RTV coming to NYC!

[stanleyjohn]

Good news!RTV network is going to be back in NYC on a low power station (WKOB) Heres a link for stations info! http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=print_station&facility_id=51441

 

[ansky212]

A low power station that nobody is going to be able to pick up unless you live within a few block radius of the transmitter. I used to live in Jersey City right across the river and I could barely pick up that channel in analog. Now it will be even harder in digital.

 

[MarcB]

Enjoy the same 5 episodes of Knight Rider over and over again.

 

[stanleyjohn]

it really looks like RTV dosnt care who they get to pick up the programming as long as it puts a dot on the map and tell others!Hey we are growing and covering more area.

 

[RonTheEngineer]

Enjoy the same 5 episodes of Knight Rider over and over again.

But surely they fixed that last year! They even said so on facebook! You must be imagining things.

I thought I would reiterate my original rant about RTV...

http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=139787.msg1296749#msg1296749

RTV made some outlandish promises they could not deliver on. Any attempt to work with them was either ignored or bullied away (take note of the OnePhone ad, this is the personality running the show). I requested promotional materials repeatedly, FCC REQUIRED reports for the public affairs, FCC REQUIRED announcements for kid's changes, etc. When I went over this person's head, after my complaints and requests were ignored for the final time, I was actually yelled at for going over his head.

They swore they aired locally sold advertisements on our LA station, but the aircheck recordings say different. This is a HUGE deal, as we don't watch the stations 24/7, we count on the as-run log and the relative reliability of the automation system to swear "yes it aired" to the client. When confronted with this, they ignored it. When I went to the owner, I got "oops, sorry".

RTV is plagued with technical issues, of which they cannot or will not correct. Such things as lipsync, skipping shows, server crashes, satellite receiver crashes and poor audio quality and levels. I have attempted to advise them on numerous occasions, well... see above.

I urge you to read their Facebook fan page, where there are numerous complaints, which go ignored and unaddressed.

 

[carolinaradio]

Enjoy watching your favorites! Over..and over...and over..and over... (episodes, that is)

 

[DToTheJ]

I wonder if this new low-power channel is going to request "must carry" status on cable systems in the New York DMA - that might irk current full-power RTV affiliate WSAH. :

 

[w9wi]

I wonder if this new low-power channel is going to request "must carry" status on cable systems in the New York DMA - that might irk current full-power RTV affiliate WSAH. :

I'm pretty sure (don't have time to look it up right now) that a LPTV can't get must-carry unless it's the only TV station licensed to its city. Obviously that won't apply in NYC!

 

[azumanga]

...that might irk current full-power RTV affiliate WSAH. :

Actually, former -- WSAH dropped RTV late last year, for the reasons described by Ron above.

 

[ansky212]

So has anyone tried to pick up this station with rabbit ears? Any luck?

 

[ansky212]

RTV is now on the air, WKOB 42-3. There is video but no audio as of right now.

 

[ansky212]

I noticed something wierd with WKOB last night. I was finally able to pick up the station using an outdoor antenna. I noticed that the picture on 42.3 was pixelating and freezing, but when I tuned to 42.1 and 42.2 I did not have this problem at all. Since all subchannels are from the same signal, how is it possible that only 1 subchannel could have the pixelation issues?

 

[w9wi]

I noticed something wierd with WKOB last night. I was finally able to pick up the station using an outdoor antenna. I noticed that the picture on 42.3 was pixelating and freezing, but when I tuned to 42.1 and 42.2 I did not have this problem at all. Since all subchannels are from the same signal, how is it possible that only 1 subchannel could have the pixelation issues?

It's possible the MPEG encoder for 42-3 is broken.

But I'd also ask, are you sure 42-1, 42-2, and 42-3 are all coming from the same signal? (I'm not in NYC so I can't look at it myself. Rabbitears.info doesn't know about 42-1, it does say the other two are coming from the same transmitter along with a 42-4)

From a technical standpoint, it is perfectly possible for two different transmitters to use the same major virtual channel. Indeed, it's perfectly legal as long as both transmitters are controlled by the same organization.

So it would be possible that 42-1 and 42-2 are transmitted over the RF channel 2 signal (WKOB-LD), while 42-3 is transmitted over WXNY-LD RF 32. In which case if your reception of WXNY isn't the best, 42-3 will break up.

In that situation, 42-3 would be required to ID with the WXNY calls, not the WKOB calls used on the other two subchannels.

(I don't guarantee there aren't some loopholes in the LPTV rules though. A lot of things that apply to full-power stations don't apply to LPTVs.)

 

[ansky212]

But I'd also ask, are you sure 42-1, 42-2, and 42-3 are all coming from the same signal? (I'm not in NYC so I can't look at it myself. Rabbitears.info doesn't know about 42-1, it does say the other two are coming from the same transmitter along with a 42-4)

From a technical standpoint, it is perfectly possible for two different transmitters to use the same major virtual channel. Indeed, it's perfectly legal as long as both transmitters are controlled by the same organization.

So it would be possible that 42-1 and 42-2 are transmitted over the RF channel 2 signal (WKOB-LD), while 42-3 is transmitted over WXNY-LD RF 32. In which case if your reception of WXNY isn't the best, 42-3 will break up.

In that situation, 42-3 would be required to ID with the WXNY calls, not the WKOB calls used on the other two subchannels.

(I don't guarantee there aren't some loopholes in the LPTV rules though. A lot of things that apply to full-power stations don't apply to LPTVs.)

42.1 and 42.2 are both broadcasting the exact same programming (Daystar). 42.3 has RTV and 42.4 just shows a test pattern with the WKOB-LD call letters.
I know RTV is listed with the WKOB call letters on the RTV website. It would seem odd that WKOB would broadcast 1 subchannel on a different channel number.
How would I be able to tell if the virtual channel 42.3 is mapped to a different RF channel?

 

[tripinva]

But I'd also ask, are you sure 42-1, 42-2, and 42-3 are all coming from the same signal? (I'm not in NYC so I can't look at it myself. Rabbitears.info doesn't know about 42-1, it does say the other two are coming from the same transmitter along with a 42-4)

?

http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=wkob

So it would be possible that 42-1 and 42-2 are transmitted over the RF channel 2 signal (WKOB-LD), while 42-3 is transmitted over WXNY-LD RF 32. In which case if your reception of WXNY isn't the best, 42-3 will break up.

WXNY-LD 32 isn't even on the air to the best of my knowledge.

- Trip

 

[hubcity]

It would seem odd that WKOB would broadcast 1 subchannel on a different channel number.
How would I be able to tell if the virtual channel 42.3 is mapped to a different RF channel?

It's not so odd. WWOR broadcasts an SD feed of WNYW on its secondary channel, which is virtual 5.2, even though it's being broadcast in pair with 9.1. WNYW does the same; 5.1 is paired with 9.2. It's weird when you can receive one and not the other, and you get 5.2 and 9.1 (or 5.1 and 9.2) only.

 

[w9wi]

But I'd also ask, are you sure 42-1, 42-2, and 42-3 are all coming from the same signal? (I'm not in NYC so I can't look at it myself. Rabbitears.info doesn't know about 42-1, it does say the other two are coming from the same transmitter along with a 42-4)

?

http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=wkob

I went through the Searches tab, then picked PSIP Search and entered the WKOB call. The results (http://www.rabbitears.info/search.php?request=psip_search&callsign=WKOB) showed only 42-2, -3, and -4. I see if I'd then clicked on one of the callsign links I'd have seen the correct info. (about 42-1)

And that info shows that 42-1, 42-2, and 42-3 are indeed coming from the same transmitter. So if one of them is breaking up, either it's a screwed-up MPEG encoder (or possibly multiplexer) or there's something wrong at the programming source. The Daystar satellite feed (between wherever the Daystar studios are and the WKOB transmitter site) is digital, and also uses MPEG compression. So if the satellite signal is weak or suffering interference, it can break up in exactly the same way as the OTA signal.

WXNY-LD was picked at random as a bad example(grin).

_________________________________________________

How would I be able to tell if the virtual channel 42.3 is mapped to a different RF channel?

Hmmm. It's pretty easy with a Hauppauge USB tuner & TS Reader Lite, somewhat more difficult with ordinary consumer gear...

What would probably work:

- Disconnect your antenna.
- Scan for channels.
When it finishes, there should be NO channels programmed in your TV/converter box
- Reconnect the antenna.
- Punch in 02 on the remote.
In a few seconds, whatever program is on the lowest minor virtual channel transmitted over RF channel 2 should show up. (in this case, almost certainly Daystar)
- Use the channel-up and channel-down buttons to see which virtual channels you receive. If you have a 42.3, then 42.3 is being transmitted over the WKOB transmitter on RF channel 2. If you *don't* have 42.3, then 42.3 is being transmitted over some other transmitter on some other frequency.

I don't guarantee this will work on *all* TVs/converter boxes. If you do it, once you're done you'll have to do a channel scan again, unless WKOB is the only station you want to watch

 

[tripinva]

I went through the Searches tab, then picked PSIP Search and entered the WKOB call. The results (http://www.rabbitears.info/search.php?request=psip_search&callsign=WKOB) showed only 42-2, -3, and -4. I see if I'd then clicked on one of the callsign links I'd have seen the correct info. (about 42-1)

Ah. The PSIP search is more designed for DXers who catch PSIP but no video and don't know what the station is.

- Trip