Hey, I'm pulling in a new channel after some tweaks to my very low budget DIY! :)

Analogue channel 15 "Star Ray". I think this is broadcast from Main & Danforth, or somewhere very near to me.

This appears to be a bare bones channel, sometimes the programming consists of a screen saver & music. My wife mentioned she saw the "Ladies pillow fight & wrestling league" :p there though, wish I HAD BEEN THE ONE to see that!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Ray_TV

Interesting: SunRay TV. I like the idea of local independent programming...too bad I can't pull them in where I am.

For a LP station that's apparently been up (and down) for some time now, odd this is the first we've heard about it here in the forums.

There's a micro-station like that in the north end of Montreal near Laval too but it is 100% legal and has never had run-ins with the authorities the way that SunRay TV has.

For a LP station that's apparently been up (and down) for some time now, odd this is the first we've heard about it here in the forums.
It's not the first time if you read this thread - and other golden horseshoe treads - cover to cover...

On another point I thought StarRay was off the air and had gone online only... guess I was mistaken, that or they decided to fire back up... hope they get a digital feed going soon ;-)

I usually just skim the newer posts (last year or so..).
Either way, good to know about this one.

It's a pity it's illegal, and so limited coverage. I hear you can only get it in the downtown area.

Toronto needs way more local programming OTA. In particular local arts/lifestyle programming. I know SUN TV has some, but not alot. We don't even have a decent local morning show anymore (BT on CITY is a joke).

Save for CHCH's all-day newscast (which is geared more towards Hamilton), Toronto has seen very little local content except for the news. Most of the major networks now air syndicated programming and other crap. If we wanted that, most of us have access to the major network affiliates across the border. CHCH is possibly the biggest breakthrough in local programming OTA this area has seen in quite some time.

I remember when CBC used to air some stuff like that in the afternoons. I kind of found it ironic that the local stations were all "local matters", when clearly it does not. They also filed injunctions against Mr. Pachul for StarRay when he applied for an actual legal licence. I don't blame him. But again the law is the law, and sadly it's a pity.

I think I'm getting way offtopic here so I'll just end it there.

We don't even have a decent local morning show anymore (BT on CITY is a joke).

You think BT is bad, you should see the morning show on CHRO in Ottawa. I occasionally surf past CITY in the morning and wish we had a morning show as good as that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Ray_TV

Now that I know Star Ray is a PIRATE channel I LOVE IT!! Before I merely liked it :p

Interesting: SunRay TV. I like the idea of local independent programming...too bad I can't pull them in where I am.


A taste of the PFL (Pillow Fight League) for those of you that can't pull in Star Ray;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtWsJcTKgdc (early, but a larger video)

http://www.gopfl.com/ (really small but features the current champ, OLIVIA......NEUTRON......BOMMMMB!!!!!!)

The music in the 2nd video is also the theme for another internet show - if anyone identifies it we'll have a laugh. I know what it is - I also love this show - but it no longer offers, ah, free segments daily...

Star Ray TV is on Channel 15 UHF but is analogue (NTSC) and its range is extremely tight as mentioned. The operator has been sparring with the CRTC for about 10 years, and his station is not authorized to be on-air.

I just saw this for the first time yesterday.

At my house on analogue channel 15 I get WBNF (analogue Buffalo religious station - same content as WNYB).

Yesterday I dropped by the home of another OTA guy who is about one or two kilometres east of me (he lives near Main & Danforth).

On his channel 15, he was getting that Toronto Pirate TV station. They were playing funky graphics and music with text messages on screen I'd classify as makes-you-think-type quotes.

It looked like they were using 1980's or early 90's-style Linux computer graphics software.

It was cool to finally see that channel after having driven past the storefront of the TV station for many years.

Now that 15 from Buffalo is off-the-air, I have been getting a very good signal of Star Ray TV on UHF 15 analog for the last few weeks. When the antenna is pointed at Main & Gerrard, I get a perfect analog picture.

My wife and I watched a couple of good movies on that channel the other night.

It's sort of fun to watch a pirate channel. I didn't realize it was broadcasting so much stuff.

It must be pretty weak to have been overpowered by Buffalo 15 when I live only five or ten minutes drive from Main & Gerrard.

What sort of movies on Star Ray? Do they air commercials?!

On weekday wakeup times, I see Shari Lewis with her show from the 70's with Lambchop followed by a Star Ray produced cooking show.

At times there is a test pattern with dance music. It's not a test pattern though. It's a phychedelic pre-Power Point (retro Electric Company aesthetic) graphic thing interspersed with wise quotes and clever observations with the funky music.

At other times, they play movies. Canadian made-for-tv movies, US cable made-for-tv movies (eg Lifetime Network). Also the sometimes have recently-made "B-movies" like low-budget vampire movies from the USA that would have been straight-to-DVD.

It's definitely worth stopping by.

Since I'm getting it with a very watchable analog signal, I have left Star Ray 15 as a channel that I land on when flipping with the remote. It is my second analog -- along with TVOntario. The others I block out.

Star Ray has no schedule that I can find, and no psip of course. So the only way to know what you're watching is to glean hints from the show and then go Google search to figure out what you're watching.

No ads. I haven't seen any.

And they sometimes play very old movies from the thirties and forties. I watched one with Humphrey Bogart the other day -- a comedy.

I always ignore what I find on analog, but maybe I should have not been such a digital snob.

Coverage map for Star Ray. I'm basically on the white line, but I get it clearly when I use my RC preamp. It's a laugh this station, but I wish they'd get newer woman's pillow-fight league matches.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/picture.php?albumid=571&pictureid=4247

byebye cable,

You must be close to me. I get Star Ray too. I'd be willing to give up my analog Star Ray without PSIP and without a schedule anywhere. It is a curiosity to be sure. But I'd rather add another four channels to my digital lineup - even if I already get them on 26 and even though I don't really like the channels all that much. 26.3 is worth having.

If there's ever an ownership and/or format change for WNYB and/or WBNF it will be good that Star Ray doesn't mess it up.

It looks like we might be able to get it in East York.

You must be close to me. I get Star Ray too. I'd be willing to give up my analog Star Ray without PSIP and without a schedule anywhere. It is a curiosity to be sure. But I'd rather add another four channels to my digital lineup - even if I already get them on 26 and even though I don't really like the channels all that much. 26.3 is worth having.

We are pretty close, I'm Birchmount & Danforth right on the "fringe" for Star Ray. I've thought of keeping an eye out when I drive by Greenwood/Mortimer to see if I can spot your setup, but I'm just not the stalking type :p

That said NO WAY would I give up Star Ray analog 15 (offbeat programming like women's pillow-fight league you won't see anywhere else) for reruns of Bonanza that are already on 26.3 anyway. Plus it's more corruption of the airwaves with evil give-me-money fake religion. We need demonstrated alternate of cable with quality programming in the airwaves, not crap :) Plus Star Ray is actual local programming, you could probably go down there & read a children's book to get on TV (like that girl wearing the blond wig with the dog haha)

Slightly OT, but I am pretty sure women's pillow-fight league is also on Fight Network in Canada.

Regardless of how or why StarRay TV continues to broadcast on channel 15 in NTSC analogue with a tight little pattern in downtown Toronto it is clear that with no legal standing it is going to be the big loser in any co-channel or adjacent channel interference reports submitted by Canadian stations and consumers. A U.S. station would have no real concerns with their signal's eventual status once it is in Canada so I don't foresee complaints coming from the Buffalo area, but Canadian broadcasters obviously would step up in such situations if they are the ones being affected.

As an aside, when StarRay TV viewers complain about a legitimate, licensed TV station like WBNF causing interference on their pirate station I have to laugh out loud at the irony, which is a bit like the mob complaining to the police that their neighbourhood is unsafe! :D Just a joke, people...