hr20 pickup ota in canada

[FUCCO]

I have the hr20. When i scan for ota it wants my zip code. It picks up my locals just fine. However i am trying to pickup cbc (cblt) channel 20.1 from canada. Anyone know how to do this? There is no 5 digit numeric zip code for canada. I found a zip code in utica ny for a channel 20.1 and put that in. Will it then pick up thee cbc signal with that?

[buzd]

You probably just have to test it and find out. Entering the zipcode doesn't affect which channels you can get - just which ones show up in the guide. If your HDTV has it's own tuner, I would hook the antenna directly into that to ensure that you *can* receive the signal. If so, then you can experiment with zip codes until you find one that has it listed. There may also be a way to manually add stations, I don't know.

[texasbrit]

Originally Posted by FUCCO

I have the hr20. When i scan for ota it wants my zip code. It picks up my locals just fine. However i am trying to pickup cbc (cblt) channel 20.1 from canada. Anyone know how to do this? There is no 5 digit numeric zip code for canada. I found a zip code in utica ny for a channel 20.1 and put that in. Will it then pick up thee cbc signal with that?

Your idea is the right one but you have to find a station with the right ACTUAL frequency. CBLT broadcasts on UHF channel 20. The station WUTR in Utica is 20.1 but transmits on UHF channel 30 so it won't work. You need a zip with a station that transmits on UHF channel 20.

I found KTBY in Anchorage, WYLE in Florence, AL , WMPV in Mobile, AL, but there are many, many more. It should work (it works for Mexican digital stations) but please post back and tell us!

[buzd]

zip 68131 KETV-DT omaha appears to broadcast HD on UHF 20. You might try that.

[FUCCO]

i am looking for the hd feed which i beleive has a .1 after the channel. Correct me if i am wrong!!

[buzd]

Originally Posted by FUCCO

i am looking for the hd feed which i beleive has a .1 after the channel. Correct me if i am wrong!!

AFAIK, the .1 is just a way to label the channel so that it appears on the "dial" (guide) as a subsidary of the regular analog channel. It doesn't have any relation to the UHF band that it actually broadcasts on. If it's 20.1, that should mean that it's SD equivalent is Ch 20, and it's broadcasting over some other UHF band.

[FUCCO]

thanks for the info. All channels i found on the ota guide using multiple zip codes all had a .1 or .2 so on after them. I found a channel 20.1 that i beleive cbc broadcasts the hd on. I think i just need a better antenna. I am 60 miles away from the tower and people i spoke with in the area are 50/50 on picking up the signal.

[BrianO]

Originally Posted by buzd

AFAIK, the .1 is just a way to label the channel so that it appears on the "dial" (guide) as a subsidary of the regular analog channel. It doesn't have any relation to the UHF band that it actually broadcasts on. If it's 20.1, that should mean that it's SD equivalent is Ch 20, and it's broadcasting over some other UHF band.

Not necessarily. From a technical standpoint, the major channel number in a virtual channel number does not have to be the same as the analogue channel number. In fact, it does not even have to agree with the physical channel that the signal is being broadcast on. It depends on how the station is using PSIP's VCT (Virtual Channel Table), if they are using it at all. It was only in October 2004 that the FCC mandated that all stations must use the VCT and must use thier analogue channel number as the major channel number. Prior to October 2004 many stations were using the actual physical channel number as the major channel number and had to change.

As for CBLT in Toronto, FCC rules do not apply because it is a Canadian station and the CRTC has not yet mandated the use of the VCT. However, I believe CBC is using the VCT to define their analogue channel number as the major channel number. CBLT broadcasts on channel 5 for analogue and channel 20 for digital. If CBLT has not already been picked up in a setup scan, you must enter 20.1 to receive it. After a channel scan has been done and it has been successfully added to your channel list, it can be accessed by entering either 5.1 or 20.n where the value of n depends on how the station coded their VCT info and how your tuner handles it.

[HDTVFreak]

Originally Posted by FUCCO

I have the hr20. When i scan for ota it wants my zip code. It picks up my locals just fine. However i am trying to pickup cbc (cblt) channel 20.1 from canada. Anyone know how to do this? There is no 5 digit numeric zip code for canada. I found a zip code in utica ny for a channel 20.1 and put that in. Will it then pick up thee cbc signal with that?

How are you able to get Canadian channel? I'm much closer to the Canadian border than you are and have tried numerous times to find a Canadian channel and have found none. My zips (two residences) are 13601 and 13622. Are you actually right in Utica or further north?

[FUCCO]

i am in cheektowaga. on the hr20 i use my zip code 14227 for primary and 13501 utica ny for a secondart. By using 13501 it will put in the guide channel 20.1 which is wutr in utica. However since cbc broadcasts the same u will pick up that in its place. The program guide will no be correct but at least u have the channel. The problem is i have to get a antenna to pick up the signal. think of it as a fm radio in ur car. IF u put on jack 92.9 and drive down the tway u wil eventyually lost the siganl. If u keep driving u will eventually start to pick up some other radio station broadcasting at 92.9. Same theory

[texasbrit]

Originally Posted by FUCCO

i am in cheektowaga. on the hr20 i use my zip code 14227 for primary and 13501 utica ny for a secondart. By using 13501 it will put in the guide channel 20.1 which is wutr in utica. However since cbc broadcasts the same u will pick up that in its place. The program guide will no be correct but at least u have the channel. The problem is i have to get a antenna to pick up the signal. think of it as a fm radio in ur car. IF u put on jack 92.9 and drive down the tway u wil eventyually lost the siganl. If u keep driving u will eventually start to pick up some other radio station broadcasting at 92.9. Same theory

20.1 in Utica does NOT transmit on the same channel as CBC. Forget the .1, it's not relevant. 20.1 in Utica transmits on UHF channel 30. CBC broadcasts on UHF channel 20. You need a station that broadcasts on UHF channel 20, it does not matter what its "virtual" channel is, except that is the way it will appear in your guide.

[FUCCO]

i found kiku in honolulu hi zip 96813 transmits on uhf 20. Will this work??

[texasbrit]

Originally Posted by FUCCO

i found kiku in honolulu hi zip 96813 transmits on uhf 20. Will this work??

Probably. There are some other stations already mentioned in posts - KETV in Omaha, WYLE in Florence, WMPV in Mobile.

If the Canadian station is putting the PSIP VCT data in the signal to map to channel 5 (as described by an earlier poster) then none of these other stations may work, because the PSIP transmitted by the canadian station won't match the PSIP the Hr20 is expecting for the Omaha etc stations. It works OK in San Diego for the Mexican stations because they don't transmit PSIP VCT. Just try it and report back.

[joetoronto]

Originally Posted by FUCCO

i found kiku in honolulu hi zip 96813 transmits on uhf 20. Will this work??

Awesome, I tried this zip code and now I get all the Toronto HD channels.

Thanks for the info, FUCCO.