and a real soft-looking 2Mbps video stream.

On the plus side, CHCH-DT-1 in Ottawa is using Active Format Description to instruct Converters to display the 4:3 image full-screen on old TVs.

Om the minus side, the resolution is so poor, the picture would look better if it wasn't blown up so big on my 27 inch CRT!

Is CHCH HD on any of the OTA channels?

CHCH rf11 from Hamilton is 1080i.

Their news department still uses SD but all the blue graphics (weather, traffic, financial, sports, etc) that fill the rest of the screen is in HD.

Their network shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live look just as good as on WKBW.

CHCH is the only SD 480i 4:3 digital channel in Ottawa now, all others are 1080i 16:9. And a disappointing SD feed on top of that.
Remind your cable and satellite friends to file a complaint with the CRTC every time they sim sub over HD American stations. :) Or do they avoid complaints by (cheating) sim subbing a CHCH HD feed (rather than the actual OTA SD feed)??

Are there any plans to broadcast CHCH-DT Ottawa in 1080i in the near future?

Fota, same in London: all digital channels are broadcasting 1080i, except CHCH 51.1 which is 480i.
Not sure if CHCH will eventually upgrade Ottawa and London CHCH transmitters to 1080i.
Perhaps a CHCH rep / tech can weigh in?

On my EyeTV, the streaminfo reports a bit rate of only about 2Mbs. and it sure looks like it.

You know the video quality is poor if you can tell the difference on a 27inch CRT TV connected to a DTV converter by RCA cables, not even S-Video!

(My CRT is a 20 year old Panasonic Gaoo, so it can display more than 480 lines of horizontal resolution. All the 1080i stations look quite good with the converter box, and Rogers SD through S-Video looks good, too.

Straight from their website:

OVER THE AIR (OTA): Our transmitters are analog, and distribute an SD signal. They are the towers that send our signal through the air to consumers with antennae. Those people represent about 7% of our total audience. There will be no change to that signal in any of our markets except Belleville, where we will be switching to digital transmission on August 31st. In Peterborough and Bancroft, people receiving our conventional signals off air will see no change on September 1st, nor for the next year or two. Over time, as resources become available, we will be switching our OTA transmitters to digital. For now, people relying on antennae will be getting SD signals of all programming, both CBC and local.

No change in plans mentioned on the other website for CHEX-22 in Oshawa. It still says:

We will probably not be broadcasting HD over-the-air until the end of 2011, at the earliest.

I got SunTv for the first time today... I was not capable of this one before because CKWS was on analogue 66.

But this is a very weak signal, the omnis and city should be way stronger and they are not.

I used to get 47 analogue crystal clear, now I get nothing.

I got SunTv for the first time today... I was not capable of this one before because CKWS was on analogue 66.

But this is a very weak signal, the omnis and city should be way stronger and they are not.

I used to get 47 analogue crystal clear, now I get nothing.

CITY and the Omnis are not on the CN Tower yet.

- Trip

Any idea how long before they are on the CN Tower?

I contacted CHCH the other day asking about CHCH that is broadcasting in 480i, and if CHCH would eventually start broadcasting at 1080i some day.
I received an email reply indicating that broadcasting CHCH in 1080i in London ch.51.1, Ottawa ch.11.1, is dependent on Shaw Direct picking up CHCH HD feed.
I asked on the Shaw Direct forum @ http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=144702 if anyone knows if or when Shaw Direct will pickup CHCH in HD, and the immediate response seems to indicate at the end of next year.
It appears that those in the London and Ottawa areas will be stuck with 480i for a year or so before CHCH can begin broadcasting at 1080i.

I guess they are too cheap to fibre their HD signal to those locations.

Well, fibre is not exactly an affordable option in most cases. It wasn't so long ago that CHCH was about to shut down...

Straight from their website:



No change in plans mentioned on the other website for CHEX-22 in Oshawa. It still says:
I fired off an E Mail to CHEX tonight, after reading that article. Here is the copy:

Dear Sir:

I recently read an article for the reasons that CHEX and CKWS have not changed their signals to digital. Living in Belleville, I have access to CHEX via antenna and Shaw Direct. I never watch CHEX, because it's not in High Definition. Would like to, but won't. Why would I want to watch an inferior product? I get CBLT and also can finally receive the Brighton repeater of CKWS. That is another head scratcher. Sure must piss off the folks in Kingston, to not be able to receive their local station in digital, from Wolfe Island, but 75 miles down the road, they can watch the signal in HD. I don't buy the reason about cost, since you folks at CORUS had about 10 years to get ready for this day and you didn't. The U.S. switched two years ago and I've been watching their signals ever since. Here in Eastern Ontario, it's frustrating, when I see CKWS, CHEX, CJOH, Global and SRC not transition on the due date. Then there's TVO and their transition to 480i, while Toronto, Windsor and Ottawa get 1080i. It's one big dud, plain and simple. So I will continue to watch the news on CKWS, in HD, and also watch the U.S. stations, for content. Not happy with your company and their decision to procrastinate and game the rules. I wonder if your commercial customers know the reason that their ads are not being watched locally? Anyway, this is my way of showing displeasure toward the decision that your company has taken,

JH,
Belleville, Ontario

I think a few of you guys are confused by the thread title - it's CHEK (a BC station) not CHEX. I believe CHEX should be discussed in the CBC thread.

No confusion, CHEX and CKWS are chorus stations.

Corus not Chorus ;-)

Therefore, while the CHEX stations and CKWS are CBC affiliates, they are not CBC owned and operated. They are owned by Corus and not by the network. They show the absolute minimum in CBC content and often times have a schedule that is drastically different from the network. I would think it to be similar to how NTV shows stuff from Global. They may have negotiated rights to certain programming, but that's as far it goes.

Ongoing discussions are now continued in the following thread:

CHCH, CHEK, Corus, Zoomer, Pattison, Independents: Post-Transition Status (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=144967)

This present thread will now be closed.