I see WMC is having DirecTV contract renewal troubles. From the standpoint of a subscriber in north Shelby county who can’t reliably get the WMC-DT signal when all of their competitors are solid…methinks with their comparatively lousy DTV signal WMC might want to make nice with DirecTV.
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WMC-TV vs. DirecTV
- Thread starter radiosaur
- Start date
Is WMC a Hearst-Argyle station? WAPT here in Jackson is having the same issues with DirecTV as well.
Raycom is having this trouble with all of their stations. Raycom is trying to get an agreement for their stations on DirecTV before Jan. 1.
I have cable but also get it fine OTA in Midtown. I have a two bay bow tie antenna in my attic of a three story house. They made a huge mistake staying on 5. Cheap will always come back to burn you.
RadeoEngineer said:
Exactly. I was there in WMC-TV Engineering back when the DTV allocations were just beginning to be discussed. We tried to tell them.
Don’t’ get me wrong. I CAN get it OTA. With an attic antenna, splitter, and a bunch of source switches for the various tabletop TV’s and the big one. Not really worth the trouble.
You may recall on on transition day, Memphis had a HUGE thunderstorm come through. My cable was down for a week, or so.
As has been pointed out, the UHFs are fairly easy to get. 5 is another matter. But, having to get it OTA, I fashioned a full-wave loop out of #12 wire, a plastic rod and a couple of push pins -- a 10-minute operation. It worked GREAT, even on the ground floor in Germantown.
Channel 5 on my cable tends to freeze quite a bit, so that antenna STILL gets used and works flawlessly. Still, one wonders why they haven't attempted to, at least, construct a "fill-in translator," as WTVF/Nashville has done.
DE
As has been pointed out, the UHFs are fairly easy to get. 5 is another matter. But, having to get it OTA, I fashioned a full-wave loop out of #12 wire, a plastic rod and a couple of push pins -- a 10-minute operation. It worked GREAT, even on the ground floor in Germantown.
Channel 5 on my cable tends to freeze quite a bit, so that antenna STILL gets used and works flawlessly. Still, one wonders why they haven't attempted to, at least, construct a "fill-in translator," as WTVF/Nashville has done.
DE
A full power translator downtown would be wonderful. If I wasn't renting I would probably have an antenna somewhere. I may have to investigate something in the attic at some point. I just don't enjoy the challenge of running coax down a wall built in 1930. Getting cat6 down 3 walls was quite the job a while back.
I have a CM 4228 in storage actually. But nothing for VHF.
DE maybe you should market your TV5 Loop.
I have a CM 4228 in storage actually. But nothing for VHF.
DE maybe you should market your TV5 Loop.
The real question is where WMC would've gone had they not elected to go back to 5? I seem to remember their original transition channel was out of core. It's entirely possible the FCC would've done them the same way they did KCWX in San Antonio/Austin, which is telling them, "5 is the best available channel, and you're going there even though you don't want it!" Of course, you were there. So, you probably know more about their options than I do!
I seem to remember hearing Memphis had a larger OTA viewing population than most markets. If that's the case, it doesn't look like being on DT-5 is hurting them much. They're still #1 at 5 and 6 and a very close #2 at 10. Their ratings look about the same as what they were two years ago, prior to the transition.
Since WTVF was mentioned in this thread, I figured I'd mention that I read somewhere that they were applying to move to DT-25, though I haven't been able to verify that through the FCC site.
I seem to remember hearing Memphis had a larger OTA viewing population than most markets. If that's the case, it doesn't look like being on DT-5 is hurting them much. They're still #1 at 5 and 6 and a very close #2 at 10. Their ratings look about the same as what they were two years ago, prior to the transition.
Since WTVF was mentioned in this thread, I figured I'd mention that I read somewhere that they were applying to move to DT-25, though I haven't been able to verify that through the FCC site.
I've got a brother-in-law in the country outside Hennig, TN, (In Lauderdale County) who merely has a regular TV antenna hanging in his attic by baling wire. (He also has DirectTV for the channels) but his OTA reception of 3,5,7 (Jackson) 10, 13, 24, and even 50-ION is remarkable.
Grant it, it's on fairly flat land (a farm)...but it's still a pretty good distance from all the stations he's getting.
The local channels on my New Wave cable here are worse than all the others and higher on the scale I can get the audio for the digital channels (5-1, etc.) but cannot get any video.
Grant it, it's on fairly flat land (a farm)...but it's still a pretty good distance from all the stations he's getting.
The local channels on my New Wave cable here are worse than all the others and higher on the scale I can get the audio for the digital channels (5-1, etc.) but cannot get any video.
OTA DTV is an odd animal, Meep.
I can see the tower for channel 10 in the Winter when the trees drop their leaves. Yet, I still get an occasional freeze. BUT... I get PERFECT reception on WMAV/Oxford -- big signal, never a freeze. Sometimes, it's the multipath that is the problem with DTV.
I suspect I am getting a reflection somewhere on WKNO that interferes. That's the only reasonable conclusion.
DE
I can see the tower for channel 10 in the Winter when the trees drop their leaves. Yet, I still get an occasional freeze. BUT... I get PERFECT reception on WMAV/Oxford -- big signal, never a freeze. Sometimes, it's the multipath that is the problem with DTV.
I suspect I am getting a reflection somewhere on WKNO that interferes. That's the only reasonable conclusion.
DE
Meepster said:
Of course if the problem is at the source, a bigger TV will only amplify the flaws in the picture.
After I moved out of Mississippi and into the deep forest I can't get satellite anymore, and the local city-run cable looks horrible on the big TV. I'm sure if I'd had this from the get go no one in the family would have ever considered a 40+" TV viable because the picture really is THAT bad.
OTA isn't much better. We get RTV on a subchannel of the CBS affiliate here and it looks like a low bitrate YouTube video, and that's on a small screen. On the living room TV it's unwatchable. If I were an engineer I'd be embarrassed beyond belief at that quality. (It can't be RTV, though, it looks fine on other affiliates.)
I have terrible multi-path issues at my location caused by an 18 story Apartment building accross the street and maybe by 3 other multi-floor buildings located about 2000ft away. Analog UHF was a nightmare and yet now UHF is what is working best in the digital world. 3 10 23 24 30 50 are all pretty easy to get with 50 being only very slightly more sensative. That maybe due to being the highest in actual frequency.
It as tough to get things working for 5 & 13 at the same time as it is to get the low power digitals in. Actually 17 may be easier sometimes I think.
Meep how many miles out is your Brother-in-law? Any amplification on his set up?
It as tough to get things working for 5 & 13 at the same time as it is to get the low power digitals in. Actually 17 may be easier sometimes I think.
Meep how many miles out is your Brother-in-law? Any amplification on his set up?
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