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Re: "For many, digital switch brings in 'can’t-see TV’ "
I wonder why satellite TV customers aren't as vocal about losing their service during storms? I've had DirecTV in two different locations and in both places lost the signal before or during heavy downpours.
It's a common occurance in places that get storms regularly, like the south and midwest... And while it's acknowledged by tons of folks on the DBS forums, almost everyone seems to be okay with it.
Maybe that'll change when they no longer have an analog OTA signal to drop back to?
I wonder why satellite TV customers aren't as vocal about losing their service during storms? I've had DirecTV in two different locations and in both places lost the signal before or during heavy downpours.
It's a common occurance in places that get storms regularly, like the south and midwest... And while it's acknowledged by tons of folks on the DBS forums, almost everyone seems to be okay with it.
Maybe that'll change when they no longer have an analog OTA signal to drop back to?
Zach said:I wonder why satellite TV customers aren't as vocal about losing their service during storms? I've had DirecTV in two different locations and in both places lost the signal before or during heavy downpours.
It's a common occurance in places that get storms regularly, like the south and midwest... And while it's acknowledged by tons of folks on the DBS forums, almost everyone seems to be okay with it.
Maybe that'll change when they no longer have an analog OTA signal to drop back to?
I'm one of those DirecTV people and used to run a BUD (Big Ugly Dish) on C and Ku band before most of the good product disappeared. In 15 years of BUD usage I had not a single outage from rain, snow or wind. When it rains here in the desert it is usually very heavy and almost always some sort of outage occurs. Normal rain, clouds or dust don't seem to bother it. The frequencies used by the pizza pan are attenuated severely by rain though.
Speaking for myself I'm not OK with it but the outages are normally short and infrequent (half a dozen times per year here). It's the price of convenience on the mini dish.
Not sure what you meant with the 'analog OTA' reference. I still have an external antenna pointed at the antenna farm and a converter box for the digital signals. I have not noticed any outages on those due to rain. Of course, people way out in the boonies are going to be in trouble with the digital switch OTA as signals don't travel as far but that's life outside the big city.
Re: "For many, digital switch brings in 'can’t-see TV’ "
What I was implying is that many DBS users just flip over to their local TV stations when the sat goes out during inclement weather. Right now if people live in fringe areas of digital OTA reception, they can still access their analog channels, so they still can get weather or other programs. But when the full power stations shut down, they'll be at the mercy of the digital signals.
I've seen several complaints specific to the Birmingham metro market in regards to the local ABC affiliate, "ABC 33/40". It's one of those setups where two stations cover the market. Their digital assignments are channels 5 and 9, and neither puts a useable signal into the Birmingham metro itself, since the sticks are way out in the country to the east and west of the market.
Those (few) in the city who get reception of the station via digital OTA lose it when storms come through. It seems any lightning disrupts the signal (a-la AM HD) and it quickly becomes unusuable.
Where I live we used to get Miss. PBS out of a nearby town in digital fairly reliably. But if a storm was blowing in either there or here, the signal'd be gone quicker than a mouse on a kitchen floor.
They recently did something to the antenna height or power because for the last several months I've not gotten it all. It went from 35-45% on the tuner to a solid 0%. Which leaves me with exactly ZERO digital channels viewable OTA now.
Hopefully some of these issues will be sorted post-sunset when the digital antennas can be put in more competitive locations (like atop a tower instead of side-mounted down a few hundred feet), channels changed and power levels raised.
landtuna said:Zach said:It's a common occurance in places that get storms regularly, like the south and midwest... And while it's acknowledged by tons of folks on the DBS forums, almost everyone seems to be okay with it.
Maybe that'll change when they no longer have an analog OTA signal to drop back to?
Not sure what you meant with the 'analog OTA' reference. I still have an external antenna pointed at the antenna farm and a converter box for the digital signals. I have not noticed any outages on those due to rain. Of course, people way out in the boonies are going to be in trouble with the digital switch OTA as signals don't travel as far but that's life outside the big city.
What I was implying is that many DBS users just flip over to their local TV stations when the sat goes out during inclement weather. Right now if people live in fringe areas of digital OTA reception, they can still access their analog channels, so they still can get weather or other programs. But when the full power stations shut down, they'll be at the mercy of the digital signals.
I've seen several complaints specific to the Birmingham metro market in regards to the local ABC affiliate, "ABC 33/40". It's one of those setups where two stations cover the market. Their digital assignments are channels 5 and 9, and neither puts a useable signal into the Birmingham metro itself, since the sticks are way out in the country to the east and west of the market.
Those (few) in the city who get reception of the station via digital OTA lose it when storms come through. It seems any lightning disrupts the signal (a-la AM HD) and it quickly becomes unusuable.
Where I live we used to get Miss. PBS out of a nearby town in digital fairly reliably. But if a storm was blowing in either there or here, the signal'd be gone quicker than a mouse on a kitchen floor.
They recently did something to the antenna height or power because for the last several months I've not gotten it all. It went from 35-45% on the tuner to a solid 0%. Which leaves me with exactly ZERO digital channels viewable OTA now.
Hopefully some of these issues will be sorted post-sunset when the digital antennas can be put in more competitive locations (like atop a tower instead of side-mounted down a few hundred feet), channels changed and power levels raised.
C
clone
Guest
landtuna said:
I will grant you, that it took one of the most severe lightning-producing storms I have ever seen to interrupt the digital OTA broadcasts. But this is normal when you have 3 or 4 tornadoes on the ground during a severe storm. And these are exactly the conditions where local broadcasts are most important. If DBS and/or cable have failed, what do you have to fall back on? I foresee a sharp increase of larger DBS dishes (at least 3' or maybe larger) being installed after February, if only to increase performance during severe weather.
At least, for now, luckily we still have analog radio to fill the gap when there are crisis conditions, and all of the weak digital interfaces fail. I admit, I love watching 1080i OTA HD. It looks so much better than HD over DBS or even cable. And, during skip conditions, I have been able to capture numerous distant digital stations in crystal-clear HD (if only for a few minutes). But if it fails during a crisis, under any condition, to me it is not worth it and the whole idea needs to be revisited.
W
Walking On
Guest
Well, I wouldn't be able to explain it technically, but I just bought a converter box for the inlaws who live in the sticks. I tried it out in our toyhauler with it's expansive 16 inch diagnonal screen and Winegard RS2000 omni-directional antenna (ooohhh :). The local public telivision channel has 3 HD channels in addition to the analog. One of the digitals is an HD simulcast of the analog channel. Side by side, on an old, sketchy tv, the digital source looks much better and clearer. And I'm only getting 60% on that channel (the best signal I'm seeing, btw). I will say that a good antenna is needed, because there appear to be several other digital channels out there to be had, but that cheapy winegard only gives us 20% or less on them.
). The local public telivision channel has 3 HD channels in addition to the analog. One of the digitals is an HD simulcast of the analog channel. Side by side, on an old, sketchy tv, the digital source looks much better and clearer. And I'm only getting 60% on that channel (the best signal I'm seeing, btw). I will say that a good antenna is needed, because there appear to be several other digital channels out there to be had, but that cheapy winegard only gives us 20% or less on them.- Status