Truth be told, between CKVR, CFPL and CHWI, /A\ will have digital coverage for the majority of southern Ontario. It looks as if Hamilton east and a small portion along Lake St. Clair will be the only people in the dark.

I am sure Bell Media will get right on putting up the 1 or 2 repeaters that will be needed to close those gaps...lol...

At least the CFPL digital facility will send slightly less signal to the southwest. Should help lessen WOIO a wee bit from getting 'beat up' as frequently down in this area. :)

CFPL-10 should still be a great signal for most based on what I have seen with the U.S digital VHF-hi reception history here. Those living further away still using indoor rabbit ear style antennas will likely need to upgrade to something outside or up on the roof, however.

I find it interesting he told you that when just a few weeks ago he told me not to expect any sub-channels on CHWI.

ATSC 101 says the more sub-channels, the more pixilation will be noticeable on the main feed, especially on fast moving shots and sports. There is about 19mbps worth of data that they can broadcast, so if you give one channel all 19mbps, it looks superb, but as soon as you split the pie so to speak, the picture quality is worse.

Now with that said, many stations in the US have effectively been able to get 1 sub on without any real noticeable degradation of the signal on the main feed. Some have even got away with 2. More than that, there will for sure be a negative effect.

The only exception to that is, unless they don't plan to provide a 16:9 HD main feed OTA, and instead just plan to broadcast 4:3 digital since that requires less bandwidth. But based on my conversation with the folks at CHWI, they intend to have a proper HD feed so they can broadcast programming shot nativity in HD (mostly US based stuff such as Leno, Fallon, TMZ) on the station. I don't expect /A\ news to be in HD anytime soon.

The bigger question is, if its true, what 4 sub-channels are they going to feed? The CRTC has said they only want new/unique content on sub-channels, not rebroadcasts as has occurred in the USA. Bell Media plans to make OTA unique content?

You can get away with a 720P Main feed and lots of sub-channels with quite resonable PQ.

Thats how a lot of them do it (wasnt trying to get too technical). But I am pretty sure the standard in Canada is everyone goes 1080i

Jakeman never got any response about CKVR-dt but have not noticed if they got approved yet.Sad that the broadcasters dont seem interested in OTA anymore.Many people in cottage country will find CKVR much harder to receive.They need atleast 30kw.

Jakeman never got any response about CKVR-dt but have not noticed if they got approved yet.Sad that the broadcasters dont seem interested in OTA anymore.Many people in cottage country will find CKVR much harder to receive.They need atleast 30kw.

And, at the risk of getting off topic, a station like CKVR likely relies on OTA coverage more than some other stations, as cottagers with TVs would be highly unlikely to have cable, and if your cottage only gets used in the summer, a satellite sub would be a waste of money for some.

The digital transition sites for CTV and A are now online:

http://www.ctv.ca/digitalswitch/
http://atv.ca/digitalswitch/

There's nothing new there though; all the conversion dates are listed as "by August 31".

They have the wrong contour map for /A\ Ottawa (CHRO-TV-43). They show the map for CJOH (CTV Ottawa) instead. I sent a message to inform them using the contact us link.

Out of the myriad of emails on the CTV site, does anyone know the best one to actually contact the CTV broadcast engineers?

Some of the shows being broadcast are being sent out with only the descriptive audio stream labeled with the language.

This is a problem when recorded by MythTV as it chooses to play the stream with the best audio that matches a language you speak. When an audio broadcast does not specify what language it is in it goes to the end of the line.

According to the info I've gotten on the mythtv list this might be an issue with the PSIP info CTV's sending.

I've contacted the engineer at my local (Kitchener) CTV affiliate CKCO, and he has invited me to ask him questions directly. Nothing direct for Toronto though...

Out of the myriad of emails on the CTV site, does anyone know the best one to actually contact the CTV broadcast engineers?

Some of the shows being broadcast are being sent out with only the descriptive audio stream labeled with the language.

This is a problem when recorded by MythTV as it chooses to play the stream with the best audio that matches a language you speak. When an audio broadcast does not specify what language it is in it goes to the end of the line.

According to the info I've gotten on the mythtv list this might be an issue with the PSIP info CTV's sending.
dheian, when I was looking at this problem,

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showpost.php?p=1245947&postcount=116

I gave up emailing and just phoned the switchboard during office hours and asked to speak to someone in engineering or master control. Good Luck.

dheian, although CTV likely has a head engineer for all stations, you will be better off talking to the engineer for your local CTV station (unless the problem is nation wide). Please specify which CTV station you are having problems with.

dheian, although CTV likely has a head engineer for all stations, you will be better off talking to the engineer for your local CTV station (unless the problem is nation wide). Please specify which CTV station you are having problems with.
It's CTV Toronto.

My TV Fool has CKVR -dt dropping 10db fron their analog signal.Analog on 3 is at 23.5db and is watchable but not perfect.CKVR -dt shows only 14db and this is close to WNGS-dt at 12db and is a no go for me in Mississauga.Yet CRTC is satified that CKVR-dt coverage in regards to matching analog coverage.Is TV Fool VHF coverage all wrong ?

rob50312, As I have discussed elsewhere, the CRTC has had a very flexible definition of matching the analog coverage (some stations match the Class A (analog) and Urban (digital) contours, others match the Class B and Noise Limited contours). Before accusing TVFool, we need to first decide if the contours actually match.

There is one thing to mention about TVFool's Noise Margin calculations: the signal power representing 0 dB NM for analog is not the same as for digital. A 10 dB NM difference between analog and digital does not equate to a 10 dB difference in signal power.

CFQC Saskatoon has applied for a technical amendment for its post-transitional DTV station.
https://services.crtc.gc.ca/pub/DocWebBroker/OpenDocument.aspx?AppNo=201107326
The proposed facility will operate as a Channel 8R operation with an ERP of 13 kW (H) / 5.5 kW (V) and an EHAAT of 267.9 metres. The proposed parameters for CFQC-DT have been modified from the authorized parameters by increasing the ERP, decreasing the antenna height, and changing the antenna mode from directional to omnidirectional. CFQC-DT will operate at the existing broadcast site of CFQC-TV using a new topmounted antenna.
FYI, the old parameters had a max ERP of about 10 kW directed toward the north-northwest from their transmitter site. The height is lower by only a couple of metres.
CTV also owns CKCK-DT Regina (Channel 8) and CIPA-TV-1 Prince Albert (Channel 9). It is willing to accept interference cause by short-spacing.

My TV Fool has CKVR -dt dropping 10db fron their analog signal.Analog on 3 is at 23.5db and is watchable but not perfect. .... Yet CRTC is satified that CKVR-dt coverage in regards to matching analog coverage.


From Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2011-38 (http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2011/2011-38.htm#3.):

The implementation of this transmitter would decrease the potential viewership in the regional service area by 7.68%, from 6,283,303 to 5,800,632.

Yet from Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2011-298 (http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/archive/2011/2011-298.htm):

The Commission also received an intervention in opposition and a comment in connection with this application from individuals concerned about changes to the station’s coverage area as a result of the proposed amendment. The Commission considers that the proposed digital transmitter sufficiently replicates the current analog coverage.

I suspect it was approved because they are at the maximum power IC gave them (they were given 7,100 W at 342.00 m and they applied for 8,900 W at 332.3 m which sounds like it could be equivalent).

Unfortunately about all you can do now is wait until the analog shutdown and see what your results are. If you have troubles receiving it and you are within its protected contours, file a complaint that you were able to receive it before, but can't now.

I heard from the VP of A in London, that they are going Digital soon as well, I am wondering if they will go digital, so that CBC can move.