Posts Tagged ‘DTV’

Poll: will you pay for GoErie access?

August 8th, 2011 joel

When we last polled our P&T readers, we asked how media-ready you were in the event of a major storm. The highest vote getters were those that had portable radios and smart phones. Few had portable DTV’s that could receive the weather broadcasters forecasts and radar in their basement.

Over the past few days, the GoErie.com paywall has gone into effect. By now regular readers of the site are running into limited access and decisions are being made. What’s yours?

Will you pay for GoErie.com?

  • I will NOT pay for GoErie access (64%, 47 Votes)
  • I am a seven-day a week home delivery subscriber to the Times-News and get free GoErie access (23%, 17 Votes)
  • I am a part-week home delivery subscriber to the Times News but will NOT pay for GoErie access (10%, 7 Votes)
  • I will pay $6.95 a month for GoErie access (3%, 2 Votes)
  • I am a part-week home delivery subscriber to the Times News and will pay $2.95 for GoErie access (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 73

Loading ... Loading ...
Posted in Polls Tags: , , 3 Comments »

Poll: do you have the media tools to weather a storm?

June 6th, 2011 joel

Last month, our P&T poll asked if readers would use more local news if it were available on a mobile app. A plurality said, that they definitely would, and half indicated that they would at least give it a shot.

In the aftermath of devastating tornadoes in Tuscaloosa, AL and Joplin, MO, the role of over-the-air broadcast has been greatly reenforced as the first line for warnings and emergency response. In our own neck-of-the-woods we have had three tornado warnings in Erie County over recent days, and Doppler radar and the expertise of our TV meteorologists has been key.

The dilemma comes when your favorite weather personality says to take cover in your basement. In this era of DTV, what do you do to stay informed? Will Erie radio’s automatic EAS triggers be enough information to last out a storm using your transistor radio? Or should you go out and buy a battery-operated portable digital TV, not knowing if a signal will come in down in the basement?

An important question for our poll.

Do you have the media tools ready for a major storm? (multiple answers accepted)

  • I have a portable radio (66%, 19 Votes)
  • I have a smart phone (48%, 14 Votes)
  • I have a TV connected to cable in my basement (24%, 7 Votes)
  • I have a TV connected to a home antenna in my basement (21%, 6 Votes)
  • I have a regular cell phone which can receive weather alert SMS texts (17%, 5 Votes)
  • I have a portable digital TV (14%, 4 Votes)
  • I am not ready for a storm (10%, 3 Votes)

Total Voters: 29

Loading ... Loading ...
Posted in Polls Tags: , , , 4 Comments »

Poll: are you cutting the cable cord?

October 18th, 2010 joel

Last time we polled our P&T readers, we asked what difference the onslaught of political ads on the airwaves was making on their choice for the Third Congressional District for Pennsylvania. A full 83% of respondents said that they had already made up their mind who they were voting for. Only a combined 11% said that they were undecided, with those saying equally that the ads were either helping or hurting their decision making.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal wrote about the increasing number of households dropping cable and satellite in exchange for online video viewing joined with free broadcast TV. My family adopted this strategy in March, when we exchanged our $80 Time Warner Cable bill with digital broadcast, tons of online video sites, and especially a $9 per month Netflix account where we watch tons of movies and TV series through our game console.

I’m wondering if this is a trend in our area?

How do you get your TV?

  • I am a digital cable subscriber (46%, 33 Votes)
  • I watch TV via an antenna and/or online (18%, 13 Votes)
  • I am a DirectTV or Dish Network subscriber with local channels via satellite (17%, 12 Votes)
  • I am a DirectTV or Dish Network subscriber with local channels via antenna (14%, 10 Votes)
  • I am an analog cable subscriber (no box) (5%, 4 Votes)

Total Voters: 72

Loading ... Loading ...
Posted in Polls Tags: , , , , 10 Comments »

Poll: should Chief Franklin resign over his media ‘tin ear’?

July 13th, 2009 joel

The results of our three-week poll of over-the-air digital television viewers were shocking to me.

The basics of communication theory indicate that a message can only be sent from sender to receiver if the medium/carrier can make the trip. In our non-scientific poll, 38% of DTV viewers said they couldn’t receive the station that transmits the number one broadcast network, CBS. In fact 1 of 4 respondents said they were having trouble watching any commercial broadcast television out of Erie.

That’s a huge problem (and great opportunity for satellite vendors) that station engineers don’t have a whole lot of answers for. In fact, my request for comment and advice for viewers from one station has gone unanswered for a week. DTV viewers…you really have to look at getting a big exterior antenna, and if you’ve already done that, maybe the days of free television are over for you.

Erie Bureau of Police Chief Steve Franklin is once again in the news over his nondisclosure of a series of late-night attacks on women in a lower west-side neighborhood. It wasn’t until Erie Times-News reporters hammered him with questions did he admit to the investigation, while letting his disdain for the local media slip through the process.

Generally the police have a love/hate relationship with the media; playing them when they run out of leads, while being tight-lipped when they deem necessary. But Franklin’s claim that public disclosure would create panic, tons of false leads while tipping off the perps is not enough for those now calling him to step down.

Do you think Franklin’s actions are the last straw?

Should Erie Police Chief Steve Franklin lose his job over his use/nonuse of the media?

  • Yes: he is putting people in danger by not fully disclosing crimes in the city (57%, 24 Votes)
  • No: he may have a "tin ear" for the media, but he's still a good chief (36%, 15 Votes)
  • I don't know/I'm ambivalent (7%, 3 Votes)

Total Voters: 42

Loading ... Loading ...
Posted in Polls Tags: , , , , , , , , , , 8 Comments »

DTV: what have we lost?

June 10th, 2009 joel

There is a lot to like about the digital television transition: free high definition pictures right to your home, multiple content streams which look better than “old TV” even in standard def, companies making major investments in our community and local economy, ease of use…I could go on.

But in reading Jim Martin’s front page story in yesterday’s Erie Times-News, I felt a twinge of sadness that somehow in this bigger and better conversion, we’ve lost something. Perhaps it was said before when music went digital 25 years ago, but there is a down side to that perfect picture or sound.

The nature of digital broadcasting is that it’s either on, or off. So if during a big storm you are watching on your rooftop antenna-connected 52″ HDTV flat screen the supercell coming your way, and Joey, Rob or Tom says to go to your basement, there’s no little 7″ B&W Radio Shack TV to continue watching while the storm passes. And if you are fortunate to have one of these cool DTV portables, there’s a strong probability that the rabbit ears attached won’t pull in your favorite (or any) meteorologist:

But take the crisis out of it. Don’t you know of folks, senior citizens particularly, who enjoy watching the Saturday afternoon baseball game on Fox or some NASCAR on their deck or in their garage during the summer on some old portable?

Again, I’m wondering that with WICU’s analog signoff Tuesday morning, if we just haven’t disenfranchised a good portion of people, or at minimum just made life more difficult for folks that don’t deserve it.

Posted in Television Tags: , , , , , , , 6 Comments »

TV Turn-off Day: WICU is final analog signoff

June 8th, 2009 joel

UPDATE: 12 News reported at 6:00 this evening that the analog shut-off of WICU will be happening by early Tuesday morning, June 9th. Plan on rescanning your digital TV or converter box in a couple days to receive WICU in full-power digital in the next few days.

Channel 12 isn’t going to make it to the 12th.

Erie’s oldest and only VHF television station will sign off it’s analog signal today, Monday, June 8, 2009 to enable station engineers to make the upgrades necessary to the transmission system for full-power digital by Friday, June 12th, the national DTV deadline. Of course anyone viewing over cable or satellite will not be affected, and over-the-air viewers can watch WICU programming this week on digital 35.3.

After their signoff, full-power analog television will be obsolete in the Erie market. Of course, we make the distinction between full-power and low-power stations, as some low-power stations will continue their analog broadcasts.

WICU signed on Channel 12 as Erie’s first television station on March 15, 1949. See images of its signon published in Life Magazine. For most of its existence, having a VHF signal was a significant advantage over the other three UHF commercial stations, 24, 35 & 66. With the advent of cable over 25 years ago, the advantage somewhat faded in the primary viewing areas, but was still important in those rural areas, where often they were only station coming in.

Now at digital channel 12, which is really 52, it will be WICU’s programming and promotion that will count, not a dial number.

Please write in any issues you are having seeing any of the Erie stations in digital.

Posted in Television Tags: , , , , 13 Comments »

Poll: are you watching video on your phone?

June 1st, 2009 joel

Last week’s poll results regarding the readiness of Erie viewers for DTV were kind of shocking. A full 25% of respondents said that they knew someone or a workplace that will be without any TV service after next Friday, June 12th. I guess education doesn’t always cure procrastination.

This week we are asking if you are using some of the new capabilities of mobile devices. This comes on the news that Ford is planning to have internet access in their new cars in the next 9 to 12 months. If you have a iPhone or smartphone with data package, or an iPod touch, have you listened to live streaming audio, or watched video on demand on your small screen? Let us know if you are with me, still only using my phone as, uhmmm, a phone.

Have you listened to live audio or watched any video on your mobile device in the past month?

  • No - I'm still limited to voice and text on my phone (60%, 12 Votes)
  • Yes - I'm one of those early adopter types (30%, 6 Votes)
  • No - even though I have a data package on my smartphone (10%, 2 Votes)

Total Voters: 20

Loading ... Loading ...
Posted in Polls Tags: , , , , , , No Comments »
« Older Entries

  • About

    Press and Tower is a web community for Erie Pennsylvania's producers and consumers of newspapers, radio and television stations, and new media outlets. We connect, celebrate, complain, and communicate about all aspects of media.

  • Recent Comments

    • End of an Era: More info on the Rocco's auction webpage --- http://roccoauctions.com/upcoming-auctions/?az_feed_... »
    • End of an Era: Brief mention in ETN of auction today at old WSEE building, and plans to demolish the building. h... »
    • Ron: Well, get over there and like, tweet and comment it…... »
    • David Berchtold: "I wave "Hello" to the computers, but somehow it doesn't make much of an impression for me or the co... »
    • Tom Lavery: I couldn't get the Go Erie article up. It doesn't surprise me though that the Bills will be dropped ... »
    • Ken Franklin: Speaking of radio, Cumulus - known for operating on the cheap in many markets - is making cuts here ... »
    • Mike Zahorchak: The Erie area certainly needs an OLDIES format radio station not another Country or Rock format!... »
    • K104Ever: Has it been announced as to what the format will be... »
    • Mark: I would be surprised if Rick Rambaldo uses any automation on his(and Hallman's)new radio station. Ri... »
    • Sean: Yes well "automation" hype is a lot of propaganda. Progress should be outlawed in the favor of human... »
    • RSS FeedSubscribe to our RSS feed!
    Follow me on Twitter!Follow me on Twitter!

    • Sponsor

    • Twitter Updates

    • Share

      Add to Technorati Favorites

      News & Media Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory
      See blogs and businesses for USA

    • Polls

      How have you used Erie media's social media tools in the past year?

      View Results

      Loading ... Loading ...

    • Traffic