Need expert ideas to solve missing sub-channel problem

[Ricknau]

My nearest NBC station is WPMI out of Mobile Ala. Since day one I've gotten signal strength of 80, quality of 98 for that channel. I could watch the NBC HD shows (Leno, Law & Order etc.) in HD. When the olympics started, WPMI began transmitting a sub-channel. It has been carrying the Olympics 24/7. They intend to keep this sub-channel up and running after the Olympics are over. My problem is I can't get the new HD sub-channel unless they shut off the SD sub-channel.

I'm having an on going email dialog with the Director of Engineering so my info about the station is first hand. What WPMI did (to their credit) during the Olympics is to shut off the SD sub-channel during primetime so the HD would get the full bandwidth. When they do this I can see the HD Olyimpic sub-channel. But when the SD sub-channel is simucast with the HD sub-channel (during the day) all I can get is the SD.

Another weird thing is that when I run a scan it doesn't detect either of the sub-channels even though the strength and quality are really high and I can watch one of the sub-channels. Before all this started WPMI was always detected.

The station engineer said he's certain the PSIP (or DSIP?) is correct. He doesn't know why I can't get both channels. As a last stab in the dark Voom had my STB swapped out but that made no differnce. Nobody at Installs Inc has any idea but the guy they sent out said I'm not the only one in our area who's having this problem.

If the proper PSIP is being transmitted then it seems to me the problem lies with one of the following:

1 The STB hardware
2 The STB software/firmware provided by Voom

Please, is there a guru in the house? Can anything be done to fix this?

 

[The Stone Man]

I'm not a guru, but others have had this problem too. There has been some success in changing the resolution on your STB to 'native'. Push the little red button until all color bars are lit up.

Info in the following thread...http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=26707&page=2&pp=15.

 

[Ricknau]

Thanks for the suggestion Stone Man. Just tried it... but no cigar. :-(

 

[Sean Mota]

Ricknau,

send me an email to Sean_Mota@satelliteguys.us with the information above. I will send it to the engineers. Please try to get me the Id's of the sub channels according to the three elements of the PSIP data. I will run it with them and see what they say.

 

[Ricknau]

Thanks Sean. I will email you after I contact the station engineer and ask him for the PSIP info.

 

[Ricknau]

Update:

Thanks Sean for getting the various players talking to each other. Motorola and the station engineer have talked and the Motorola engineer is trying to figure out what's up with my problem. He did something and called me to see if the problem was solved. The STB still did not find WPMI by scanning but then he did something else so I can get both sub-channels with out a scan. I guess he did some kind of mapping thing. He's still working on it and hopefully the scan will work once he figures it out. It's comforting to know for sure that the problem is being worked on. I'm sure they'll figure it out and the solution will probably apply to a lot of other customers. All of a sudden, boom! ... a bunch of folks around the country will be going "Hey, channel xx now has a sub-channel. Sweet!"

 

[wasch_24]

...All of a sudden, boom! ... a bunch of folks around the country will be going "Hey, channel xx now has a sub-channel. Sweet!"

More like "Nooooo, not a sub-channel, my bandwidth, noooooo" Most of the time a sub-channel is added the HD main suffers from it. You are lucky that your affiliate turns it off during primetime.

 

[Sean Mota]

Rick,

that's great news!

 

[Ricknau]

Wasch, you're right. Sub-channels really drag the quality down. It's like we get this great new technology that can give an unbelievable viewing experience and the corporate minds just squander it by pumping too much crap down the pipe. The way we see it, more channels = less picture quality. I'll bet the way they see it is more channels = more commercials = more profit.