Is a Raleigh Spot Beam Fix in Sight?

[vicw]

Back in January, a WRAL press release indicated a problem with the Direct TV spot beam coverage for the Raleigh area, which has made it impossible for about 25% of their broadcast area to receive HD Locals from D*. They said that D* expected to fix the problem as early as September.

Unfortunately, I'm in that 25% dead area, and of course I'm too far away for reliable OTA, so I'm eagerly wating for good news that Direct will be able to provide the locals to me. Impending changes with TWC DVR software, along with many expected new HD channels on satellite are making the E* & D* alternatives more and more appealing.

Does anyone have a clue how D* is progressing with the spot beam fix?

 

[Jimbo]

Back in January, a WRAL press release indicated a problem with the Direct TV spot beam coverage for the Raleigh area, which has made it impossible for about 25% of their broadcast area to receive HD Locals from D*. They said that D* expected to fix the problem as early as September.

Unfortunately, I'm in that 25% dead area, and of course I'm too far away for reliable OTA, so I'm eagerly wating for good news that Direct will be able to provide the locals to me. Impending changes with TWC DVR software, along with many expected new HD channels on satellite are making the E* & D* alternatives more and more appealing.

Does anyone have a clue how D* is progressing with the spot beam fix?

I don't have a definate yes or no, but I do know that thelocals will be addressed with the new sat going live, I expect most of the locals to be up once this HD roll out is lit up.

So I would say theres a real good possibility of it being fixed, probably waiting to be able to move to the new sat.
Yes, that would be in September OR after the first of the year with the other sat, but I would guess it will be addressed with this one seeing they are suppose to be up already.

Jimbo

 

[atp1313]

Are you implying NEW HDLIL's or just revamped/repaired/updated HDLIL's?

 

[vicw]

I don't have a definate yes or no, but I do know that thelocals will be addressed with the new sat going live, I expect most of the locals to be up once this HD roll out is lit up.

So I would say theres a real good possibility of it being fixed, probably waiting to be able to move to the new sat.
Yes, that would be in September OR after the first of the year with the other sat, but I would guess it will be addressed with this one seeing they are suppose to be up already.

Jimbo

Thanks, Jimbo. That gives me a little optomism that the fix may actually be coming soon. I hope it happens with the current batch of new satellite activity this month. If it doesn't get resolved until after year end, I will problably have switched over to E* by then.

 

[fredsanford]

Back in January, a WRAL press release indicated a problem with the Direct TV spot beam coverage for the Raleigh area, which has made it impossible for about 25% of their broadcast area to receive HD Locals from D*. They said that D* expected to fix the problem as early as September.

I'm in the Raleigh NC area and just switched to the Ka/Ku dish a vew weeks ago. I'm able to view the MPEG-4 HD locals from the sat just fine (eveything but PBS is there).

*edit*
I just found the press release and I'm not in the list of excluded zips. Hopefully they'll be able to fill-in that coverage gap once the new sat is fully online

 

[Hoopty]

If you have off air capability, you can email WRAL and they will do a diagnostic and I think you need to email them a copy of your reciept for your High Definition TV and they will send you the appropriate off air antenna for free. You have to install it yourself tho. I got mine in Feb of this year and with this new antenna I can pick up WRAL just fine whareas before, I couldn't.

 

[vicw]

If you have off air capability, you can email WRAL and they will do a diagnostic and I think you need to email them a copy of your reciept for your High Definition TV and they will send you the appropriate off air antenna for free. You have to install it yourself tho. I got mine in Feb of this year and with this new antenna I can pick up WRAL just fine whareas before, I couldn't.

Thanks, Hoopty, for the info., but I am just too far South of Raleigh for reliable OTA. I will either go with E*, which does have the locals available to me via Spot Beam, or wait a bit longer for D* to get the change made. WRAL's web site also has a copy of the press release from January that details which Zip Codes in their viewing area are not currently covered by D*.

 

[Robert l]

Since Raleigh has a spot beam that doesn't cover the entire DMA, I was wondering if anyone is getting it around the Fayetteville area, like zip code 28301. Its not on the list and actually going closer toward the coast, some of those zip code aren't listed as not available either. I find the zip codes that aren't available kind of confusing compared to how close they can be to what is listed as available.

Anyway, I was looking at a dish this weekend close the NC line on the coast, and transponder 2 and 6 is 91, on 103a. Nobody knows which ones Raleigh uses but seems like it should be one or both of those ?

I know Greenville SC uses 103a also, but Fayetteville is closer than that, from where I was at. Well, I was wondering about that, someone I know is considering a place close to Fayetteville, but some closer to the coast, not much though. They are interested in knowing ahead of time if possible. I didn't even realize 28301 Raleigh DMA went that far until I recently looked into it. I believe Wilmington use to have Fayetteville?

 

[vicw]

I'm not sure what the Zip codes listed as unable to receive the HD locals is really based on. I have learned that customers in my local listed zip areas are actually receiving them, and a local dealer insists that he has installed hundreds of them, with no manipulation of addresses of the accounts, yet D* insists in a written response to me that the local HD's are not available in my Zip. Their response indicated that the problem is more based on the possibility of interference from adjacent spot beams, than on a weak signal, and it was very ambiguous about any hope for a resolution anytime soon. I've written back to them about the apparent disconnect between the corporate position, and the actuality of successful installations within the Zips, but they have not responded after about two weeks.

I'd love to be able to buy th DVR's at Costco, and sign up for D*, but I'm concerned the installer that D* assigns would hold to the party line that they are not available in my Zip, or that D* would refuse to provide help if they were enabled, and any problems arose with them.

 

[Robert l]

Well the zip codes I was looking at are listed as available but since it appears to be so confused, that's why I was wondering if anyone could give the signal levels on 103a. I was guessing that anyone getting the best signal on transponder 2 & 6 in the area of Fayettville, along with receiving Raleigh HD locals ok, then that's where they were coming from.

But yes I don't see how some of those area's listed as available and others that aren't, could be correct. as close as some are.

 

[vicw]

Robert

The list I am working from is of those Zip Codes that cannot get the HD Locals, as included in the WRAL press release from Jan 31, 2007. It can be downloaded at: http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/1185822/

I have found it consistent so far with the Direct TV Zip Code checker for HD locals. What list are you using that shows the available Zip codes, and are 28387 and 283874 on that list?

 

[Robert l]

I was just going by zip codes that when entered into the Directv website, they say the HD locals are avaiable, so I don't have a different list. Yeah, I think it matches the one WRAL put out. I guess it was easier to use zip codes than addresses, since there is noway the signal can just stop in some of those area's.

Maybe someone will figure out which transpoders HD locals are on sometime soon, with 99b and 103a.