How can I watch WTTW in high-definition?
You can locate WTTW11 in high-definition over the air on 11-1. Cable or satellite customers can locate WTTW in high-definition on the on-screen menu.
How can I watch WTTW Prime?
You can locate WTTW Prime over the air on 11-2 or on Comcast Digital channel 370. For schedule and more info, visit wttw.com/schedules.
How can I watch WTTW Create?
You can locate WTTW Create over the air on 11-3 or on Comcast Digital channel 369. For schedule and more info, visit wttw.com/schedules.
How can I watch WTTW V-me?
You can locate WTTW V-me over the air on 11-4 or on Comcast Digital channel 368 or 629. For schedule and more info, visit wttw.com/schedules.
Can I watch WTTW On-Demand?
Yes. If you are a Comcast Cable customer and have access to their On-Demand folders, you will find WTTW on Demand in the "Get Local" folder.
In what resolution does WTTW broadcast?
WTTW broadcasts the WTTW (11-1) HDTV signal in the 720p (progressive scan) format which provides 720 lines and 1280 samples per line resolution. Our standard definition digital program channels (11-2 and 11-3) are broadcast using the 480i (interlaced) standard which provides 480 lines, and 640 samples per line.
What is the difference between a digital TV and an HD TV?
The Digital Television (DTV) broadcast system allows for stations to choose various program channel formats. These may be "standard definition" (SDTV) channels which have approximately the same resolution as traditional analog television, or "high definition" channels (HDTV) that provide far greater resolution than analog television broadcasts. The DTV broadcast system allows television stations to broadcast an HDTV channel, multiple SDTV channels, or a combination of one HDTV channel and multiple SDTV channels.
How do I get WTTW transmission if I don't subscribe to cable or satellite, but have a digital TV?
Before the days of cable and satellite TV, the only way to receive a signal from a TV station was with an old fashioned TV antenna. WTTW broadcasts its DTV Channel just as with the analog Channel 11. In both cases, you can receive WTTW and WTTW-DT via an antenna. FYI, WTTW-DT broadcasts on channel 47 in the UHF band so, when choosing an antenna and distribution equipment for your home, be sure to get equipment that works in the UHF band. No need to worry; many stores sell this equipment.
Can I get WTTW Create if I don't have cable or do I need a digital TV?
You would need to receive WTTW-DT using an antenna and receive it on a digital TV.
For tuning in to WTTW11 in high-definition or WTTW Create through the over the air broadcast, how do I set it up for 11-1, or 11-2 or 11-3?
All digital TVs have a "channel scan" mode on their menus. Hook up the antenna to your DTV system and run the channel scan, and you should find WTTW-DT channels 11-1, 11-2 and 11-3. Occasionally we'll hear from viewers who follow this procedure and aren't able to receive WTTW-DT. It is usually recommended that they readjust their antenna and try the scanning process again. Sometimes having the antenna pointed directly at our transmission antenna at Sears Tower doesn't work perfectly. By simply turning the antenna a few degrees either way usually fixes the problem. Of course you need to be within approximately 50 miles of Sears Tower for this to work.
When I watch programs on WTTW11 in high-definition, the sound is not synchronized with the picture.
WTTW Engineering makes a concerted effort to make sure audio and video is synchronized. However, there are times when we receive programming that is not synchronized and often don't have time to fix it. Usually these problems are at the receive end and we instruct viewers to shut off their systems and allow them to restart. This fixes a myriad of problems.
Every time I tune to WTTW11 in high-definition, my receiver crashes and reboots. Why?
One of the opportunities for WTTW is to include data broadcasts with our signal. Early in our attempts at this work, we had defective equipment that caused certain models of DTV receivers to fail. We've removed this equipment and are providing a very robust digital broadcast signal. We haven't had this issue for some time.
Why are descriptions appearing on the screen?
All TV stations have the option of transmitting descriptions of programs they offer on their DTV transmissions. This information is called the "Program Guide" and WTTW uses this to provide viewers some of this information. It will have the name of program, a short description, and other information.
Can you explain the difference between 720p and 1080i?
This can be a very detailed and complex explanation; we'll try to keep it simple. Traditional analog television utilizes around 480 horizontal lines of picture information. This system uses an interlaced pattern of line presentation. Starting at the top of the picture and scanning from left to right, going back to the left and proceeding downward by one line the TV scans one half of the 480 lines (240) from top to bottom and then starts again scanning lines in between the ones previously scanned. They are "interlaced" between each other. The picture tube of the TV set uses special phosphors that illuminate and maintain their illumination long enough until the next line gets scanned. 1080i is one of the high definition standards and by using more than twice as many scan lines and more samples per line, we get a much higher resolution than analog TV. It's an interlaced system so it scans 540 lines and goes back to the top and scans 540 more, interlaced between the first. 720p means 720 lines scanned progressively. The scan starts at the top, scans the 720 lines from top to bottom and then starts over again. Both 720p and 1080i are high definition formats and most people cannot tell the difference between the two. WTTW uses the 720p format because it provides excellent quality and allows for us to provide more standard definition channels in our DTV broadcast.