- 11.07.2009
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Digital conversion leaves even prepared UNC-TV viewers without signal
Since digital conversion was completed on Friday, June 12, some local UNC-TV viewers have still had problems picking up the public television channels, even with the requisite digital televisions and converter boxes.
Because of issues with a tower in Chatham County, the problems have been bad throughout the Triangle. Here's what happened.
When conversion took place, UNC-TV's 11 transmitter sites only needed to turn off the analog signals and leave the digital signals turned on. But at three of the transmitter sites, the channel frequency assigned by the FCC also changed, causing problems.
UNC-TV spokesman Steve Volstad says the biggest problem was at a transmitter site near Chapel Hill. A temporary digital antenna had to be mounted to the 1300-foot tower in Chatham County, which had to be switched on at the time the older antenna were switched off.
The new antenna was mounted lower on the tower, for safety reasons, and it's the lower elevation of the antenna causing reception problems for people in the Triangle, as well as people in low areas or behind hills. The power supply for that antenna is also lower, temporarily, which contributes to the weaker signal.
To restore signal quality, UNC-TV must remove the two old antennas from the top of that tower and install a larger, more powerful digital antenna at the highest point on the tower.
It will take until the end of the summer to make those changes. Volstad recommends viewers re-scan their converter boxes and digital televisions periodically until the work is completed.
Cable and satellite TV viewers are not effected.
The FCC has a site where you can check the signal strength of digital tv signals by zip code or street address.
There was an earlier issue with interference due to another transmitter broadcasting from Durham, but that problem has been resolved.
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Comments
I was able to resolve the
Sun, 10/04/2009 - 06:18 — uskudarevdenI was able to resolve the signal with UNC-TV by redirecting my indoor antenna to point more towards the their tower location. üsküdar evden eve nakliyat However, I have not gotten any signal at all from ABC11 Raleigh pointing in any direction. I am located in Eastern Durham and was able to receive their digital signal prior to Friday. Are they having similar issues?
Lots of stations have
Sat, 09/19/2009 - 06:36 — aslanbash2Lots of stations have temporary, lower power transmitters, and temporary, lower elevation antennas, while they remove the old analog systems and install the final digital systems.
We have one of those 12 ft x 8 ft huge rotator antenna in our attic and our home is located at one of the higher points in western Wake Co. Occaisionally, we were able to get UNC-TV, but the signal was sketchy which made viewing frustrating.
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Beware of Scammers
Tue, 09/08/2009 - 22:42 — ryansaeucfI'm in Orlando and have heard of local elderly people getting scammed into buying over-priced converter boxes. The boxes should not cost more than around $30 or so. Buyers beware. web marketing orlando
OK, Summer is over has UNC-TV fixed the problem?
Sat, 09/05/2009 - 15:54 — rvandorsI am still not getting their digital broadcast signal and I am tired of checking for whether it works. I may just take my annual contribution and send it to the cable company. I can't believe how poorly they are communicating the status of this transition to their members and audience.
you know there was going to
Thu, 09/03/2009 - 13:22 — inter4522you know there was going to be issues when they switched over to digital. you knew that it was not going to be flawless. People should have switched over to cable or not waited until the last minute to get converter box. I hope they resolve this issue before long.Orlando Medical Malpractice Lawyers
I would have never
Sat, 08/29/2009 - 02:40 — dorseymikeI would have never considered not having cable/satellite with analog - it just looked too crummy.
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re-scan
Sat, 08/22/2009 - 13:05 — ksmith47406I re-scanned my converter box today and UNC-TV is back!
I lost my TV signal as well
Fri, 08/21/2009 - 18:52 — JoeAnne10I lost my TV signal as well for two days now and this is really disturbing, especially since I spend a lot of money on this TV company. I think I will switch now cause I heard there is a better one, Fort Worth concrete... Maybe you all should do the same.
There are many people who
Thu, 08/06/2009 - 03:25 — AvishaJainThere are many people who still find Free To Air satellite tv viewing a good option as instead of paying a few hundred dollars for each month of pay TV subscription. Even if you want to watch FTA channels you would need a digital satellite receiver to view FTA channels.
You can find a lot of useful info by visiting the eurovox site
Great god, this is
Thu, 09/17/2009 - 01:18 — tolo87Great god, this is good.
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Local Provider Headache
Sat, 07/25/2009 - 22:30 — tonygreeneMy town's local provider makes us have to rent the converter box in order to get even the local basic stations for public television.
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There wasn't any technical mistake.
Thu, 07/16/2009 - 18:19 — burslarThere wasn't any technical mistake. For many stations the changes needed in permanent transmitters and antennas couldn't be started until after the transition date, and can't be done overnight. Lots of stations have temporary, lower power transmitters, and temporary, lower elevation antennas, while they remove the old analog systems and install the final digital systems.
This wasn't a secret, but it escaped the attention of most of the press and public, and the broadcasters themselves didn't call much attentiion to it.
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We have been going through
Sun, 07/12/2009 - 20:00 — tonygreeneWe have been going through the same crap here for WUSF in Tampa. Now the local cable people won't give us the channel unless we pay for a converter box.
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UNC knew about this and should have warned us
Thu, 06/25/2009 - 23:20 — rnbowenUNC knew they'd need to move that antenna to the top of the tower. When they were doing all those announcements and call-in shows they should have warned us that this could potentially be a problem. Then I wouldn't have woke up Saturday morning thinking something was wrong with my set up.
I'm glad they're working on it and they put something on their website about it, but a little advanced warning would have been nice.
DIY Antennas
Wed, 06/17/2009 - 14:22 — ftjacobsA lot of folks seem to be needing to upgrade their antennas to receive signals, so I just thought I'd share this link: http://uhfhdtvantenna.blogspot.com/
My wife made one of their antennas for our TV for about $2 (seriously, the only thing we didn't have lying around the house was a 2x4 for the frame). It works great, and she's now thinking about trying one of the fancier amplified ones from another of the many instructional sites on the web.
Since the switch I can get
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 21:42 — dogbutlerSince the switch I can get PBS for the first time in 10 years.
D TV
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 19:26 — westbendGreat article, It should be a front page story. I think there are thousands of stories like this around the country and if this had happened in Febuary the MSM would have made it a front page story. IT WOULD HAVE FIT THE NARRATIVE BUSH CANNOT DO NOTHING RIGHT. Since the event happened after the delay, No big deal , O can do no wrong!
Work great for me
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 18:52 — justinpinnixI must be the only person who actually likes digital TV. I have a 6 inch UHF loop antenna mounted up on top of my TV and I get all of the local channels with no redirecting of the antenna. The channels look great and there are a lot more choices. I like the RTN (retro television network) on 50.2. Plus, PBS-Kids has been a Godsend. I do still have cable because there are a few shows that are only available there. However, if the money gets tight or Time Warner ticks me off, I can always cut the cord and get a decent selection of nice looking channels off air. Oh yeah, and I'm doing all of this with my Tivo, so I have full DVR capability AND can stream video off the computer/internet. I would have never considered not having cable/satellite with analog - it just looked too crummy.
Paying for TV Advertising--No Thanks
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 18:50 — xxcar2PS. If I could pay for television WITHOUT the constant advertising, I might consider it. No way I'm paying for TV (which is mostly a bunch of garbage), AND tolerate the incessant advertisements.
UNCTV DTV Dead as a Doornail, Southern Wake County
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 18:47 — xxcar2I upgraded my amplified vhf/uhf antenna with a homemade bowtie version which improved reception of all the channels/subchannes (5,11,17,22,28,40 and 50). UNCTV has been dead as a doornail, not a single hint it's out there. Well, I'll miss UNCTV (and they my little donations), but I'm not buying cable to get it. Maybe the TV's can go now-- I'll just get that much more accomplished (I live in wake county between cary and holly springs).
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Prepared since fall 2008
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 16:30 — wbmcmahanOur family has never, ever purchased cable or dish TV. Big waste of money and part of the reason we aren't losing our home in these tough economic times.
We did purchase our digital converter boxes last fall despite the snafu with the coupons arriving and expiring BEFORE any of the stores had boxes available to purchase.
We were not able to get UNC-TV through the box at that time either. Called UNC-TV and they didn't have any good answer. We have one of those 12 ft x 8 ft huge rotator antenna in our attic and our home is located at one of the higher points in western Wake Co. Occaisionally, we were able to get UNC-TV, but the signal was sketchy which made viewing frustrating. Gave up trying and didn't bother sending my pledge check this year either.
We're able to get ABC channel 11 through the converter box up until Friday. It did take them several days to post something on their website. I guess they are meeting with the FCC today to try to resolve the issue. ABC is probably the most watched station in our home.
Yeah, I would agree about forcing everyone to pay more than $30 per month ($360 or more per year) for basic cable. Basic cable is only worth about $10 per month. FCC says it is to free up the airwaves, but somewhere some cable tv good ol' boy and tv manufacturer good ol' boy greased another good ol' boys palm. And I thought palm greasing was unique to North Carolina!
A minor point
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 15:15 — rkdownesIn a situation like broadcast TV, antennas, not transmitters are located on towers. Transmitters located on the ground power the antennas.
Now, it sure would be handy if all the triangle area TV broadcast antennals operated out of roughly the same location, making aiming residential receiver antennas much easier. There's space on the Garner candelabra, WUNC how about it?
Thanks
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 15:39 — brookecain (author)The original UNC-TV info I got said transmitters, but I've made the corrections now. We all thank you!
rabbit ears no buy
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 15:09 — gercohenpeople with rabbit ears do not buy much, so advertisers and TV stations do not care whether they can watch the stations.
The other thing about this
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 17:03 — ftjacobsThe other thing about this is, at least in terms of the UNC-TV transmission problem, that public television isn't driven by advertiser revenue.
rabbit ears no buy
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 16:38 — wbmcmahanI would agree in theory. However, I live in a 6 figure household and we have a rotary antenna. Just selective about what we spend our hard earned $ on. $360 or more per year for basic cable TV seems like a waste. More stations would give our family more reason to do nothing in front of the boob tube, so we limit our access to 500 stations of pulp on purpose. Between the 10 or so stations we used to be able to get off the air and Netflix, we were pretty happy with our selection.
The end of summer?
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 14:43 — montagcatHow long did UNC have to prepare for this transition? Who is resonsible for the mistakes that were made? How can it take so long to resolve the problems? I am completely HDTV-OTA and this really bothers me.
Not a "mistake"
Wed, 06/17/2009 - 06:03 — pearce10There wasn't any technical mistake. For many stations the changes needed in permanent transmitters and antennas couldn't be started until after the transition date, and can't be done overnight. Lots of stations have temporary, lower power transmitters, and temporary, lower elevation antennas, while they remove the old analog systems and install the final digital systems.
This wasn't a secret, but it escaped the attention of most of the press and public, and the broadcasters themselves didn't call much attentiion to it.
And for those who mention $360 cable bills, Time Warner offers a service called "Broadcast Cable" with a listed price of $12.60-$15.54/mo. I'm sure they'd rather sell you a more expensive package. "Broadcast Cable" should include the ability to view the local TV stations digital channels, though their "Channel Lineup" web page doesn't make that clear. We have a digital TV without a cable box and can see all those channels.
Other reception issues
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 14:43 — brianI was able to resolve the signal with UNC-TV by redirecting my indoor antenna to point more towards the their tower location. However, I have not gotten any signal at all from ABC11 Raleigh pointing in any direction. I am located in Eastern Durham and was able to receive their digital signal prior to Friday. Are they having similar issues?
Edit: Nevermind. They have information available on their website now about their signal and power issues. I could not find this information on Friday or Saturday
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=6864649.
ABC link
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 15:28 — brookecain (author)Thanks for posting that.
Digital Over-the-Air
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 14:21 — jepthasWith 85% of people getting TV via. cable and satellite, over-the-air TV just does not attract much interest from the point of view of broadcasters. Those theoretical FCC projections assumed you had an antenna on a 30 foot pole. You have to read quite deeply in the propaganda to see that. Channel 5 distributed "deep fringe" antennas to Durham if you requested one. They are about 3-4 feet square, or 8-bow tie arrays. That is for local reception too. Forget a few miles in the country. The "fixes" won't do much, and people will end up with paid-for television reception.
Digital Over-the-Air
Tue, 06/16/2009 - 14:20 — jepthasWith 85% of people getting TV via. cable and satellite, over-the-air TV just does not attract much interest from the point of view of broadcasters. Those theoretical FCC projections assumed you had an antenna on a 30 foot pole. You have to read quite deeply in the propaganda to see that. Channel 5 distributed "deep fringe" antennas to Durham if you requested one. They are about 3-4 feet square, or 8-bow tie arrays. That is for local reception too. Forget a few miles in the country. The "fixes" won't do much, and people will end up with paid-for television reception.