Yes , both WPBS HD's (16.3/18.3) had terrible audio last night. Happy to find that it has corrected itself today.

Hi All,

I am looking at getting an atsc tuner/stb but have no clue where to start. I would prefer for something like the following.

ATSC tuner, with hdmi out. Doesn't need to be a pvr/dvr. Or it would be easier to just build a htpc with an atsc tuner.

Also if it's the latter would do you think of an atsc tuner from hauppage ?

1. I live in an apartment otwer in the west end of ottawa facing north
2. i have an epson Power Lite 1080 UB projector. (full 1080p/24 resolution)

lcdguy, welcome here. The fact that your apartment faces north could be a problem, but I'll let others coment better on that. Are you wanting to get just the local Ottawa channels or do you want the U.S. ones too?

If Digital OTA reception is possible from your apartment then we can recommend the best gear to buy.

Facing north is a good thing for the stations that are currently broadcasting digitally (CBOT, CBOFT and Sun TV) as they are all from Camp Fortune, but it will be an issue for the OMNI's when their DTV transmitters go on air in the spring.

i tried out a computer reciever and i do get cbc english, cbc french and both sun tv stations fine. But i did notice something that the audio was stuttering. Is this normal for a DTV signal or do youthink it was because the tuner i was using was an external usb tuner.

lcdguy, you may have stuttering audio because your PC is not powerful enough. You need a recent P4 (3Ghz or faster) or newer processor.

I have a Hauppauge 1600 in a P4 2 Ghz with a old be decent video card (Nvidia 6200) and I can not get a reliably smooth picture.

Hi,

I'm a newbie when it comes to OTA TV. Can someone help me out? I've read a few forums but I am still very confused on what I need. I'd like to spend under $100 (or under $50 if possible). My main requirement is CBC HD and anything else is a bonus. I just bought a Tosiba 52RV530U. I live in Findlay Creek (just south of bank and leitrim) and the tv location faces SW. I bought a nexxtech antenna from the source which gives me about 10 fuzzy channels. Any assistance would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

alymg, Where in your house is the TV and which direction is the room facing? CBOT-DT, CBOF-DT and SunTV's new digital transmitter all come from Camp Fortune, which is to the north of you. The fact that all the channels you received are fuzzy is an indication that the location of your antenna isn't very good. Which channels did you get and which one is the clearest?

I am not terribly fond of NextTech antennas, but you should be able to get all three of these stations with it as long as you don't have too many obstructions between the transmitter and your antenna.

Just to make sure, did you scan for digital channels?

I try and read the forums but still get confused sometimes by the tecno talk, but like learning.

If its not too much of an imposition let me throw my requirements/desires out as well.

Ottawa West end, line of sight to Camp Fortune tower but only get channels 4,6 (global, sporadic), 13, 75 on regular t.v.

Reading the forums I've learnt that probable reason I don't get chro is it's transmitted from Shirley's Bay(?) and there is an apartment building to my West blocking it. At least that's my theory.

Would like to get ota hd mainly for hockey games and if I could get pbs then along with cbc and tvo wouldn't need cable and I'd be a happy camper.

What antenna & stb should I get?

The stb (atsc tuner) would be for my Hitachi HDPJ52 Projector in the basement.

My understanding is no stb for purchase in Ottawa but maybe online could buy Samsung DTB-H260F tuner (friends live in states, perhaps get voucher?)

Recommended antenna's?
If I can only get local (cbc) hd and not pbs then could I get by with an indoor antenna?

Anways, this is probably too long a post, but thanks for listening.

welcome jnowl.

Ottawa West end, line of sight to Camp Fortune tower but only get channels 4,6 (global, sporadic), 13, 75 on regular t.v.

channel 75 is a cable-numbering channel. It corresponds to UHF channel 24 (TVO).
If you get TVO, you should also get TeleQuebec on 30 (they have similar propagation characteristics).

For better analog reception, change your analog tuner settings from "cable" (might be labelled "IRC" or "HRC") to "antenna".

Since you're already getting TVO, you should be able to get CBOT-DT no problem, and probably also CBOFT (CBC French), and SUN-TV. They all transmit from the same physical antenna as TVO.

Although you can't find STB's in Ottawa, you should be able to find HDTV tuners for PCs or Macs, either as plug in cards or USB sticks. They're about $90 to $200.

What area of Ottawa are you in, and are you in a house or an apartment building? Which direction does your TV room face? Are there large trees outside? All of these are factors in whther you can receive PBS.

The other thing you can do is post the results of the TV Signal Locator for your location at TVFool.com

TVl

channel 75 is a cable-numbering channel.I noticed that too. jnowl, if your TV has a setting in its menus to choose between Antenna and CATV/Cable make sure its on Antenna before you run a channel scan.

What is your nearest major street corner?

Also, what type of building are you living in (apartment, house, etc).

Reading the forums I've learnt that probable reason I don't get chro is it's transmitted from Shirley's Bay(?) and there is an apartment building to my West blocking it. At least that's my theory.

No. It is broadcast from Herberts Corners (a.k.a. Manotick) south of the city.

My understanding is no stb for purchase in Ottawa but maybe online could buy Samsung DTB-H260F tuner (friends live in states, perhaps get voucher?)

Unfortunately HD DTV receivers are not eligible for the US government coupons so you will have to pay full price for it. Only the cheaper SD DTV receivers are.

Thanks.

Good tips. Will investigate.

I think TVFool (ll=45.383426,-75.768569) suggest (along with other thread comments) I'm unlikely to get PBS.

Tvroom faces north, open view to Ottawa river, fortune tower. Trees around. Need to research (here) more.

So its trying to get ota hd to watch hockey on the projector.
I agree with the hdtv tuner card idea but don't see hdmi (or even component) out on these cards. Don't really want to go the sling thrower/catcher route, i.e. fewer pieces teh better. At the risk of wandering OT do these cards have HDMI/DVI out and does the computer need to be running to use?

Ah, Herberts Corners. That's what I meant. But it's south? Then not so sure why I have such weird reception on the analog t.v.

I thought the settings were for antenna but will check tonight. Dumb user is probably cause, as usual.

I think TVFool (ll=45.383426,-75.768569) suggest (along with other thread comments) I'm unlikely to get PBS.

Your only chance for PBS would be WNPI-DT post-transition (when it increases its power a bit), if you use a very high gain Outdoor antenna (like a well-built DBGH), along with a low-noise preamp (2.2dB or better.) The Noise Margin figures on the TVFool site assume an typical Noise Figure for the RF system in the 7dB range. You'd still have drop outs on rainy days, or if you have trees in the way.

Low down (elevation-wise) near the Ottawa River is always going to be a problem for US reception.

If you really just need HDTV for hockey, you should be able to get CBOT just fine.

Hey, with a 60dB noise margin, you might even get CBOT-DT and CBOFT-DT on the wrong side of the house with a paper clip ;)

apartment building to my West blocking it.

Believe it or not, you may have chance at receiving PBS by aiming a directional antenna up at the apartment building in order to get a reflection of the signal passing higher up.


TVl

Ah, Herberts Corners. That's what I meant. But it's south?

From you it is actually closer to South-East (about 140 degrees Magnetic).

Then not so sure why I have such weird reception on the analog t.v.

If the TV is set for Cable rather than Antenna, that would be your problem. Otherwise it could be that since the TV Room faces north, the signal from the south is traveling through too much of your house. Is the TV Room on the top floor of your house? What make/model of antenna are you using?

Just wanted to post an update on what I receive in the 9th floor of an apartment right near downtown Ottawa facing south-south-east with just rabbit ears at the shortest dipole length horizontally in the window.

Digital
4.1 CBOT-DT
9.1 CBOFT-DT
18.1 WNPI
18.2 WNPI-2
18.3 WNPI-HD
20.1 CKXTDT4 (Sun TV HD)
20.2 CKXT
57.1 WCFE-HD
57.2 WCFE-D1
57.3 WCFE-D2

The two PBS stations come in pretty reliably, except fade with bad weather. WNPI is better than WCFE as far as reliability goes.

I also receive the usual analog stations, though 4, 6, 9, 13 are pretty bad, like weird ghosting.

dataiv, you've posted results from Burlington, ON and Kingston, ON in the last few months in those threads. You sure are on the move! :)

with just rabbit ears at the shortest dipole length horizontally in the window.

Just out of curiosity, does your antenna have a loop or are they really just rabbit ears tuned for for UHF?

I know I've been on the move, haha .... I was in Kingston until end of April, then at the beginning of July I moved to Ottawa. I'm here as for good, now! :)

The rabbit ears have no UHF loop, they really are just rabbit ears. Sony ones though, made in Japan, model number AN-16. I took them off an old Sony TV (probably early 80s model) a while back.

I've actually yet to find an antenna that works better for me. I have a Philips PHDTV3 that I got on a good deal and it doesn't work as well. I get higher SNR with the Sony rabbit ears.

I imagine I'd have even better luck with some kind of actual real UHF antenna. I'm not impressed with the Philips one. Maybe it's defective, though ... :rolleyes: