WQPT-TV
Encyclopedia
WQPT-TV is the PBS
member station for the Quad Cities
region of northwestern Illinois
and eastern Iowa
, broadcasting on digital channel 23 (remapping to former analog channel 24 via PSIP). It is owned by Western Illinois University
-Quad Cities, which is located in Moline, Illinois
; where the station is licensed. The station also currently operates an analog repeater station W48CK in Sterling, Illinois
on channel 48.
The station signed on November 2, 1983. It was owned by Black Hawk College
, a junior college in Moline. Until then, Iowa Public Television
's Iowa City outlet, KIIN-TV, had been providing at least grade B coverage to most of the market (its transmitter was intentionally located at West Branch
, halfway between Cedar Rapids and Davenport
, in order to serve both the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area and the Quad Cities). KIIN was available on many Quad Cities cable systems for many years after WQPT's sign-on. Many cable systems on the Illinois side of the market also carried Chicago
's WTTW
and/or Peoria
's WTVP
.
From 1992 to 2003, WQPT operated a satellite station, KQCT in Davenport. After WQPT boosted its signal to better cover the Iowa side of the market, it sold KQCT to Iowa Public Television, who renamed it KQIN.
In May 2010, Black Hawk College sold WQPT to Western Illinois University-Quad Cities. At that time, the station moved from its longtime home on Black Hawk's campus to rented space in the Crown Center office complex in Moline. A new studio is being built on WIU-QC's Riverfront Campus, and channel 24 expects to move there as early as 2012.
In August 2010, WQPT launched a 24-hour broadcast schedule on both its main/traditional service (channel 24.1) and its MHz Worldview subchannel affiliation (channel 24.2). This left WHBF-TV
as the last TV station in the Quad Cities to sign-off during the overnight hours (that station would go to a 24-hour schedule as well in the fall of 2011).
On May 25, 2009, WQPT-TV prematurely ended analog broadcasts when its analog transmitters failed. Repairs were estimated to cost over $20,000 and the station didn't believe that it would be feasible to repair the transmitter with less than three weeks left of broadcasting in analog. It remains on digital channel number 23 using PSIP
to be displayed on digital televisions as virtual channel
24.
After the official end of the digital transition in June, WQPT transferred the "WQPT-TV" callsign from the now-defunct analog channel 24 to digital channel 23 and removed the "WQPT-DT" callsign from its digital operations. Also, at the same time, WQPT ended HDTV broadcasts on subchannel 24.2 and shifted them to the main subchannel 24.1, leaving the DT2 subchannel vacant for a few months. In late August 2009, WQPT-TV launched an affiliation with MHz Networks
' Worldview
, which broadcasts international programming, on channel 24.2. WQPT is the only public television station serving the state of Iowa
to offer this service. WQPT is also the second PBS
member station in the state of Illinois
to offer programming from MHz Worldview
; the first being WYCC
in Chicago
.
}
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
member station for the Quad Cities
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a group of five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa–Illinois boundary. These cities, Davenport and Bettendorf and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline , are the center of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, which, as of 2010, had an estimated population of...
region of northwestern Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and eastern Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, broadcasting on digital channel 23 (remapping to former analog channel 24 via PSIP). It is owned by Western Illinois University
Western Illinois University
Western Illinois University is a public university founded in 1899 as Western Illinois State Normal School. Like many similar institutions of the time, Western Illinois State Normal School focused on teacher training for its relatively small body of students. As the normal school grew, it became...
-Quad Cities, which is located in Moline, Illinois
Moline, Illinois
Moline is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, with a population of 45,792 in 2010. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa. The Quad Cities has a population of...
; where the station is licensed. The station also currently operates an analog repeater station W48CK in Sterling, Illinois
Sterling, Illinois
Sterling is a city in Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,370 at the 2010 census, down from 15,451 at the 2000 census. Formerly nicknamed "The Hardware Capital of the World", Sterling has long been associated with manufacturing and the steel...
on channel 48.
The station signed on November 2, 1983. It was owned by Black Hawk College
Black Hawk College
Black Hawk College is a community college with campuses located in the city of Moline and near Kewanee, Illinois.-History:Black Hawk College is a community college with campuses located in Moline and in Galva, Illinois...
, a junior college in Moline. Until then, Iowa Public Television
Iowa Public Television
Iowa Public Television is a state network of Public Broadcasting Service member non-commercial educational Public television stations in the state of Iowa. A member of the PBS, it is owned by the Iowa Public Broadcasting Board, an agency of the state education department which holds the licenses...
's Iowa City outlet, KIIN-TV, had been providing at least grade B coverage to most of the market (its transmitter was intentionally located at West Branch
West Branch, Iowa
West Branch is a city in Cedar and Johnson counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 2,342 as of July 2009, a 7% growth since the 2000 census...
, halfway between Cedar Rapids and Davenport
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
, in order to serve both the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area and the Quad Cities). KIIN was available on many Quad Cities cable systems for many years after WQPT's sign-on. Many cable systems on the Illinois side of the market also carried Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's WTTW
WTTW
WTTW channel 11 is one of three Public Broadcasting Service member public television stations serving the Chicago, Illinois market; the others are WYCC and WYIN. WTTW began broadcasting on September 6, 1955 and it is owned and operated by Window to the World Communications, Inc., a not-for-profit...
and/or Peoria
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
's WTVP
WTVP
WTVP is the PBS station for Peoria, Bloomington, and Galesburg, Illinois. It operates on TV digital channel 46 and uses virtual channels starting with 47 to reflect its previous analog channel number. WTVP has 3 digital subchannels: WTVP HD, WTVP World, and WTVP Create. Its studio is located in...
.
From 1992 to 2003, WQPT operated a satellite station, KQCT in Davenport. After WQPT boosted its signal to better cover the Iowa side of the market, it sold KQCT to Iowa Public Television, who renamed it KQIN.
In May 2010, Black Hawk College sold WQPT to Western Illinois University-Quad Cities. At that time, the station moved from its longtime home on Black Hawk's campus to rented space in the Crown Center office complex in Moline. A new studio is being built on WIU-QC's Riverfront Campus, and channel 24 expects to move there as early as 2012.
In August 2010, WQPT launched a 24-hour broadcast schedule on both its main/traditional service (channel 24.1) and its MHz Worldview subchannel affiliation (channel 24.2). This left WHBF-TV
WHBF-TV
WHBF-TV, channel 4, is a television station licensed to Rock Island, Illinois, which serves as the CBS affiliate for the Quad Cities television market...
as the last TV station in the Quad Cities to sign-off during the overnight hours (that station would go to a 24-hour schedule as well in the fall of 2011).
Digital television
WQPT-TV's signal is multiplexed:| Virtual Channel Virtual channel In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels.... |
Physical RF Radio frequency Radio frequency is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals... Channel |
Video Display resolution The display resolution of a digital television or display device is the number of distinct pixels in each dimension that can be displayed. It can be an ambiguous term especially as the displayed resolution is controlled by all different factors in cathode ray tube , flat panel or projection... |
Aspect Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Name | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24.1 | 23.1 | 1080i 1080i 1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels... |
16:9 | WQPT-HD High-definition television High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD... |
Main WQPT Programming / PBS Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia.... HD High-definition television High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD... |
| 24.2 | 23.2 | 480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
4:3 | WQPT-SD Standard-definition television Sorete-definition television is a television system that uses a resolution that is not considered to be either enhanced-definition television or high-definition television . The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same resolution as... |
MHz Worldview MHz Worldview MHz WorldView is an independent, non-commercial Public television network that broadcasts newscasts and other programs from around the world. It is owned and operated by Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation who also run MHz Networks.... |
On May 25, 2009, WQPT-TV prematurely ended analog broadcasts when its analog transmitters failed. Repairs were estimated to cost over $20,000 and the station didn't believe that it would be feasible to repair the transmitter with less than three weeks left of broadcasting in analog. It remains on digital channel number 23 using PSIP
Program and System Information Protocol
The Program and System Information Protocol is the protocol used in the ATSC digital television system for carrying metadata about each channel in the broadcast MPEG transport stream of a TV station and for publishing information about television programs so that viewers can select what to watch...
to be displayed on digital televisions as virtual channel
Virtual channel
In telecommunications, a logical channel number , also known as virtual channel, is a channel designation which differs from that of the actual radio channel on which the signal travels....
24.
After the official end of the digital transition in June, WQPT transferred the "WQPT-TV" callsign from the now-defunct analog channel 24 to digital channel 23 and removed the "WQPT-DT" callsign from its digital operations. Also, at the same time, WQPT ended HDTV broadcasts on subchannel 24.2 and shifted them to the main subchannel 24.1, leaving the DT2 subchannel vacant for a few months. In late August 2009, WQPT-TV launched an affiliation with MHz Networks
MHz Networks
MHz Networks is a Northern Virginia based independent, non-commercial educational broadcaster operated by Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation. The legal broadcast callsigns for the two stations of MHz Networks are WNVC and WNVT...
' Worldview
MHz Worldview
MHz WorldView is an independent, non-commercial Public television network that broadcasts newscasts and other programs from around the world. It is owned and operated by Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation who also run MHz Networks....
, which broadcasts international programming, on channel 24.2. WQPT is the only public television station serving the state of Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
to offer this service. WQPT is also the second PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
member station in the state of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
to offer programming from MHz Worldview
MHz Worldview
MHz WorldView is an independent, non-commercial Public television network that broadcasts newscasts and other programs from around the world. It is owned and operated by Commonwealth Public Broadcasting Corporation who also run MHz Networks....
; the first being WYCC
WYCC
WYCC is a Public Broadcasting Service memebr public television in Chicago, Illinois which broadcasts over digital channel 21, also reached as 20.1, and two other digital channels, 20.2 and 20.3...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
External links
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