Milwaukee HDTV User Group

What a pleasant surprise. I was surfing thru the Madison channels today in preparation for the Packer game and lo and behold--Fox 47DT (channel 11) does not carry any ID bug at all. Whether a mistake or by design it makes the Bears-Titans game picture a real pleasure to watch. Since this signal is full strength and in HD its going to make the Packer game a real treat.

Eugene Kane, the Journal Sentinal's controversial columnist, admits to having HDTV for the last 6 months. When you read on past the headline it turns out to be just another political jibe.  Glad to see a mention of HD in something other than the TV-Radio column. Find his column here:
Kane's Column

I thought yo'all might enjoy this email from a neighbor's son in law who works for NBC production at the Olympics. It speaks for itself:

Date: Mon, 23 Aug 2004 02:28:23 +1000 (EST)

Hello,

      The beach volleyball quarterfinals are underway.
Of the 8 matches today we cover 5.  The temperatures
are still rising, on the sand we got a reading of 119
degrees.  Our cameramen are rotating around so that no
one gets burned up or burned out.  Up to now there had
been 5 cameramen for 4 cameras ensuring a relief guy
for the handhelds who spend all their time on the
sand.  One of our guys who normally runs a camera in
the shade, had not yet been to the sand but because
there is no relief guy he had to help out.  When he
got in position on the hot sand our director said
welcome to hell.  He replied "I thought hell would be
colder than this."  Perhaps it loses something on the
translation but we all thought it was the line of the
week and under scored the amazing conditions that
these players are competing in.
      I've included a picture of our compound, my home
away from home these last 2 weeks.  I spend each match
in the TV truck but during our breaks I eat in the
food tent and prepare labels in the office cabin.
There are restrooms available in the compound that we
share with the TV crew from the AOB (the host feed).
The office cabin (as are all cabins) is air
conditioned so people tend to congregate there rather
than sit out in the hot humid weather.  I spent a bit
of time there modifying the label template I had into
one that fits on labels obtainable here.  By the time
I was done programming all I had to do was type the
winning teams into a bracket and all the data
transferred to the proper label.  Labeling might not
seem like a big deal to you but for each match we
cover, there are 6 tapes that require 2 labels each.
For the matches we don't cover one tape records
requiring 2 labels.  However, remember early on we
were on stand by so I had to have 12 labels with 6
different bits of info ready to go incase we needed
them.  That's a lot of labels each day so I made sure
the computer printer did the heavy lifting.
     It's all going smooth here we're looking forward
to shorter days ahead but for now we're just plugging
along.  I hope you've had a chance to catch some of
our coverage, the games are usually pretty exciting
and the athletes are pretty entertaining.

Allen

We're in mourning here in Hartland. With our roof in the middle of being redone, the roofers didn't fasten the rooftop antenna back down correctly. Needless to say, this morning the whole antenna assembly is lying on it side hanging by the cables. The antenna is now scrap. Ch. 34, 46, 25, 61, and 8 are all gone. Oddly enough WITI fox 33 comes in crystal clear. Looks like some roofers will be buying me a new antenna.

Good news for those of us who can get Madison DTV channels. WISC DT will be broadcasting the HD games on Friday with one exception. I found this on their website:

Quote·  On Friday, we will have HDTV games on WISC-DT with one exception:
·  11:30 AM Memphis / South Carolina
·  1:50 PM Oklahoma State / Eastern Washington
·  6:20 PM WISCONSIN / Richmond (this game will not be in HD)
·  8:45 PM Kansas / Illinois-Chicago  

 

Time to turn the antennas west. Now I can have the best of both worlds – multicasting on WDJT and HD on WISC.

So far, so good.  Picture quality is better now that one of the multicasts has been shut down.  Audio OTA is OK. Don't hear any pops or dropouts.  Disapointed that only one movie commercial is HD.  Had to laugh, the ref held a remedial course on whats heads and whats tails.  I was waiting for one the the players interjecting "wait, your going too fast".

I was reading on AVS forum about the non measurement of viewership of digital channels. Supposedly not enough viewers to make it worth Neilsens effort.  It got me thinking about what channels people actually watch here in Milwaukee. And, I suspect, there are some digital channels that literally have no viewers. Lets do a poll and see what local channels people watch the most. I'll even put those digital channels in that have no HD programming.

Here's an interesting article from Utah where U.S. Digital Television is leasing digital spectrum from established channels, selling a decoder, and using multicasting to set up a mini cable system without the cable.  Read the article:

US Digital Story

Could this work here? We certainly have enough availible channels that could be leased.  Pax 55, WJJA's shopping channel, WVCY's digital channel are all possibles.  With the provision of $99 decoders that can be hooked up to HDTV or to SD tv, this market could have some competition to cable and satellite. Nobody offers a mini package of sports and a few cable channels. Even more interesting is that this would make the broadcasters digital channels profitable a lot sooner. Even if they just sold the decoders (STB) only, that could spur HD on.

WVTV is testing their HD equipment on 18-2 and is obviously close to starting programming.
[rant] Would it kill them to post on their website or here for that matter, just what their tentative timetable is for starting HD programming? They could announce it on the 9 o'clock news but no one would see it. For a communications outfit, they have a long way to go. [/rant]:rolleyes:

Tim Cuprisin's column strikes again.  Tonight he reports that TNT will be launching a HD simulcast of their programming.  Here's the quote :

QuoteCable's TNT is launching a high-definition version of itself in May, playing the same lineup as the regular cable channel.

While HBO, Showtime and the Discovery Channel offer high-definition programming, this would be the first basic cable channel to simulcast its lineup in the super-sharp format available if you have the correct TV and the appropriate cable or satellite service.

Find the whole column here:

Tim Cuprisin's Jan 6th Column

TV 6 9:00p.m. news did a story on purchases of big screen televisions spurred on by the Packers in the playoffs.  It was hilarious, watching them talk about big screen sales while intentionally ignoring the words "high definition". It was a dishonest story, intentionally ignoring  one of the major driving forces behing big screen sales, simply because they do not offer anything approaching high def.  With the last two Packer games in HD, we have seen what sports can really be.  Fox 6 is pretending that HD doesn't exist. They really are special, aren't they.

Here's an "attaboy" to WISC-DT channel 50 out of Madison.  Broadcasting at near full power their signal comes roaring in here in Hartland with no breakups, sound pops, and minimal pixellation.  I watched todays Packer game on WISC. Though they do multiplex, running UPN-14 on a second channel, they SHUT DOWN the second channel during the game. I am impressed by a first class operation. I may not get Fox 6 but this more than makes up for it.

I saw a thread on the Brewcity board which mentions ch. 53 here in MKE.  I took a look at the FCC site and found this:

FCC data

It's a bit confusing but it seems there is something to it. Is is 38 or 53?

I found this posted on the boards. This is on C band satellite. Anyone else get it?

QuoteOutdoor Channel Looks to Sony for High-Definition
New technology marks the first phase of the network's plan to offer a high-definition channel


TEMECULA, Calif., Dec. 17, 2003 -- The Outdoor Channel (TOC), a subsidiary of Outdoor Channel Holdings, Inc., has purchased three each of Sony's HDW-730 HDCAM camcorders and HDW-M2000/1 HDCAM studio editing recorders. The new technology marks the first phase of the network's plan to offer a high-definition channel.

"We're well on our way to bringing high-definition programming to our audience of loyal outdoor enthusiasts," remarked TOC CEO Andy Dale. "Superior programming calls for superior equipment, and we believe we've hit the bull's-eye with Sony."

The HDW-730 HDCAM camcorder is compact, light-weight, and a popular choice among cablecasters and nature videographers. Innovative new operational features complement field requirements and are designed especially to help camera operators capture spontaneous footage in the field.

The HDW-730 camcorder features video cache recording, allowing field crews to store seven seconds of digital HD video in a continuous loop on a camera memory chip. This feature saves battery and tape head life, and can help to "save the shot" during unpredictable situations common in nature photography. The cache can also be used for time-lapse recording. HDW-M2000/1 HDCAM studio editing recorder plays HD images at 60i or 24P, and also plays back a range of Sony legacy videotape formats including Digital Betacam(R), Betacam SP(R), Betacam SX(R), and MPEG IMX(TM). The recorder also includes built-in up-conversion of playback-compatible standard definition tapes to HD 1080i and down-conversion of HDCAM tapes to standard definition.

"The programming delivered by The Outdoor Channel is an ideal application for our HDCAM family of products," said Rob Willox, general manager for content creation systems in the Broadcast and Production Systems Division of Sony Electronics. "These products were specifically designed for the acquisition and presentation of visually striking images, and their use provides The Outdoor Channel with an upgrade to HD that exceeds their needs and their customers' expectations."

Based in Temecula, CA, The Outdoor Channel is a national cable network, dedicated to providing the best in traditional outdoor programming to America's sixty million anglers and hunters. The Outdoor Channel features over 100 weekly hunting and fishing series, in addition to rodeo, off-roading, and country music programs. The network reaches over 25,000,000 subscriber homes through a combination of cable and satellite dish viewers.

 
 

I checked the DirecTV listing for the Sunday Ticket today and they list the last regular season Green Bay game as being in HD! If this holds it will be great.  

Look here for DirecTV Schedule

In a deal reminiscent of the Sunday Ticket on DirecTV, Sirius satellite radio will now present the NFL audio feeds.  From Radio Online......

QuoteThe NFL has inked a 7-year deal with Sirius to broadcast all NFL games live nationwide, and for Sirius to become the league's Official Satellite Radio Partner. Beginning with the NFL's 2004 season, Sirius will carry the entire NFL regular season.

I wonder if there is a market at all for audio descriptions only of the NFL?

Milwaukee's own Tim Cuprisin has news and views of new HD service in Wednesday's JS.  Quite a lot of column space is devoted to the changes at TW as they add INHD and other channels. ESPN HD is discussed also. It would seem Time Warner has seen the future and it is us.

Tim Cuprisin's Wed. Column

It really is about time JS started listing HD programs.  That the Tribune co. doesn't provide them is just lame. Try asking for them.

Much has been made about the inability of broadcast stations to make any money from their DTV stations.  Some recent threads and comments by Tom Snyder have addressed this issue.  I've been thinking about this and have decided that the comments by the station brass about the inability to make a profit from this as bogus and disingenuous.
Most industries have to deal with Federal mandates, which is what this is.  From school systems, who are required to offer certain programs but are given no funding, and car manufacturers who are given mileage demands and safety standards, as well as airlines which have to meet Federal standards, there are thousands of businesses who have to toe the line.  Sometimes the transitions make sense, from safety perspectives, and some times its just to keep some special interest group happy. So this is nothing new.
Broadcast license owners were given this mandate mainly so the Feds could sell their spectrum for big money, and secondarily to finally push a 70 year old technology to the next level. The usual market forces don't work as well in the monopoly world of broadcast licenses, exclusive cable franchises, and otherwise limited spectrum.
Which brings us full circle to our local situation, where some stations have done the absolute minimum to meet standards (Wvtv18 and WCGV24 – I won't count the religious broadcasters) to others who have trumpeted their advancement but really did the job half way (WDJT58, WITI6). There are those who realize that the benefits of leading the way will pay off in the future. WTMJ has pursued this for years with a lot of success. They were the first to go to color, go digital, use electronic new gathering, and generally spend the bucks when there is no immediate return. Their reward? They are #1 in news and perceived as a local leader. Their ratings lead translates into dollars.  WISN has caught on to this and now is pursuing 4 using the same game plan. They are #2.  Fox 6 used to be a much bigger powerhouse but has been on the decline – you be the judge as to why. WDJT58 has tried to do the local stuff on the cheap. Their news shows it and their attitude reflects it.  Their reward? Last place in news. Channels 18 and 24 are no more than cable channels who happen to have a local broadcast channel also. Their function is to siphon the advertising dollar off locally and send it to corporate headquarters. Channel 18's local news reminds me of a bad Saturday night live skit.
Any business that is successful long term has to constantly evolve. Some times the profits aren't their immediately but will come later. If you ignore that you become the "also ran" on the local scene. 4, 6, & 12 have sunk enormous funds into helicopters and the staffing as well as maintenance of them.  Show me how this generates extra profits to cover the expense.  Most days the choppers are used to cover sunsets and traffic (when in my care I always carry a TV to check on local traffic). The argument is bogus and used to excuse bad behavior.

Milwaukee's earnest radio-TV reporter is back from his monthly maintenance tour.  Another 12 day sabbatical.  I would love this much paid vacation.

Interesting web site I stumbled across.  Check out the table at the bottom.

Channel 18/24 Equal Opportunity Website