WXXI-TV (channel 21) is a PBS member television station in Rochester, New York, United States. It is owned by the WXXI Public Broadcasting Council alongside NPR members WXXI (1370 AM), WXXI-FM (105.9), and WXXO (91.5 FM). The three outlets share studios at 280 State Street near downtown Rochester; WXXI-TV's transmitter is located on Pinnacle Hill on the border between Rochester and Brighton.
Programming
National productions
WXXI-TV's national public television productions include A Warrior in Two Worlds, Echoes from the Ancients, Out of the Fire, Albert Paley: Man of Steel, Biz Kid$, and Flight to Freedom. WXXI-TV also produced Assignment: The World, a weekly current-events program for schools, which aired on approximately 100 public television stations nationwide, and was the nation's longest-running instructional television program. Due to funding cuts, it was canceled and its last episode aired on May 23, 2013.
Former programming
ThinkBright, broadcast from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. on 21.3 until the digital transition.
Technical information
Subchannels
WXXI-TV entered the digital era in September 2003 when it signed on with Rochester's first full-power digital television signal.
The station's signal is multiplexed:
| Channel | Res. | Aspect | Short name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | WXXI-HD | Main WXXI-TV programming / PBS |
| 21.2 | 480i | 4:3 | WXXI-W | World |
| 21.3 | WXXI-C | Create | ||
| 21.4 | WXXI-K | PBS Kids | ||
| 22.7 | Audio only |
WXXI-FM | WXXI Classical (WXXI Readout Radio is on the subchannel's SAP) | |
| 31.4 | 480i | 16:9 | TBD | TBD (WUHF-DT4) |
Channel 21.4, now PBS Kids since February 1, 2016, was originally a digital standard definition simulcast of WXXI-TV's analog signal.
Analog-to-digital conversion
WXXI-TV discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over UHF channel 21, on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 16,[4] using virtual channel 21.
As part of the SAFER Act,[5] WXXI-TV kept its analog signal on the air until July 10, 2009, to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters. WXXI-TV had been awarded a $202,498 federal contract for an outreach initiative to help Rochester's over-the-air viewers prepare for the digital transition.[6]
References
- ^ "History Cards for WXXI-TV".
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WXXI-TV". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ RabbitEars TV Query for WXXI
- ^ "DTV Tentative Channel Designations for the First and the Second Rounds" (PDF). Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ^ "UPDATED List of Participants in the Analog Nightlight Program" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission. June 12, 2009. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
- ^ "WXXI Awarded Digital Television Contract | interactive.wxxi.org". interactive.wxxi.org. Archived from the original on February 12, 2009.
External links
- Official website
- John S. Porter papers, at the University of Maryland libraries. Porter served as the president and general manager from 1966 to 1969.