Thumbs up for Action 12's Kent Wainscott, thumbs down for the response he got for me

[Joseph S]

Oh well, I asked Action 12 to help us out. I got an answer back from a higher up that essentially claims

1)WISN is not in violation and they filed for an extension in due time. (We all know they actually filed three weeks after March 1 deadline)

2)The antennae weighs four tons and they don't want to move it twice, even if that means they don't comply with the deadline. (5 years is five years, there was enough time to sort out issues.)

3) They are only being loaned DTV 34 and will have to give up the analog in 2006. (Tell that to the folks paying for DTV band. Wasn't analog a gift as well? That's one heck of a "loan.")

4)" The city has continuously turned us down."

(Then you should have looked for an alternative site during these past five years. What makes them think this will change?)

5) We are officially screwed and now that Alias ends next week, What good is WI$N anyways.

6)In their conference call ($200 million + in debt reduction) Hearst-Argyle avoided the issue and had a constant nack of blaming ABC. I tend to think it is the mismanagement and piss poor anchor choices at the ABC affiliates especially in Boston (too old) and Milwaukee (can't keep 'em) that are the issue. ABC has plenty of quality analog and HD programming, but their newscasts are terrible.

7) I'm not going to be watching WI$N until well after the September date posted on Titan TV.

This is just a case of a complete lack of foresight and utter incompetence in thinking the situation will change with the city anytime soon.


:td:

[Matt Heebner]

I totally have to agree that WISN had more than enough time to get these issues resolved. Tom Snyder posted an article from 1999 about a public digital tower that was constructed. In that article, it is mentioned that WISN was/is in  negotiations with Milwaukee about getting their tower extended. THREE YEARS??? What I hear now is excuses and procrastination about missing a 5 year old deadline.  Hey folks, this is a major network affiliate here with some big-buck owners!!! This is not some low power independantly owned bible thumping channel !!!

As far as making the deadline for filing an extension.....I dunno. Sure seems to me that from what I've read they missed the filing deadline as well as the May 1 deadline.

The question becomes.....can they redeem themselves? To me, yes they can by two ways.
NUMBER ONE...Monday Night Football in HD. This would worth the wait, and I could totally forgive WISN and ABC for their previous sins.
NUMBER TWO...Get on the air as soon as possible. No more excuses, no more whinning about not getting an extension permit, etc., just get the signal up and running.

I am not going to watch WISN till atleast one of the conditions are met. Sorry WISN, but I was looking forward to checking out shows I would not normally check out. I started watching Crossing Jordan on NBC because it was HD, but actually kind of getting into it now. Same with CBS, only I can not miss my CSI and Everybody Loves Raymond. WISN , you could have had a new viewer.....oh well.

Matt

[masonj0627]

Below is an email reply I received this afternoon from Dave Kaylor, WISN-TV Director of Engineering, direct line (414) 937-3375.
=========================================

Thanks for your follow-up.  You're right, we're not yet up, and we are still       working on the same issue with the city, though we believe we are fairly close to a resolution.  We are also working on a statement to put on our website.  Hopefully, you should see it soon.

Our goal at WISN-TV is to fully replicate our current analog signal and provide our viewers with the best high definition television (HDTV) signal possible.  In order to do this right, however, we at WISN feel that we need additional height for our antenna and have asked the City of Milwaukee for a construction permit to increase our tower height to the maximum allowed by FAA guidelines for the area.  We are only asking to increase the height to be equal to that of the other stations, nothing more.

WISN is not in violation of the FCC mandate.  The station filed for an extension
of the May 1, 2002 deadline.  Due to present negotiations with the City of Milwaukee and some additional unresolved power issues, WISN has no construction permit to extend.  The FCC will issue an extension contingent upon the issuance of a permit.  At the time the permit is issued, the FCC will then grant WISN 6-months to get the antenna up on the tower and the signal into your home.  We
are in compliance with the FCC, and we remain in constant contact with the commission regarding our mitigating circumstances.

Our antenna weighs more than 4-tons and must be lifted to a height of over 1,000-feet.  It is connected to the transmitter with over 1,200-feet of rigid, cylindrical, copper waveguide over 6-inches in diameter.  Its installation is somehat permanent, and to install it at a lower height, we feel would diminish the signal strength to viewers in the outlying areas.

WISN made a commitment and has already installed all necessary equipment to transmit HDTV to our viewers.  Our digital transmitter has been in place and operating since September of last year.  Unfortunately, our DTV antenna currently sits on the ground waiting one more attempt to settle the issue with the City of Milwaukee.  We feel that this one last attempt is important to you, the customer, before we side mount the antenna at a lower height and provide an inferior signal.  Unlike the analog signal, the digital signal does not get "snowy" when it weakens, it becomes undecipherable - with no picture at all on your screen.  This is very important in our fringe areas, where the analog signal may be a little weak, but certainly viewable.

We at WISN-TV would love nothing more than to move beyond this issue and transmit a HDTV signal to our viewers.  Our decision to provide you with the best possible signal is a long-term decision which, unfortunately, must supersede the original May 1, 2002 deadline.  Our intention is to send our HDTV
signal to your home by the end of the summer.

Let me know if you have any additional questions.  Please feel free to call my
direct line (414) 937-3375.

Dave Kaylor
WISN-TV Director of Engineering

[MesaV]

Those are some of the reasons I've turned my antenna toward Madison.  The PBS station is 1080i 16x9 all the time and the picture quality on CBS and ABC is much better then in Milwaukee. The non-HD programming on CBS and ABC is stretched 1080i, depending on your opinion that may or may not be a good thing, but at least you won't be burning in the edges of your screen.  When advertisers start coming to DTV and ask what I'm watching, I'll be telling them anything in Madison.  We can vent all we want but it's not going to change things here in Milwaukee.

[tenth_t2]

I'd agree in the lack of alternative planning department.  I'd like to see them lose the frequency band they presently have, make them re-brand another.  We all know the cart and horse issue that HD has been and continues to be, but where was it that I read that getting the spectrum assignments was costing next to nothing?  Oh yeah, the FCC page.  I'll put a few $$ in the kitty to buy 204-210Mhz.....

True, MNF would be a redemption to some degree in my opinion as well, but those on the west side of town as well as the south side may have options from Madison or Chicago.

[Gregg Lengling]

Just a little technical clarification:

Yes he is right that they are only temporarily loaning stations a digital channel, but.......when the transistion ends (2006 yeah right) the stations will have a choice of which frequency channel to retain...their old analogue assignment or the new digital assignment.  In either case the reatained channel will be digital.


------------------
Gregg R. Lengling
RCA P61310 61" 16x9
gregg@camelcomm.com