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Latest Area Repack Developments
- Thread starter Channel 83
- Start date
Just ran across this article online concerning Univision exploring a number of options, including selling.
Just wondering if this could have any possible area fallout. After all, WUNI is one of their O & O stations.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/univision-owners-seek-exit-after-tumultuous-run
Just wondering if this could have any possible area fallout. After all, WUNI is one of their O & O stations.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/media/univision-owners-seek-exit-after-tumultuous-run
I noticed 44.3 WGBH's Create Channel ran a scroll telling OTA viewers to re-scan by August 2.
It will be interesting to see if they juggle the programming between WGBH and WGBX at the same time, since many/most viewers will no longer be able to receive WGBH adequately once it moves to ch 5.
This is further complicated by the fact that about 50% of the WGBX bandwidth is now shared as NBC-owned WYCN-CD, which is carrying NBCBoston and Cozi. However WNEU, also carrying NBCBoston and Cozi is moving at the same time from NH to the same Needham tower.
Supposedly NBC is keeping NBC and METV on their WYCN-CD shared channel on WGBX, due to the slightly better coverage area the repacked WGBX will have vs what WNEU will have. They could offset the shared leasing cost by providing the unused WNEU bandwidth to WGBH/WGBX. Almost definitely the primary PBS feed will be moved from WGBH to WGBX, but the location of the rest of the PBS subchannnels, plus WFXZ-CD (Biz) is hard to guess. Those might get moved around later depending upon the complaints received for whatever they leave on WGBH.
If RabbitEars.info's coverage maps are anywhere near accurate, then this makes perfect sense. The post-repack WGBX signal is to be non-directional, whereas the post-repack WNEU signal will have nulls to the south-west, and south.
The post-repack WGBX signal would also have an almost 3,000 square mile coverage advantage over the post-repack WNEU signal.
In Boston, WCEA-LD, the multi-ethnic station and its six subchannels that were on virtual 58 has just moved to virtual 26.
This allows those of us in WCEA's coverage area whose TV's receive only the channel with the highest RF channel number of multiple channels with the same virtual number in a scan to receive WDPX on virtual 58.
Because WCEA was on a higher RF channel than WDPX when they were both on virtual 58, I had never seen WDPX since it began using a subchannel of WBPX (which is otherwise on virtual 68). The last time I had seen WDPX on 58 was when it occasionally skipped up from its previous location on Cape Cod before WCEA went onto 58.
This allows those of us in WCEA's coverage area whose TV's receive only the channel with the highest RF channel number of multiple channels with the same virtual number in a scan to receive WDPX on virtual 58.
Because WCEA was on a higher RF channel than WDPX when they were both on virtual 58, I had never seen WDPX since it began using a subchannel of WBPX (which is otherwise on virtual 68). The last time I had seen WDPX on 58 was when it occasionally skipped up from its previous location on Cape Cod before WCEA went onto 58.
There's also a height advantage to the post-repack WGBX - it will operate from the new master UHF antenna at the top of the Needham tower, while WNEU's DA will be down below on the tower.
And of course however WGBH shuffles subchannels between WGBH and WGBX post-repack, it's still only temporary. The expectation seems to be that WGBH's RF 5 signal will become an ATSC 3.0 test bed sooner rather than later, at which point WGBH will have to provide an ATSC 1 feed of its 2.1 programming somewhere else, whether that's WGBX or WNEU or some other station. (There will be a lot of "channel-sharing," in a somewhat different form than we understand it now, once the ATSC 3/ATSC 1 dual-illumination period gets going in each market.)
So what is the date to do a re-scan? Recently I am seeing more notices about re-scans for OTA viewers, but the dates don't seem to be consistent.
It appears in the Boston area that most changes will happen on 8/2. A few stations could do it now, if they chose to. But most have to coordinate with other stations, which in turn have to coordinate with still others, so they agreed on the last date allowed.
Since sometime after 7 am, my tv set has been picking up a black screen with the error message "no broadcast now" on 29.6, and it appears to be unrelated to any of the WUTF subchannels. I can only assume this must be WNEU conducting some sort of test.
Can anyone verify?
Can anyone verify?
After midnight this morning (Monday) WUTF was off the air and WNEU was testing with a color bar pattern on real channel 29. The signal level was very good. They may have stayed on until after 7 AM.
WNEU testing on RF 29
When I tune in RF ch 29, my TV's revert to WUFT on PSIP 27. I tried switching to RF 29.6 but no channel is displayed as of 10:26 PM tonight. Also I got no signal on RF7 tonight from WPRI. So this could be intermittent testing until the changes on Friday August 2nd.
When I tune in RF ch 29, my TV's revert to WUFT on PSIP 27. I tried switching to RF 29.6 but no channel is displayed as of 10:26 PM tonight. Also I got no signal on RF7 tonight from WPRI. So this could be intermittent testing until the changes on Friday August 2nd.
When I saw WNEU Sunday night, they had a color bar pattern on, with a distinctive color-changing, square ball bouncing over it. They also had "WNEU" superimposed on top. A scan of the signal showed the identifier as Program 29, which might have confused your TV. I did not check again until Monday morning, probably around 9, and WUTF was back.
WCVB is testing again tonight, at the moment.
Some can change at any time, since the channel they are moving to is free in the Boston and neighboring markets, such as WGBH. Others have to wait until after the current occupant of the channel moves first.
Right now WPRI is on both RF ch 7 and ch 13.
The WPRI signal on RF7 is noticeably weaker, as expected.
Anyone else having occasional pixelation on WBZ? The signal is strong, but it’s pixelating every minute or so.
I gotta say this has changed my OTA reception quite a bit. On one of my TVs I can’t seem to get WGBH or WGBX at all, but I can get WPRI better than I ever could before. I could even get WSBE for a little bit. Though I can get both WGBH SD and WGBX SD. The antenna I use is basically just a square flap.
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