[cm3020prob]

The SD feed serves a small purpose to OTA viewers: It's adjusted for old TV screens.

The show producer and advertisers decide if it should be sent out with cutted sides or with black bars on top and bottom.

In the morning (non-news), Global have filler shows from HGTV/Slice which are shot in 16:9 but in standard definition, so on the HD channel you'll see black bars all around the screen. Your digital to analog converter box will put additional black bars on top and bottom, which is ridiculous. Someone suggests to use the Zoom button but that messes up with the advertisements, so again not as intended.

But for us, OTA users and HDTV set owners, we just see that SD simsulcast channel as useless as it brings nothing new and eats up precious bandwidth that could be best used to either improve the HD channel quality or to provide a digital sub-channel with original content. Hope for the latter.

 

[cm3020prob]

I... don't get it.

Back in 2009, CHAN-TV (Global BC) had a full-time repeater in Kelowna named CHKL-TV, while Kelowna had a station CHBC-TV affiliated to E! Then Canwest wanted to shut it down, but turn it to a local Global station instead...

What's the point of converting to digital both repeaters CHBC-TV-1 and CHKL-TV-1 in Penticton, BC, if the programming is exactly the same? Are they expecting to sell or convert CHBC to something else in the future?

 

[cm3020prob]

For a local TV station to be profitable, it needs to sell local advertisements to their immediate market, the highest audience possible. By offering CHAN-TV with Vancouver advertisements, they split CHBC's audience in half.

Pendicton's rebroadcaster is low power, so their goal is obviously NOT to reach Oroville, WA or Nighthawk, WA... so, what's the point?

 

[cm3020prob]

tvlurker, it's odd, Zap2It TV Listings is time-zone adjusted. If I select Shaw Direct (Classic) and compare CHBC (326) with CHAN (336), the schedule is exactly the same, at the same time, except Global National, just like it says on wikipedia.

But Vancouver and Kelowna are in the same time zone (Pacific), so why is globaltv's website listing CHBC with a 1-hour delay?

 

[cm3020prob]

Just been updated about CIII-DT-6 Ottawa to change from RF 6 to RF 14.

It will just create interference:
* WUTV (Fox) Buffalo
* WPTZ (NBC) Plattsburgh

Note that CKMI-DT Montreal was originally assigned RF 51, but they chose RF 15 which was back then a spare RF for Montreal according to Industry Canada plan in december 2008. Their presence on RF 15 creates reception problems for WPTZ for Montrelaers.

RF 14 is not allocated for Ottawa area... unless there's an updated document? But I'm sure there's another frequency they can use.

 

[cm3020prob]

Isn't that intentional? Isn't that a "flaw" that Global is exploiting?

With the transmitter in a city, they gain simsub rights on cable. If the american RF signal is far but strong enough, placing their transmitter on a RF channel next to the american one will make it difficult to receive. OTA viewer will get angry and will have no choice but to subscribe to cable to get all his shows, including Global simsubs.

In the case of Montreal, CBS (22) is next to CBC (21), NBC (14) is next to Global (15), which I get no reception during the day. Fox (43) operates at a lower power than CBS and NBC so it can be difficult sometimes, ABC (13) is next to CTV (12) but it's at very low power, as in, forget it. But I get PBS-57 (38) and PBS-33 (32) without any problem as they have no co-adjacent channel problem.

Companies knows this, you cannot sell your house to get better RF reception or live nearest a phone CO so you can get a better DSL sync.

Is it possible to receive WUTV Buffalo or WPTZ from Ottawa? Maybe, in tropo conditions. Moving CIII-DT-6 Ottawa to RF 14 will just make it impossible for Ottawa residents, and create interference for Montreal and Toronto markets during tropo conditions.

Choosing RF 14 is most likely strategic. One of the reasons why Global Montreal chose RF 15 instead of RF 51 was because it can use the same antenna as Radio-Canada (19) and CBC (21) at the top of the Mont-Royal tower. But they could have instead pick RF 18 (PBS St-Johnsbury), or RF 16 (I see nothing of interference here), but they had to pick RF 15 somehow by strategy.

 

[cm3020prob]

The problem I was trying to explain was this:

Graphic:
CH14, 650 kW ======> 82 miles ======> home <== 5 miles == CH15, 8 kW

Textual:
CH 14 (NBC) is 82 miles away (130 km) from your home.
CH 15 (Global) is 5 miles away (8 km) from your home.

When CH 15 is not broadcasting (overnight maintenance), you get CH 14 at 50%. Using an amplifier would get a preferable a 75% reception.
Unfortunately, when CH 15 (local) is broadcasting, CH 14 (distant) drops down to 25%. An amplifier will just boost CH 15, that you already receive at 95%, and spread onto CH 14, which drops the signal to 5%.

For Ottawa, you guys told me that it's difficult but not impossible to receive WNPI (PBS) which broadcasts on CH 23 (40 kW), but unfortunately, CHCH-DT-1 broadcasts on CH 22. WNYF-LD (Fox) is apparently using the same tower using CH 18 (4 kW), but CITY-DT-3 broadcasts on CH 17.

I admit, Global using CH 14 in Ottawa might be a long shot but looking at the contour, it's awfull close from Montreal, and it will be next to impossible for west-islanders to receive WPTZ anymore. Even worse when looking at the TVfool map, where the contour almost overlaps, but reception is still medium and possible. Eventho it's legal, it's not welcomed.

 

[cm3020prob]

I don't see how 14 from Ottawa will interfere with anyone's reception of WPTZ on the island of Montreal. Aside from the fact that that TVFool does not support your theory

Beyond the island of Montreal, way west... Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Saint-Polycarpe, Sainte-Justine-Station. Using TVFool's "Callsign Lookup", you can see that reception is medium in that area, so it's possible, then goes purple (very weak) from the Quebec/Ontario border.
Next, open 2012-0465-1, Estimated Contours PDF. The red contour almost reaches the Ontario/Quebec border. Since we know that signals go beyond contours, depending on terrain, and that Global MAY want to boost CIII-DT-6's power someday for more ATSC-M/H coverage, it will create interference, someday, somehow. But as of now, with proposed power, it's borderline. Global should take another channel number that will allow them to expand.

 

[cm3020prob]

OK, fair 'enough. I do agree that RF14 will improve reception significantly, with the proposition, it will work... but I still think it's not the best channel number, for the sole purpose that if they want to increase power in the near future, they won't be able to do so without creating interference.

When I check on wiki, many US transmitters on UHF band are somewhere between 200 kW and 1 000 kW, while the majority of Canadian digital transmitters are low and medium power since the transition. For example, Buffalo ABC (358 kW), NBC (480 kW), CBS (790 kW), Fox (1000 kW), CW (1000 kW), while Toronto CBC (107 kW), Global (100 kW), Citytv (21 KW), Omni (22 kW)... Canadian networks will either want to increase power to allow mobile/handlet services (and more revenues), or keep them low power just so they can keep their simsub rights.

I'm shooting in the dark here (assuming everything is at Camp Fortune, which isn't true), but Global could share an antenna with an existing co-adjacent number, like 16 or 18 with CITY-DT-3, 23 with CHCH and/or TVO, 28 with Omni.1, 29 or 31 with CIVO, 33 wih CFGS, 41 with CHOT and/or CITS, 44 with CHRO, or anything beyond that seems to be empty for now...