Auction Opening Bid Prices Announced

HUH? You joined Apr 26, 2016 and have Zero likes vs Primestar 31; Mar 15 , 2005 with 819 likes. I have been out of the loop for over 2 years, but There are some people who have built this site and he is ONE of them. I have come back and have not yet figured out the changes, but if attitudes like you SHOW are he new norm I will leave again. BTW I have installed dishes - and microwave links - restarted OTA UHF TV stations and am an Extra Class 50 year HAM. Not a youngster, either.
As far as this thread goes, I might get one of the 5 PBS stations in the MUX that is available here, but nothing else OTA as our closest station is over 100 miles away. And I am off grid. OH, yes, The CABLE ends 12 miles to the WEST and WiFi is by Microwave link. Telephone is marginal Cellular or VoIP.
 
Mr. Larry Kenny speaking of bidding prices for this auction mess and since your KRON was Young Broadcastings flagship. How the heck a media company has a station for so many years cause KLFY went to Young the same time in 1988. Then 2012 comes along Media General buys Young and Lin. We get all these subchannels and we are all happy till Nexstar opened its wallet. So from 2012 to 2016 KRON, KLFY and about 60 plus other stations have had 3 owners. Oh then our Fox/NBC affiliate was owned by Lafayette's ComCorp America then bought by Nexstar in 2013 then turns around and sells the KADN/KLAF duo to Bayou City Broadcasting. After Nexstar spent millions to bring the NBC affiliate in and higher a media department they sell both stations for 40 million back to the city they bought the station's from. This was the lowest amount out of all the stations nexstar sold off. Then this auction bidding no telling what will happen. This is crazy how an employee of a tv station can go through so much changing of ownership in 36 months or less... Whats gonna happen next. Oh and I told Dan his answer about WANE, its staying with Nexstar.
 
What are you ranting about? I haven't been a "kid" for 40 years. I think you are the one that needs to show some respect. I used to be a Winegard dealer, and did many installs.

Everything I said in my informational post was 100% true. It's quite likely he either has electrical interference nearby, and/or FM radio transmitters that are causing his signal to drop.

Oh, here's a photo of a "power lion":
03BB5E5A0000044D-3117010-image-a-25_1433862086692.jpg
Hey wood what you think about two vhf antennas connected with the Yagi in opposite directions combined with a blonder tounge then connected to a preamp with the 8 bay uhf. Yeah my ex is getting directv after I cut it off so i told her when she gets satellite back on I want the jetliner back plus it gets 90 miles from the tower.
 
Connecting TWO of the same band antenna's (two UHF or two VHF) is usually very problematical, and is unlikely to work properly without a Jointenna type device (combo bandstop, bandfilter). One antenna would be for all VHF stations EXCEPT the special one in the other direction. The second VHF antenna would then be aimed for that special single station that you want. If you are expecting both antenna's to get multiple VHF channels, it's very much black magic for any particular situation, and you can only try and see what happens. You might be one of the lucky ones, and find the combination that will work for you.

Read this thread for more info, http://www.avsforum.com/forum/25-hdtv-technical/1152566-great-jointenna-exchange.html and especially pay attention to page 3, where I discovered a guy in Slovakia that manufactures Jointenna devices that can be tuned to U.S. ATSC frequencies. They are also quite cheap compared to Tin Lee in Canada (who makes custom devices), and I have used several successfully.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/jan_jenca/m...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

Of course, you could also pull down separate coax's for each antenna, and use a simple coax switch to choose between them. That's by far the easiest way for a solution, though not as good if you plan on doing unattended DVR recording, and channels are on different antennas.
 
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I don't buy this rationalization (although it seems popularly blamed at TiVoCommunity). Signal numbers on DTV are quality, not quantity. At some point, the signal gets so low that there isn't any quality but up to that point, the splitter shouldn't reduce the quality; just the quantity. The reasoning is that the splitter attenuates the interference every bit as much as it does the desired signal.The radiant barrier argument doesn't really cover antennas on the roof. The multipath issue is typically one of compass direction at a distance far enough to throw the signal out of phase. If anything, the radiant barrier might be a help rather than a a hindrance unless your antenna is somehow on the opposite side of the barrier from the towers.Most of my neighbors don't have antennas either, but most of them subscribe to Comcast and they don't know the stations they aren't given exist.

All I can tell you is 72-73 is the highest sustained signal anyone has recorded with the Roamio. It could be a software bug for all I know.

When I struggled with this initially, some RF internet "experts" suggested the radiant barrier might be a factor.
 
You say that is a VHF station? I had this happen on my channel 12 VHF, and it turned out to be my DELL laptop power brick located in the living room!!! I'm using an outside antenna, with a small preamp. RG-6 cable, and it's grounded properly. Still happened.

I changed to a new brick, and the issue went away immediately.. Perhaps YOU also have a switched power supply somewhere in your house or garage, and it's causing this issue for you?

I have a large number of switched power supplies throughout my house, and I am sure my neighbors do as well.
 
Connecting TWO of the same band antenna's (two UHF or two VHF) is usually very problematical, and is unlikely to work properly without a Jointenna type device (combo bandstop, bandfilter). One antenna would be for all VHF stations EXCEPT the special one in the other direction. The second VHF antenna would then be aimed for that special single station that you want. If you are expecting both antenna's to get multiple VHF channels, it's very much black magic for any particular situation, and you can only try and see what happens. You might be one of the lucky ones, and find the combination that will work for you.

Read this thread for more info, http://www.avsforum.com/forum/25-hdtv-technical/1152566-great-jointenna-exchange.html and especially pay attention to page 3, where I discovered a guy in Slovakia that manufactures Jointenna devices that can be tuned to U.S. ATSC frequencies. They are also quite cheap compared to Tin Lee in Canada (who makes custom devices), and I have used several successfully.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/jan_jenca/m.html?item=121758149132&rmvSB=true&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

Of course, you could also pull down separate coax's for each antenna, and use a simple coax switch to choose between them. That's by far the easiest way for a solution, though not as good if you plan on doing unattended DVR recording, and channels are on different antennas.
Thanks for your advice
 
FCC’s Auction Target: The Impossible Dream

http://www.multichannel.com/blog/mcn-guest-blog/fcc-s-auction-target-impossible-dream/406589

In the 600-Megahertz reverse auction for broadcast TV station spectrum, the Federal Communications Commission has set an unattainable bar: An $86 billion ask for 126 MHz of frequency to then be made available for wireless use, at a value that most analysts say is only worth between $30 billion and $40 billion. The FCC ask and the market realities are far apart.
Should this auction be considered the greatest boondoggle in a rich history of TV broadcasting? Is this deal designed to fail, or to make a statement to educate broadcasters about their spectrum value? Or must this be the price of admission for cable to join the wireless party?
 
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It's market-based. If demand doesn't meet supply, then supply will decrease until demand is met. The idea of multiple stages of decreasing supply is part of the foundation of the auction. Once placed in that context, all of those questions quickly look incredibly silly.

- Trip
 
FCC’s Auction Target: The Impossible Dream

http://www.multichannel.com/blog/mcn-guest-blog/fcc-s-auction-target-impossible-dream/406589

In the 600-Megahertz reverse auction for broadcast TV station spectrum, the Federal Communications Commission has set an unattainable bar: An $86 billion ask for 126 MHz of frequency to then be made available for wireless use, at a value that most analysts say is only worth between $30 billion and $40 billion. The FCC ask and the market realities are far apart.
Should this auction be considered the greatest boondoggle in a rich history of TV broadcasting? Is this deal designed to fail, or to make a statement to educate broadcasters about their spectrum value? Or must this be the price of admission for cable to join the wireless party?
someone commented on this aspect off the same article on tv newscheck pertaining to the 600-Megahertz and other things that just maybe we would lose ALOT less stations than first expected.....The funny thing about reading this article you posted ATT spending 10 billion and T-Mobile spending 8 billion....As an ATT customer (cell phone only) all this crap will do is drive up an already expensive waste of money plan....that's just my opinion....Funny how we lose free over the air tv space for the cell companies we waste a s--tload of money on already....
 
It's market-based. If demand doesn't meet supply, then supply will decrease until demand is met. The idea of multiple stages of decreasing supply is part of the foundation of the auction. Once placed in that context, all of those questions quickly look incredibly silly.

- Trip
Does the amount of spectrum up for auction decrease each time the process (reverse auction + forward auction) is repeated? I've read that it will decrease from a total of 126 MHz to 114 MHz of spectrum if a second cycle is required. Given how things have gone so far, I imagine there will be multiple cycles before wireless carriers are willing to pony up an amount at which TV broadcasters are willing to sell.

From the perspective of broadcasters looking to transition to ATSC 3.0 at the same time they make adjustments in the wake of the auction, maybe it's a good thing for the auction to take longer (perhaps into 2017) to play out. In the meantime, ATSC 3.0 standards will be finalized and broadcast equipment for the new standard will come to market. Is it realistic to imagine that at least some US broadcasters will be beaming an ATSC 3.0 signal in the first half of 2018?
 
To answer your first question, yes. It will go from 126 to 114 to 108 to 84. There are provisions to decrease beyond 84 if necessary but most of the predictions right now seem to point at 84 as most likely, and 84 makes channel 37 the break point between TV and the new wireless band.

To the second question, it's hard to say. As it stands right now, the standard isn't ready, the one station running a full-time ATSC 3.0 signal (WRAL) only has a single receiver in their transmitter building, and I'm not sure what kind of computing horsepower it takes to get HEVC decoded. It would be a VERY fast roll-out to be broadcasting in ATSC 3.0 by 2018 with the hope of anyone being able to receive it, and the FCC has yet to even take the first step toward approving it (which would be either a Notice of Inquiry or a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking).

- Trip
 
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As it stands right now, the standard isn't ready, the one station running a full-time ATSC 3.0 signal (WRAL) only has a single receiver in their transmitter building, and I'm not sure what kind of computing horsepower it takes to get HEVC decoded.
Decoding isn't the issue for broadcasters other than getting tuners with decoders into the homes of viewers. Encoding and multiplexing is their issue and the one that will surely cost the most.

There is a new level of Android streaming TV boxes coming out in the next week or so based on the Amlogic S912 SoC that does HEVC decoding and they are pre-selling for around $70. They do 3D as well as UHD with HDR10 and Dolby Vision. The step(s) between tuning and streaming has/have yet to be answered, but the rendering part shouldn't be an issue.
 
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To answer your first question, yes. It will go from 126 to 114 to 108 to 84. There are provisions to decrease beyond 84 if necessary but most of the predictions right now seem to point at 84 as most likely, and 84 makes channel 37 the break point between TV and the new wireless band.

To the second question, it's hard to say. As it stands right now, the standard isn't ready, the one station running a full-time ATSC 3.0 signal (WRAL) only has a single receiver in their transmitter building, and I'm not sure what kind of computing horsepower it takes to get HEVC decoded. It would be a VERY fast roll-out to be broadcasting in ATSC 3.0 by 2018 with the hope of anyone being able to receive it, and the FCC has yet to even take the first step toward approving it (which would be either a Notice of Inquiry or a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking).

- Trip
Cool, thanks for the scoop in layman's terms, Trip. Is there any real doubt that the FCC won't approve ATSC 3.0 and the broadcaster coordination/lighthouse tower sharing arrangement that will be necessary to implement it? From what I read, it looks like the standard will be finalized by end of this year or early next. As for computing horsepower to decode HEVC, I don't think it's that big of a deal; the Roku 4, Amazon Fire TV, and TiVo Bolt boxes introduced last fall all can do it. I have no doubt that a couple of years from now (probably sooner), we'll see small sticks/dongles that can decode HEVC. I imagine the simplest ATSC 3.0 tuners will be just that -- dongles that plug into an HDMI 2.0 port on a TV/monitor with a coax jack for connecting the antenna.
 
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That's a different question from the one you asked originally. You asked if stations would be broadcasting by 2018, while you're now asking if the FCC would approve it at all. I think the timing is still up in the air.

- Trip
 
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I think the timing is still up in the air.
If the broadcasters don't have a clearly defined road map to voluntary transition by 2025, the should stick a fork in it right now. The repack is mandated whether they're ready or not and I expect that the window of opportunity will be closed in by then.
 
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That's a different question from the one you asked originally. You asked if stations would be broadcasting by 2018, while you're now asking if the FCC would approve it at all. I think the timing is still up in the air.

- Trip
Um, yeah, I'm aware it's a different question. You ended your earlier comment with "the FCC has yet to even take the first step toward approving it" which could be interpreted as casting doubt on whether the FCC ever will, in fact, approve it. Which is why I asked the follow-up question.