Question about HD (LA) locals?

[SledgeHammer!]

Hi,

I live in the Los Angeles area. I'm interested in getting the HR10-250 (not the half assed HR20 thats never going to be released). Upon calling up DTV, I was told to get Los Angeles locals, I would need the 5 LNB dish. I think the lady was high on something. I thought Los Angeles and New York HD locals were still on the national MPEG2 feed. They aren't giving those anymore unless you apply for waivers which I probably wont get?

[rminsk]

The LA locals are still on the mpeg-2 sats. I get all my locals OTA and have unsubscribed to DirecTV locals. Saves a few bucks a month, it is a better quality image, and I get all the subchannels.

[Church AV Guy]

I am getting the LA local stations using the HR10-250, and I only have a three LNB dish. The lady was mistaken.

[gilberto]

I am getting the LA local stations using the HR10-250, and I only have a three LNB dish. The lady was mistaken.

me too. i would call again and talk to someone else. fwiw, i saw the hr10-250 at costco the other day. i forgot the price, but i think it was something like $349 or $379.

[SledgeHammer!]

I called a few more times and got the same response. The LA locals on the mpeg2 feed are so called "distant network feeds" that they stopped giving last month (waiver or no waiver). According to DTV, you can no longer get them except for people who had them "before". I tried telling the woman I had no interest in the half assed NDS DVR that'll never be released, but she didn't seem to realize there is a difference between Tivo and other DVRs.

You say the OTA locals are better quality? Do they fully integrate with the HR10-250? In the channel guide etc?

I actually live in Irvine, which is about 45 miles south-east of LA. Would I be able to get all my OTAs from here?

[A J Ricaud]

You say the OTA locals are better quality? Do they fully integrate with the HR10-250? In the channel guide etc?

I actually live in Irvine, which is about 45 miles south-east of LA. Would I be able to get all my OTAs from here?

Yes, OTA is better. Yes, they show up in the guide like any other channel. Go to:
antennaweb.org
for antenna recommendations. You probably can receive them with the proper antenna.

As for the dish, it wouldn't hurt to have them install the 5 LNB dish since it will work with existing (MPEG-2) and future (MPEG-4) receivers.

FWIW, Directv is supposed to be making available the new non-Tivo HD DVR (MPEG-4) in the L.A. market any time now.

[SledgeHammer!]

Well, as I said above, I really have no interest in a non-tivo anything. I've seen non-tivo DVRs and there IS a HUGE difference. Plus, I pre-wired my house with the anticipation of installing a HR10-250 down the line. I've got the triple-lnb 18x24 dish with Sat C kit. and two cables running in wall down to the living room. No ghetto nailed to the outside of the house cables for me :). My multi-switch in the attic is also one of those 5 x 8 jobs, so I'm all set to multiplex in the OTA if needed :).

Don't the 5 LNB dishes kill the multiplexing ability? And require additional cables run to the IRD?

[TyroneShoes]

If they stack the signals, which I think they are moving toward, that would indeed make diplexing difficult if not impossible. You can diplex today, but don't expect to be able to do that forever.

The switch matrix in the dish defines how many lines are available for STBs. Some STBs require 1, some require 2, but newer dishes will probably provide 4 outputs, maybe 6. You only need those cables if you have STBs connected to them, but it obviously makes sense to do 1 difficult run with 4 cables than 2 difficult runs of 2 cables each, 2 years apart.

...As for the dish, it wouldn't hurt to have them install the 5 LNB dish since it will work with existing (MPEG-2) and future (MPEG-4) receivers...
It's not really a mystery why CSRs are pushing the 5-lnb dish, in a year or two any non-KA dish will be a problem for DTV, in that it represents a legacy customer who will have to be bothered to change it out so that they can eventually get off of the current birds, and they don't want anything extending that problem. Sure, it will work for now. Having a 3-lnb dish is not a problem for customers, but it is for DTV.

If you expect to have DTV service more than a year or so, opt for the new dish for a new install, but if you already have the 3-phase, you're fine unless you need MPEG-4.

[A J Ricaud]

Don't the 5 LNB dishes kill the multiplexing ability? And require additional cables run to the IRD?

No, not if you are only using current (MPEG-2) receivers. However, if you switch to the new (MPEG-4) receivers, you will not be able to diplex. A new coax run will be needed between the OTA antenna and MPEG-4 receiver(s), however.

[SledgeHammer!]

No, not if you are only using current (MPEG-2) receivers. However, if you switch to the new (MPEG-4) receivers, you will not be able to diplex. A new coax run will be needed between the OTA antenna and MPEG-4 receiver(s), however.

Well, the CSR said that with the 5 LNB dish, I can get the LA locals off the SAT. Thats fine and dandy, but it aint no tivo and that makes a big difference to me. So I wouldn't really need an OTA in that case... but looking around, I can just stick a Sharpshooter antenna in the attic and multiplex it in to the 5x8 multiswitch with no additional wiring. So thats probably the way I'll go for now... plus, with the tivo, I can upgrade the HD storage, so thats another perk.