unc

UNC-TV

UNC-TV is a statewide public television network in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is operated by the University of North Carolina, with studios located at the UNC Center for Public Television at Research Triangle Park.

UNC-TV operates eleven transmitters that broadcast across the entire state as well as into parts of Virginia, Tennessee and South Carolina. The network includes all PBS member stations licensed within North Carolina except for WTVI in Charlotte, which is licensed to local interests in Charlotte.

It also formerly operated four digital channels: UNC-KD (children's programs), UNC-HD (high-definition programming), UNC-NC (North Carolina public affairs and original local productions) and UNC-ED (educational television). Consumers with Time Warner Cable are the only ones capable of receiving all of these digital subchannels, as the company has a direct-fiber optic connection to the broadcast facilities of UNC-TV.

On September 25th, 2008, UNC-TV commenced a revised lineup of three digital subchannels via over-the-air broadcast television: UNC-TV (the main channel now operating as a full-time HD service), UNC-KD in SD, and UNC-NC in SD.

Overview

WUNC-TV in Chapel Hill, the network's flagship station, signed on January 8, 1955 as the first educational television station south of Washington, D.C.. In the next 12 years, three more stations signed on and a system of translators in the mountains allowed the network to reach across the entire state. The network's youngest station, WUNU in Lumberton, signed on in 1996.

The network creates many programs of local interest, including the newsmagazine North Carolina Now, the interview series North Carolina People (hosted by former UNC president William Friday), Carolina Outdoor Journal, Exploring North Carolina, North Carolina Bookwatch with D.G. Martin, and special programs about the state's history and culture (often seen during the network's annual pledge drive). It also creates two programs for national distribution (The Woodwright's Shop and Lap Quilting with Georgia Bonesteel). In addition to PBS programs, the station also runs British comedies on Saturday nights and EastEnders on Sunday nights.

Stations

As of 2008, the UNC-TV stations are:

Station	City of license/ (other cities served)	Channels (Analog/ Digital)	First air date	ERP (Analog/ Digital)	HAAT (Analog/ Digital)	Facility ID	Transmitter Coordinates
WUNC-TV	Chapel Hill (Raleigh/Durham)	4 (VHF) 59 (UHF)	January 8, 1955	100 kW 893.2 kW	469 m 448 m	69080
WUND-TV¹	Edenton² (Elizabeth City)	2 (VHF) 20 (UHF)	September 10, 1965	100 kW 543 kW	470 m 489 m	69292
WUNE-TV	Linville (Hickory)	17 (UHF) 54 (UHF)	September 11, 1967	1550 kW 137.8 kW	546 m 531 m	69114
WUNF-TV	Asheville	33 (UHF) 25 (UHF)	September 11, 1967	2690 kW 185 kW	816 m 797 m	69300
WUNG-TV	Concord (Charlotte)	58 (UHF) 44 (UHF)	September 11, 1967	5000 kW 150 kW	422 m 404 m	69124
WUNJ-TV	Wilmington	39 (UHF) 29 (UHF) ³	June 4, 1971	4470 kW 700 kW	553 m 297 m	69332	(analog) (digital)
WUNK-TV	Greenville	25 (UHF) 23 (UHF)	May 7, 1972	1260 kW 71 kW	351 m 331 m	69149	(analog) (digital)
WUNL-TV	Winston-Salem (Greensboro)	26 (UHF) 32 (UHF)	February 22, 1973	5000 kW 197.5 kW	504 m 479 m	69360
WUNM-TV	Jacksonville (New Bern)	19 (UHF) 18 (UHF)	November 16, 1982	2400 kW 65 kW	561 m 561 m	69444
WUNP-TV	Roanoke Rapids	36 (UHF) 39 (UHF)	October 16, 1986	1550 kW 57.6 kW	368 m 338 m	69397
WUNU	Lumberton (Fayetteville)	31 (UHF) 25 (UHF)	September 23, 1996	3160 kW 113 kW	319 m 294 m	69416
WUNW⁴	Canton	none 27 (UHF)	not yet on air	10.7 kW	474 m	83822

Notes:

1. WUND-TV used the callsign WUNB-TV from its 1965 sign-on until 1967.
2. WUND-TV was originally licensed to Columbia; the license was moved to Edenton in 2005. ()
3. Five stations in the Wilmington DMA began transmitting solely in digital starting September 8, 2008. WUNJ-TV opted to continue analog broadcasts until the national switchover on February 17, 2009.
4. WUNW will operate as a digital-only station, with a target date for commencement of operations tenatively scheduled for February 2010.

Digital television

The network's multiplexed digital signals before September 25, 2008 were:

Sub-channel	Programming
xx.1	main UNC-TV/PBS programming
xx.2	UNC-HD (PBS programs in HD)
xx.3	UNC-KD (children's programming)
xx.4	UNC-ED (educational programming)
xx.5	UNC-NC (North Carolina-centric programming)

Due to bandwidth limitations, the over-the-air version of UNC-HD was only availably between 8-11pm, during which UNC-ED and UNC-NC were off the air. Cable systems with a direct digital link to UNC-TV facilities broadcast all five channels on a 24 hour schedule.

On September 25th, 2008, the over-the-air channel configuration became:

Sub-channel	Programming
xx.3	main UNC-TV/PBS programming in HD
xx.4	UNC-KD (children's programming)
xx.5	UNC-NC (North Carolina-centric programming)

UNC-HD and UNC-ED are currently available only through cable providers with a direct fiber optic link to UNC-TV. Systems dependent on over-the-air reception now carry the three channel lineup.

Analog-to-digital conversion

After the analog television shutdown and digital conversion, which is tentatively scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009:

WUNC-TV will move its digital broadcasts to channel 25;
WUNE-TV, WUNM-TV, WUNP-TV, and WUNU will move their digital broadcasts back to their respective analog channel numbers (17, 19, 36, and 31);
WUND-TV, WUNF-TV, WUNG-TV, WUNJ-TV, WUNK-TV, and WUNL-TV will remain on their respective, pre-transition channel numbers (20, 25, 44, 29, 23, and 32).

In addition, UNC-TV opted not to join other broadcasters in the Wilmington market in the decision to switch to digital-only broadcasts on September 8, 2008, five months ahead of the national deadline. Following that date, WUNJ-TV became Wilmington's only full-power analog signal until the national digital switchover on February 17, 2009.

Through the use of PSIP, digital television receivers will display virtual channels for each UNC-TV station corresponding to their present analog channel numbers.

Translators

UNC-TV operates a number of translators across the mountains of western North Carolina. These translators serve as low-power, limited-area repeaters for WUNF and WUNE, mainly targeting towns in deep mountain valleys where the parent signal is blocked by the surrounding terrain.

Directly repeating WUNF:

W59AD Andrews, NC
W05AU Bat Cave, NC (Chimney Rock)
W52BA Black Mountain, NC
W68DM Brevard, NC
W46AX Bryson City, NC
W27AB Canton, NC (To be upgraded to WUNW, a separate station)
W24AU Cashiers, NC
W23AF Cullowhee, NC
W28AN Franklin, NC (Wine Springs)
W60DA Franklin, NC (Cowee Bald)
W42AT Hayesville, NC
W27BD Highlands, NC
W31AN Murphy, NC
W19CR Tryon, NC

Directly repeating WUNE:

Cable and satellite

UNC TV is available on cable television services throughout the state. It is also available in the South Hampton Roads area of Virginia through Cox Communications and in the Greenville, South Carolina area through Charter Communications.

On DirecTV and Dish Network, WUNC-TV, WUND-TV, WUNF-TV, WUNG-TV, WUNJ-TV, WUNL-TV, and WUNK-TV are available on the Triangle, Hampton Roads, Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville, Charlotte, Triad, Wilmington and New Bern/Greenville/Washington local feeds, respectively.

The station carried on cable systems is not always the closest station. For example, Time Warner Cable (formerly Adelphia) in Laurinburg carries WUNJ of Wilmington, despite WUNU being closer in Lumberton.