OTA Station Status: Ottawa, Watertown NY, S. Colton NY - Page 152 - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

roger1818 · 2013-04-15, 11:13 AM

Did anyone have issues with CJOH last night between 8:30 and 9:00pm? It is normally very reliable for me, but the second half of the Amazing Race didn't record properly. By 10:30 everything was fine.

If no one else had issues, it could be a the re-occurrence of an old interference issue that I would see from time to time. It would most frequently only affect analog 4, but would occasionally spread up the spectrum and affect all VHF channels. It would start of small and gradually build until it would suddenly stop. I was never able to find the root cause.

DXer · 2013-04-15, 12:32 PM

Yes, I was watching AR, and the screen went black for a few seconds two or three times (usually during the commercials IIRC).

roger1818 · 2013-04-15, 01:29 PM

For me it was pixelating and stuttering badly and then stopped recording completely at about 8:45. Could only watch about the first 30 min. Will have to stream the rest.

RamKat · 2013-04-15, 07:20 PM

So hopefully we will have CHCH in HD by the end of May?

http://www.universetoday.com/101459/...-overcrowding/

x4mer · 2013-05-18, 05:23 PM

CJOH ran three transmitters, on 6,8, and 13 right?

Only 13 went digital, leaving 6 and 8 on the air in analogue?

Have either of the analogue ones shut down?

roger1818 · 2013-05-18, 08:13 PM

Both CJOH-TV-6 and CJOH-TV-8 are still on air. They aren't likely to change any time soon.

RamKat · 2013-05-19, 09:00 AM

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/telesa...110000080.html

Now when is CHCH going to flip the switch? With all substantial delays that the satellite launch had, one would expect everything else to be ready by now.

roger1818 · 2013-05-20, 10:06 AM

RamKat, yes, the Anik G1 is now operational, but has Shaw Direct started using it and do they now provide CHCH in HD? Both of those are prerequisites and out of the control of CHCH.

RamKat · 2013-05-20, 11:08 AM

Correct, Maybe someone with a Shaw package can post when CHCH is available in HD. For now I can only go by the answer on the the SHAW FAQ page.

"They’ll be available later this spring once the satellite is in orbit."

And I believe we are technically past the "once the satellite is in orbit" point.

FunkyTown · 2013-05-20, 12:42 PM

I emailed CHCH 2 years ago asking about their HD feed in Ottawa. I spoke with a manager who said it would be activated in the fall of that same year. So many months later and it's still SD only here in Ottawa. It sucks because HD has been out for so many years and we are still dragging our feet in certain areas. The Ottawa news is still SD. I find it unbelievable that this is so. Granted there's a cost to upgrading cameras and such to HD, but after so many years you'd think they would have it in place by now.

roger1818 · 2013-05-21, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FunkyTown

The Ottawa news is still SD. I find it unbelievable that this is so. Granted there's a cost to upgrading cameras and such to HD, but after so many years you'd think they would have it in place by now.

To be fair, it has only been 2.5 years since the analog shutdown. The amortization rate for professional grade equipment will be over 10 years (probably closer to 20), so to replace it while it has value on the books is doubly expensive, especially since there is no market for resale of the SD equipment. I suspect larger markets are giving their SD equipment to smaller markets to replace equipment that has reached its end of life, thus giving the biggest bang for the buck for the HD equipment.

I believe CBOT is already doing this, but I do agree that CJOH/CHRO should at least have switchers capable of switching in HD and WS SD content, even if none of the local content is in HD since many of the national and international stories are in HD. They can then start to gradually upgrade the studio and remote units as they reach their end of life.

The thing is for some reason CJOH continues to get the most viewers for its local news despite it being in SD, so why should they bother investing any money into improving it. If you want to see change, get everyone in Ottawa to switch to CBOT news instead.

FunkyTown · 2013-05-21, 04:27 PM

CBOT is -NOT- HD for Ottawa News. Yes they are 16:9 aspect ratio but they are still using SD cameras set at 16:9. Ottawa does not have a single station that broadcasts local news in HD. Check out the National and you'll see a huge difference between CBC Ottawa and The National as far as resolution and color goes.

I don't care for the CJOH News. I used to watch that network but switched to CBC 6 years ago. I only watch CJOH news on Sundays now.

HD has been around for many years. It has nothing to do with OTA signal. Cable and satellite have been broadcasting in HD for a long time now. 10 years ago these networks were still using SD cameras. They still are today. I guess once one finally switches they'll all switch. We used to get A-Channel news but Bell bought that network and shut down the evening news. There really isn't much available locally in Ottawa for news except for CJOH and CBOT.

roger1818 · 2013-05-21, 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FunkyTown

CBOT is -NOT- HD for Ottawa News. Yes they are 16:9 aspect ratio but they are still using SD cameras set at 16:9. Ottawa does not have a single station that broadcasts local news in HD. Check out the National and you'll see a huge difference between CBC Ottawa and The National as far as resolution and color goes.

It is hard for me to notice considering I still have an old analog TV (yes I am in the dark ages, but it is hard to justify replacing something that works). So even when they show sports highlights or national/international news stories it is downconverted to SD? I would have thought they switched in the HD clip, but I could be wrong. I never said the local news was in HD.

IMHO, I don't see the point of upgrading the studio cameras to HD. Do you really want to see closeups of the anchor's face in HD? From what I gather, when they do they typically soften the focus to hide the blemishes, so what you are getting isn't all that much better than SD anyway.

Quote:

HD has been around for many years. It has nothing to do with OTA signal. Cable and satellite have been broadcasting in HD for a long time now.

True, but they feeds Toronto feeds for most of that time. Even when CBOT-DT went on air, it was initially a relay of the Toronto feed at first, and only became a true local HD feed much later. CJOH received a local HD cable feed about a year before the analog shutdown, so maybe we have had truly local HD for about 3.5 years or 4 years, still not what I would consider a long time.

The other thing is while they have had studio HD cameras for a long time, they only started making professional grade, hand held cameras much more recently (sorry, I don't have a reference, but I remember reading it in many a thread here on DHC where people were complaining about lack of news in HD).

Quote:

I guess once one finally switches they'll all switch. We used to get A-Channel news but Bell bought that network and shut down the evening news. There really isn't much available locally in Ottawa for news except for CJOH and CBOT.

Agreed. I would like to see Global and City have local stations with local news, but I am not holding my breath on that one.

FunkyTown · 2013-05-21, 07:24 PM

Yeah, Ottawa is the Capitol of Canada with so much going on with the government here. Yet we have pathetic news stations if you ask me. CBC is probably the best, but they often don't give enough details in their stories. I find myself going online to read the facts about lots of stories. Bell seems to run everything else in Ottawa and they don't pay much mind to letting their equipment become outdated. HD has been around for well over a decade. There's a HUGE difference in quality and yes I'd love to see the anchors more clearly along with the dozens of news clips from around the city. None of the anchors are old. I don't know why they'd need off-focus lenses. I've seen Lucy Van Oldenbarnevald in person and she doesn't need an out-of-focus cam. Ian Black is handsome in person too. They seem to use accurate focus on other HD shows like Marketplace, The National, W5, The Fifth Estate, and others. Judge Judy uses a soft lens on her camera, but the woman is hitting 80!

The real reason is greed. The folks behind the stations here in Canada charge Canadians plenty and we get garbage for what we spend on Bell and others. Bell pays crumbs to their employees, hires people in other countries for the call centre, and if it's cheap they're all for it. While I applaud companies for cutting costs, they should not be doing so at the detriment to their customers. That's one thing some big companies in Canada don't seem to understand. I'm sure they'll still be broadcasting in SD 10 years from now. We have no choice. They control it. I'm definitely not making excuses for them.

2013-04-15, 11:13 AM	#2266
roger1818 Veteran Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Ottawa (Stittsville), ON, OTA (Radio Shack Omnidirectional Antenna and 5Y6S in Attic), MythTV HTPC Posts: 5,626	Did anyone have issues with CJOH last night between 8:30 and 9:00pm? It is normally very reliable for me, but the second half of the Amazing Race didn't record properly. By 10:30 everything was fine. If no one else had issues, it could be a the re-occurrence of an old interference issue that I would see from time to time. It would most frequently only affect analog 4, but would occasionally spread up the spectrum and affect all VHF channels. It would start of small and gradually build until it would suddenly stop. I was never able to find the root cause. __________________ Link to my TVFool results is in my profile Homepage URL. I suggest others do the same.

2013-04-15, 01:29 PM	#2268
roger1818 Veteran Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Ottawa (Stittsville), ON, OTA (Radio Shack Omnidirectional Antenna and 5Y6S in Attic), MythTV HTPC Posts: 5,626	For me it was pixelating and stuttering badly and then stopped recording completely at about 8:45. Could only watch about the first 30 min. Will have to stream the rest. __________________ Link to my TVFool results is in my profile Homepage URL. I suggest others do the same.

2013-04-15, 07:20 PM	#2269
RamKat Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Ottawa Posts: 463	Anik G1 launched successfully So hopefully we will have CHCH in HD by the end of May? http://www.universetoday.com/101459/...-overcrowding/

2013-05-18, 05:23 PM	#2270
x4mer Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Stouffville Posts: 315	CJOH and repeaters CJOH ran three transmitters, on 6,8, and 13 right? Only 13 went digital, leaving 6 and 8 on the air in analogue? Have either of the analogue ones shut down? __________________ OTA+Teksavvy($36/m).Dump Rogers($135/m)$1200/Y SAVED CM4221(UHF)/Antennacraft Y5-7-13(VHF)/CM7777(Amp)/CM9521A(Rotor)

2013-05-18, 08:13 PM	#2271
roger1818 Veteran Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Ottawa (Stittsville), ON, OTA (Radio Shack Omnidirectional Antenna and 5Y6S in Attic), MythTV HTPC Posts: 5,626	Both CJOH-TV-6 and CJOH-TV-8 are still on air. They aren't likely to change any time soon. __________________ Link to my TVFool results is in my profile Homepage URL. I suggest others do the same.

2013-04-15, 12:32 PM	#2267
DXer Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Kanata Posts: 159	Yes, I was watching AR, and the screen went black for a few seconds two or three times (usually during the commercials IIRC).

2013-05-19, 09:00 AM	#2272
RamKat Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Ottawa Posts: 463	Anik G1 went operational on May 8 http://finance.yahoo.com/news/telesa...110000080.html Now when is CHCH going to flip the switch? With all substantial delays that the satellite launch had, one would expect everything else to be ready by now.

2013-05-20, 10:06 AM	#2273
roger1818 Veteran Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Ottawa (Stittsville), ON, OTA (Radio Shack Omnidirectional Antenna and 5Y6S in Attic), MythTV HTPC Posts: 5,626	RamKat, yes, the Anik G1 is now operational, but has Shaw Direct started using it and do they now provide CHCH in HD? Both of those are prerequisites and out of the control of CHCH. __________________ Link to my TVFool results is in my profile Homepage URL. I suggest others do the same.

2013-05-20, 11:08 AM	#2274
RamKat Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Ottawa Posts: 463	Correct, Maybe someone with a Shaw package can post when CHCH is available in HD. For now I can only go by the answer on the the SHAW FAQ page. "They’ll be available later this spring once the satellite is in orbit." And I believe we are technically past the "once the satellite is in orbit" point.

2013-05-20, 12:42 PM	#2275
FunkyTown Join Date: May 2006 Location: Gatineau, QC Posts: 1,158	I emailed CHCH 2 years ago asking about their HD feed in Ottawa. I spoke with a manager who said it would be activated in the fall of that same year. So many months later and it's still SD only here in Ottawa. It sucks because HD has been out for so many years and we are still dragging our feet in certain areas. The Ottawa news is still SD. I find it unbelievable that this is so. Granted there's a cost to upgrading cameras and such to HD, but after so many years you'd think they would have it in place by now.

2013-05-21, 04:27 PM	#2277
FunkyTown Join Date: May 2006 Location: Gatineau, QC Posts: 1,158	CBOT is -NOT- HD for Ottawa News. Yes they are 16:9 aspect ratio but they are still using SD cameras set at 16:9. Ottawa does not have a single station that broadcasts local news in HD. Check out the National and you'll see a huge difference between CBC Ottawa and The National as far as resolution and color goes. I don't care for the CJOH News. I used to watch that network but switched to CBC 6 years ago. I only watch CJOH news on Sundays now. HD has been around for many years. It has nothing to do with OTA signal. Cable and satellite have been broadcasting in HD for a long time now. 10 years ago these networks were still using SD cameras. They still are today. I guess once one finally switches they'll all switch. We used to get A-Channel news but Bell bought that network and shut down the evening news. There really isn't much available locally in Ottawa for news except for CJOH and CBOT.

2013-05-21, 07:24 PM	#2279
FunkyTown Join Date: May 2006 Location: Gatineau, QC Posts: 1,158	Yeah, Ottawa is the Capitol of Canada with so much going on with the government here. Yet we have pathetic news stations if you ask me. CBC is probably the best, but they often don't give enough details in their stories. I find myself going online to read the facts about lots of stories. Bell seems to run everything else in Ottawa and they don't pay much mind to letting their equipment become outdated. HD has been around for well over a decade. There's a HUGE difference in quality and yes I'd love to see the anchors more clearly along with the dozens of news clips from around the city. None of the anchors are old. I don't know why they'd need off-focus lenses. I've seen Lucy Van Oldenbarnevald in person and she doesn't need an out-of-focus cam. Ian Black is handsome in person too. They seem to use accurate focus on other HD shows like Marketplace, The National, W5, The Fifth Estate, and others. Judge Judy uses a soft lens on her camera, but the woman is hitting 80! The real reason is greed. The folks behind the stations here in Canada charge Canadians plenty and we get garbage for what we spend on Bell and others. Bell pays crumbs to their employees, hires people in other countries for the call centre, and if it's cheap they're all for it. While I applaud companies for cutting costs, they should not be doing so at the detriment to their customers. That's one thing some big companies in Canada don't seem to understand. I'm sure they'll still be broadcasting in SD 10 years from now. We have no choice. They control it. I'm definitely not making excuses for them.

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