The FCC, ( Federal Communications Commision ), which sets the rules that cable companies must play by has given permission to all cable companies to scramble or encrypt their basic and expanded basic channels. They have set a date of January 1, 2013, some claim December 10, but we have info that cable companies can start doing this after January 1, 2013
Once they scramble basic and expanded basic, all tv sets will require a cable box to unscramble the channels.
Since Heritage Village provides Basic TV to all residents from our own facility, we have no plans to scramble our channels 2-22. 98 and 99 and the FM radio lineup.
This is part of the ultimate goal of cable companies to digitize all of their tv offerings. Once they do this, they recoup more bandwidth to use for other services in the future.
We do not know exactly when Charter will do this but it is definitely in their plans.
This is the FCC announcement concerning this. A little heavy reading but quite informative.
http://www.fcc.gov/document/commission-relaxes-cable-encryption-prohibition
Again, no converter will be required to see the HV Village lineup.
Thanks, Jeff
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Should HV 's TV system go all digital ?
Presently, Heritage Village employs a mixture of technologies to deliver a television signal to our residents. They all involve receieving an off air broadcast signal from a distant TV station in digital format, then converting the signal to analog so that it fits the majority of tv sets in HV.
Hpwever, in the last few years, more and more residents have purchased new digital tv sets. This poses a dilemna. Do we shut off our analog signals in order to provide a digital signal to the main tv in a unit, forsaking the other 2 or 3 analog tv sets which will become inoperable. This is important to understand. If I were to shut off analog signals/channels, then only digital tv sets will receive tv broadcasts. To the residents that subscribe to Charter, this may not seem like a big deal, but there are a substantial number of residents that do not subscribe to Charter for tv.
Do we continue with our present path of slowly adding digital signals to our system while at the same time, delivering analog channels ?
The benefits of moving slowly are several. Over time, more and more residents will have digital tv sets. But more importantly, I can pass on the true digital signal from the station, not the compressed version that you will get from cable or satellite.
Any decision must be made with a modicum of knowledge. Presently we offer channels 2-22, 98 and 99 and FM radio, all in analog format. I also offer channels 3-1, 3-2, 3-3 which is WFSB from Hartford in digital and also channel 21-1, 21-2, 21-3 WLIW from Long Island, also in digital.
Charters channel 2-22 are all in analog form so you do not gain anything. Also, please compare the channel lineups. I think you would agree that ours in HV is much better suitable to our demographic.
Then you get to the monthly costs. Charter charges $24.99 per month plus taxes and fees for channels 2-22. HV, as part of your condo fee, charges roughly $3.00 per month for a much better lineup with more channels and FM radio.
We will get to a time when we offer nothing but native digital TV. I'm not sure that now is the time. Slowly, I am adding digital channels, but right now, I am at a point where if I add anything, I need to remove something else. I would love to hear suggestions on what would be the least painful to remove. I am at the point where I need to make a decision.
Thanks,
Jeff
Hpwever, in the last few years, more and more residents have purchased new digital tv sets. This poses a dilemna. Do we shut off our analog signals in order to provide a digital signal to the main tv in a unit, forsaking the other 2 or 3 analog tv sets which will become inoperable. This is important to understand. If I were to shut off analog signals/channels, then only digital tv sets will receive tv broadcasts. To the residents that subscribe to Charter, this may not seem like a big deal, but there are a substantial number of residents that do not subscribe to Charter for tv.
Do we continue with our present path of slowly adding digital signals to our system while at the same time, delivering analog channels ?
The benefits of moving slowly are several. Over time, more and more residents will have digital tv sets. But more importantly, I can pass on the true digital signal from the station, not the compressed version that you will get from cable or satellite.
Any decision must be made with a modicum of knowledge. Presently we offer channels 2-22, 98 and 99 and FM radio, all in analog format. I also offer channels 3-1, 3-2, 3-3 which is WFSB from Hartford in digital and also channel 21-1, 21-2, 21-3 WLIW from Long Island, also in digital.
Charters channel 2-22 are all in analog form so you do not gain anything. Also, please compare the channel lineups. I think you would agree that ours in HV is much better suitable to our demographic.
Then you get to the monthly costs. Charter charges $24.99 per month plus taxes and fees for channels 2-22. HV, as part of your condo fee, charges roughly $3.00 per month for a much better lineup with more channels and FM radio.
We will get to a time when we offer nothing but native digital TV. I'm not sure that now is the time. Slowly, I am adding digital channels, but right now, I am at a point where if I add anything, I need to remove something else. I would love to hear suggestions on what would be the least painful to remove. I am at the point where I need to make a decision.
Thanks,
Jeff
Friday, January 13, 2012
Should I buy a new digital tv set
I still am able to recieve all of the channels from Heritage Village and expanded service from Charter, do I need a new digital tv set ?
Technically, for now you dont if your old set is still working fine but any set you purchase now, will be digital and you may be shortchanging yourself if you dont modernize. Let me try and explain.
HV provides analog tv signals channel 2-22 and 98 and 99 that your old tv set can tune. We also have several digital TV channels that you need a digital tv in order to decode. The benefit is that you will receive more channels than present, but also, some will be in in high definition which can be stunning in appearance.
Also, if you have Charter, you will be able to receive the current analog channels plus digital signals that include channel 2 from NY and C Span 2, both of which HV lost after the switch to digital transmission plus they have a multitude of digital tiers of channels that require an additional subscription.
Eventually, I would like to pass through all of our channels in digital format. Right now in order to do that, I would have to remove an exiting analog channel as we have no remaining space in our lineup. It is difficult for me to remove any particular channel as it seems every channel has it's fan club, but we do have redundancy in our lineup, so we may be making some minor changes soon.
When the day comes when the majority of unit owners have digital TV sets, then we can go entirely digital, not only offering more and expanded channel offerings, some with high definition, but with the reclaimed bandwidth, possibly some other services besides tv as more applications are being developed.
Also, not mentioned much so I'm not sure that most unit owners are aware, we also offer FM radio service on our MATV system. It consists mainly of FM stations that would be difficult to receive without an antenna. The complete listing would be in the Village Directory. We also carry CRIS radio, which is a service for the visually impaired. It stands for Connecticut Reading Imformation Service and consists pretty much of reading of the daily local newspapers.
Technically, for now you dont if your old set is still working fine but any set you purchase now, will be digital and you may be shortchanging yourself if you dont modernize. Let me try and explain.
HV provides analog tv signals channel 2-22 and 98 and 99 that your old tv set can tune. We also have several digital TV channels that you need a digital tv in order to decode. The benefit is that you will receive more channels than present, but also, some will be in in high definition which can be stunning in appearance.
Also, if you have Charter, you will be able to receive the current analog channels plus digital signals that include channel 2 from NY and C Span 2, both of which HV lost after the switch to digital transmission plus they have a multitude of digital tiers of channels that require an additional subscription.
Eventually, I would like to pass through all of our channels in digital format. Right now in order to do that, I would have to remove an exiting analog channel as we have no remaining space in our lineup. It is difficult for me to remove any particular channel as it seems every channel has it's fan club, but we do have redundancy in our lineup, so we may be making some minor changes soon.
When the day comes when the majority of unit owners have digital TV sets, then we can go entirely digital, not only offering more and expanded channel offerings, some with high definition, but with the reclaimed bandwidth, possibly some other services besides tv as more applications are being developed.
Also, not mentioned much so I'm not sure that most unit owners are aware, we also offer FM radio service on our MATV system. It consists mainly of FM stations that would be difficult to receive without an antenna. The complete listing would be in the Village Directory. We also carry CRIS radio, which is a service for the visually impaired. It stands for Connecticut Reading Imformation Service and consists pretty much of reading of the daily local newspapers.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
How do we receive our tv channels?
I think there is a misconception out there about where the tv channels on the village MATV system come from. Judging by the comments that I receive, a lot of residents believe that our channels 2-22, are supplied by Charter Communications.
All of the channels on our lineup, channels 2-22, 98, 99, and the FM radio lineup are received right here on the Heritage Village property through a combination of technologies.
Most of our channels are received through over the air broadcasts which we pick up via antennas on our tv tower. At it's very basic, think rabbit ears or an antenna on your roof. Instead of rabbit ears or a rooftop antenna, we have individual antennas, cut to frequency, on our 150' tower and aimed directly at the desired station, but the technology is still the same. The transmitting station broadcasts their signal over the public airwaves and we receive them here at our tower location.
Several of our channels are received from satellite dishes. C Span, Home Shopping Network and QVC, all are received with a large C Band satellite dish. C Span 2 recently switched to a new satellite and encrypted their signal preventing us from carrying that channel.
Channel 14 originates at the management office with a computer and a bank of networked DVD and VHS players. When we have a live presentation from Sarah Cooke Hall, we switch over to dedicated cable from the hall up to our tower for insertion on channel 14.
We also have three FM antennas on our tower, one for Connecticut, one for New York and also one aimed up towards Massachusetts in order to receive WFCR from Amherst. We recently lost WQXR as the station was sold to WNYC which has a low power transmitter which cannot send a signal to this area. I,ve replaced the off air signal with one originating from a computer web stream, then modulated it on a carrier and inserted on our FM lineup. Sometimes, it's problematic because of inconsistancies from the internet, but for the most part, works well. Hopefully, we can integrate more of this technology in the future.
All of these signals are received and in the case of the tv signals, are converted from digital to analog, processed and combined with the FM radio and several high definition feeds from WFSB and WLIW and sent to Charters headquarters in Newtown over fiber optic cables.
There, Charter adds their lineup including internet, telephone and digital services and sent back to HV over fiber optic cables and distributed throughout the village.
I,m always asked why we dont just run our own cable system here in the village. We have tried that, but that is another story that I will explain on a future post.
All of the channels on our lineup, channels 2-22, 98, 99, and the FM radio lineup are received right here on the Heritage Village property through a combination of technologies.
Most of our channels are received through over the air broadcasts which we pick up via antennas on our tv tower. At it's very basic, think rabbit ears or an antenna on your roof. Instead of rabbit ears or a rooftop antenna, we have individual antennas, cut to frequency, on our 150' tower and aimed directly at the desired station, but the technology is still the same. The transmitting station broadcasts their signal over the public airwaves and we receive them here at our tower location.
Several of our channels are received from satellite dishes. C Span, Home Shopping Network and QVC, all are received with a large C Band satellite dish. C Span 2 recently switched to a new satellite and encrypted their signal preventing us from carrying that channel.
Channel 14 originates at the management office with a computer and a bank of networked DVD and VHS players. When we have a live presentation from Sarah Cooke Hall, we switch over to dedicated cable from the hall up to our tower for insertion on channel 14.
We also have three FM antennas on our tower, one for Connecticut, one for New York and also one aimed up towards Massachusetts in order to receive WFCR from Amherst. We recently lost WQXR as the station was sold to WNYC which has a low power transmitter which cannot send a signal to this area. I,ve replaced the off air signal with one originating from a computer web stream, then modulated it on a carrier and inserted on our FM lineup. Sometimes, it's problematic because of inconsistancies from the internet, but for the most part, works well. Hopefully, we can integrate more of this technology in the future.
All of these signals are received and in the case of the tv signals, are converted from digital to analog, processed and combined with the FM radio and several high definition feeds from WFSB and WLIW and sent to Charters headquarters in Newtown over fiber optic cables.
There, Charter adds their lineup including internet, telephone and digital services and sent back to HV over fiber optic cables and distributed throughout the village.
I,m always asked why we dont just run our own cable system here in the village. We have tried that, but that is another story that I will explain on a future post.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
No Signal ??????????
Why do we keep losing our picture and a no signal message pops up my tv screen?
One of the biggest problems in tv reception is additional offending signals from other sources. In the old analog reception, these problems would show up as snow, lines or ghosting in the picture. With digital tv, these same problems cause the complete loss of signal.
The sources of interference are many and always a challenge as they are not necessarily constant, due to the way a radio signal propogates.
The two main problems that any tv reception facility experiences are co channel and mutipath interference.
Co channel is an undesired tv station from far away that is on the same frequency as the desired channel.
Under certain atmospheric conditions, that signal can carry very long distances. Because it is on the same frequency as the desired channel, the receiver can not differentiate between the two and locks up and generates the no signal message. This ususally occurs during the hazy summer days. In the old analog medium, we would actually receive tv stations from as far away as Florida!
What we seem to be experiencing lately is caused by multipath distortions or reflections. These reflections can be caused by a building, mountaintop, airplane, or in our recent case, I believe, the leaves are starting to bud and creating reflections. Hopefully, it will settle down soon.
A pretty good article on mutipath signal problems can be located here:
http://kh6htv.com/application-notes/tv-propagation-multi-path-effects/
One of the biggest problems in tv reception is additional offending signals from other sources. In the old analog reception, these problems would show up as snow, lines or ghosting in the picture. With digital tv, these same problems cause the complete loss of signal.
The sources of interference are many and always a challenge as they are not necessarily constant, due to the way a radio signal propogates.
The two main problems that any tv reception facility experiences are co channel and mutipath interference.
Co channel is an undesired tv station from far away that is on the same frequency as the desired channel.
Under certain atmospheric conditions, that signal can carry very long distances. Because it is on the same frequency as the desired channel, the receiver can not differentiate between the two and locks up and generates the no signal message. This ususally occurs during the hazy summer days. In the old analog medium, we would actually receive tv stations from as far away as Florida!
What we seem to be experiencing lately is caused by multipath distortions or reflections. These reflections can be caused by a building, mountaintop, airplane, or in our recent case, I believe, the leaves are starting to bud and creating reflections. Hopefully, it will settle down soon.
A pretty good article on mutipath signal problems can be located here:
http://kh6htv.com/application-notes/tv-propagation-multi-path-effects/
What happened to Channel 2 ?
On June 12, 2009 at midnight, analog transmission of television broadcasting stopped and digital transmission began.
With that change, some stations also changed the channel or frequency that they have historically used to transmit their over the air signal.
The agency that coordinated this change and granted the operating license is the FCC, ( the Federal Communications Commision ).
The FCC gave channel 2 WCBS from New York and WFSB channel 3 from Connecticut, the same transmitting frequency, channel 33. Both of these stations are CBS affiliates.
Confused yet ? Hang in there......
Southbury is in the Connecticut DMA (Designated Market Area ) of channel 3 from Hartford and their signal is much stronger than channel 2 from New York, so our receiving equipment locks onto the stronger signal, which is from Ct.
Since we were no longer able to lock onto Channel 2's off air signal, I immediatly called WCBS's engineering team to request a satellite variance, which is permission to pull their signal off of a satellite. They readily agreed,as they hate the prospect of losing all of the HV viewers, but said that by law, I had to also obtain permission from WFSB, channel 3 in Hartford, as we reside in their DMA. I called Channel 3 requesting permission and they refused, their logic being, of course, that they now have a monopoly on CBS programming.
We then approached Charter to see if they would be willing to provide channel 2 in the Village and they also refused. Charter can still receive channel 2 as they have a fiber optic line going down to Stamford where they obtain the signal from New York.
Where do we go from here?
After the analog shut off, the FCC realized that their projections would disrupt service not only for Upper Fairfield County, but also parts of Westchester County and Long Island could no longer receive channel 2 for the same reasons that we have, channel 3's signal was too strong, or channel 2's was too weak.
To try and remedy that, WCBS, New York has received permission from the FCC to increase their operating power from New York, which they hope to do soon.
They also have received permission to install a low power transmitter down on Long Island on WLIW's tower, trying to fill holes in their coverage pattern. My hope is that when this happens,, we will once agin be able to lock onto the signal from WCBS.
Speaking with the Engineering team from New York last week, they told me that they were in the process of budgeting for this new tower and hoped to have it installed this spring.
Whenever I talk with the New York engineers, they are pretty surprised that we can receive any of the signals from New York due to our distance and the inconsistancy of over the air digital transmission. We do have a good facility and state of the art equipment which helps overcome most problems, but sometimes atmospheric conditions will cause some problems, especially, seasonally. But more on that in another post.
Jeff
With that change, some stations also changed the channel or frequency that they have historically used to transmit their over the air signal.
The agency that coordinated this change and granted the operating license is the FCC, ( the Federal Communications Commision ).
The FCC gave channel 2 WCBS from New York and WFSB channel 3 from Connecticut, the same transmitting frequency, channel 33. Both of these stations are CBS affiliates.
Confused yet ? Hang in there......
Southbury is in the Connecticut DMA (Designated Market Area ) of channel 3 from Hartford and their signal is much stronger than channel 2 from New York, so our receiving equipment locks onto the stronger signal, which is from Ct.
Since we were no longer able to lock onto Channel 2's off air signal, I immediatly called WCBS's engineering team to request a satellite variance, which is permission to pull their signal off of a satellite. They readily agreed,as they hate the prospect of losing all of the HV viewers, but said that by law, I had to also obtain permission from WFSB, channel 3 in Hartford, as we reside in their DMA. I called Channel 3 requesting permission and they refused, their logic being, of course, that they now have a monopoly on CBS programming.
We then approached Charter to see if they would be willing to provide channel 2 in the Village and they also refused. Charter can still receive channel 2 as they have a fiber optic line going down to Stamford where they obtain the signal from New York.
Where do we go from here?
After the analog shut off, the FCC realized that their projections would disrupt service not only for Upper Fairfield County, but also parts of Westchester County and Long Island could no longer receive channel 2 for the same reasons that we have, channel 3's signal was too strong, or channel 2's was too weak.
To try and remedy that, WCBS, New York has received permission from the FCC to increase their operating power from New York, which they hope to do soon.
They also have received permission to install a low power transmitter down on Long Island on WLIW's tower, trying to fill holes in their coverage pattern. My hope is that when this happens,, we will once agin be able to lock onto the signal from WCBS.
Speaking with the Engineering team from New York last week, they told me that they were in the process of budgeting for this new tower and hoped to have it installed this spring.
Whenever I talk with the New York engineers, they are pretty surprised that we can receive any of the signals from New York due to our distance and the inconsistancy of over the air digital transmission. We do have a good facility and state of the art equipment which helps overcome most problems, but sometimes atmospheric conditions will cause some problems, especially, seasonally. But more on that in another post.
Jeff
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Cleaning up the tower.
This week, we have been working on the tv tower. Besides the annual safety inspection that includes checking plumb and tension, we check for any rusted support members or guy wires or any structural defects or damage. A couple of surprises have been revealed so far, but nothing structurally serious.
In addition to the inspection, we have been installing several new antennas, replacing and removing old cables and obsolete antennas, reorienting antennas and retuning amplifiers that may have shifted some since last year.
During this work, you may notice momentary disruptions in the picture. Please try and bear with us as the goal is to improve and stabilize our abilty to receive consistant tv signals and the work is neccessary.
Thanks,
Jeff
In addition to the inspection, we have been installing several new antennas, replacing and removing old cables and obsolete antennas, reorienting antennas and retuning amplifiers that may have shifted some since last year.
During this work, you may notice momentary disruptions in the picture. Please try and bear with us as the goal is to improve and stabilize our abilty to receive consistant tv signals and the work is neccessary.
Thanks,
Jeff
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Google Experiment
Google is going to be running an experiment to provide fiber optic cable systems to selected communities around the country.
Fiber would provide the fastest internet, video, security and many as yet undeveloped applications.
Please take the time to look at the Google Web link and accomanying video and nominate Heritage Village.
Thanks,
Jeff
http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/
Fiber would provide the fastest internet, video, security and many as yet undeveloped applications.
Please take the time to look at the Google Web link and accomanying video and nominate Heritage Village.
Thanks,
Jeff
http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/
Friday, January 29, 2010
WQXR problems
As most dedicated WQXR listeners are aware, WQXR was recently sold to WNYC in New York.
As part of the sale WQXR sold their license and transmitter and jumped onto the WNYC transmitter which transmits a much lower power than before and on the same frequency as a full power Connecticut station at 105.9 mhz.
As a consequence, their signal no longer travels up to our area.
In an attempt to keep the signal from WQXR still on our FM lineup, I am now receiving a web stream from WQXR's website instead of the off air broadcast signal.
This can be problematic at times due to the inconsistancies with the internet and streaming technologies.
I do check it several times a day to make sure it is still playing, but occasionally the signal will be off until we can reboot the equipment and reaquire the signal.
I will be on vacation this week, but I do have the ability to monitor the system remotely and will be checking it periodically.
As part of the sale WQXR sold their license and transmitter and jumped onto the WNYC transmitter which transmits a much lower power than before and on the same frequency as a full power Connecticut station at 105.9 mhz.
As a consequence, their signal no longer travels up to our area.
In an attempt to keep the signal from WQXR still on our FM lineup, I am now receiving a web stream from WQXR's website instead of the off air broadcast signal.
This can be problematic at times due to the inconsistancies with the internet and streaming technologies.
I do check it several times a day to make sure it is still playing, but occasionally the signal will be off until we can reboot the equipment and reaquire the signal.
I will be on vacation this week, but I do have the ability to monitor the system remotely and will be checking it periodically.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Speaking at monthly Condo Board meetings
I recently had the privilege of speaking at the monthly meeting of Condo 19. I look forward to these events as it gives me a better understanding of resident concerns or questions and is hopefully informative for the residents.
It enables me to explain the operation of our MATV system, it's history, it's limitations and exactly what governs it's operation.
Hopefully, it was informative for the residents of Condo 19 too. If you would like me to come to your condo to speak, please drop me an email here or leave me a message at the Resident Service Center.
It enables me to explain the operation of our MATV system, it's history, it's limitations and exactly what governs it's operation.
Hopefully, it was informative for the residents of Condo 19 too. If you would like me to come to your condo to speak, please drop me an email here or leave me a message at the Resident Service Center.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)