Boston-Radio-Interest Digest, Vol 22, Issue 101
Supersport - Scratchy 45s & Beyond
supersport@maine.rr.com
Wed Sep 26 13:07:57 EDT 2018
WTIC still does the tones at the Top of the Hour. WBZ no longer says
WBZ-HD for the AM. And it seems at any given week, the HD is either on or off.
John
On September 26, 2018 7:55:59 AM
boston-radio-interest-request@lists.BostonRadio.org wrote:
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> ----------
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: NBC Boston (Scott Fybush)
> 2. Re: NBC Boston (Garrett Wollman)
> 3. Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared (A Joseph Ross)
> 4. Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared (Garrett Wollman)
> 5. Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared (Ron Bello)
> 6. Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared (Martin Waters)
> 7. Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared (A Joseph
> Ross) (Eli Polonsky)
> 8. Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared (Bob Nelson)
> 9. Re: Boston-Radio-Interest Digest, Vol 22, Issue 100 (Eli Polonsky)
> 10. Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared (Kevin Vahey)
>
>
>
> ----------
> Re: NBC Boston
> From: Scott Fybush <scott@fybush.com>
> Date: Sep 25, 7:12 PM
> To: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org
>
> The average viewer isn't us.
>
> The average viewer is using a pay-TV service, be it Comcast/Xfinity,
> RCN, Verizon FiOS, Dish or Direct. That's 9 out of 10 viewers - minimum
> - in the Boston DMA.
>
> NBC is on channel 10 for that average viewer. Maybe "810" if it's
> Xfinity for HD.
>
> That average viewer doesn't know what "WBTS-LD" is, or "WYCN-CD," or
> "WNEU." She doesn't use an antenna and doesn't deal with "8.1" or "15.1"
> or "60.5."
>
> She sees an ad for "NBC 10." She picks up the remote and presses "10."
> She gets NBC. If she's in the Boston DMA, she gets NBC Boston, and if
> she's a Nielsen household, her viewing counts. If she's in the
> Providence DMA and she sees an ad for "NBC 10," she picks up the remote,
> presses "10" and *still* gets NBC - only it's WJAR, and WJAR gets the
> ratings credit, and NBC still gets the network viewership.*
>
> It's easy to overthink all of this. It actually took some pretty clever
> thinking on NBC's part (and the advantage of owning the Comcast cable
> systems and NECN) to find a channel number that they could use almost
> universally.
>
> *The "worst case" scenario, and it's pretty unlikely, is that she uses
> an antenna, lives in the fraction of the Boston market that can see WJAR
> over the air, punches in "10," still gets NBC - but she's watching WJAR
> instead of WBTS *and* is a Nielsen household. I suppose that's
> *possible," but it feels like a long shot.
>
> On 9/25/2018 3:50 PM, Don wrote:
>
>> Confusing to me for sure.
>>
>> However, I know where to find NBC programs on my system in my area.
>>
>> I think that's the only thing that matters to most people...and it
>> appears most people have found it.
>>
>> The explanation and markieting on where it can be found in different
>> areas is complex and noisy, but once your found it, and can return to it
>> on your own system, you are set.
>
>
>
>
> ----------
> Re: NBC Boston
> From: Garrett Wollman <wollman@bimajority.org>
> Date: Sep 26, 12:59 AM
> To: Scott Fybush <scott@fybush.com>
> CC: boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org
>
> <<On Tue, 25 Sep 2018 19:12:06 -0400, Scott Fybush <scott@fybush.com> said:
>
>> The average viewer isn't us.
>> The average viewer is using a pay-TV service, be it Comcast/Xfinity,
>> RCN, Verizon FiOS, Dish or Direct. That's 9 out of 10 viewers - minimum
>> - in the Boston DMA.
>
> Is that really true any more? Anecdotally, I know a *lot* of
> cord-cutters, in the city and the suburbs. These are very likely to
> be the people Nielsen is not going to measure (or even reach to
> recruit for measurement). They pretty much universally have Comcast
> because they live in places where there is no competition, but they
> don't subscribe to video service; everything they watch is either OTA
> (very rarely) or Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime. (Most of them probably
> subscribe to all three.) Or they're just watching people play video
> games on Twitch (also Amazon).
>
> I think at this point I know more people who listen to the radio
> (pretty much exclusively public radio or sports-talk) than watch
> linear TV.
>
> -GAWollman
>
>
>
>
>
> ----------
> Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared
> From: A Joseph Ross <joe@attorneyross.com>
> Date: Sep 26, 1:02 AM
> To: Ron Bello <rbello@belloassoc.com>
> CC: mariogonz@aol.com, Boston Group Radio
> <boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org>
>
> It goes back earlier than the 1970s. I remember it in the late 1950s or
> early 1960s, when I was in high school. I had an electric alarm clock
> which I would set to the exact top of the hour -- minute and second hand
> on the 12 -- and hold the plug in my hand near the outlet while
> listening to the leadup to the WBZ news on the hour. As soon as I heard
> the tone, I'd quickly plug in the clock.
>
>
> On 9/26/2018 12:19 AM, Ron Bello wrote:
>> Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE at BZ
>> radio
>> Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR
>>
>> There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog signal
>> and HD
>> Which tone is correctly timed ?
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------------
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross <joe@attorneyross.com
>> <mailto:joe@attorneyross.com>> wrote:
>>
>> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the
>> hour. I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a
>> second
>> or two delayed. I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by
>> either
>> my cellphone or the Windows clock. The beep on the hour has gone the
>> way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching
>> defeat from the jaws of victory.
>>
>> On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest wrote:
>>
>> I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings
>> and afternoons. We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour
>> but it
>> seems to have disappeared. Even when we last heard it, it seemed
>> to be
>> late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to
>> the
>> top of the hour. I don't know which device was correct though.
>>
>> I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of
>> the
>> hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices.
>>
>> I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's
>> just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards?
>>
>> Mario
>> f
>> --
>> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. · 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 · Newton, MA
>> 02459
>> 617.367.0468 · Fax:617.507.7856 · http://www.attorneyross.com
>>
>
> --
> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. · 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 · Newton, MA 02459
> 617.367.0468 · Fax:617.507.7856 · http://www.attorneyross.com
>
>
>
>
> ----------
> Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared
> From: Garrett Wollman <wollman@bimajority.org>
> Date: Sep 26, 1:08 AM
> To: A Joseph Ross <joe@attorneyross.com>
> CC: Boston Radio <boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org>
>
> <<On Tue, 25 Sep 2018 23:38:38 -0400, A Joseph Ross <joe@attorneyross.com>
> said:
>
>> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the
>> hour.
>
> It's difficult to do with all of the digital delays in broadcasting
> systems these days, particularly when you consider how many listeners
> are coming in via streaming or HD simulcasts. Even 15 years ago,
> actually getting these time signals into the air chain on the dot was
> a huge hassle to the stations that still used them, for little
> discernable benefit.
>
> If you're a young person and you even have a watch, it's probably an
> Apple Watch or a Fitbit and gets its time automatically from your
> phone. Most young people I know don't wear watches. Your phone gets
> its time from the cellular network and should keep better time than
> any watch.
>
> -GAWollman
>
>
>
>
>
> ----------
> Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared
> From: Ron Bello <rbello@belloassoc.com>
> Date: Sep 26, 12:19 AM
> To: A Joseph Ross <joe@attorneyross.com>
> CC: mariogonz@aol.com, Boston Group Radio
> <boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org>
>
> Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE at BZ radio
> Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR
>
> There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog signal and
> HD
> Which tone is correctly timed ?
>
> ---------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
> On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross <joe@attorneyross.com> wrote:
>
>> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the
>> hour. I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a second
>> or two delayed. I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by either
>> my cellphone or the Windows clock. The beep on the hour has gone the
>> way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching
>> defeat from the jaws of victory.
>>
>> On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest wrote:
>>
>> I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings
>> and afternoons. We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour but it
>> seems to have disappeared. Even when we last heard it, it seemed to be
>> late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to the
>> top of the hour. I don't know which device was correct though.
>>
>> I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of the
>> hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices.
>>
>> I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's
>> just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards?
>>
>> Mario
>> f
>> --
>> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. · 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 · Newton, MA 02459
>> 617.367.0468 · Fax:617.507.7856 · http://www.attorneyross.com
>>
>
>
>
>
> ----------
> Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared
> From: Martin Waters <martinjwaters@yahoo.com>
> Date: Sep 26, 1:26 AM
> To: Ron Bello <rbello@belloassoc.com>, A Joseph Ross <joe@attorneyross.com>
> CC: Boston Group Radio <boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org>
>
> I just checked WINS -- the old-fashioned way, on an actual radio oriented
> to partially null the interfering Toronto signal here in Conn., 75 miles
> from Manhattan -- and it still broadcasts the hourly tone. It was 11
> seconds late vs. the U.S. Naval Observatory Website, another good source
> for exact time.
> Use of HD (not sure WINS uses it, although WBZ does) causes a delay of
> around 7-8 seconds unless it is compensated for -- and I am unsure whether
> WBZ ever did.
> As for WBZ, it definitely used the tone as of 1963, when I became a
> radioholic. Although they "almost" didn't need it, because it "always"
> sounded exactly after the recorded news intro's final word ( . . . "from
> the WBZ news center") gave way to the clattering teletype sound effect.
> Meanwhile, does anyone have any more on when WBZ dropped the tone?
> Whenever, I figure noheart did it to save money by not operating the tone
> generator.
>
>
>
> ----------
> Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared (A Joseph Ross)
> From: Eli Polonsky <elipolo881@gmail.com>
> Date: Sep 26, 5:13 AM
> To: boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org
>
>>
>> Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 23:38:38 -0400
>> From: A Joseph Ross <joe@attorneyross.com>
>> To: Mario Gonzalez <mariogonz@aol.com>, Boston Radio
>> <boston-radio-interest@lists.BostonRadio.org>
>> Subject: Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared
>>
>> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the
>> hour.? I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a second
>> or two delayed.?
>>
>> If you're listening to the BBC on WBUR or any other affiliate that also
> broadcasts in HD, the delay you're hearing is most likely the approximately
> eight-second delay inherent in the processing of the HD signal, and you'l
> hear that delay even if you're not listening in HD, because stations that
> broadcast in HD must purposely delay their analog signal so that it's
> synchronized in time with the delay inherent in their HD signal. The BBC
> beep comes up right at the top of the hour in the WBUR studios, but goes
> over the air eight seconds later due to the HD processing (and synchronized
> analog) delay.
>
> EP
>
>
>
>
> ----------
> Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared
> From: Bob Nelson <raccoonradio@gmail.com>
> Date: Sep 26, 3:59 AM
> To: A Joseph Ross <joe@attorneyross.com>
> CC: Ron Bello <rbello@belloassoc.com>, Boston Group Radio
> <boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org>
>
> Maybe gone by now but WTIC Hartford had a morse code (or some such)
> representation of the letter V for victory.It sounded like the first four
> notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. (Notes G, G, G, E flat.) This ran at
> the top of the hour.
>
> WCBS New York and some CBS affiliates ran some notes that sounded like
> dong...dong...dong...dong! then it went to the CBS News top of the hour
> sounder. This can be heard 1 min and 9 seconds into this:
>
> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc3jiAgA0rU
>
> TV networks would have a ding at the top of the hour, start of a program. A
> website called TVParty used to have that sound when the page loaded.
>
> Bob Nelson
>
> On Wednesday, September 26, 2018, A Joseph Ross <joe@attorneyross.com>
> wrote:
>
>> It goes back earlier than the 1970s. I remember it in the late 1950s or
>> early 1960s, when I was in high school. I had an electric alarm clock
>> which I would set to the exact top of the hour -- minute and second hand on
>> the 12 -- and hold the plug in my hand near the outlet while listening to
>> the leadup to the WBZ news on the hour. As soon as I heard the tone, I'd
>> quickly plug in the clock.
>>
>>
>> On 9/26/2018 12:19 AM, Ron Bello wrote:
>>
>>> Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE at BZ
>>> radio
>>> Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR
>>>
>>> There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog signal
>>> and HD
>>> Which tone is correctly timed ?
>>>
>>> ---------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross <joe@attorneyross.com
>>> <mailto:joe@attorneyross.com>> wrote:
>>>
>>> I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the
>>> hour. I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a
>>> second
>>> or two delayed. I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by
>>> either
>>> my cellphone or the Windows clock. The beep on the hour has gone the
>>> way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching
>>> defeat from the jaws of victory.
>>>
>>> On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest wrote:
>>>
>>> I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings
>>> and afternoons. We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour
>>> but it
>>> seems to have disappeared. Even when we last heard it, it seemed
>>> to be
>>> late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to
>>> the
>>> top of the hour. I don't know which device was correct though.
>>>
>>> I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of
>>> the
>>> hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices.
>>>
>>> I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's
>>> just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards?
>>>
>>> Mario
>>> f
>>> -- A. Joseph Ross, J.D. · 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103
>>> <https://maps.google.com/?q=.+Joseph+Ross,+J.D.+%C2%B7+1340+Centre+Street,+Suite+103+&entry=gmail&source=g>·
>>> Newton, MA
>>> 02459
>>> 617.367.0468 · Fax:617.507.7856 · http://www.attorneyross.com
>>>
>>>
>> --
>> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. · 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 · Newton, MA 02459
>> 617.367.0468 · Fax:617.507.7856 · http://www.attorneyross.com
>>
>
>
>
>
> ----------
> Re: Boston-Radio-Interest Digest, Vol 22, Issue 100
> From: Eli Polonsky <elipolo881@gmail.com>
> Date: Sep 26, 4:58 AM
> To: boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org
>
>>
>> Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2018 19:06:41 -0400
>> From: Mario Gonzalez <mariogonz@aol.com>
>> To: Boston Radio Group <boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org>
>> Subject: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared
>>
>
>
>> I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings
>> and afternoons.? We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour but it
>> seems to have disappeared.? Even when we last heard it, it seemed to be
>> late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to the
>> top of the hour.? I don't know which device was correct though.
>>
>
> I haven't listened very recently to hear whether they still have the beep,
> but the delay in the beep from the top of the hour may have been due to the
> delay inherent in HD processing, because WBZ broadcasts in HD during
> daylight hours, and even if you're not listening in HD, they (and all
> stations that broadcast in HD) must purposely delay their analog audio so
> that it's synchronized in time with the delay inherent in the processing of
> their HD signal, though that delay is normally only about 8 seconds, not 30.
>
> EP
>
>
>
>
> ----------
> Re: Beep at top of the hour on WBZ disappeared
> From: Kevin Vahey <kvahey@gmail.com>
> Date: Sep 26, 3:43 AM
> To: A,Joseph Ross <joe@attorneyross.com>
> CC: Ron Bello <rbello@belloassoc.com>, Boston Radio Group
> <boston-radio-interest@lists.bostonradio.org>
>
> My recollection is WBZ, WHDH and WEEI all had tones in the 70's
>
> WEEI was tied into the CBS Net Alert system and was the most distinctive
> but the tones originated in New York City.
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbLu2nZL35s
>
> I can remember seeing the Net Alert boxes when WEEI was still in the old
> Boston Edison Building on Tremont St.
>
>
>
> On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 1:03 AM A Joseph Ross <joe@attorneyross.com> wrote:
>
>> It goes back earlier than the 1970s. I remember it in the late 1950s or
>> early 1960s, when I was in high school. I had an electric alarm clock
>> which I would set to the exact top of the hour -- minute and second hand
>> on the 12 -- and hold the plug in my hand near the outlet while
>> listening to the leadup to the WBZ news on the hour. As soon as I heard
>> the tone, I'd quickly plug in the clock.
>>
>>
>> On 9/26/2018 12:19 AM, Ron Bello wrote:
>> > Beep at top of the hour was a creation of Norm Graham, 1970s CE at BZ
>> > radio
>> > Was probably left behind at 1170 SFR
>> >
>> > There might also be an issue with timing between regular analog signal
>> > and HD
>> > Which tone is correctly timed ?
>> >
>> > ---------------------------------------------------
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > On Wed, Sep 26, 2018 at 12:11 AM A Joseph Ross <joe@attorneyross.com
>> > <mailto:joe@attorneyross.com>> wrote:
>> >
>> > I think this may have been the last station to have that beep on the
>> > hour. I think BBC World Service still has it, but that can be a
>> > second
>> > or two delayed. I guess I'll have to start setting my watch by
>> > either
>> > my cellphone or the Windows clock. The beep on the hour has gone the
>> > way of Jordan Marsh, WHDH radio, and the Red Sox talent for snatching
>> > defeat from the jaws of victory.
>> >
>> > On 9/25/2018 7:06 PM, Mario Gonzalez via Boston-Radio-Interest wrote:
>> >
>> > I commute to work and we listen to WBZ on a car radio in the mornings
>> > and afternoons. We used to hear the beep at the top of the hour
>> > but it
>> > seems to have disappeared. Even when we last heard it, it seemed
>> > to be
>> > late, maybe 30 seconds after our cell phones changed their time to
>> > the
>> > top of the hour. I don't know which device was correct though.
>> >
>> > I'm not sure if WINS in New York still does the beep at the top of
>> > the
>> > hour, but if they do, I only hear them online or on my Alexa devices.
>> >
>> > I think it used to be traffic and weather on the 3's and I think it's
>> > just traffic on the 3's and weather afterwards?
>> >
>> > Mario
>> > f
>> > --
>> > A. Joseph Ross, J.D. · 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 · Newton, MA
>> > 02459
>> > 617.367.0468 · Fax:617.507.7856 · http://www.attorneyross.com
>> >
>>
>> --
>> A. Joseph Ross, J.D. · 1340 Centre Street, Suite 103 · Newton, MA 02459
>> 617.367.0468 · Fax:617.507.7856 · http://www.attorneyross.com
>>
>
>
>
>
> ----------
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