Can't get "Local" HD channels after "move"

[fordv840]

Hi all,
I been checking out the board for a while now but this is my first post. I know this has been discussed in a few threads but I would like to know if there is a "fix" for this. The scenario is this;

Two years ago I moved from NH to PA. I kept the same direct TV account and still own my home in NH. When the DTV installer installed the system here in PA he stated that as long as I kept my service address as NH that I could receive the Boston Locals. This worked fine for the last two years except for FOX and few other odd ball local channels. Still had ABC,NBC,CBS, PBS,NESN etc. Now to the good part, a few days ago I had an upgrade to HD. This included a new Slimline dish. Now I still get all the same channels I received before (Boston Locals) however I do not get any of them in HD just SD. The strange thing is I get NESN in HD which is also a "local" channel to that. All other HD channels work fine. The only reason I like the Boston locals is to watch the Red Sox on NESN and the Patriots on the major Networks. With the setup the way it is now I can only watch the Red Sox in HD and we all know Football is way better in HD than Baseball. Finally,,,,,,

What are my options? Pay for NFL Sunday ticket? $270 seems outragous!
I know you can buy individual Local channels from Direct TV at like $3 a month but I would guess in my situation they would not be in HD. I think I am outside of the HD spotbeam for Boston Locals.

Any other suggestions? Sorry for the book but thanks for reading.

 

[boba]

You have pretty much answered your own questions.

 

[fordv840]

I was hoping I was wrong! Or there was something else

 

[rad]

FYI, NESN is on a CONUS transponder, so everyone with the sports packages can view the games they should get. It appears that the HD spot beams are smaller then the SD beams which is why you aren't getting the HD version of channels. As you guessed, if you want to continue to watch your teams in HD you're going to need to subscribe to the sports packages, MLB-EI/Superfan and NFL-ST/Superfan.

 

[mike752]

If you can, you can try to "move" to CT. I'm in the New Haven area, and our local CBS (WFSB) usually shows Patriots games instead of Jets games. We also get NESN as an RSN.

 

[jcrandall]

You're out of the spotbeam.

The beams are much tighter in HD than the older SD ones.

You can live with Boston SD only, move somewhere else, or move to your real address and get your locals.

To be realistic, if you're more than 100 miles from a market, you probably can't get the spotbeam well. Sometimes less than 100.

 

[Bob Nielsen]

You're out of the spotbeam.

The beams are much tighter in HD than the older SD ones.

You can live with Boston SD only, move somewhere else, or move to your real address and get your locals.

To be realistic, if you're more than 100 miles from a market, you probably can't get the spotbeam well. Sometimes less than 100.

I recall seeing issue threads earlier indicating issues even inside some of the markets which span a large area. A few DMAs are over 200 miles across.

 

[fordv840]

Thanks for all the feedback, it looks like I am stuck with what I have. Not a big deal. I think I will get the locals here for HD and then purchase the regional sports pack and maybe the local channels I need on a channel by channel basis if they can feed them in HD.