Scan Your Receiver for the Most Up-to-Date Channel Selection

Since the introduction of digital TV broadcasts in the United State sin the 1990s we have made adjustments to how we bring free, over-the-air TV to Ogden Valley. Our TV translators must use different broadcast frequencies than the primary broadcast channels out of Salt Lake City. Throughout Utah, a complex system of TV translators is necessary to relay the major stations' broadcasts past countless physical barriers which, primarily, are Utah's mountains. Because of this, we use many more TV broadcast frequencies than in other parts of the country.

In recent years, there has been more and more pressure from other parties (primarily cell phone companies) to convince the FCC to allocate more of the broadcast spectrum to other uses instead of TV. As a result, we have fewer available frequencies to use for Utah's translators. Through the efficient use of bandwidth we have been able to generally provide more channels than we did in the pre-digital TV era, but our options are limited.

Recently, we were required to shut down some of our channels and re-launch them on other frequencies. As a result, if your digital TV receiver was programmed to receive TV before this change (or if it was programmed in another area besides Ogden Valley) you should perform a new "search" or "Channel Scan" on your TV in order to receive all the channels we are currently providing here. Our objective is to provide as many channels as possible from Salt Lake City in an over-the-air system operated right here in Ogden Valley.

Recent Changes to Our Ogden Valley TV Translator System

In our ongoing efforts to bring you better and more reliable over-the-air TV service, we recently made some changes to our technical systems. In the past, we utilized a microwave link from the primary transmitter on Farnsworth Peak to the top of Mount Ogden. From there, another microwave link relayed the TV broadcasts to our facility above Wolf Creek where we rebroadcast the Salt Lake TV channels directly to Ogden Valley. This usually worked well but, at certain times of the year, access to the top of Mount Ogden was limited, meaning that any trouble there would be very difficult to remedy in a timely manner. Winter weather conditions there could cause large build-ups of ice on the transmission towers on Mount Ogden and, as that ice melted, heavy pieces could also fall onto tower components, possibly causing damage or knocking crucial components out of proper alignment. It was also possible that, during days of the most severe air pollution in winter months, poor air quality itself could cause a loss of transmission quality.

In order to improve our system's reliability we have switched to a fiber-optic-based method of linking our facility to a source at the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City. Thanks to this new approach, we are no longer required to maintain hard-to-reach equipment at the top of Mount Ogden. We also don't have to worry about weather conditions anywhere between Salt Lake City and Ogden Valley causing disruptions. Because we will not be maintaining the microwave gear nor having to replace old microwave gear which is past its useful lifespan, the cost of switching to a fiber-optic connection is offset. We do not anticipate any increase in our overall operating costs.

We realize that, as long as things are working as expected, viewers will rarely think about how the broadcasts they enjoy are sent to their homes. We trust that, with this improved system and increased reliability, viewers can simply enjoy watching TV.

First KJZZ, Now Fox 13 Has Also Been Dropped by Dish Network

Customers of Dish Network have obviously noted that Salt Lake City's Fox Network affiliate, KSTU (Channel 13) is no longer available through Dish Network. Once again, Dish Network and a local TV station's owners have been unable to strike a deal so that the local TV station will be available to subscribers of Dish Network. This has happened before. Just a few months ago KJZZ (Channel 14) was dropped from the Dish Network line-up too.

When Dish Network announces these kinds of disputes to customers, they usually keep a spot on their programming guide referring to the dropped channel. If viewers tune to that channel they will see messages from Dish Network, effectively blaming the other party for the impasse and encouraging customers to complain to the other party. At the same time, the people at the TV station will blame the people at Dish Network and encourage viewers to complain to Dish Network.

In the case of Channel 14, the parties seem to have given up and now the Dish Network program guide makes no reference at all to KJZZ. Meanwhile, as of this writing, if viewers tune to Channel 13 on their Dish Network receiver they'll see a message from Dish Network blaming Channel 13's owners for the problem. One wonders how long this will continue before Dish Network drops all references to Channel 13, just as they've already dropped references to Channel 14.

Although these disputes have happened from time to time, this one is a bit different. Dish Network has offered to send a free over-the-air TV antenna to dissatisfied customers so that they can watch Channel 13 over-the-air for the time being. The reason that works in Ogden Valley is that we have a set of TV Translators which allow most Ogden Valley viewers to watch all of the major TV stations from Salt Lake City without a monthly subscription. Yes, when you have an adequate TV antenna pointed towards our facility above Wolf Creek (without significant obstructions between the facility and your antenna), you can receive crystal-clear Digital TV over-the-air! Not only will you receive Channel 13, you'll also receive Channel 14 and more than two dozen other stations from Salt Lake City. Once again, you'll need an antenna, properly set up and a digital TV tuner capable of receiving an ATSC signal (a standard feature of all newer TVs).

We appreciate your support and look forward to bringing you continued over-the-air service.

Service Disruption Beginning May 6, 2016

As many of you already know, our Ogden Valley TV Translator system is currently out of service. At this point it appears that the interruption was caused by thunderstorm activity which disrupted power to our gear at the top of Mount Ogden. The timing was particularly unfortunate, because this started at about 6:00 PM on Friday, May 6th, just after the end of the work week. It appears that we won't be able to fix the issue until the beginning of the work week on Monday. Another complication is that, at this time of year, access to the Mount Ogden facility is difficult and we may need to send someone there by helicopter.

So, as you can see, we're in a difficult situation for the remainder of the weekend. We hope to have service restored early in the work week but we won't know exactly what will happen until some time Monday. Meanwhile, we apologize for the disruption and we want to assure you that we, like you, want to get this fixed as soon as possible. Please understand that this kind of disruption is also extremely rare and, when we're able to fully evaluate what happened, we will work to improve our backup systems to prevent similar disruptions in the future.

We appreciate your patience.

KJZZ-TV is available in Ogden Valley through our local TV Translator

From time to time, cable and satellite TV providers have disputes with programming providers over financial deals to carry particular TV channels and/or networks. Often, these disputes are resolved at the last minute before contracts expire. Sometimes, these disputes are not resolved in time and the channel(s) are dropped by the cable or satellite TV providers, much to the dismay of subscribers who rely on those providers to pass along their favorite channels. Usually, the disputes are resolved a few days later and subscribers are able to see their favorite channels again.

In December 2015 a dispute between Dish Network and Salt Lake City's KJZZ-TV station resulted in Dish Network dropping KJZZ from their channel line-up. Viewers in Utah who counted on Dish Network to carry KJZZ have been the victims of the stubbornness of these business "professionals" who can't seem to reach new terms. Now, after nearly two months, KJZZ still hasn't returned to the line-up on Dish Network. Given the unusually long dispute, one wonders if KJZZ will ever return.

But the good news is that throughout that particular dispute, KJZZ was never dropped from our local TV Translator system. If you have a properly-aimed TV antenna in Ogden Valley you can receive KJZZ programming now and for the foreseeable future. We simply don't have these types of disputes with the local, Utah broadcasters. We carry their programming and will continue to do so.

Our Current Channel Line-up as of February 2016

The current channel line-up is as follows:
2.1 - KUTV-HD 1080i
2.2 - KMYU 720p
4.1 - KTVX-HD 720p
4.2 - MeTV 480i
4.3 - WNTV (Weather Programming) 480i
4.30 - KUCW 480i
5.1 - KSL-HD 1080i
5.2 - COZI-TV 480i
5.3 - thisTV 480i
7.1 - KUED-HD 1080i
7.2 - World 480i
7.3 - V-me 480i
9.1 - KUEN 480i
9.2 - WHZWRLD 480i
11.1 - KBYU 720p
11.2 - BYUtv 720p
11.3 - BYUtv International 480i
13.1 - KSTU-HD (Fox) 720p
13.2 - Antenna TV 480i
13.3 - Justice 480i
14.1 - KJZZ 480i
16.1 - ION 720p
16.2 - qubo 480i
16.3 - IONLIfe 480i
16.4 - Shop 480i
16.5 - QVC 480i
16.6 - HSN 480i

(Please note that if your receiver is showing channel 30.1 this channel is no longer in service. Those wishing to view Salt Lake City's channel 30 (CW network) should tune in to channel 4.30 on our local translator system.)

The numbers 1080, 720 and 480 refer to the vertical pixel resolution of each of these channels. The letters "i" and "p" refer to the difference between an "interlaced" picture and a "progressive scan" picture. Your digital TV receiver will be able to interpret any of these broadcasts and display them correctly, no matter the resolution.

Please note that a "480i" broadcast is a standard-definition broadcast. When viewed on a high-definition monitor you may notice a lower-quality picture compared to high-definition material. The larger your monitor, the more you will notice decreased picture quality with standard-definition material. All of our channels are digital but, just like the broadcasts that originate at Farnsworth Peak, there is a mixture of high-definition and standard-definition material.

June 12th Repair Report

Please be aware that today, June 12, 2014, crews will be performing repairs on equipment related to our local TV translators. Because of these repairs, there will be no TV translator broadcasts for a few hours, beginning this morning. We don't know exactly when the repairs will be completed but, when they are, regular TV service will resume immediately.