I just want the Super Bowl in HD

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patl

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Jan 16, 2007
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Hi, all. I have spent a few hours now reading this and other forums, and I am at my wit's end. I apologize that this is so long, but I want to explain what I know and what I don't.

My brother lives in Hampstead, NC (zip code 28443). He recently purchased an HR20 receiver with 5-LNB dish. His goal is to watch the Super Bowl in High Definition. One would think this would be easy...

The nearest CBS affiliate is close enough to deny him a DNS waiver but not close enough for him to actually receive an OTA signal. He has started the process of getting the signal strength physically measured, but it will not be done in time for the Super Bowl. So DirecTV will not give him the national signal from NY.

As mentioned, the OTA signal is too weak. He is looking into better / more expensive OTA antenna equipment, but that is looking expensive, and there is no guarantee it would work.

DirecTV does not carry the local CBS affiliate in HD.

Soooo... I had him "move" to Greensboro, NC, which is 150 miles away. I figured that should be close enough to pick up the DirecTV spot beam for WFMY (Greensboro CBS affiliate), which DirecTV does carry in HD.

And it is working... for SD. He gets all of the Greensboro stations just fine in low-def. But the corresponding HD versions of the channels show "no signal" when he tunes to them. He called DirecTV, and the technician said that his SD channels are on satellite 101 and the HD are on satellite 99. His sat 101 transponders all show a signal strength of 80 or better, which is consistent with his receiving the Greensboro (and national) stations in SD.

For satellite 99, transponders 2 and 4 show a strength of 80+. 1, 3, 5, and 6 show zero. The rest show "N/A". He receives the national stations (e.g., Discovery channel) in HD just fine, so there is no obvious general problem with his HD setup.

Here are my questions. Are the HD spot beams so tightly focussed that the signal strength could be zero just 150 miles from the origin? Or are these symptoms more likely a problem with his dish and/or receiver?

Finally, does anyone have any other suggestions?

Thanks!
 
Cox Cable down here is arguing with WWL, the CBS affiliate, and has said they will pull CBS off the TV on Jan 31st if no deal is made with WWL

Neither sides are budging at all and both are going public over it.

Big Problem: Saints will possibly be in the Super Bowl on CBS in the first week of Feb

I am on Cox's side but honestly, they will lose half if not more then their customers if they dont show the Super Bowl
 
Cox Cable down here is arguing with WWL, the CBS affiliate, and has said they will pull CBS off the TV on Jan 31st if no deal is made with WWL

Neither sides are budging at all and both are going public over it.

Big Problem: Saints will possibly be in the Super Bowl on CBS in the first week of Feb

I am on Cox's side but honestly, they will lose half if not more then their customers if they dont show the Super Bowl

This is common practice to get the most pressure on those making the desigine, having negotiations at a crucial time.


I personally wouild go get a OTA antenna and set it up ahead of time and see what you get, the PQ will be better on the OTA anyways.

Jimbo
 
This is common practice to get the most pressure on those making the desigine, having negotiations at a crucial time.

Passed that stage...Cox will pretty much cut off most of its base down here if they do this....yet I agree with their position more so than WWL's.

I know many people who have Cox and not a single one will keep it if they dont broadcast the Super Bowl
 
Hi, all. I have spent a few hours now reading this and other forums, and I am at my wit's end. I apologize that this is so long, but I want to explain what I know and what I don't.

My brother lives in Hampstead, NC (zip code 28443). He recently purchased an HR20 receiver with 5-LNB dish. His goal is to watch the Super Bowl in High Definition. One would think this would be easy...

The nearest CBS affiliate is close enough to deny him a DNS waiver but not close enough for him to actually receive an OTA signal. He has started the process of getting the signal strength physically measured, but it will not be done in time for the Super Bowl. So DirecTV will not give him the national signal from NY.

As mentioned, the OTA signal is too weak. He is looking into better / more expensive OTA antenna equipment, but that is looking expensive, and there is no guarantee it would work.

DirecTV does not carry the local CBS affiliate in HD.

Soooo... I had him "move" to Greensboro, NC, which is 150 miles away. I figured that should be close enough to pick up the DirecTV spot beam for WFMY (Greensboro CBS affiliate), which DirecTV does carry in HD.

And it is working... for SD. He gets all of the Greensboro stations just fine in low-def. But the corresponding HD versions of the channels show "no signal" when he tunes to them. He called DirecTV, and the technician said that his SD channels are on satellite 101 and the HD are on satellite 99. His sat 101 transponders all show a signal strength of 80 or better, which is consistent with his receiving the Greensboro (and national) stations in SD.

For satellite 99, transponders 2 and 4 show a strength of 80+. 1, 3, 5, and 6 show zero. The rest show "N/A". He receives the national stations (e.g., Discovery channel) in HD just fine, so there is no obvious general problem with his HD setup.

Greensboro is on 99W transponder 1 where you are getting no signal. Raleigh is on 2, but WRAL in Raleigh is not on D* in HD yet - and Greenville-New Bern does not HD-LIL as far as I know, he could try to move to Norfolk and see if those are available - but the sure shot is to just move to Long Island instead of Greensboro. I suspect that Norfolk is on Transponder 4, but that is just using the process of elimination.

I'd find a common street name - (Main Street) or something find the zip code Norfolk at that address - and give it to them - if it doesn't work call back in an hour and say you arent getting the stuff - and find out quite by accident they didn't put you in Long Island but Norfolk instead.
 
Last edited:
wneilson82
Is your HDTV a TV or a monitor.. I get WWL here in Laplace with TWC/COMCAST but I also get it OTA and a lot better picture.. OTA is how I watch the saints in HD when they are on FOX8 we do not get HD feed from Fox here in Laplace…. MY Biggest gripe is WDSU not going to repair or broadcast digital/HD feeds any more I believe that cox has a land line feed.. But getting back to WDSU I was told by the TWC/Comcast they are not going to FIX there digital transmitter / Antenna and they are only going to have an analog broadcast over the air..
And since I am griping about New Orleans HD Stations ABC is not broadcasting many of their shows like good morning America in HD they did once But then they stopped and there excuse was they could not put the ABC icon on the lower right hand of the screen and they had to stop showing Good Morning Amercia in HD.. Sounds like BS to me but hey what do I know???
But if your TV is a monitor and u need a borrow a external AOT tuner I have a extra one you can barrow from me for the big games!!!! Email me here….
 
Greensboro is on 99W transponder 1 where you are getting no signal. Raleigh is on 2, but WRAL in Raleigh is not on D* in HD yet - and Greenville-New Bern does not HD-LIL as far as I know, he could try to move to Norfolk and see if those are available - but the sure shot is to just move to Long Island instead of Greensboro. I suspect that Norfolk is on Transponder 4, but that is just using the process of elimination.

I'd find a common street name - (Main Street) or something find the zip code Norfolk at that address - and give it to them - if it doesn't work call back in an hour and say you arent getting the stuff - and find out quite by accident they didn't put you in Long Island but Norfolk instead.


FWIW, I do not believe this information to be correct.

First, I did not notice that you gave the numbers for 99W. I do not believe that 99W is active for HD-LIL as they last H20 firmware shut those lnbs off. They appear to be active in the HR20 firmware, but obviously the HD-LIL cannot be active on 99W as the H20s could not receive it currently.

As you do not give a reading for 103W, that is where you need to look. I was originally told by a person in Winston Salem that Transponders 1 and 2 were equal signal strength in that market, but now believe his dish is misaligned.

It appears that Greensboro is on transponder 2 not transponder 1 on 103W. Again, I mistook your Transponder 2 to be the active HD-LIL bird, of which 99W is not. What is your reading on 103W transponder 2?

Furthermore, I saw a post in the Norfolk thread that they still did not have D* HD-LIL which elements that from consideration.

New York is your safest bet for success as it is Conus.
 
Last edited:
wneilson82
Is your HDTV a TV or a monitor.. I get WWL here in Laplace with TWC/COMCAST but I also get it OTA and a lot better picture.. OTA is how I watch the saints in HD when they are on FOX8 we do not get HD feed from Fox here in Laplace…. MY Biggest gripe is WDSU not going to repair or broadcast digital/HD feeds any more I believe that cox has a land line feed.. But getting back to WDSU I was told by the TWC/Comcast they are not going to FIX there digital transmitter / Antenna and they are only going to have an analog broadcast over the air..
And since I am griping about New Orleans HD Stations ABC is not broadcasting many of their shows like good morning America in HD they did once But then they stopped and there excuse was they could not put the ABC icon on the lower right hand of the screen and they had to stop showing Good Morning Amercia in HD.. Sounds like BS to me but hey what do I know???
But if your TV is a monitor and u need a borrow a external AOT tuner I have a extra one you can barrow from me for the big games!!!! Email me here….
My OTA works great as well. I get Fox, ABC, and CBS with great quality.

NBC of course does not exist here but I am hoping they eventually get off their ass and put it up.
 
WRAL-HD, WRAZ-HD, DirecTV

Capitol Broadcasting Company is pleased to announce that DirecTV, WRAL-HD, and WRAZ-HD have reached an agreement that allows DirecTV to provide WRAL-HD and WRAZ-HD signals to their paying subscribers.

As most of you are aware, DirecTV’s current spot beam only covers 75% of the TV house holds in the Raleigh market. According to DirecTV if you live in one of the listed zip codes below you may be apart of the 25% of the market that is affected. While this coverage is not optimum for either party, DirecTV is working aggressively to resolve this technical issue and they hope to have a new spot beam in place to cover the entire market by the end of the year.

There is more good news for DirecTV HD-DVR owners. Approximately 30 days ago DirecTV started pushing updates to the HD-DVRs to fix the off air tuner problem. If this was an issue for you I suggest you check out your HD-DVR and see if the update has been downloaded to your device. Please remember that the over-the-air HD signal is still far superior to the HD signal provided by DirecTV and you will also be able to see the additional standard definition signals that all of the local stations include in their HD streams.

Here are the effected zip codes:

23915
24529
27302
27537
27565
27581
27844
28361
23917
24580
27305
27537
27565
27582
27850
28370
23919
24598
27325
27541
27570
27583
27850
28373
23920
27209
27341
27541
27572
27583
27870
28374
23924
27231
27343
27551
27572
27584
27887
28376
23927
27242
27356
27553
27572
27586
27890
28377
23950
27243
27376
27553
27572
27589
28315
28386
23964
27278
27507
27556
27573
27594
28315
28387
23968
27281
27507
27563
27574
27823
28327
28388
23970
27291
27536
27565
27574
27839
28357



While DirecTV and Capitol Broadcasting realize this is not a perfect solution for the entire market, it is the best that both parties can do at this juncture. We sincerely appreciate your patience as DirecTV and Capitol Broadcasting have worked to provide you with the best possible solution to see both WRAL-HD and WRAZ-HD via DirecTV or over-the-air

Dish Update: Capitol Broadcasting is still waiting for a counter offer from Dish. We started negotiations in October and are hopeful to regain momentum soon. If you are a Dish subscriber and have not yet taken advantage of our free over-the-air antenna giveaway program, please follow this link to participate. http://www.wral.com/wral-tv/story/1180307/
 
The HD signals are on right now.

Chuck, this must seem like a cake walk after all the issues you had with WBBM-DT back in Chicago? If you ever peek in on the Chicago OTA section over at AVSFORUM you'll see folks are still fighting the battle on getting a signal, even the D* feed has been having issues lately.
 
Capitol Broadcasting Company is pleased to announce that DirecTV, WRAL-HD, and WRAZ-HD have reached an agreement that allows DirecTV to provide WRAL-HD and WRAZ-HD signals to their paying subscribers.

As most of you are aware, DirecTV’s current spot beam only covers 75% of the TV house holds in the Raleigh market. According to DirecTV if you live in one of the listed zip codes below you may be apart of the 25% of the market that is affected. While this coverage is not optimum for either party, DirecTV is working aggressively to resolve this technical issue and they hope to have a new spot beam in place to cover the entire market by the end of the year.

There is more good news for DirecTV HD-DVR owners. Approximately 30 days ago DirecTV started pushing updates to the HD-DVRs to fix the off air tuner problem. If this was an issue for you I suggest you check out your HD-DVR and see if the update has been downloaded to your device. Please remember that the over-the-air HD signal is still far superior to the HD signal provided by DirecTV and you will also be able to see the additional standard definition signals that all of the local stations include in their HD streams.

Here are the effected zip codes:
[ While DirecTV and Capitol Broadcasting realize this is not a perfect solution for the entire market, it is the best that both parties can do at this juncture. We sincerely appreciate your patience as DirecTV and Capitol Broadcasting have worked to provide you with the best possible solution to see both WRAL-HD and WRAZ-HD via DirecTV or over-the-air

;;;;SNIP;;;;;;

Do you have a contour map you could post or can you explain which portions of the Raleigh DMA those zipcodes generally affect without one doing a massive Google Earth search?
 
Plugging in a few of the zip codes, it appears that anything roughly 10 miles North of the I-40/I-85 line from the Alamance County line and the theoritical line if it extended East of Durham is a problem area so that must be the Northern Edge of the beam.

It also appears that the Western Edge of the beam must be running close to the 15/501 line down through Chatham, Lee, Hoke etc.

So the spotbeam is most likely Durham south to Myrtle Beach and probably out to Wilmington etc?
 
Well, I can confirm that I am outside of the spotbeam and I live near Hyco lake, which is >10 mi north of 40/85 and just west of 15/501. Does this mean I am out of luck until they launch a new satellite? Is there a neighboring spot beam that I might be able to pick up -- Greensboro or Roanoke/Danville? Is there a way to change which spot beam I "belong" to? Sorry if these are dumb questions... As the title of this thread stated, I also just want the Super Bowl in HD.
 
Well, I can confirm that I am outside of the spotbeam and I live near Hyco lake, which is >10 mi north of 40/85 and just west of 15/501. Does this mean I am out of luck until they launch a new satellite? Is there a neighboring spot beam that I might be able to pick up -- Greensboro or Roanoke/Danville? Is there a way to change which spot beam I "belong" to? Sorry if these are dumb questions... As the title of this thread stated, I also just want the Super Bowl in HD.

You are asking the same questions we asked DirecTV. We were hoping to find a solution of using neighboring spotbeams but were told they were at capacity. I believe DirecTV is just stuck until they can launch the two new birds later this year. It appears your only hope would be an OTA antenna.
 
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