Jase as you know, I have had nothing but great customer service from RC.
I am now torn, as my initial warranty is expired, however they have repaired it most recently "no charge".
Do you guys think I should ask for my money back, or am I gonna have to bite the bullet on this one?
If I send it back yet again for repair, how can I, knowing from experience, put it back in service? It's the whole Winegard HDP-200 all over again.
I can't be expected to unhook the power source during each thunderstorm.

Similar situation here with CHCH RF51. Audio only on Samsung TV. It has a 4:3 picture elsewhere, which violates CRTC regulations for HD content (currently an ABC HD program.)

In the wake of the storm, CITY RF31 is out of service and TVO RF18 is back to a 480i signal. Happy digital transition everyone. :rolleyes:

ScaryBob, can you send me TSReader for CHCH-TV-2 on 51?

- Trip

Panamark: Agreed, the RC folks are great. I've spoken with them on the phone, and they're very knowledgeable about their product and the North American OTA TV system/issues.

Have you asked what can be done to make their product more robust against static/electrical weather?

I'm tempted to direct them to a proven preamp blue print of success like the Channel Master Titan Series, but I feel that would be like a slap to the face.

Here's some TSReader output for CHCH 51.1, Alvinston RF51:
Elementary Stream PID 17 (0x0011) MPEG-1 Video
MPEG Video: Bitrate 2.920 Mbps Resolution 528 x 480i
MPEG Video: Framerate 29.97 fps Aspect Ratio 4:3 Chroma Format 4:2:0

The Hauppauge signal meter shows S/N ratio is bouncing around from 17-23 with lots of uncorrectable errors. By comparison, Sun and TVO show a steady 30 S/N with no errors of any kind.

Lovely. It looks like CHCH-TV-2 is identifying itself as having "MPEG-1" video instead of the required "MPEG-2." The exact same problem TVO had except they were calling their video "DC-II".

I wouldn't have thought having the correct identifier on the video would be that hard.

- Trip

I just sent CHCH an email. I don't have any technical contacts there, just the general email. I imagine it will get routed to /dev/null. London's DT conversion is such a treat. Low bit rate, 4:3 480i streams with incorrect info and no programming info. The only channel getting it close to correct is SunTV and they are shutting down in two months. :rolleyes:

A part of me still says that a Rogers HD box is going to be the source feed for CITY, OMNI1 and OMNI2.

London's DTV transition > Similar to our city road system (draw your own conclusion on that one).

From my perspective, I don't care what the source of my OTA programming is. As long as it's subscription-free for me and the picture quality is great, I don't care. ;-)

All,

According to the Global transition thread, CIII-DT (out of paris) is online. Is anyone able to report reception? I'm at work, so I wont be able to check until this evening :(

If this is what the Canadian digital OTA transition is all about, at least for the London & area, it's really sad so far:

TVO 18-1 mostly broadcasting @ 480i since conversion last week.
CHCH-DT-2 51.1 from Alvinston,ON - I'm receiving audio only:
http://i54.tinypic.com/20s7j11.jpg

CIII 6-1 from Paris,ON - much like their analog broadcast, nothing for me. Since Global is broadcasting from the CN Tower for the GTA, CIII 6-1 should direct their signal towards London, change to an UHF channel, and increase the ERP.

ScaryBob, it truely is a mess!!! :mad:

I noticed that CIII Paris analog is gone. There is no DT signal but then I don't have a VHF-lo antenna yet so none is expected.

CHCH-DT-2 51.1 from Alvinston,ON - I'm receiving audio only:
Same here and with others at DH. CHCH knows about the problem. Hopefully there will be a fix soon.

It looks like OTA here in SWO is going to be a mess. Some broadcasters are using existing analog feeds or satellite feeds for their signal. Then there is TVO's relay approach which has already failed several times. What a mess.

From various sources I gather that their stream information conflicts with the actual stream encoding. I've heard that CH says they're using MPEG1, when really the stream is encoded with MPEG2. TVO is working out some issues with distribution and will correct the issue in time.

As for CIII, I have yet to confirm if I can get it since they switched after I left for work :( BCF, are you using an antenna that is capable of receiving VHF-LO?

We have been getting both sound and video on 51.1 No luck with CIII Paris though.

Can those of of you with reception troubles with CIII-DT post the antenna/amp you are using (and if you could receive it in analogue before).

Micah I live in Kitchener and can confirm I am receiving CIII-DT as of 11am this morning!!

sorry not Paris it's 41.1

Can those of of you with reception troubles with CIII-DT post the antenna/amp you are using
I am more interested in hearing success stories and with which antennas plus the antenna height above ground and sea level. Distance above sea level can be found using a GPS receiver or at EarthTools (http://www.earthtools.org/).

So far no problem receiving CIII-DT 6-1 Paris here. Signal fluctuates from around 70% to 80%. Antenna is 30ft above ground and is currently pointing (actually stuck since the rotor no longer functions) around 164° (true north). Using EarthTools, antenna distance above sea level would be around 376m (1234ft).

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/picture.php?albumid=835&pictureid=4406