna and there is the constant sound of static and bad pictures on all channels. And I’m in the city limits of Duluth.
“constant sound of static and bad pictures on all channels”
…well, that’s whatcha get for tuning in to the likes of oprah and dr. phil…daytime television’ll do that to ya.
kidding kidding!
I found out the scan part shortly before LOST started. I was about to hyperventalate at the thought of missing Lost…
I didn’t have the heart to turn on my tv in the kitchen -- it is color but has no remote -- just a dial -- no plans to get a converter box (cable in all the other rooms).
It will be static all the way.
Wonder if Goodwill will take it?
If people cared as much about growing vegetables as they do about their TV signal…
If there were a thread on here talking about something I have no interest in, I probably wouldn’t post. I guess I’m a crazy man.
We get it…
You don’t have a TV
You don’t ever watch TV
You don’t care if Danny Gokey made it through on American Idol.
You don’t care that HBO is running episode one of True Blood on Saturday.
You have never seen a single TV program in your entire adult life!
We get it, you’re better than us. Your decision to forsake the idiot box makes you hipper than Sparhawk. Enough already!
I’ve never understood the propensity for the NO! TV people to feel the need to let everyone know they don’t watch TV. I don’t molest goats, which I’m fairly proud of mind you, but I don’t feel the need to shout it from the mountaintops. It’s just something I choose to refrain from, but if you’re into it…whatever.
Also I would second the recommendation for the Channel Master 4221 digital antenna. In fact I have one on my roof that I’m not using. If anyone needs an antenna they’re welcome to come and get it.
I got an $80 indoor/outdoor antenna from radio shack and mounted it to a rafter in my attic about a year ago. I get great reception on the hillside for all twelve channels. One night I was messing around with the scan and received 20+ channels from as far away as Lacrosse. They were mostly duplicates of what I already have but that was interesting.
I really like the create channel.
Chris. You pretty much rule with that last post.
Ruling Dannyworld is all the endorsement anyone could ask for to demonstrate the validity of one’s opinion.
Not sure if that was an insult or not. I watch tv, so I ain’t the sharpest tool in the shed.
I’m thinking about creating a bumper sticker that says:
“KILL YOUR HOME-GROWN VEGETABLES”
“DTV / HDTV over-the-air signals are broadcast over the UHF bands”…
Not entirely true. Channel 10 in Duluth and Channels 11 and 13 on the Iron Range broadcast over the VHF band. Channel 8 in Duluth will soon follow.
I’ll add my own 2¢ to the TV/no TV discussion.
I have a love/hate relationship with TV. I love many programs, but hate commercials and have no patience to be a channel surfing coach potato. My compromise is that, while I have a pretty nice TV (36″ flat screen) I don’t have cable or even an antenna. I do have a Netflix account that I turn over regularly and I watch Hulu or other online sources for other shows.
I don’t miss broadcast TV except for days like the Inauguration and like today and the Oscars, but I managed just fine watching feeds of the Inauguration online and I bet I can do the same with the Oscars tonight.
So the digital transition means almost nothing to me.
I forgot to buy a dtv box, I guess that will bother me the next time I turn my TV on and realize I have no signal, but then again, screw it, hulu has less commercials and my monitor has better resolution.
That and this way I am not a slave to the TV schedule Gods…
Anyone else lose channels 3 & 6 in the past 24 hours? (I live within 1-2 miles of the antennae ‘farm’ and have a rooftop antennae).
IMO, DVT s.u.c.k.s.
improved service my ass…
I had actually had difficulty receiving channel 6 recently for the first time since I first got a DTV box. It seems to be working fine now, after readjusting my indoor antenna for the first time in who knows how long.
I don’t think it’s bad, once you find a way to get a reasonable signal. I thought it was interesting, when I first got the DTV converter box. I tried a couple of different, more expensive indoor antennas. Neither worked, so I got frustrated and got a dirt-cheap little number, linked below. It worked like a charm, way outperforming its more expensive counterparts.
Shortly after posting I rescanned the channels (second time in an hour) and got all of the missing channels, plus a few more. Odd… did nothing with antenna.
Atmospheric conditions?