WRCB-TV 3 will begin re-airing its 6 p.m. newscast on Monday on its sub channel Antenna TV, channel 3.2, at 7 p.m.
The move was made because the station recognizes that not everyone gets home in time to watch the 6 o’clock show, especially folks who live in the Central time zone.
It’s been almost three years since the federally mandated switch from analog to digital television. It’s probably fair to say that whether you like the new format or not depends on where you live and the reception that you get because of it.
Some of you with cable or satellite may be wondering where the channels with decimal points in them are on your menu. They are there, in some cases, though they have regular numbers. Antenna TV, for example, is found on digital channel 3.2. Chattanooga, Battlefield and LaFayette Comcast customers can get it on channel 216, while Dalton, Ringgold and Cleveland cable customers can find it on 148. EPB customers get it on channel 163.
Antenna TV is a sub channel of WRCB. Basically, the transition to digital allowed television stations to split, or divide, their broadcast signals into one or more sub channels. Five appears to be the limit. The more it is divided, the weaker the signals.
We use a satellite provider in our house as our primary source of television, but I did buy a couple of digital converter boxes in 2009 to see how it would work. When the weather is clear, the leaves are off the trees and everything is lined up right, I can get up to 23 channels of free TV. On most days, it’s more like eight.
The picture, when the signal is good, is remarkably clear. I do have to move the antenna around to pick up certain channels, which was charmingly nostalgic for about the first 30 seconds.
Since 2009, I’ve heard from dozens of people who enjoy the quality of the picture, and they like much of the programming, which includes a lot of old favorites like “Bonanza” and “Leave It to Beaver,” on some of the sub channels.
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Burning up a stage or a club or a venue is one thing. Burning up a tour bus is another altogether.
Jerrod Niemann’s bus caught fire Tuesday night outside the Tivoli Theatre. You can see video of the action online, and TMZ posted a story about it with a picture of Niemann and friends doing their best Johnny Cash “You’re No. 1” pose with the bus in flames behind them.
Hank Beck has been working shows for 30 years as a stagehand and said it was a first for him.
“I’ve never seen a tour bus go up before,” he said. “It was an unusual evening for sure.”
The fire happened after the show, as Niemann and friends were getting on board. No one was injured. There was no word of a cause by press time.