Newbie D* Questions

[russlay]

Just switched from E* to D* (MLB EI the reason), but a few questions. I set up two receivers, one the standard box and the other the HDDVR.

My local channels for the Outer Banks of NC are defined as the Norfolk-VA ones. On my HD DVR only, I show all of those as well as the Raleigh Durham channels in the Guide. I can't tune in the Raleigh channels, but they do show on the HD receivers guide. Can these be subscribed to, or just an error on the receiver?

Likewise, on the HD receiver I see several channels for various network HD feeds (NBC, CBS, etc). Can these be subscribed to, or are they just reserved for those few people who aren't classified as having local channels?

Finally, are any channels full time Dolby 5.1, and if so, should they light up the Dolby indicator on my receiver/amp??

Thanks all.

 

[damaged]

You will get guide data even for channels which are impossible (on spotbeams outside your area), or unavailable for subscription (special and commercial broadcasts), so just because they show in the guide does not mean you can sub to them all, it is not an error, it is by design, which is why you can setup favorite lists to only show channels you can view.

When you tune to such a channel, it will give you a kind of 'error' code, which usually gives an idea of what type it is, some can be misleading,. like if you are on the east coast and are not eligible to get a west coast national feed, and try to tune to it, it will give 'Channel not Purchased', which may give someone the idea they CAN purchase it, when that is only true under certain conditions.