Thursday, April 2, 2009

DTV... Can you help...?

Here's the one big DTV question we hear most often:
I can receive all the San Antonio DTV stations except KLRN. Why?

Of all the possibile reasons, this is the most common cause of "failure to receive" -- the wrong antenna. KLRN-DT is (for now) the only DTV station in San Antonio broadcasting in the VHF band -- the commercial stations are all using the UHF band for their DTV transmissions -- for now. Many of the so-called "HDTV" antennas are UHF-only, having little or no ability to receive VHF channels.

If you have trouble receiving our signal -- which is operating at the maximum power level assigned by the FCC for our coverage area -- you need an all-band (VHF&UHF) antenna and to meet the FCC's coverage predictions, your antenna should be outside, mounted on a 30' mast. Obviously this is not possible for many people who live in multifamily housing or in places with antenna restrictions, but that is the hand that was dealt us.

If you have DTV reception difficulties or know someone who does, please share this information. We believe that the FCC's coverage prediction methodology is flawed but we also know that with the right antenna, KLRN-DT provides reliable broadcast coverage and a diverse programming service. We can't make house calls, but would love to help you or your friends and family members solve any DTV reception issues.

The link under the title is to our DTV Information pages. There's good stuff there.

Charles

6 comments:

  1. What kind of indoor or outdoor antenna are people in San Antonio using to get PBS? I've tried getting it with different antennas (indoor ones because I can't have an outdoor antenna in my apt. complex) and I haven't ever even gotten close to receiving it?

    Just wondering what's working for people. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for your note. We've posted lots of tips about antenna reception on our web site at:
    http://www.klrn.org/dtv/

    The gist of it is making sure your antenna can receive both UHF AND VHF signals. We've found plain ol' rabbit ears can sometimes work the best.

    Drop us a note at dtv@klrn.org if the information on the web site doesn't help.

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am extremely frustrated with KLRN. Since the digital switch we have been unable to receive a signal. Then KLRN doubles it signal and we finally can get PBS! Which we love. It comes in strong and clear and then without notice or cause it is totally unavailable again. It can't be our anntenna because we get a signal. IN the evenings it is gone...randomly. We rescan, we turn off other TV's because too many TV's corrupts the signal or something. We really wanted to watch this evening and now it is gone. I could never support a program that is so spotty, and we really would support KLRN if we could just get it consistantly. I don't understand why KLRN turns the signal up and down at will. And we are only 30 miles from SA. Before the switch we watched all the time, and it is so sad that we can no longer have a consistent signal.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you R. Crowe. We need feedback like yours. If you tell us a bit more information about your situation, we can offer guidance. Please let us know where you are located, what type of structure you live in (yes, amazingly, this does matter) and what type of antenna you are using. If you want to take the conversation "off line" feel free to call us at 210.270.9000 and ask for DTV Help...or you can respond here. Either way. Thanks again for reaching out to us. Together, we will figure this out.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have never been able to hear sound on your Create channel ( 9-4 ) and recently I have lost sound on your World channel ( 9-2 ). I noticed that both do not display Dolby-D on the signal intensity / quality display box. I am using the ZRC-4502 converter and use an HDTV indoor / outdoor antenna. This is now an unbearable situation, because World and KLRN ( 9-1 ) are the only two channels that I watch on TV

    ReplyDelete
  6. ANONYMOUS: If you contact KLRN and speak to the Engineering Department, they will be able to help you troubleshoot. Please call 210.270.9000 and ask for Pete or Ted. Or you can send an e-mail to dtv@klrn.org and we can continue the dialogue with you until we solve the problem. We look forward to hearing back from you.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for your comment about this post. Your comment has been submitted for review.