Local Channels Blacked Out?

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JoshMcMadMac

Well-Known SatelliteGuys Member
Original poster
Sep 8, 2010
25
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Waynesboro, PA
I have not watch local television stations in awhile, so I might have missed something in the recent past. I live in central Pennsylvania, and have always had channels 4/5/8/9 etc. as ABC/NBC/FOX. Now when I select one of those channels it is blacked out and the receiver searches for a different channel. Does anyone know what changed?
 
I have not watch local television stations in awhile, so I might have missed something in the recent past. I live in central Pennsylvania, and have always had channels 4/5/8/9 etc. as ABC/NBC/FOX. Now when I select one of those channels it is blacked out and the receiver searches for a different channel. Does anyone know what changed?

What's your zip code, and what are these channels (callsign) - channel numbers don't help much...
Have you moved at all?
It's possible that the DMA you live in might have changed but we need more info to sort this out...
 
What's your zip code, and what are these channels (callsign) - channel numbers don't help much...
Have you moved at all?
It's possible that the DMA you live in might have changed but we need more info to sort this out...
Zip code is 17268. I will have to check on the channels. I just found out weird that they were solid for 3 years and are now blacked out...I would think they would give me a different "local" channel instead.
 
According to the DTV website,you should be getting 8 channels from the Harrisburg DMA
maybe they went all HD and you don't have a slimline dish?
 
Could be an error on Directv's part
Mine in Little Rick were blacked out by mistake last year for a couple of days

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I think that has changed right there in that part of Franklin County, don't know 100% for sure. Was thinking I heard or read that area was to be part of the washington dc dma.


Here is a nice pdf map of the dma's.
 

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No, it is the Harrisburg DMA. But all the locals are on the "HD" MPEG-4 satellites and if the OP does not have a slimline dish and MPEG-4 capable receivers he won't receive them.

So questions for the OP.
What receiver do you have?
What dish do you have?
What are the callsigns of the stations you are trying to find?
 
Wilkesbarre scranton dma is moving this month as is like everyone else in the country. For new installs. But ur sd locals should be on the 101.. so I'm not sure what's going on there. Local channels don't black out.. only rsns and such. Might wanna give dtv a call. What's your error code is it 727 or 771?
 
Wilkesbarre scranton dma is moving this month as is like everyone else in the country. For new installs. But ur sd locals should be on the 101.. so I'm not sure what's going on there. Local channels don't black out.. only rsns and such. Might wanna give dtv a call. What's your error code is it 727 or 771?
17268 is Harrisburg and locals are on 99/103....
 
Immediately south of the OP's location is the Washington DC DMA. Maybe the DMA boundaries changed at some point. But I expect we'll find out the OP has an SD receiver and that's why there are no locals.
 
I didn't think Harrisburg was an mpg4 market... that's literally the next dma to me.. hence how I said sd locals..
Mea culpa, of course Harrisburg isn't MPEG-4; what was I thinking?? So my theory is complete b..s..
Let's see what the OP has to say...
 
No, it is the Harrisburg DMA. But all the locals are on the "HD" MPEG-4 satellites and if the OP does not have a slimline dish and MPEG-4 capable receivers he won't receive them.

So questions for the OP.
What receiver do you have?
What dish do you have?
What are the callsigns of the stations you are trying to find?

I have H-24's, HR-44, and a genie mini. It is a slimline dish, only a few years old. What took me so long to get back around to replying was finding time to actually turn on a TV! The error code is 727 "Program not available in your area" and the channels are:
4 - WRC
5 - WTTG
7 - WJLA
9 - WUSA
20 - WDCA
26 - WETA
 
Those stations are from the Washington DC dma, as noted, you are in the Harrisburg dma. If you used to get them, that has changed. These are the stations you get now:
ABC WHTM 27
CBS WHP 21
CW WLYH 15
FOX WPMT 43
IND WGCB 49
MNT MNT 22
NBC WGAL 8
PBS WITF 33
 
My guess is that the OP is tuning the stations by keying in the channel number, which of course will give him the error. If he goes to the guide the "new" locals will be there. But he will need to change any series links he has because they will be pointing to the "old" stations.
The DMAs get changed every so often and I assume the OPs DMA changed from Washington to Harrisburg.
Note that this is not a DirecTV decision, the FCC forces DirecTV to deliver the locals for the DMA where you live, they do not have a choice.
 
I know someone that lives in Franklin County pa and they took away Washington dma a couple of weeks ago...they used to be significantly viewed channels

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