ABC?

[lgb0250]

For the last two days my ABC channel has been pixelating badly and yesterday morning for quite awhile all I was getting was a yellow screen with no pic or sound! Is this a DISH problem or the actual network. Same thing happening on my OTA ABC channel. Signal strength is locked at 100 when I check it.

Diagnostics shows satellite 72 and 61.5 green check and signal strength for tuner (20) which it defaults to while on the channel at 100.

 

[JSheridan]

For the last two days my ABC channel has been pixelating badly and yesterday morning for quite awhile all I was getting was a yellow screen with no pic or sound! Is this a DISH problem or the actual network. Same thing happening on my OTA ABC channel. Signal strength is locked at 100 when I check it.

Diagnostics shows satellite 72 and 61.5 green check and signal strength for tuner (20) which it defaults to while on the channel at 100.

If the same thing is happening with the Dish delivered version and the OTA version then it's most likely a problem with your local ABC channel.

 

[comfortably_numb]

Try emailing the station engineer. I've done it before when local affilates are having difficulties and they usually respond quickly. Sometimes they aren't even aware there is a problem until viewers alert them.

 

[lgb0250]

Thanks for both your replies.

It was indeed a local problem. This is the message I got back from them:

“Yes the issue has been impacting our signal across several providers, including over the air. We are working on it! Thanks for your message” and this is what I sent back, naturally i received no response to it:

“Would be nice to see some type of disclaimer banner scrolling so everyone knows where the problem lies and doesn’t waste their time like I did tracking the problem! Thanks”.

 

[sam_gordon]

“Would be nice to see some type of disclaimer banner scrolling so everyone knows where the problem lies and doesn’t waste their time like I did tracking the problem! Thanks”.

Where would you like them to put the banner? If the signal is disrupted, putting the banner on air doesn't help because no one will see it. They might have put one on their website IF the appropriate people that manage the website were notified and available to put it out there.

 

[lgb0250]

Except for the period it was actually off the air, it was still viewable even with the pixelation. It would have been very easy to add a scrolling banner to the top/bottom of the screen telling the viewer that what they were experiencing was not the fault of their tv or provider but was a network issue being worked on!

 

[sam_gordon]

It would have been very easy to add a scrolling banner to the top/bottom of the screen telling the viewer that what they were experiencing was not the fault of their tv or provider but was a network issue being worked on!

I'm glad you've worked at a television station and know what goes into putting a crawl on the screen. I guess you also know what equipment was affected to cause the outage, and therefore what was available to put the "scrolling banner" on the screen.

Yes, "it would have been nice" if they could let viewers know the problem is at the station. But their primary duty is fixing the problem.

 

[eddie willers]

I'm glad you've worked at a television station and know what goes into putting a crawl on the screen. I guess you also know what equipment was affected to cause the outage, and therefore what was available to put the "scrolling banner" on the screen.

Yes, "it would have been nice" if they could let viewers know the problem is at the station. But their primary duty is fixing the problem.

I'm just guessing, but I know that the FCC is taking back some spectrum (certain UHF channels I think) that they had given when ATSC was coming in for 5G etc. Perhaps your ('his' since I now see I answered the response instead of the OP) ABC affiliate is moving their signal.

 

[sam_gordon]

I'm just guessing, but I know that the FCC is taking back some spectrum (certain UHF channels I think) that they had given when ATSC was coming in for 5G etc. Perhaps your ('his' since I now see I answered the response instead of the OP) ABC affiliate is moving their signal.

Moving the signal should have cut the old reception and any station worth their salt will be running promos & ads letting people know the move is happening. Also, look at the response he got from the engineers... they know about the problem and are working on it. If it was the repack, they would have said that.

 

[comfortably_numb]

I have to agree with sam_gordon on this one; the OP was right to email the station engineer to alert him of the issue, but should have left it at that. The part about "would be nice" could come off as trying to tell the engineer how to do his job. Most engineers don't appreciate that.

When I've emailed station engineers in the past, my emails are brief and to the point. "Just wanted to let you know that the DD 5.1 audio doesn't seem to be working on WXYZ."

 

[sam_gordon]

I have to agree with sam_gordon on this one; the OP was right to email the station engineer to alert him of the issue, but should have left it at that. The part about "would be nice" could come off as trying to tell the engineer how to do his job. Most engineers don't appreciate that.

When I've emailed station engineers in the past, my emails are brief and to the point. "Just wanted to let you know that the DD 5.1 audio doesn't seem to be working on WXYZ."

I'm guessing most people don't react well to the bolded (especially when coming from someone outside the business), regardless of whether or not they're engineers. I will suggest to all that if you email an station engineer to include how you are receiving the station. Just picking on comfortably_numb a little bit... I'd add to the email "Just wanted to let you know that the DD 5.1 audio doesn't seem to be working on WXYZ. I get the station via (Dish, Direct, Spectrum, Joe's cable, antenna)." Granted, if they already know about the problem, it doesn't do anything, but it could be a problem that only affects one signal path.

 

[comfortably_numb]

I'm guessing most people don't react well to the bolded (especially when coming from someone outside the business), regardless of whether or not they're engineers. I will suggest to all that if you email an station engineer to include how you are receiving the station. Just picking on comfortably_numb a little bit... I'd add to the email "Just wanted to let you know that the DD 5.1 audio doesn't seem to be working on WXYZ. I get the station via (Dish, Direct, Spectrum, Joe's cable, antenna)." Granted, if they already know about the problem, it doesn't do anything, but it could be a problem that only affects one signal path.

In my case, the engineer didn't know there was an issue, and they fixed it quickly

 

[jerryez]

If the tv engineers had any sense, they would run their storm radar inserts at the top of the page instead of the bottom left corner, where most program data and captions are inserted by the program producer. An example; My wife gets crazy, when Bachelor is on and the program puts the persons name and other info in the bottom left corner and the station puts the storm radar right on top of it.

 

[comfortably_numb]

If the tv engineers had any sense, they would run their storm radar inserts at the top of the page instead of the bottom left corner, where most program data and captions are inserted by the program producer. An example; My wife gets crazy, when Bachelor is on and the program puts the persons name and other info in the bottom left corner and the station puts the storm radar right on top of it.

For some unknown reason, there was a station in my area that used to reduce the picture size of their broadcast down to SD when running weather alerts. It was horrible. I believe they've corrected it, but man it looked bad.

PS- most of my locals put the radar in the upper left corner.

 

[sam_gordon]

If the tv engineers had any sense, they would run their storm radar inserts at the top of the page instead of the bottom left corner, where most program data and captions are inserted by the program producer. An example; My wife gets crazy, when Bachelor is on and the program puts the persons name and other info in the bottom left corner and the station puts the storm radar right on top of it.

Here's the problem... the ideal solution is to put whatever added information (weather crawl, closings, icons, etc) in the same place every time. In addition to making it as "idiot proof" as you can, some devices will only give you that option (only put it in one place). BUT, different shows put their graphics in different locations. Sporting events are the worst. Some events will have information at the top of the screen, some at the bottom (even from the same network). So no matter where you put the crawl, icons, etc, you risk covering SOMETHING up.

 

[Bobby]

One of the difficulties is that, today, the station engineer (used to be engineers) does little at the station. The main engineering is somewhere far away. Example, the networks do their station cuts for all of their owned stations and such in Atlanta or New York.

 

[eddie willers]

My wife gets crazy, when Bachelor is on and the program puts the persons name and other info in the bottom left corner and the station puts the storm radar right on top of it.

Now THAT is a First World problem.

 

[sam_gordon]

One of the difficulties is that, today, the station engineer (used to be engineers) does little at the station. The main engineering is somewhere far away. Example, the networks do their station cuts for all of their owned stations and such in Atlanta or New York.

Depends on what you consider "engineering". And what do you mean the networks do their "station cuts"?

 

[lgb0250]

I'm glad you've worked at a television station and know what goes into putting a crawl on the screen. I guess you also know what equipment was affected to cause the outage, and therefore what was available to put the "scrolling banner" on the screen.

Yes, "it would have been nice" if they could let viewers know the problem is at the station. But their primary duty is fixing the problem.

My station experience is about as relevant as your reading comprehension is! I thought I was pretty clear when I stated “Except for the period it was actually off the air, it was still viewable even with the pixelation”.

You sound like a station manager that has had his poor feelings hurt! Get over it, he did!

 

[sam_gordon]

My station experience is about as relevant as your reading comprehension is! I thought I was pretty clear when I stated “Except for the period it was actually off the air, it was still viewable even with the pixelation”.

You sound like a station manager that has had his poor feelings hurt! Get over it, he did!

Your experience IS relevant when you claim "it would be easy to... ". You seem all butt hurt because you "wasted time" troubleshooting the problem. How much time did it take? Look at satellite delivered local... bad signal. Look at OTA delivered local... bad signal. Email the engineer (which you got a response to). You probably spent more time posting/reading on this thread.