Update Thursday, September 26, 2019: WMHT has successfully moved to our new transmitter and is operating at full power as of Thursday, September 25. Now is the time to rescan. View steps to perform a rescan below.
On August 2, 2019, WMHT Public Media (Public Broadcasting Service, PBS) will be moving to a new channel assignment as required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Households that access WMHT over-the-air with an antenna will have to rescan to continue to view WMHT. If you receive your television signal through a cable or satellite provider, this change will not impact you and you do not have to do anything.
WMHT is working with other stations in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area to better the over-the-air television viewing experience. In preparation to move to the new channel assignment, WMHT will be operating at reduced power. Beginning mid-July, a new transmission line and a new signal combiner will be installed and signal testing will begin.
On August 2nd, any time after approximately 10am, households that watch any of WMHT’s channels – WMHT-TV (17.1), CreateTV (17.2), WORLD (17.3), or WMHT PBS Kids (17.4) — over-the-air, meaning you have a TV antenna plugged into your TV — will need to rescan in order to view WMHT. For more information or tech support, please contact the WMHT Technology Support Team at support@wmht.org or call 518-880-3400.
“Our new transmitter and channel assignment will allow us to broadcast with more output power than we’ve used since the transition to digital,” notes WMHT Chief Engineer, Matt Saplin. “This will make the signal even stronger for those accessing our channels with an antenna.”
In addition to rescanning, here are some tips for accessing WMHT’s channels: • Make sure your antenna connected to your TV is tight as it can loosen over time. • It may take more than one scan to acquire the new signal. After checking the antenna connection or changing its position, try to rescan again. • You may have to re-position or rotate your antenna, then rescan.
Basic Steps to Rescan your TV Channels:
While each television is a little different, here are the basic steps to take to rescan the available channels on your TV to ensure you will still receive WMHT:
• Make sure you have an antenna connected to your TV • Select the MENU button on your television’s remote control • Select “Channel Setup” (or similar option) • Select “Antenna” and/or “Air” • Select “New Scan” (or similar option)
The rescan process should take about 5-10 minutes and then you should be able to receive all of WMHT’s channels as you did before, and we’ll still show up as channels 17.1, 17.2, 17.3, and 17.4.
Note: If you watch WMHT through a cable or satellite provider (Comcast, Verizon Fios, DirecTV, DISH, etc.) you do not need to take any action. The providers have been notified of our channel change and will continue to provide WMHT with no interruption. If there is an issue after August 2nd, please call your provider.
View this web tutorial to learn how to rescan your TVs and converter boxes to prepare for stations' frequency moves.
WMHT Rescan Resources
Troubleshooting Tips and Other Resources
Following is some information which we hope will assist viewers having reception issues.
Antenna Positioning
Visit the FCC TV Reception Maps site to determine the best antenna position and the quality of signal that can be expected at your location.
Make sure that your antenna is pointed in the correct direction before performing a channel scan on your television or converter box. If your television or converter box doesn’t detect the signal(s) you are interested in, you will need to readjust your antenna and perform another channel scan and repeat until the tuner identifies the signal(s). Once the signal is identified then fine tune the position with the television’s signal strength indicator.
Quality/Strength Indicator
With digital television, viewers will see the same quality of picture regardless of the signal level on their television. Due to the all or nothing nature of digital reception also known as the digital cliff, it is very important to find and use the signal quality/strength indicator available on the television or converter. This is a valuable aid for adjusting any antenna to provide adequate signal reception and level to counteract any changes in weather or surroundings that may affect the reception quality over a period of time.
Resources
TVAnswers.org A great basic information resource from the National Association of Broadcasters
TVAnswers.org Simple directions on how to rescan from the National Association of Broadcasters
FCC Details the Spectrum Auction and how we all got to here
FCC Troubleshooting Guide for Digital TVs and Convertor Boxes
You can also follow the steps for your specific TV in your owner’s manual. We have provided some of the top television manufacturers’ information on how to perform a scan through the links below.
