Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeffhs
I am not sure what the analog TV stations here in the Cleveland area will do on 02.17.  Haven't heard or read anything yet as to early analog shutoffs, although the NBC affiliate will switch from analog channel 3 to digital UHF 17 after a non-commercial station on the latter channel goes off the air after the transition.
BTW, there really isn't that much to be gained in northeastern Ohio by having a converter box and getting TV reception on an antenna. The pictures on the local stations' main digital channels will be clearer, but as far as more programming choices on subchannels goes, I don't know. Cleveland's TV stations do not seem to want to put alternate programming on their digital subcarriers; most of what I see from TV Guide's website for Cleveland TV (the listing you get when you enter your zip code into a text box on the site) is that the digital subchannels carry the same programming as the main digital signal. For example, if channel 17.1 in Cleveland (the station's main digital channel) is carrying the station's standard network and local programming, digital subchannel 17.2 will probably carry the same thing. For some reason, TV stations in this part of Ohio either do not want to or are, for whatever reason, blocked from carrying alternate programming on digital subchannels. The only exceptions I've seen to this, so far, have been that the CBS-TV digital weather channel is now being carried on a subchannel of the local CBS affiliate, and NBC Weather Plus, a now defunct digital weather channel, which was carried on a subchannel of the NBC affiliate until the service went dark on December 31 last year.
Other than that, there is really no alternative programming to be had (that I am aware of) in northeastern Ohio on digital TV subchannels. Channel 5, the ABC affiliate in Cleveland, from what I have read, apparently doesn't believe in carrying subchannel programming; I don't think the others do either, except for the CBS affiliate's use of one of its subcarriers for the CBS digital weather channel, and channel 3 having used one of its digital channels for NBC Weather Plus until that service went dark.
Oh, well. All one can hope is that one of the channels picks up THIS-TV (RTN is either off the air for good or is struggling at this time, from what I've read; perhaps NowhereMan1966 will chime in and tell us more about whether RTN is at least available on the digital subcarriers of channel 11 in Pittsburgh) or any one of several other channels now available for retransmission over subchannels after the dust settles from the transition. |
You rang?!
Well, here in Pittsburgh, we still have RTN, but it is on 11.2 instead of 11.3 since NBC Weather kicked the bucket so RTN is still going strong here, Mom's watching it now. RTN always impressed me as a shoestring operation, I should e-mail them and tell them they have fans out here. KDKA-TV, channel 2 (25 UHF DTV) only broadcasts the main signal, no subchannels, I'd like them to put CW on a subchannel although CW will have it's own DTV station. WTAE-TV, channel 4 has weather on 4.2 so I use that instead of NBC Weather. We have three PBS channels a HDTV one, the main programming one and a subchannel featuring locally made documentaries.
Nearby markets, Steubenville, Ohio, 9.1 is NBC, 9.2 is RTN and 9.3 is weather radar. Wheeling, WV, WTRF, 7.1 is CBS, 7.2 is Fox and 7.3 is ABC, down there, ABC is hard to get since channel 4's analogue signal is tough to get, in fact, the digital one is easier to get usually. Johnstown, channel 6, WJAC also carries RTN as well. I can't get the Steubenville or Wheeling stations too well until they go back to their VHF channels, so I'll get a second RTN station.
02-04-2009, 09:16 PM
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