Understanding PSIP from Live Bandscan

This tool allows you to see what the Live Bandscan has recorded for the station whose icon was clicked to get to the page. However, there are a number of caveats to reading it.

First, the Live Bandscan is dependent on volunteers, and thus not all stations can be received at all times. Data is only available when it is available. This also means that sometimes signals are received very weakly, and can cause strange anomalies to appear, such as streams appearing with labels that say "(no data)" or "(encrypted)" even when those signals are not blank or encrypted, or PSIP from other stations appearing due to being stuck in the memory of the receiver and not properly replaced by the station being received. If this is the case, it usually only lasts for a short time before either the entire station is lost by the receiver, or the signal increases and it is received properly. Streams on ATSC 3.0 stations which are actually encrypted may appear with the "(encrypted)" label but any stream not on PLP0 may appear with "(no data)" regardless of encryption status.

Second, the rows are different colors. Here is the key to those colors:

Third, note that on December 11, 2023 around 11AM EST, there was a code change and the server began to record the Program Number (the "PN" column) for each stream. In so doing, all entries, even those that did not otherwise change, were re-registered in the database as if they were new. So you'll see entries before and after that December 11, 2023 date that look identical except for the presence of data in the PN column.

Fourth, some of the receivers report PSIP in all caps while some use mixed case, so there are some cases where you might see it flip back and forth between the two if multiple tuners are in use in an area.

Finally, note that the Live Bandscan server does not always properly identify the signal it is receiving. As of this writing, it attempts two methods of identification. It attempts to match the TSID and channel number together, and if that fails, text that looks like a call sign in the PSIP and channel number are used together. As such, if multiple stations match, the server has no way of knowing which one is correct and thus may not select the correct one. Alternatively, some stations that do not have proper identification can be identified incorrectly or not at all. The data offered here is offered for entertainment purposes only, and may not be accurate at all times and in all cases.