Does this at all mean that they will be going digital on the Minnedosa (Brandon) transmitter anytime soon?
No idea. They certainly aren't obligated to. However, Shaw seems to be persuing an agressive strategy with regards to the digital switch, I can envision them having it in operation by the deadline of August 2011.

However, Shaw seems to be persuing an agressive strategy with regards to the digital switch, I can envision them having it in operation by the deadline of August 2011.

IMHO it is highly unlikely it will be transitioned by August 2011, but it is very likely that it will be done within a year or so of that. It is actually possible that Shaw will have all of their transmitters transitioned before CBC finishes transitioning in mandatory markets. :)

Yes, that's a balun--also called a "matching transformer". You will need this part for any type of home made antenna that you intend to use. Most commercially available antennas have one built in.
Would that be the same as the old 300ohm to 75ohm used to connect to the 300 ohm input on old sets?
N.

Yep, and everything you will ever need to know about them is in here: Baluns (Brands, Designs, Losses, DIY Loops, etc.) (https://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=100512) :)

Just curious if anyone in the Winnipeg area is getting the same thing... when I scan in CKND I get 1 analog (channel 9) and 3 digital sub channels (channel 40); but I only have two DTV channels that show up on the list. These are 9.1 and 40.2. Wonder if there is another stream with no station info on 40?
-C.

That is correct what scanned in to your tuner. The digitals are actually on channel 40 but one is a virtual channel 9.

Dirtroad,
I am getting what appears to be three digital streams on channel 40 from CKND with one that has no channel data. The channel scan counts three at channel 40 but only virtual 9.1 and 40.2 show up as actual DTV channels on my tuner, as if there is a third not used yet.

Hope that makes sense... technical communications is not my forte...

I have not observed this when scanning in other ATSC stations, for example WDAZ from Grand Forks has 8.1 (main channel) 8.2 (CW) and 8.3 (weather), and scans in as 3 DTV channels.

Just FYI, I am using a Samsung LN32B46 TV.

Here is what I get for CKND-DT from my tuner:

$ hdhomerun_config ffffffff get /tuner1/streaminfo
1: 9.1 CKND-DT
2: 0
tsid=0x4181

Program 2 is identified as virtual channel 0. I guess that means that
the TV gets to make something up. That might explain why people are
reporting different channels for program 2.

The bit rate of program 1 is 14.718 Mbps. The bit rate of program 2 is
4.485 Mbps. That adds up to 19.203 which is quite close to the stream
rate of 19.394 Mbps so it is fairly certain that there is not a third
video program hiding in there somewhere ... at least when I looked. Is
it possible that CKND is still futzing with things?

It sounds like they're still ironing out bugs in their PSIP data at this early stage.

I just rigged up the foil and coat hanger '1 hr in-roof antenna' and hooked up to the terrestrial OTA input on my Nfusion and am getting 89 signal with the antenna stood up next to the set.
They just happened to have a HD movie on, Great picture!

Al.

I would guess the engineers are still playing with the signal but that's certainly not a bad thing... Everything works so no complaints here.
BWaltzer, what are you using to decode the signal? I was thinking about purchasing a tv/sat tuner card for my computer. Maybe you would have a recommendation?
Cheers..
-C.

I am using a HDHomeRun for a tuner. It is a small box with a couple of F connectors on one side and an Ethernet jack on the other. It seems to work well. It might not be the answer for someone who is not as much into doing everything over a LAN as I am.

Both my TV's have digital tuners but the one I like best is my USB 7240 tuner by Twinhan. Cost me around $40 on eBay. It's amazing what they can do with just a few chips these days.

As Winnipeggers discover the joys of OTA HDTV there are some great resources here at this site to bring you up to speed. The OTA Forum is going into it's sixth year of operation so we've already built an amazing amount of info to help you get the best OTA gear for your needs.

You'll find threads in the main OTA Forum covering a wide variety of ATSC tuner types (converters, PVRs, etc.) and if you want to get info on PC, Mac, and Linux-based TV please read through the HTPC Forum (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=31).

This present thread is for your reception reports, and please remember to give your general location in your post title.

cheers :)

The ASI stream that is fed to Winnipeg from Calgary Master Control purposely has the SD on it, so tuning the digital channel 40 signal in will get you two channels - HD and SD.
What they do in Winnipeg is they demod the ASI coming from the decoder via Bell net pipe, then take the SD portion and run it out to their analog transmitter.

I am in the West end in Winnipeg, what are my chances of getting the local HD broadcasts as well as KNNR with one antenna? From looking at the antenna charts and such it appears to me that if I was going for KNNR from Neche that I wouldn't get the local stuff here.

You'll need to generate your TVFool report, Jet Set, so that you can see in detail the challenges you might face:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=125161

@Jet Set

If you are in the West End you will find it difficult to not receive the one local digital signal. I receive CKND-DT with a random hunk of wire stuck into the F connector at a signal quality of 90% in my basement here in the West End. I am 2.5 km from the transmitter.

Using a dedicated channel 12 antenna for KNRR/KCND and a separate antenna for local signals is a Winnipeg tradition. You will likely be forced to go to some sort of two antenna system anyway when 13 goes digital in the summer...

Just got off the phone with the Gobal TV station here in Regina. The IT Tech told me that they will be changing over to the Digital signal Aug 31 of this year. They hope to be broadcasting in HD at the same time or shortly after as well. They will be broadcasting in VHF so they will be staying on CH 11.

Good News

technically they *have* to do it by August 31'st. Every station (in specific areas) needs to switch by that deadline. That they're doing it on August 31'st is what's called a "Flash Cut" from Analogue to Digital. But, I suppose its nice to have confirmation on their plans nevertheless.