Digital Dialog

KHET Transmitter Power Upgrade Postponed

What can I say...the increase in power for our Honolulu transmitter was scheduled for the end of September, but has been postponed due to FCC licensing concerns.  PBS Hawaii applied for a power increase in July and usually these applications are granted quickly, but due to a FCC monitoring station located nearby, more studies had to be conducted and several agencies of the FCC have to approve the application before it can be granted.  So the upgrade to our transmitter has been postponed to early December...pending approval from the FCC.

CAUTION: SLIPPERY ROAD AHEAD - PBS HAWAII IS MAKING IMPROVEMENTS

CAUTION: SLIPPERY ROAD AHEAD - PBS HAWAII IS MAKING IMPROVEMENTS

UPDATED - Sept 18 - 10:20 AM

Beware: Program Schedule Changes

Our upcoming upgrade to our Master Control System will be very demanding and while we know this upgrade will very possibly inconvenience our viewers, the work is necessary to make improvements in the way we deliver programming to you.

PROGRAM SCHEDULE CHANGES OCTOBER 26 – NOVEMBER 2

The PBS Hawaii automated master control center is really the operational “heart” of our television station. This is the area that never rests – taking in satellite feeds, upconverting, downcoverting, ingesting programming content and delivering your favorite shows to your home. It’s more complicated today with multiple channels and now multiple platforms for Standard Definition and High Definition broadcast delivery. We are upgrading our operation so that we can better manage and deliver these multiple streams of content.

We’ve very pleased to tell you that this “heart” of our operation is about to go through an extensive upgrade -- let’s call it a heart transplant. This is a major undertaking that only a handful of PBS stations across the country will attempt. In another market, the station just signed off the air until work was completed. PBS Hawaii has decided to stay on the air and limit the amount of inconvenience to our viewers as much as possible.

Our program schedule from October 26 through November 2 will be impacted. We’ve had to rearrange programming and in some cases temporarily take a program such as BBC World News off the schedule. This particular week the resources we normally use to bring you your favorite PBS Hawaii shows will not be available to us while this “operation” is underway.

We thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. We know this year has been a challenge for all of us. It all began with the national DTV transition and now we are in the final stages of work related to this milestone in broadcasting.

Slowly gaining momentum...

This summer has been one of planning...planning for:

* digital translator installation at Ninole;

* digital translator installation at Kulani Cone;

* digital translator installation at Naalehu;

* digital translator installation at South Point;

* conversion of a wireless station to be a digital translator at Mauna Loa;

* ordering equipment for six sites for the digital transition on Kauai;

* digital power upgrade for KHET;

* tower reinforcements for all licensees of the Palehua site;

* upgrade of our Master Control to full-time HD;

Even though all these projects started out being spaced properly...they are now starting to converge into November and December...so there goes the holidays for me...

Finally...another post

OMG...it has been a busy past few weeks!

We completed the Hilo digital installation in early June.  Though I have heard from but a few of the people who complained about us not being in digital as the other stations (low power stations such as our Hilo translator are not mandated by the FCC to be broadcasting digitally), I know that we are reaching many areas better than we were with analog...however there are areas that are not getting as good a digital signal as it should and one of those areas is where my next translator is located...Kulani Cone.  This low signal level is creating broken up pictures or no pictures at all for Naalehu and South Point viewers.  I continue to investigate why, but it may take some time to address.

Soon after, I was in Maui for our power upgrade.  We literally doubled our power output beginning on July 1.  This should give more viewers a better chance of receiving a signal.  Let me know...

Next...my power upgrade for KHET...

Hilo...we're almost there...

As I write this, riggers are climbing my tower and finalizing the interconnections between the antenna panels (eight of them) and the transmission line.  Once completed, a test of the antenna and if all goes well there we'll finally be done with the Hilo installation and up to full power and allotted coverage.  It sounds easy, but it will take us until late this afternoon to accomplish...so all you digital viewers, be ready to rescan your digital TV sets or converter boxes...

It's a Brand New World...

I am happy to announce that the way we have been broadcasting some shows (a picture surrounded by black bars) has been addressed by the television community and now we will be able to automatically broadcast shows the way the producers of the show meant it to be viewed.  What?

A few posts ago I mentioned AFD, or Automatic Format Descriptor, data embedded in the video signal that tells other devices how to present a picture on your screen...or in this case what format we at the station should record the show.

What this means is the end to the dreaded "postage stamp" video we have been showing on our channel since February.  Though it may take some time to purge all the shows that have been recorded this way prior to this change, we are on the way to giving you the picture the way it is meant to be shown.  I expect some ironing out of the system to occur in the next week or so, but it's a start!

Now for that pesky audio problem...you're next!

It's gettin' hot in here...

Okay, now that I'm back in an air conditioned room I can tell you all about the Hilo digital installation.  We actually began broadcasting on Ch. 28, in digital, on Tuesday (5/26) afternoon, albeit temporarily on a partial antenna and at a lower power.

This morning around 11AM we completed the changeover at Kulani Cone to receive the Hilo Ch. 28 signal, where in years past we had a Ch. 4 receive system, and added a digital-to-analog converter so that Naalehu and South Point could continue to broadcast in analog.

On Wednesday (6/3) we will complete the installation of the Hilo digital system, so please rescan your digital converter boxes or TVs that afternoon.

It's not only hot and humid here in Hilo...

...but it has become a challenge to get the digital antenna installed where the old analog antenna was..we are way beyond the point of no return (to analog) and must make new adapters to mount the digital antenna.  I hope to get some kind of signal up by tomorrow, but it looks like the final configuration won't happen until Monday or Tuesday.

Digital Updates

Its been a while since I have posted anything new here and that is exactly why I haven't posted...because there is not much to tell you.

The biggest news (which is in the blog entry below) is that weather pending, Hilo will be upgraded to digital transmissions beginning May 28.  The schedule still stands.  Mid-morning on May 26th, we'll shutdown the analog signal to install the digital antenna.  This shutdown will affect the rest of the translator system in Naalehu and South Point.  Once we get the Hilo digital signal up, we need to get to Kulani Cone to change out the receive antenna and put a digital-to-analog receiver in place.  If all goes well, the analog signal will be restored to Naalehu and South Point by the weekend.  Once we have lease issues worked out at Kulani Cone, we will install a digital system to get the signal to Naalehu.  This should happen by the end of September this year.

Maui is set for a power upgrade by June 30th.  Again, this power upgrade will give those who are receiving a marginal signal, a better chance of receiving a more solid signal.

Honolulu's power increase is pending FCC approval and funding.

That's all for now...more when I get back from our Hilo installation...and don't forget to rescan your TV's or converter boxes on the 28th.

Hilo Update

ok...ok...ok...I know I had mentioned that Hilo would have a digital signal by the beginning of April, but here it is the middle of April and still no signal...What gives?

I can tell you that the translator is in place and ready.  The antenna is here and ready to be installed, but the timing to get the signal on-the-air is not ideal...so we have decided to delay the deployment of digital until the end of May.  As a matter of fact, we have a schedule in place that will have you ready for when the day comes.

On Tuesday, May 26, we will shutdown the analog translator in Hilo so that we may remove the antennas to install a new digital antenna.  This shutdown will cause most of the island of Hawaii to go dark.  By Thursday we will be broadcasting our digital signal and all you with digital TVs and converter boxes will need to do another rescan to put our channel's information into the memory of your device.

You should see our signal as Channel 10.1 and 10.2...but we will actually be broadcasting on channel 28.  This means you will need an UHF antenna to receive us.

And of course...this all depends upon the weather...