Local channels on Direct TV

[santafe]

Direct TV's mailings to me indicate that local channels will be carried later this year. Does that mean that Direct TV will carry the local's HDTV programs? Direct TV's customer service types don't seem to know what I'm asking.

I'm about 80 miles from the broadcast stations and do not know if I can receive over the air programing or not. Being in a bit of high tech backwater the local tv sales types are not sure either.

Being able to get live sports is all that is stopping me from new equipment purchases!

[jlangner]

I don't think Direct TV is carrying anyones local HD signal at this time. It takes up to much bandwidth.

[rajensen088]

Currently have COMCAST. Thinking about Direct TV after its announcement of $10.99 to carry the ESPN HD package. COMCAST currently has NBC, ABC, PBS, HBO and Showtime. No CBS or ESPN. My only concern is having to use an antenna to get OTA HD from CBS, NBC, ABC and PBS. I live in central NJ (Woodbridge) area. Does anyone have experience with using an antenna to receive the NYC OTA HD channels? Thanks.

[Prew]

No, DTV does not broadcast local channels in HDTV. In fact, the quality I got for regular programming was lower than the quality of the pictures using an antenna- so I discontinued the local channel option on DTV.

[hancox]

silly question - surely most would be appeased with a "national" feed of the DT big networks? Why doesn't this come up more often? Some FCC BS?

[jlangner]

Because locals would be hurt. They would not be seen, and would lose advertising money from people watching national commercials and not the local ones.

Also, I tried locals OTA and I can't get with my "Rabbit Ears", and I have 4 recievers so I can't cancel locals since need in them as well.

[martinR]

Woodbridge is about 20 miles from ESB so it is deffinitly possible. Your reception will depend on many factors including terrain & the buildings surrounding you. Check out the HDTV Cables & OTA Antennas (HDTV Accessories) board for some good advice on how to check this out. I live 35 miles away & get clear reception but Long Island is very flat so there is a strong signal. A great site to check is antennaweb (http://www.antennaweb.org) for details on what is available to you and what type of antenna you would need. BTW NBC & ABC are not broadcasting HD OTA untill Sept 1.

[stuartr]

I live in NJ and was thinking about making the same switch to D*. What I've found out from Comcast is that you can continue to get Limited Service -- just the local stations -- and with that get the HD feeds for the stations broadcasting in HD (NBC, ABC, PBS), for about $11.00 plus the cost of renting the HD set top box (about another $5).

Just something to consider.

[santafe]

You guys that can get cable and ota programming have it made but of course I have unending views and the quite sounds of the country to comfort me.:D

[hancox]

jlangner - doesn't DISH give WCBS-DT and KCBS-DT, nationally?

[jlangner]

hancox, i have DirectTV so I don't know about those. Direct TV offers national ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox etc as well but only if u can not recieve your locals or if get a waiver.

[CitizenKang]

I currently live in Hazlet, just a few parkway exits south of Woodbridge. I have DirecTV and grab the OTA NY HD channels with a UHF antenna. The signals on both CBS and FOX are both strong, though there are occassional problems with the FOX signal (I believe this is because the channel isn't considered to be officially launched yet) but they are few and far between. I've occassionally managed to pull a PBS HD broadcast, but that's been a rather rare occurance. I haven't really pursued it much; I may need to repoint the antenna or it could be that the few times I caught it, they were just broadcasting a test signal. Either way, CBS and FOX alone make it worth the small investment in a UHF antenna.

[rajensen088]

Originally posted by CitizenKang
I currently live in Hazlet, just a few parkway exits south of Woodbridge. I have DirecTV and grab the OTA NY HD channels with a UHF antenna. The signals on both CBS and FOX are both strong, though there are occassional problems with the FOX signal (I believe this is because the channel isn't considered to be officially launched yet) but they are few and far between. I've occassionally managed to pull a PBS HD broadcast, but that's been a rather rare occurance. I haven't really pursued it much; I may need to repoint the antenna or it could be that the few times I caught it, they were just broadcasting a test signal. Either way, CBS and FOX alone make it worth the small investment in a UHF antenna.

What kind of antenna should I be considering (under $200). Thanks

[rajensen088]

Originally posted by martinR
Woodbridge is about 20 miles from ESB so it is deffinitly possible. Your reception will depend on many factors including terrain & the buildings surrounding you. Check out the HDTV Cables & OTA Antennas (HDTV Accessories) board for some good advice on how to check this out. I live 35 miles away & get clear reception but Long Island is very flat so there is a strong signal. A great site to check is antennaweb (http://www.antennaweb.org) for details on what is available to you and what type of antenna you would need. BTW NBC & ABC are not broadcasting HD OTA untill Sept 1.

Thanks for the info. I am now a Directv subscriber. Mets vs Reds game was really tremendous, I had never seen a baseball game in HD before. Cancelled all my Comcast cable except for the limited local channels so I can get NBC, ABC and PBS HD programs. Will be getting an antenna to get CBS (2), channnels 5, 9 and 11 and any others. The local channel fee is a wash since I am keeping Concast cable modem for 42.00 per month, If I drop the local channel service it would go up 20.00 per month. Three different Comcast reps gave me three different answers about the local service option, two said I would have to take the digital minimum package (59.00) but the last one set me up with local channels only, including HD for 11.00. I'll have to watch my next bill carefully from Comcast. Thanks again

[leftseat10]

Originally posted by rajensen088
Thanks for the info. I am now a Directv subscriber. Mets vs Reds game was really tremendous, I had never seen a baseball game in HD before. Cancelled all my Comcast cable except for the limited local channels so I can get NBC, ABC and PBS HD programs. Will be getting an antenna to get CBS (2), channnels 5, 9 and 11 and any others. The local channel fee is a wash since I am keeping Concast cable modem for 42.00 per month, If I drop the local channel service it would go up 20.00 per month. Three different Comcast reps gave me three different answers about the local service option, two said I would have to take the digital minimum package (59.00) but the last one set me up with local channels only, including HD for 11.00. I'll have to watch my next bill carefully from Comcast. Thanks again

I'm thinking about doing the same in South Jersey with my current Comcast service, ie keep the locals. Do you still have the HD Decoder from Comcast Decoder to handle the local HD Channels? I plan on keeping my high speed internet like you did and watching the bill too!!