Was That Fox Widescreen?

[Mike Sheahan]

I made it home from work today to catch the second half of the game on 6-1, and I think I saw my first example of fox's 480p widescreen.

The picture was a bit better than normal, especialy the graphic stuff, but it still looked like it was squashing everything.

Anyone else notice?

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Mits 65819
Hughes E86
My HT Page

[fabff]

I also saw the Channel 6 "widescreen" effect during the Packer game.  Even in its stretched (or squashed) mode, it was a better, sharper picture than the fuzzy picture that TWC sends thru the cable.  Even my old OTA antenna, pointed sideways, gives me a better picture.  One would think that the local channels would come thru at least as good as the ones they pull from the sky.

[JimmyBond]

Anyone know why FOX is all stretched out?  On my samsung T150 I was able to combat the streched pitcure by activating pillar box under screen options.  (Of course I had to set it back to full for everything else).


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JimmyBond from the Planet bminus.net

Channel Master 3671
Samsung SIR-T 150
Toshiba 50HX81

[mr_yeti]

This might be a stupid question, but would I be correct in assuming that an HD receiver is necessary to receive the FAUX widescreen signal, even though it is clearly not high-definition? I have the RS double-bowtie on its way in anticipation of getting my HD box after the holidays, and if I can, I'd like to pull in the widescreen signal rather than watching it over analog cable. Possible?

[Pat]

I can't get a signal from them, but based on the question from JimmyBond, it sounds like 6  is broadcasting a 4:3 signal at times, and a 16:9 signal at other times.  (There are 18 digital combinations that your STB can receive.)  That would explain what he's seeing.

And to answer mr_yeti, no, you will not be able to receive the FOX signal until you get your STB -- Fox's is a digital signal, but it's just not a very "high" definition one.  Not to mention there's "no way" the low power signal will reach Port Washington.

[This message has been edited by Pat (edited 10-21-2002).]

[borghe]

Actually Fox used to broadcast a 480p upconvert at 4:3, but since then just sends the same signal at 16:9 squashed. I don't believe they send the true 16:9 feed at all.

[Tom Sielicki]

I get their signal just fine (although still low) and it is better than analog but not much better.  It is NOT Fox Widescreen!  It is just an upconvert that is stretched.  I am confused as the others how they cause it to stretch when all other SD stations on my Samsung show up with gray bars on the sides. It is NOT 1080i.  I dont think Fox 6 has bought the equipment yet.

[Gregg Lengling]

But just remember that when WISN goes on the air they will blow Faux off the air with the peanut whistle they run.  WISN is adjacent channel...when they were testing last week on WISN, Faux went from a 75 down to a 40...making it unreceivable.

[Tom Sielicki]

I get fox6 digital even with Wisn-DT up.  In fact, my signal strength goes up 3X for Fox6.  I know it does not sound correct.  I think my Samsung is not reading strength correctly.  But it is two bars now and goes to 6-8 bars with WISN up.  

[mr_yeti]

I guess I'm not missing much by not getting the FAUX signal. It seems that their "HD" policy causes more consternation here than anything else. Don't they broadcast from Brown Deer, though? That's pretty close to me.

Tom: is it possible that the increased signal strength you notice on FAUX when WISN is on the air is a result of signal bleed? That's the only explanation I can think of.

[Gregg Lengling]

Sure it's closer by a couple miles but with low power and being at 150 feet versus 800 plus feet there is no way in Hell you will ever receive their signal.  I just barely receive them in Cedarburg with a 50' tower with a amplified antenna.  When digital 4 or 12 go on the air, Faux's signal drops down to unusable.  And this doesn't matter if I'm using the RCA or the HiDTV Pro.

[Tom Snyder]

Tom:

What are you using for an antenna that gets you channel 6d/33 in Germantown? I get signal strength in the 80's and 90's on 4, 10 and 58 digital, and even 50's at time from Chicago and South Bend digitals... but can't get a peep from 6 digital.

[Kevin Arnold]

So Faux's DTV signal was never meant for mass consumption, just to keep the FCC off their back. What a clever ploy. But somewhere along the line they will be hanging the antenna on the main tower and boosing the power - at least that's the assumption. What's the delay. Why no announcment? From a competitive point of view it's going to get embarassing. Even the Sinclair dynamic duo of 18 and 24 are scheduled to be live on 11-1. Even the shopping channel and Pax. C'mon WITI, get a move on!

[StarvingForHDTV]

I too have my doubts that Faux is passing on the "Enhanced Widescreen" signal.  They stretch all of their material to 16:9 and I can't really see a difference in quality when they switch to a program running "Enhanced Widescreen".  Basically everything they send looks pretty crappy.  Their upconverter and/or stretcher is very low quality in my opinion.  I think I even saw the chroma bug in their Fastlane show last week.  The show was bad enough, but with the chroma bug it's even worse to watch.  I hope 24 turns out with decent picture quality...  That show I like.  Maybe they should invest in a better upconverter/stretcher before they switch antenna locations.

Starving

[Tom Sielicki]

I am using a UHF yagi in my attic (no amplifier).  It was a RadioShack discontinued that I picked up for 20 dollars.  There current yagis are smaller.  Signal strength numbers that everyone gives out is a relative thing.  It depends on the HD decoder box you have. For my samsung SIRT150 I get 2-3 bars for Fox.  Its low but I dont get dropouts.  You are not missing much by not receiving it but I think the colors are more realistic in the digital signal.  Plus no interference on the TV like from a kitchen mixer or a running machine like analog stations always seems to pick up.