WKRC Using My Weather Authority to give info

WKRC-TV 12/Cincinnati is using their My Weather Authority service to help people rescan on their converter boxes.

Below is the email just auto-sent to MWA subscribers - usually it isn't all caps, but today it is...

MANY TRI-STATE TELEVISION STATIONS INCLUDING LOCAL 12 HAVE NOW SWITCHED OFF THEIR ANALOG TRANSMITTERS TO COMPLY WITH NEW FEDERAL REGULATIONS.

IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE HAVING DIFFICULTY PICKING UP A LOCAL TELEVISION STATION OR STATIONS CHANCES ARE THEY ARE HAVING TROUBLE WITH A NEW DIGITAL TELEVISION OR A CONVERTER BOX.

IF THEY HAVE THIS EQUIPMENT THEY MUST PERFORM A CHANNEL RESCAN ON THE CONVERTER BOX OR THEIR DIGITAL TELEVISION.

HERE ARE THE 5 STEPS INVOLVED:

1) WITH THE TV AND CONVERTER BOX ON PRESS "MENU" ON THE REMOTE CONTROL.

2) ON THE SCREEN LOCATE THE WORDS "AUTO SCAN".

3) USE THE ARROW BUTTONS ON THE REMOTE TO SELECT "AUTO SCAN". WHEN IT CHANGES COLOR PRESS "SELECT" OR "ENTER".

4) RELAX WHILE THE TV OR CONVERTER BOX MARCHES THROUGH ALL THE POSSIBLE CHANNELS AND LOCKS IN THE ONES IT CAN RECEIVE AND STORES THEM.

5) IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO GET ALL OF YOUR FAVORITES STATION TRY TO REPOSITION YOUR ANTENNA FOLLOW THE RESCAN STEPS ONCE AGAIN.

IF PROBLEMS PERSIST CALL LOCAL 12 AT (513) 763-5500 OR THE FCC AT 888-CALL-FCC.

There you have it...

UPDATE On WKRC-DT

Quickly, an update...

While the WKRC-DT signal still comes in great via Insight...

CSPAN2 which is camped out on Insight 12, does not. This might be an issue on only my television, but...if anyone is using Insight's BASIC Cable (1-99), and cable 12 is a snowy picture, let us know.

UPDATE on WKRC-TV, Plus the WXIX Transition Post later...

UPDATE 6:33 AM: WXIX-TV 19/Newport switched over right at 6 AM. Again, Insight Cable made the switch with no problem in Northern Kentucky.

WKRC-TV is now in digital as well. We heard them fire up the new signal from the RF 12 transmitter just before 4:00 AM.

The last station to go digital-only will be WLWT-TV 5/Cincinnati at 11:59 PM tonight...

The original item is below.

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We can't get away...

We have a report, via the AVS Forum, that at least one DirectTV user can get WKRC-TV 12 following it's termination of the over-the-air analog AND digital signals just after 1:30 AM. This was as of 3:11 AM.

As of 3:20 AM, however, the WKRC DT signal is still not yet available to us here at TSMW HQ using our Insight service.

Coming up in a couple hours: an update to the WKRC situation and, if we wake up in time, a play-by-play of the WXIX transition which is scheduled for 6:00 AM...we had to do an update to the TSDTW/TSMW Laptop...

Watching and waiting for WCPO and WKRC's shutoffs...

We will be providing Play-by-Play of the DTV Switchover...

12:20 AM: Almost immediately, WCPO-TV began running a crawl on the bottom of the screen, and the lead story of their now-12:25 AM newscast is the DTV switch.

12:23 AM: WCPO GM Bill Fee is live at the newsdesk with Clyde Gray, talking about the switchover.

12:27 AM: We find it hard to believe that WCPO would only spend about 3 minutes on the DTV switch. Expect a few more stories during the newscast...

12:32 AM: A promo spot for Good Morning Tri-State just ran, they promise more information tomorrow morning.

12:40 AM: We now anticipate the switchover to occur around 12:50-12:55 AM.

1:17 AM: We have recorded what happened here at the TSMW HQ...which is to say, Insight did their jobs! They turned the analog off, which had been causing interference on Insight 9's RETV channel, and WCPO's signal came in crystal clear on cable channel 8.

1:30 AM: WKRC-TV 12 about to go off air. Remember, they have to flash-cut from RF 31 to RF 12 for their digital side...so they will leave the air entirely. Not clear if this affects the cable side of things...we would assume not, seeing as we believe, as in the case of WCPO, cable subscribers in most areas would be fed via a link from a head-end at the studios on Mt. Auburn. We'll see in the next 3 minutes...

1:36 AM: Indeed, WKRC's ANALOG signal is now off. As happened with WCPO...the shutdown of the analog side of things stopped interference on the Insight end...this time, it was analog 12 interfering with CSPAN 2 on Insight Cable channel 12. Still looking to see if WKRC digital signal goes offline...and if it affects the cable folks...we suspect it will affect satellite, as those folks would get the signal over-the-air.

1:4o AM: WKRC's digital side now also off air. Expected to return to service by 5:00 AM.

2:10 AM: Quick update regarding the WKRC/CSPAN 2 situation for NKY Insight Cable subscribers...we had a query about whether a DT signal at RF 12 would cause Insight interference on what just became a clear picture on Insight 12.

I made a call to the DTV Phone Bank at WCPO to ask this very question (now you won't need to). The answer is no - and it turns out because of the headend connection - but I had the location of the headend wrong. That location is somewhere along KY 16 in Kenton County, and it serves Insight Cable customers. We assume the headend also serves the other digital channels, such as RF 10 for the now DT-only WCPO, RF 35 for WLWT, and RF 29 for WXIX.

We are now going to suspend operations for a few hours, catch a nap, and try to make it back to chronicle the WXIX transition in a separate posting, as well as catch up on the WKRC DTV flash-cut. The original posting is below...

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We here at TSDTW can't believe it is finally here...

The DTV switchover day is just under 1 hour away, and the first switchover will be at least 30 minutes after that when WCPO-TV/Cincinnati switches off analog 9 and goes to a digital only broadcast on RF 10.

Then at 1:30 AM, WKRC-TV/Cincinnati goes off the air entirely to facilitate both the dumping of analog 12, and the switchover from RF 31 to RF 12 for its digital side. This is expected to take between 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 hours.

We will be awake and online for both switchovers, and will post as we see them taking place...

Free Converters at Freestore FoodBank Tomorrow for Those in Need

Freestore Foodbank announced, via the Kiese Blog, that they will have 250 DTV converter boxes to distribute, free to those in need, while supplies last beginning at 8 AM tomorrow.

Those who wish to obtain a converter must bring proof of address and income and a photo ID when they come to the Freestore HQ at 112 West Liberty Street in Over-The-Rhine.

Freestore received the converters through Arthur Middletown Capital Holdings, which distributed 2,500 statewide in Ohio, as part of a larger shipment to Freestore of 1,000. The Foodbank says that the other 750 are being distributed to clients in other programs, as well as through other member agencies.

BREAKING: WCPO To Delay Shutoff Until AFTER Tonight's Finals Game; WKRC to go 1/2 Hour Earlier.

CLARIFICATION 11:19 PM: We need to clarify about the phone bank information we originally posted.

It now appears WKRC-TV will take advantage of the fact WCPO plans to host a phone bank, and will help staff that, instead of having its own.

The original item is below the list of numbers in the update section.

UPDATED: Here's a few numbers for tomorrow, if you still need help:

WCPO Phone Bank (Being staffed from Midnight tonight - 6:30 PM Saturday): 513-749-9400
FCC DTV Hotline 1-800-CALL-FCC (1-800-225-5322) or DTV.gov. Also get help with installation, via contractors.

For help with installation of a converter:

Council on Aging for SW Ohio: 513-345-8643, or their website. They're offering a hot line and in-home help for Hamilton County older adults.
Ohio Get Converted: 1-888-277-0486, or Ohiogetconverted. Call for information about digital TV help clinics around town through July 31.

We just received word, via the Kiese Blog, that WCPO-TV/DT 9 (RF 10) will NOT shut off their analog signal right at the stroke of 12:01 AM tonight, as originally planned.

Tuesday night's NBA Finals game was the deciding factor in the change in plans. WCPO will instead wait until after the post-game newscast to pull the plug.

Also, the same entry reports that WKRC-TV/DT 12 (RF 31 Now/12 Post-Transition) is now moving its shutoff of analog - the other way from the WCPO shutoff.

They're now planning to shut their analog off at 1:30 AM, near the end or just after the "Late Late Show". WKRC's signal will be totally off the air after that until between 4-5 AM, at which point the new WKRC digital signal should sign on.

All the other times are unchanged from our post the other day...

We also have word that WCPO will staff a DTV phone bank beginning at midnight; WXIX will assist them. WKRC will run its own phone bank beginning in the morning, and WLWT will have its switchboard up and staffed throughout the weekend.

Readiness Update: 2.45 percent nationally, ONLY 2.15 percent here!

Nielsen released the results of its latest DTV Readiness survey yesterday, and they are surprising! (And not in a bad way, necessarily.)

Nationwide, just about 2.45 percent, or roughly 2.8 million households are not ready for the switch that happens...hold on let us check...TOMORROW.

According to the survey:

Among the 56 local markets that Nielsen measures with electronic meters, the one that is least ready is Albuquerque-Santa Fe, with 7.6% of the households completely unready. Television homes in Providence-New Bedford, where area television stations previously made the transition to digital, are 100% ready.

And as for the markets we cover here at Tri-State Media Watch and Tri-State DTV Watch?

In Cincinnati, just 2.15%, or 19,685 homes, are not ready for tomorrow's switch. That's below the nationwide percentage by .30%.

In Dayton, that number is 2.51%, or 12,143 homes.

And at Louisville, the number is 17,148 homes, or 2.57%. There is no data for Lexington.