I would like some info on HD waivers

[Sharpie]

UPDATE on HD waivers

I live in central Illinois and our local CBS station (WCIA) is not broadcasting in HD. All other stations in the area have upgraded to showing HD but (WCIA) is not even close. I can not get a waiver because I can get their SD signal through Directv. Is there a waiver that I can get that will just give me CBS HD? Thanks for the help.

 

[theslag]

I called direct about the same issue were I lived because I wanted to get a HD TIVO and my OTA signal is no good, they told me that since they offered HD Locals, they will no longer give distanant networks. Put your address in for the distant networks, the web page will tell you..

 

[Wiggin78]

I am in an area where only ABC broadcasts in HD. If you call your local channel and tell them you want a waiver to receive HD until they get it up and running you shouldn't have a problem. Tell them you pay for locals on D* already and will continue to do so. Once they get their HD setup and working you will be more than happy to view their HD over the air. It worked for me and I even got one for ABC by telling them we have technical issues with the over the air, which we do. After you get those waivers you need to fax them to D*'s waiver department. They'll give you the run around but after they see the fax they will turn it on for you. You may have to fax them more than once. Good luck.

 

[Tower Guy]

I live in central Illinois and our local CBS station (WCIA) is not broadcasting in HD. All other stations in the area have upgraded to showing HD but (WCIA) is not even close. I can not get a waiver because I can get their SD signal through Directv. Is there a waiver that I can get that will just give me CBS HD? Thanks for the help.

You can try to receive CBS in HD over the air from another market.

The closest one to you is on channel 24 in Terre-Haute, IN. Most people consider the best UHF antenna to be a Channel Matser 4228. You'll also need a preamp. The antenna would need to be be on your roof.

 

[aeneas3]

i have the same problem. for me it is fox. it is strange b/c we should get it...going to write them a letter tomorrow and send it out.

 

[ADent]

If you can get the analog station (OTA Grade B or LIL) then you need a waiver from the analog station to get distant digitals.

Starting on 4/30/2006 (top 100 DMAs) or 7/15/2007 (the rest) you can request a digitial signal test, if DirecTV is not providing digitial locals for you.

 

[PMKS]

If D* does not provide your locals in HD, and you cannot receive a OTA HD signal, you should be eligible to apply for distant HD locals.

The new SHVERA law can be interpreted in many different ways, depending on who you talk to. Even dif techs at the D* service centers will give you conflicting answers.

I went thru all the waiver BS for the past year trying to get the distant ABC HD feed, and finally got it. I already had the CBS, NBC, & FOX distant HD feeds. I get no HD OTA signal where I live.

 

[scotsmanron]

I called direct about the same issue were I lived because I wanted to get a HD TIVO and my OTA signal is no good, they told me that since they offered HD Locals, they will no longer give distanant networks. Put your address in for the distant networks, the web page will tell you..

That just isn't so. I've got east and west feeds AND I've got my locals as well. I got my HD last week and when I asked for HD east and west I was told no. I asked why, since I already had waivers for the others. I waited a few minutes and was told "yes, you are correct, once you have ANY waiver for east and west, you get HD waivers".

Now that isn't EXACTLY the same, but it also the same as telling you that you can't have a waiver at all.

 

[Fgsilva]

Interesting. I thought that with the new laws you can only get either east or west, not both. I currenlty have west HD feeds and I've played dumb a couple of times as asked for the East coast. They said I can't. I don't want to try it again as I've noticed that when I put my address for DNS it now says I can get OTA grade B! WTF??? I wasn't aware that somebody cut down the 100-foot tall pine trees around my property????

That just isn't so. I've got east and west feeds AND I've got my locals as well. I got my HD last week and when I asked for HD east and west I was told no. I asked why, since I already had waivers for the others. I waited a few minutes and was told "yes, you are correct, once you have ANY waiver for east and west, you get HD waivers".

Now that isn't EXACTLY the same, but it also the same as telling you that you can't have a waiver at all.

 

[syphix]

If D* does not provide your locals in HD, and you cannot receive a OTA HD signal, you should be eligible to apply for distant HD locals.

Applying does not necessarily mean you'll get them. I live 85 miles west of the Twin Cities, and can't pick up a SD or HD signal from the cities (all SD signals around here are repeaters). They approved me for CBS-HD from NYC, but I can't get ABC, FOX or NBC...they said "no" to my waivers. a$$%*&#s!! So, now I wait until HD locals are available....April 2006, they say....

 

[RIRWIN1983]

to those of you that have successfuly gotten wavers, esp for poor, or no ota reception, i would like to see how you worded your letters to assit me in applying for wavers till d* gets off its ass and offers hd locals in march,april,may, or whenever the csr tells me the next time i call. pm me if you want to email me a copy of the letter u used in ms word format.

 

[scotsmanron]

When my best friend couldn't get service because an antenna wouldn't work and then had his waivers turned down he marched himself down to the TV stations and waited until he could talk to the person in charge of the waivers. Of course here it only means a drive of less than 20 miles in any direction. Fox and NBC had granted easily. CBS and ABC had to be persuaded.

 

[ADent]

Here is how it is supposed to work

7. How can I receive digital signals including high definition signals?
Local digital stations: As with analog signals, subscribers can install an antenna to receive digital (including “HD,” high definition, digital signals) broadcast signals over-the-air from local broadcasters that are transmitting in a digital format.

Alternatively, you may be able to subscribe to local-into-local digital service if your satellite carrier offers it.

Distant digital signals: Satellite carriers are not required to offer distant digital signals. If your satellite carrier offers distant digital signals, you may be eligible to subscribe to them if one of the following situations applies to you.

- You may be currently receiving or allowed to subscribe to distant digital signals pursuant to private agreements between your satellite carrier and one or more television networks. If, as of December 8, 2004, you received distant digital signals, you may continue to receive these signals as long as the agreement remains in effect. You may receive the digital signal regardless of whether the satellite company offers local-into-local digital service or whether you subscribe to such service. Ask your satellite carrier if it offers distant digital signals.

- Alternatively, you may be eligible for distant digital signals if you are “unserved” by over-the-air analog signals. “Unserved” means your household cannot receive, with a stationary outdoor rooftop antenna, an over-the-air signal of Grade B intensity, as defined by the FCC. If your household is predicted to be “unserved” by the analog signals of a network station, you qualify for the distant digital signal of that network, if it is offered by your satellite carrier. If your satellite carrier offers local-into-local analog service, you must subscribe to it in order to qualify for distant digital signals. If you qualify for distant signal service, the SHVERA statute specifies that you can only receive signals from stations located in your same time zone or in a later time zone, not in an earlier time zone. In other words, you cannot receive programming aired at an earlier time than it would be aired by local stations in your time zone regardless of when you first subscribed to distant digital signals. Ask your satellite carrier which distant digital signals it offers in your area.

- A third alternative, created by the 2004 SHVERA statute, will allow for signal testing at your household to determine if you are “served” by a digital signal over-the-air. In some cases, if you are shown to be “unserved,” you would be eligible for distant digital signals, provided you subscribe to local-into-local analog service if it is offered. However, this digital testing option is not available until April 30, 2006 (in the top 100 television markets) and July 15, 2007 (in all other television markets). In certain situations, a station may qualify for a waiver of this testing requirement for a limited period of time. In addition, your satellite carrier may refuse to arrange for the digital signal test, and in that case, you may arrange and pay for a test yourself, under the supervision of the satellite carrier. Your satellite carrier can tell you whether you are in a top 100 market and whether it will help you to arrange for a digital signal test once the testing provisions take effect in 2006 or 2007.

In general, the SHVERA statute prevents a satellite carrier from offering distant digital signals if it makes local-into-local digital signals available to you unless you were receiving distant digital signals as of December 8, 2004. The statute also prevents satellite carriers from offering distant digital network programming that is aired in an earlier time zone than that in which you live unless you have a waiver from your local station that is affiliated with the same network as the station offering the earlier programming. This means, for example, if you live in California and local-into-local service is available to you and you are eligible for a distant digital signal, the satellite carrier is not permitted to provide you with a distant digital signal from New York.

Also

10. Do I need a new waiver to get a distant digital signal if I have a waiver for distant analog signals?

If you are an unserved household as defined above, you are eligible to receive a distant digital signal today, subject to the other statutory restrictions described above. If you are currently receiving distant analog signals because you were granted a waiver by one or more television stations, you may be eligible to receive a distant digital signal if your waiver is not limited to analog signals. You should contact your satellite carrier to check your eligibility and, if necessary, to request a waiver for distant digital signals. If you are eligible to receive a distant analog signal because you were a grandfathered subscriber as defined above, it is not automatic that you are eligible for a distant digital signal, and you should ask your satellite carrier to request a waiver from the television station on your behalf. Regardless of the way in which you are eligible to receive a distant digital signal, you must subscribe to local-into-local analog television service, if it is offered in your DMA, in order be eligible to receive a distant digital signal.

 

[ADent]

Summary: If you did not have OOM (out of market, aka distant) Networks on 12/8/2004 then you need to be 'unserved' by OTA signals or get a waiver - at least until May 2006 when digital testing comes to some markets.

How it actually works, I am not sure. But that is how it is supposed to work.

 

[charper1]

to those of you that have successfuly gotten wavers, esp for poor, or no ota reception, i would like to see how you worded your letters to assit me in applying for wavers till d* gets off its ass and offers hd locals in march,april,may, or whenever the csr tells me the next time i call. pm me if you want to email me a copy of the letter u used in ms word format.

Just have those actual letters copied and pasted here for everyone to see and use to avoid the "send to me too" posts. Just X-out anything that might be personal, which should be zero after your personal address and phone.

 

[javahh]

I have tried off and on for at least 1.5 years to get a waiver from the local NBC station. I can get ABC,FOX, CBSHD NewYork (with waiver from local), and 5 channels of UNCTV DT. To get the CBS waiver was pretty straight forward. I called the engineer with the station, explained where I lived in relation to the tower and he immediately sent me a waiver. NBC has been an ongoing battle. Emails, phone calls, visits to the station, have gotten me absolutely nowhere. Although NBC has some decent HD content, I have elected at this point to not watch thier station. Getting a waiver is an extremely long process with some stations and you just have to be persistant. With the locals that I get, plus the programming that I get from DirectTV, I am fairly happy at this point. I think DirectTV could use more programming, however I also understand that the technology is new and that we all want it to be right when introduced so I will wait. I have to remember that it's just TV (albiet a great way to watch) and in the end it doesn't affect\impact my life.

 

[Sharpie]

Update on HD waiver experience

In late January I asked Directv to send an HD waiver to my local CBS affiliate who is not sending out HD programming. Last week, I received a post card from Directv stating that the waiver had been denied. I was upset with the denial so I called the CBS station and asked to speak with the general manager. Although upset, I was courteous to the man in charge and asked for an explanation. He told me that he had no record whatsoever that Directv had even sent him a waiver acquisition because their were no findings on his computer that Directv had done so. He asked me for the name on the Directv account and address so that he could do a thorough search. Again, no such action of waiver request was sent to him by Directv. I explained why I would like the HD waiver and he was very understanding and said he would place it through for me. He later sent me an email telling me that he agreed to the waiver along with the confirmation number of the transaction. I now have channel 80 (CBS HD) thanks to the general manager going the extra mile on my behalf.

I now question whether Directv actually sent out the waivers.