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WMFP

Is it me, or has the video quality on Channel 62 improved quite a bit?
It looks good considering the age of the source material. Nice job Ron!
 
Actually that would be Bill... but, the breakup turned out to be a lighting ballast in the neighborhood. It was one of those things you never suspect, because a 60hz device should not be making interference in the 4GHZ range. I have to admit that one would have stumped me too. You know how bad sodium vapor lights turn on and off... it was that.

Also, Me-TV moved from SES-2 to SES-1, higher in the arc. This has the result of steering the dish away from alot of terrestrial interference sources and the tops of trees which have a way of swaying and bending in the wind. The initial breakup problems were being caused by a bad neighbor on the adjacent satellite, but Me-TV rented the next transponder up and problem solved.

I dont know the exact configuration of equipment there but I hope they aren't breaking down the signal to analog. In my setup, I pass the ASI stream directly from Me-TV onto my multiplex. I couldnt tweak levels even if I wanted to! Anything you see on my air is entirely Me-TV's problem. It remains digital, in most cases, all the way to the set top box. I do break that stream down to analog to feed DirecTV and the others, but again, I can't really tweak that either, just 6" of cable till it's handed off to the fiber and turned into some sort of digital magic again.

NHRadio said:
Is it me, or has the video quality on Channel 62 improved quite a bit?
It looks good considering the age of the source material. Nice job Ron!
 
I'm also happy that the video quality is better.

Ron - do you know if Comcast is close to picking up 62.2? I can't get you over the air in the Framingham area.
 
Talk about the oddest things causing problems! Wow! I never heard of such issues. Did they locate the actual location of the ballast?

I know I've been rather vocal about this over the last few months (some would say too vocal and radical - but hey, I was a frustrated loyal viewer. My apologies to all for being rather over the top and militant!)

Now this is solved, I'd like to see some progress on WMFP 62.2 RTV getting some cable clearances. :) although from where I am, I always get a strong signal with my OTA digital box - 88-91 range with a pair of standard rabbit ears.
 
Now that WCVB will be broadcasting ME-TV on 5.2 , what will WMFP do ? I am sure they will continue to show ME-Tv on 62.1 and RTV on 62.2 . WMFP has an advantage as they are on a main affiliate which Directv and DISH show because of the Must-carry rule. But I am sure that WCVB is trying to get Cable clearance before they launch on 5.2. Most in the Boston DMA can also get ME-TV from WMUR 9.2 out of NH. So Boston may now have 3 ME-TV affliliates . Here in Western Mass we get none. I am able to pick up WMFP and WJAR via OTA but for some reason I cannot pick up WCVB.
 
You said western Massachusetts? WCVB-TV uses channel 20 for their digital broadcast. So does WCCT-TV (CW) channel 20 of Waterbury/Hartford. Perhaps you're receiving interference from their signal? (It transmits from Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington, CT.)
 
djblaze said:
Now that WCVB will be broadcasting ME-TV on 5.2 , what will WMFP do ? I am sure they will continue to show ME-Tv on 62.1 and RTV on 62.2 . WMFP has an advantage as they are on a main affiliate which Directv and DISH show because of the Must-carry rule. But I am sure that WCVB is trying to get Cable clearance before they launch on 5.2. Most in the Boston DMA can also get ME-TV from WMUR 9.2 out of NH. So Boston may now have 3 ME-TV affliliates . Here in Western Mass we get none. I am able to pick up WMFP and WJAR via OTA but for some reason I cannot pick up WCVB.

I doubt WMFP will keep METV after WCVB picks it up. Especially if 5.2 gets the same cable and satellite coverage WMFP has now. I'm hoping they switch to Antenna TV or pick up one of the other Luken networks.
 
I get both 62.1 and 62.2 on my Magnavox Converter Box (The Converter Box we had to get with a Government Coupon a few years ago).
But, with those converter boxes, you (MUST!!!!!) have a good antanna and patience.
My Dad lives next door to me, and he gets (local) channels that I don't get. I have some that he don't have.
I love both (Me TV) and (R TV) (I'm a 37 year old man) They have great shows. Both these channels are better than TV Land.
Sometimes I get Channel 5 (Salem, Ma) area. Sometimes I don't.
I have the converter box because I just disregarded my cable. It's too expensive to have Cable, because the channels that I want, it's not available. If I want them, I have to get a different kind of package, and it cost about $20.00 more dollars. Too expensive, and also I'm hardly never home.
 
djblaze said:
Now that WCVB will be broadcasting ME-TV on 5.2 , what will WMFP do ? I am sure they will continue to show ME-Tv on 62.1 and RTV on 62.2 .

My guess is, if WMFP keeps ME-TV, 62.1 and 62.2 will switch places, thereby RTV will again be their dominate network, back on the CATV providers, and there will still only be two ME-TV affiliates, like ABC.
Although, I too hope they pick up Antenna TV. ;)
 
Is WMFP the only station to be SD only on its main channel in Boston? If main is only SD instead of HD, they could have 5 or more SD sub channels.
 
WWDP 46 (ShopNBC) and WYDN 48 (Daystar - licensed as non-commercial) have just single a SD channel. These, and WMFP, are wasting most of their bandwidth by not at least putting on more SD channels, if they don't have an HD program source - and that bandwidth is wasted for a radius of 100 miles or so. Yet the low power WFXZ-CD has 4 SD channels.

Undoubtedly these situations catch the attention of the FCC, which is looking for ways to eliminate additional channels. Everything on WMFP, WWDP, and WYDN would fit on one channel, for example.

In addition to AntennaTV, there are many small networks, like MHz, PBJ, My Family TV, America One, etc. Yet the bandwidth goes unused.
 
channel99 said:
WWDP 46 (ShopNBC) and WYDN 48 (Daystar - licensed as non-commercial) have just single a SD channel. These, and WMFP, are wasting most of their bandwidth by not at least putting on more SD channels, if they don't have an HD program source - and that bandwidth is wasted for a radius of 100 miles or so. Yet the low power WFXZ-CD has 4 SD channels.

Undoubtedly these situations catch the attention of the FCC, which is looking for ways to eliminate additional channels. Everything on WMFP, WWDP, and WYDN would fit on one channel, for example.

In addition to AntennaTV, there are many small networks, like MHz, PBJ, My Family TV, America One, etc. Yet the bandwidth goes unused.

These stations need advertisers (and viewers) to justify the additional networks. It won't be happening any time soon.
 
Many, if not most, of the the smaller networks are provided on a barter basis, some will even provide the sat receiver to any station that will carry them full time. The transmitter and studio equipment is in operation anyway, so there is no added cost there. Even a few ads a week would be better than nothing. There are independents in other cites running 4, 6, 8, or even more SD channels.
 
channel99 said:
Even a few ads a week would be better than nothing.

Assuming they want to hire and train a sales staff. The path of least resistance is the dreaded infomercial or worse, the blow-waved bloviating scam artist televangelist.
 
channel99 said:
Many, if not most, of the the smaller networks are provided on a barter basis, some will even provide the sat receiver to any station that will carry them full time. The transmitter and studio equipment is in operation anyway, so there is no added cost there. Even a few ads a week would be better than nothing. There are independents in other cites running 4, 6, 8, or even more SD channels.

Wrong... the encoder is roughly 8-10K and the stat mux that will be required is 20-30K. Then there is distribution of the signal, EAS, ID considerations and so on. To add a single channel will be on the order of 50K, then about 15K every channel after that.
 
Ron. said:
Wrong... the encoder is roughly 8-10K and the stat mux that will be required is 20-30K. Then there is distribution of the signal, EAS, ID considerations and so on. To add a single channel will be on the order of 50K, then about 15K every channel after that.
No added cost was not a good choice of words - no significant added cost is more accurate. There would also be a few other costs too. However, if $50K would be a make or break decision-maker on adding subchannels for a station like WMFP, a full power, full coverage station in the 7th largest market, or even WWDP - then it's hard to understand how so many low power and small market stations did it. And it hardly paints a bright future for OTA TV and the FCC's determination to reduce the number of TV channels. If the FCC could figure a way to grandfather existing must-carry stations if they doubled up - WMFP, WWDP, and WYDN would easily fit on one channel.
 
channel99 said:
Ron. said:
Wrong... the encoder is roughly 8-10K and the stat mux that will be required is 20-30K. Then there is distribution of the signal, EAS, ID considerations and so on. To add a single channel will be on the order of 50K, then about 15K every channel after that.
No added cost was not a good choice of words - no significant added cost is more accurate. There would also be a few other costs too. However, if $50K would be a make or break decision-maker on adding subchannels for a station like WMFP, a full power, full coverage station in the 7th largest market, or even WWDP - then it's hard to understand how so many low power and small market stations did it. And it hardly paints a bright future for OTA TV and the FCC's determination to reduce the number of TV channels. If the FCC could figure a way to grandfather existing must-carry stations if they doubled up - WMFP, WWDP, and WYDN would easily fit on one channel.

Except those three channels are owned by different entities. All three channels feature full time programming. All three have the opportunity to add or delete programs and extra screens as they see fit.

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