Local Digital Television Websites: A Sorry State of Affairs

The DTV transition in Humboldt County, California is so low-key, that you wouldn’t even know it was happening, if you relied upon news from the websites of local digital television broadcasters, that is. To put it mildly, web sites belonging to local digital (and analog) television stations in Northern California are nearly all but useless, [...]

Why Your TV Reception Sucks…

FCC rules discourage local television broadcasters from providing quality TV signal reception, forcing most to use expensive cable & satellite TV providers. Eureka, CA, February 24, 2009 – I was perusing KIEM-TV’s website earlier tonight when I ran across an interesting link to their policy on granting waivers to satellite television viewers (specifically DirecTV viewers) [...]

No HDTV? No Problem…

Eureka, CA, Feb 18, 2009 – Few things in life are free, to be sure. That especially is the case when it comes to HDTV programming. In rural areas like Humboldt County, where few (if any) local TV stations can afford the luxury of broadcasting signals in HDTV, the only real way to get HDTV [...]

Rural TV Viewers May Soon Be In The Dark

As we expected, TV viewers in rural parts of Humboldt County may very well be left in the dark after the switch is made to digital television (DTV) in February 2009. The Times-Standard reported this week that viewers in the Orleans area may lose access to KIEM-TV, the area’s only NBC affiliate, when analog transmissions cease and DTV is made mandatory. The problem? Reception in that area is currently only available via a low-powered analog translator, which relies upon solar power and batteries to broadcast a signal. The only way to keep translator service available would be for the station to install a new DTV translator or convert the station’s main signal from digital back to analog in order to be rebroadcast. The station’s current solar system does not produce enough electricity for either option though.

DirecTV Disables HDTV DVRs and Receivers. Oops!

DirecTV accidentally turns subscriber HD DVRs and receivers into zombies. HDTV subscribers must reset receivers in able to view digital HD programming. Official announcement from DirecTV to customers on HD DVR problem and how to fix it.

List of LPTV Stations and Translators

A list of translators and low-power (LPTV) television stations in Northern California. Includes TV channels for digital and analog TV broadcasters.

Review: DirecTV HDTV Video On Demand Service

Review of DirecTV’s new Video On Demand (VOD) service, available to DirecTV customers with HDTV satellite TV and DVR receivers. Downloads using broadband.

Updates, updates…

We now include information on HDTV programming available from satellite providers and cable television.

Choosing An Antenna For DTV

AntennaWeb.Org has a nifty feature that will calculate (roughly) what type of antenna you will need in order to watch digital television.

DTV Terms and Definitions

Custom Search AACS – Advanced Access Control System. A computer specification for guarding next-generation optical-media content created by the film, electronics, and software industries. AC-3 – (see Dolby Digital 5.1) Aliasing – Jaggedness that appears at diagonal edges of objects in a pixel or raster image. De-aliasing (anti-aliasing) is a smoothing of the jagged edges [...]

Signal Availability On ETG HDTV Stations

Eureka Television Group (ETV), the broadcasting conglomerate that currently owns five television stations in the Eureka, California, market, recently posted information on the accessibility of their signals via broadcast, cable and satellite television. This includes VHF, UHF, UHF-LPTV and Digital or HDTV.

Humboldt County HDTV

HDTV Is On The Way HDTV and DTV service is coming soon to a television set near you, even if you live in Humboldt County. In February of 2009, most broadcasters across the county will be changing the frequencies that they currently broadcast at and start transmitting their signals in an all-digital format called DTV [...]