looking into DirecTV soon, need some questions answered

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sandman989

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Jul 18, 2009
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Michigan
As of right now, I am planning on getting DirecTV when I go back to school in East Lansing in September, though Comcast has been making it a little more difficult to switch with all the HD they've been adding. I have a few questions before I really get into the whole ordering process though so I'm hoping to find some help from current subscribers.

First off, after I get all setup, I would like to move my service address to my home up north so I can get the locals from the Traverse City market. The possibility of receiving these channels is one of the main reasons I am looking at DirecTV. I was wondering if anyone knows if the spot beams for this market will reach down to the Lansing area. Also, I know moving comes with its risks, but if I make this move once and am not continually switching back and forth (hopefully I won't run into any issues where I will need service work), what is the chances I run into any problems.

Since I want my locals from up north coming from DirecTV, I planned on getting a rooftop antenna to get the Lansing locals and hopefully some others. I am looking at the DB8 Multidirectional HDTV Antenna from Antennas Direct (can't link yet, still a baby, sorry). Any info on this would also be much appreciated. I want to get the AM-21 to add onto whichever DVR they provide me. From what I have read, you only can add two markets to your lineup with this. I doubt there is, but is there any way to get more markets integrated into the guide. I'm guessing I will be able to pull in stations form the Lansing, Flint, and Grand Rapids markets, and I'd like to get them all in the guide. I know Dish recievers have true channel scans and can do this. If it wasn't for their lack of MLB network, Mega March Madness and the Traverse City locals in HD, I'd probably go with them just for that.

Finally, I know this may sound like a stupid question, but how are the local channels, both HD and SD, that come off the satelllite labeled in the guide. In the pictures in the brocheurs that I saw on the DirecTV website, the HD channels use the call sign and the SD channels use an abriviation of the market's city followed by the channel number. I swear I saw a reciever, non-DVR I'm pretty sure, when I was at a bar at home once that had both the HD and SD channels labeled with the call sign. Again, I know this is dumb but it's important to me for some reason.

Thank you to anyone who can give me some answers to these questions and help me get all the info I need before ordering. If anybody has any other advice that they think might be helpful to me I will happily take it. I've tried to do a lot of research to make sure I get exactly what I want, but I am still completely new to the satellite game so any help I can get would be great.
 
Hi,

I looked at the spotbeam map and it looks like you should be able to do what you're asking with the locals. As for what the guide shows, all my receivers list it as the local channel number, not a call sign. At my old house, outside Boston, WGBH is listed as "2" on the guide.

I do know that on my first receivers, when locals first came out, my locals were in the 900's. Not so nowadays.
 
the locals display depends on what market your in, im not sure if theres a rhyme or reason as to how or why, but in my market (wilkes barre/scranton) the locals use there call sign on sd and hd, but in my old market (columbia/Hackettstown NJ) the locals came from NYC, even though I was closer to philly :( cable in the jersey area actually carried philly locals too, i had a cheap set top antenna for them back then. anyway the ny locals are listed as NY2 (sd) then the call sign for HD
 
The current CE does allow hiding the HD channels. Hopefully, the national release of this CE will be out shortly. :)

Really, I hadn't explored into the menu much, I'll have to check it out.

edit: Awesome thats great news for some friends that get annoyed because everytime they change the channel they have to change it and then go up a channel.
They have a H20, hopefully when it's implemented it will go to the H series as well, non recorders. :up
 
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