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  1. Lifterguy

    New TV Channel Scan

    WTAE - the Pittsburgh ABC affiliate moved frequencies for their main signal last week and ran lots of announcements advising OTA viewers to rescan. Based on the number of stations that need to move to another frequency, I expect we'll be rescanning several more times over the next two years.
  2. Lifterguy

    Picture Quality Question

    Your theory is correct. With only a limited amount of bandwidth, something needs to be compressed to fit multiple channels on a single channel allocation. To broadcast two channels in HD, they have to reduce the bitrate on both channels. A lower bit rate will look fine on pictures with little...
  3. Lifterguy

    The Official SatelliteGuys TV Repack Topic

    Pittsburgh's (PA) PBS station, WQED, has agreed to move from VHF High (13) to VHF Low (2). For decades, KDKA in Pittsburgh broadcast on channel 2 in analog, prior to the digital conversion. They had a strong signal and wide coverage area. Will WQED face challenges broadcasting in digital on...
  4. Lifterguy

    Samsung OTA Channel Guide

    I have a friend with a Samsung TV connected to an antenna, and I do remember seeing a program guide on his TV as well. The guide would have to work off of PSIP - which usually limits how far into the future you can look. The accuracy of the guide depends on the station providing the correct...
  5. Lifterguy

    PBS Kids Launch 1/16

    Pittsburgh's WQED has announced they are adding PBS Kids to their subchannel line up. PBS Kids will be 13.5. (Main channel is 13.1, Create - 13.2, World Channel - 13.3, Showcase - 13.4) More choice is a good thing - I'm just hoping the picture quality won't suffer too much with that many...
  6. Lifterguy

    Why arn't there any factual/kids subchannels?

    For the 60 or so markets that have an ION station, ION's Qubo provides kids programs, and ION Life has some old HGTV / Food Network programs (mostly Canadian produced shows). ION Life is kind of an odd mix, with lots of scripted series mixed in with the lifestyle programs. The PBS Create...
  7. Lifterguy

    Question for Tivo Owners

    Thanks Jay! You guys are going to get me to spend $400! ;)
  8. Lifterguy

    Question for Tivo Owners

    I'm currently using a Tivo Premier for OTA viewing. It generally has worked well, with rock steady reception on most channels. Unfortunately I have a a few channels (2 or 3) where I occasionally get some break up - especially in the summer when the leaves are on the trees. I read comments...
  9. Lifterguy

    Antenna in attic.....OTARD no help....HOA

    My TVFool report is similar to the one shown here. I went with the GE Attic Antenna by Jasco - actually I ended up getting two of them. Both are in the attic. One is connected directly to my Tivo - no splitter, no amplifier - I wanted the Tivo to have the best possible signal. The other one...
  10. Lifterguy

    Sinclair, MGM Partner on New Sci-Fi Diginet

    Interesting. This might explain why Sinclair has held off adding any diginets to Pittsburgh's WPMY (22) - while sister station WPGH (53) has two sub-channels - GET and GRIT.
  11. Lifterguy

    Antenna Advice - Suburban Pittsburgh

    So, for anyone who cares, here's my update in my adventures with OTA reception and antennas: Before going to the trouble of mounting an outdoor antenna, I decided to try out some candidates in my attic first, where it would be easier to swap out and adjust antenna. I took one of the coax cables...
  12. Lifterguy

    Antenna Advice - Suburban Pittsburgh

    Thanks for all input. I had not considered the omni-directional, because I've always been skeptical of how well they work, but I'm giving that a little more consideration now. I need to make a final decision within the next few days, then it will probably take me another week or two to get it...
  13. Lifterguy

    Antenna Advice - Suburban Pittsburgh

    I dropped Dish and went with OTA/Netflix a couple of months ago. I have a Tivo Premier and I'm currently using a Winegard Sharpshooter (indoor) antenna that is on top of a tall cabinet in the living room of my 1 story house. It worked fine in the winter, but as I expected, I'm getting some...
  14. Lifterguy

    Moving from Hopper to Tivo

    Hi - just found this thread - interesting to know that I'm in good company. I had Dish Network for about 15 years, and really loved the Dish DVR (VIP 722). There are only two of us in the house, but we like to have the TV on in different room, so I was feeding the Dish box signal to all the...
  15. Lifterguy

    CNN and HLN gone/ Dish-Turner Dispute - Now Back 11/21

    This may be true. But if YOU don't like the price of the Turner bundle, then YOU could decide not to pay it - it takes your TV provider out of the equation. Right now we have forced bundling. In the ideal setup the consumer would be given the choice whether to buy a bundle or buy...
  16. Lifterguy

    CNN and HLN gone/ Dish-Turner Dispute - Now Back 11/21

    There is a obvious way to end most of these carriage disputes: Mandate Ala-Carte. -Satellite and Cable providers would charge basic service / dvr fees. -Each channel could be purchased individually and the channel provider would set the price. The channel owner could offer a discount to...
  17. Lifterguy

    DISH Makes offer to buy Sprint (Rescinded)

    But has Dish done anything with the Blockbuster name that has actually brought any additional revenue into the company? I thought Dish was going to build Blockbuster into a real rival for Netflix but I just don't see that happening - certainly not in the DVD by mail arena (which it's pretty...
  18. Lifterguy

    ATSC tuner

    I would suggest something a DVD recorder with a built in hard drive/DVR. About the only ones available are from Philips/Magnavox - but you can get them at Walmart, and the price is not too bad...
  19. Lifterguy

    Internet and phone?

    In my area, Verizon Fios is about $85 per month for both internet (15mbps) and phone (after the promotional period expires.) Internet alone is about $79 per month - unless you cut back to DSL like speeds of less than 5mbps - and that only saves about $10 per month. Right now I'm with Comcast...
  20. Lifterguy

    Sprint To Bring FM Radio To Select Android and Windows Smartphones

    I'm not entirely clear on what Sprint is going to provide that is not already available. There are already Android apps that let you listen to a variety of radio stations that provide internet streams. Of course those apps also consume data (which may not be an issue if you are on Sprint's...
  21. Lifterguy

    Dish dispute with Sinclair...reached deal in principle

    I know this has been said many times before and it's still not going any where BUT - These disputes would stop happening if the cable/satellite providers charged basic fees for service and equipment, and then every channel was sold ala carte - at a price that reflects its true cost to the...
  22. Lifterguy

    DISH Announces Second Quarter Earnings

    I miss a lot of what many of the channels used to be. So many channels started out with great programming targeted to a niche audience. But if they are advertiser supported, they feel they always have to be "growing" that audience and eventually then start bringing in more shows that appear to...
  23. Lifterguy

    Questions for the Dish Tech Team?

    I understand exactly what you are saying, and I also find it frustrating. CBS and ABC do this a lot with their sitcoms - the end of one will run 15-30seconds over into the start time of the second one. Not only do you have to start the second recording to see the end of the first one, but you...
  24. Lifterguy

    722k going to "Partial Signal Loss" at random

    I had a similar problem. Last summer the hard drive died in a 622 I had for about 3 years, and it was replaced with a refurbished machine. 2 or three months later I had a tech come out to move my dish and switch me over to the eastern arc. It was a couple of weeks after the new eastern arc...
  25. Lifterguy

    Do you Have an EHD?

    I used to archive lots of TV - I still have dozens of VHS tapes that I haven't had the time or desire to transfer to DVD. It is sometimes fun to go back and look at those 20-to-25 year old tapes (often the commercials are more fun to watch than the programs.) But lately I've tried to become...