Flamer to Friends of 10/36

[Gregg Lengling]

Here's my latest email to 10/36 friends:

I  have been a member and supporter of the Friends in the past however at this time I am withholding all my financial support until WMVS-DT gets its act together.  the real reason for Digital TV is to provide feature rich content (readh HDTV) not 4 programs of Standard definitiona that I could receive on 10 or 36 or off the satellite.  Get rid of the stupid Eagle Nesting and start showing High Def programming>  I happen to know that all programming produced by WMVS is shot with HDTV cameras however the only show that is post production in High Def is Tracks Ahead.  Why not OutDoor Wisconsin so we can see the beauty of our state or Melinda Meyers Gardening programs...what would be better than High Def Flowers and plantings.  If and when WMVS-DT takes advantage of it's technology I will be back with my personal and corporate support but for now you'll find me watching WDJT-DT, WTMJ-DT, HBO-HD, Showtime HD, HDNET and Discovery HD.  Not silly 10/36 or WMVS-DT channel 8.  In the days of funding only coming from the friends I think it's time you listen to the friends.
Respectfully

Gregg R. Lengling, W9DHI
Camel Communications. Inc.
Chief Engineer

[RobbQ]

Excellent email Gregg, they really need to hear from all of us.  

Does anybody have any clue what their logic is in broadcasting all of those stations instead of HD?  Nothing I have heard seems to make much sense.  They don't seem to be interested in what people with digital TV's want.  Are they too lazy to flip a switch?  Do some school's have digital TV's and that is their primary target?  It just doesn't make any sense, very illogical.  At least FAUX 6 and NO-SHOW 12 have excuses, however lame, where you can sort of see their logic.  Even my psycho sister-in-law can at least blame her odd behavior on her childhood, what is their excuse?

[borghe]

Well, being that the other thread got turned into a "I hate TWC" thread   I guess I will post my original email from this morning here:

 

I recently purchased an HDTV receiver to complement my HDTV monitor. I was very excited to learn that you were among the few stations in Milwaukee to be broadcasting a DTV signal. That was a month ago...

In that month I have not seen one single HDTV program on channel 10. Looking on pbs.org I see that American Family is in HDTV every week as well as a couple other programs during July. Well, the two times I was actually able to FIND American Family (apparently 10-1 is a 3 hour time delay of 10-0), it was not in 1080i. Then I looked for the Desert Speaks program of which I have heard excellent things about. It is only showing on channel 36. The final event that lead to this letter is finding out that PBS provides an HD Demonstration feed, one which WPTV in Madison provides, yet is nowhere to be found in Milwaukee. In fact, looking at WPTV's lineup, you can really see HDTV at most hours of the day! http://www.wpt.org/digitaltv/index.cfm?content=dtv_schedule

Please correct me if I am wrong on any of this. I was so excited to be able to start watching HDTV, and have found that Milwaukee TV stations could care less about it for the most part. I understand you are using your signal to multi-cast, but if that means we lose HDTV content, or even worse if it is pushed 3 hours ahead to some inconvenient time slot, I am not for it. Exactly who is your DTV signal benefiting? Certainly not the people who have invested in the technology. Within your multi-cast you have 2 cable channels, which let's face it; anyone with an HDTV most likely has a cable system with these on it. You have time delayed programming which makes most of the primetime shows occur at inconvenient hours. Finally you have the eagle's nest. While this is a clever concept, you are really doing a disservice to your viewers by taking away bandwidth from other valuable programming you could be providing instead.

Due to such disregard for your viewers, I have little choice but to boycott channels 10 and 36. While I have enjoyed your programming in the past, I cannot understand the decisions you have made for the present. Between the little HD content you broadcast and the fact that there is no way to find out when it's on, it has just become to much effort to tune into 10/36. I hope this situation changes soon. If you have any response to this I would certainly appreciate it. Until then...

[Mike Sheahan]

After seeing what Madison has to offer on thier PBS staion I was also moved to fire off a note to Mr. McLoughlin at 10/36.

Here it is:


  Dear Mr. McLoughlin,
 
I have long been a viewer and supporter of Channels 10 and 36.  I was very excited to experience the wonders of my local PBS stations HDTV offerings after my recent purchase of a 65" HDTV and DirectTV receiver that also accepts OTA (over the air) reception.
 
I spent four hours on my rooftop in the 90+ degree heat of the 4th of July to install an antenna and rotor system, so I would be sure to get the best signal on all of my local digital stations, only to find out that you don't broadcast in HDTV.
 
I have yet to find a true HDTV broadcast on your station.  I think that Milwaukee and the surrounding communities that you serve are being deceived.
 
When I looked at some of the other PBS stations in our area I was amazed at how poorly my local station was being operated.  With all of the quality HDTV programming available to you, as well as the fact that you have the equipment to produce your own programs in HDTV, it baffles me to see what is being done with the bandwidth you have at your disposal.  It would be such a pleasure to see our State being promoted thru programs like Outdoor Wisconsin, in the beauty and clarity that HDTV has to offer.
 
This is a link to the schedule of HDTV offerings that our neighbors in Madison are privy to: http://www.wpt.org/digitaltv/index.cfm?content=dtv_schedule   .  
 
I cannot understand why a city the size of Milwaukee cannot offer a similar if not better schedule of  HDTV programming.  
 
The waste of bandwidth that goes to the eagles on 10-5 alone, is a sign of how this station is being mismanaged.  That program, if you can even call it that, could just as easily be offered as a web cam on your website.
 
If you got this far into my rant, I commend you, but please understand that I took this time out of my busy morning to write this letter, because I know how good my local PBS station could be, and I only want for it to achieve that level of excellence.
 
    Sincerely,
    Michael P. Sheahan

I hope we can convince them that they can be alot better than they currently are.

------------------
----------
Mits 65819
Hughes E86
My HT Page

[Kevin Arnold]

What's even a scarier proposition is that in less than a year 10-36 will have ch. 35's digital station to program. Imagine MPTV with 10 standard definition channels to fill. We could have a groundhog nest, duck nest, or a constant feed from monkey island at the zoo. Even follow the mayor's movements around town to see who his current flame is. This is embarassing to have the early leader in HD broadcasting turn into a bunch of knuckleheads when it came time to put programming on. My antenna goes west and WHA TV will be my PBS station of choice. Oh, and if that means no money contributed and no auction items purchases, thats just too bad.