OTA Station Status: Vancouver, Victoria, Southern BC

[stampeder]

That's great! One of the reasons that there is not a West Coast tropo thread is that we so rarely get such conditions here. Nice to see that you got a good blast of it!

If tropo happens again I hope members here on the coast will snap some photos like the ones you see in the other tropo threads showing the PSIP info on the screen image.

[danbcman]

[IMG][/IMG]

I am getting Komo King Kiro off and on right now and has been that way since last night no amp just an indoor 4228 38.1 39.1 48.1.
I have not tried my Xmas tree terk not up to it today but tomorrow I hope

[dtvinvictoria]

I can always tell when there's a tropo event going on because I lose global BC. At least I have analog as a backup for now.

[Ndnile]

I get the dropouts on 33.1 (32) ctv when ion comes in from seattle strong. omni on 42 analog goes fuzzy aswell when I get 42.1 from seattle. Lets me know the tropos are coming. Still have a hard time with 58.1 cbc even though they say they are at an ERP of 30 I only get this channel in strong tropos, I hope that changes with the channel change and boost of power.

[dtvinvictoria]

till have a hard time with 58.1 cbc even though they say they are at an ERP of 30 I only get this channel in strong tropos,

So it's not just me! CBC is my worst station, I can get it if all the stars and the moon have aligned but otherwise nadda. CIVT (CTV) is actually one of the strongest signals to my location, right behind the Bellingham broadcasters. I'm located just north of Quadra and McKenzie.

[Ndnile]

CBC has always been a problem for me even the analog ch 2 I have interference issues, every 30 min kicks in goes for 30 min then out again. I tried everything high pass filters, fm traps, 1/4 wave notch filters, different antennas. I gave up. You would think that living in a capital we would get good signal from CBC, the CBC promise ... EPIC FAIL.

[levibluewa]

I noticed "no signal" this morning...Are they switching over to digital early? ...probably NOT

[Hunedog]

As of 2:00 PM PST just lost CBC, Global, CKVU, and CTV digital channels all completely dark. Anyone else?

[danomac]

Originally Posted by Hunedog

As of 2:00 PM PST just lost CBC, Global, CKVU, and CTV digital channels all completely dark. Anyone else?

Nope, all channels OK for me out in Abbotsford.

Originally Posted by danbcman

Chan Tv Reply
They removed a box that did some PSIP encoding from the stream the recieved from Calgary how ever now they do that step in Calgary so it is an error they are working on now to remove.

CTV (32.1) is also having PSIP troubles. I called the station this morning, and one of the guys there said they updated/installed a new program to control PSIP data and it's time shifted into the future. The time is right but the details are not. They're trying to find the problem.

[Archerotor]

I've noticed the same thing with CIVT-DT 33 (32.1) for the past little while. I thought my DTA box was having problems, but it was limited to that channel. Shows that the station carries, but not when they say they're on. Good to hear you sussed it out, danomac.

[Rick Dude]

Last week I scanned my Samsung TV for new channels and it came up with CHAN SD 8.2 although there is nothing on it.

This morning, I was surfing through the channels and came to 8.2. The TV auto deleted it and went back to CHAN 8.1. Looks like the initial test is over for moment.

[stampeder]

Yep, see this thread for an explanation:

Global's July 2011 PSIP Issues Explained - see Post #24

[MoreDB]

If August 31st is the deadline for switchovers you'd think CHEK, CIVI and CBUTF would be starting tests, or am I just crazy!

Also CHNU (Joy TV) is scheduled for flash cut on August 31st. The Joy website does not even list OTA as an option under "Where to find Joytv 10" or any mention of the looming digital conversion. Not even their broadcast freqency or OTA channel number is listed. Of course, they do mention their cable channel number and BDU's such as Shaw and Telus.

[FreeTV2011]

I found this on their web site

Viewers that receive their TV signals by cable, satellite or another TV distribution service will not be affected.

Following the analog to digital conversion, CHNU-TV UHF-66, (JoyTV 10) - will be available in the Vancouver area on UHF channel 47 instead of 66 and in Victoria it will continue to be available on UHF channel 21.

JoyTV10 Vancouver and Victoria will begin broadcasting in digital at 12 am August 31st, 2011.

http://www.joytv10.ca/crtc_information.php

[MoreDB]

Nice spot on the digital conversion link on JOY website, I overlooked it. Good to see that Joy has their CRTC mandated PSA on the website. Listing their OTA channel number on their About Us page (or some other permanent page) would also be useful.

I much prefer the US station websites for the amount of helpful information on digital OTA, and clear easy site navigation to find it. The US station websites typically blow away the Canadian broadcasters for the amount of detail and enthusiasm on OTA matters.

For exazmple, KIRO in Seattle has a MAIN menu link called "Station" that has a sub link showing all their OTA translators plus an excellent page called Digital TV Transition that goes WAY beyond meeting minimum obligations. A wealth of useful articles and links on digital OTA can be easily found.

I would be in shock if we ever see a Canadian broadcaster put an article on their website (like KIRO did), that is called "Cable Squeezes Clarity Out Of HDTV"