Blacked out on Channel 731 again!!

[twguccu]

I paid an extra $40 for the Super Fan this year so that I could get some Red Sox games in HD. Twice this week 731 has carried the game and I am blacked out in Central Vermont. I get the game fine on 623 (NESN) and the exact same feed on 741 (MLB EI) so what I can't understand is why I am blacked out on 731.

I am also blacked out on ESPN HD (expected) and 95 (assume it too is the NESN feed, could be the YES feed but no way to tell)

DTV reps have been and continue to be sadly uninformed and can offer no explanation beyond the ususal "Blackout rules apply" and that 731 is not available in HD tonight.

Are any DTV MPEG 2 subscribers seeing the Red Sox - Yanks game tonight on 731? I would particularly like to hear from anyone in Northern New England.

[Beantownbeanie]

TOTALLY blacked out here in Boston....expected but what a waste of $200 for NOTHING>..can't even get a local game in HD. What a joke directv. Might as well pack it in and go to the Tivo Series 3 and pay for comcast. Geez.

[gpg]

731 was the YES feed which would not be available within NESN territory when NESN is showing the game.

[beartrap]

The sad fact is, if you're in NESN territory (I live in Maine) , NESN is carrying the game, and you want to watch it in HD on D*, you need an MPEG-4 capable receiver. The only times I've seen the Red Sox in HD on my HR10-250 are: a) When ESPN has the game exclusively, and then I can watch it in HD on ch. 72 (ESPN 2 HD) or ch. 73 (ESPN HD), or b) When the the free preview for MLB EI was happening during the first week of the season, and then there were some games on ch. 95 (the NESN HD feed). If my local Fox affiliate had an OTA HD signal (they don't), then I would be able to watch today's game in HD via my OTA antenna.

The lunacy of all of this has forced me to do the unthinkable: I will buy (sorry; "lease") an HR20, and run it side-by-side with the HR10 in my living room. For the time being, I will use the HR20 for Red Sox games only. After much whining and cajoling to D* on my part, on the phone and through email, I have gotten the following deal: I will buy (sorry; "lease") an HR20 at a local retailer for $299, and D* will install a 5 LNB dish at no charge, give me an account credit of $250 upon activation of the HR20, and give me a $10 monthly credit for 12 months, starting immediately. Of course, my D* commitment will be extended to 24 months from activation of the HR20.

After watching sports in HD, a baseball game in SD just doesn't cut it.