HD Rules - Shvera

[Rhughes]

We have had the east and west coast networks since they were available on DirecTV. There are no OTA signals in this area. Last week we upgraded to HD with a new dish and DVR. Now it appears that we are not eligible for HD on the distant networks, and would have to switch to local channels to get network HD. Can someone point me to the FCC regs that deal with HD on distant networks? This seems to be a different law from those covering receipt of distant networks. Or maybe it's buried in there someplace, and I just can't find it. Not easy to find things on the FCC website.

HR22-100
Philips DSR-708
Philips DSR-708
R10

[kaszeta]

Originally Posted by Rhughes

We have had the east and west coast networks since they were available on DirecTV. There are no OTA signals in this area. Last week we upgraded to HD with a new dish and DVR. Now it appears that we are not eligible for HD on the distant networks, and would have to switch to local channels to get network HD. Can someone point me to the FCC regs that deal with HD on distant networks? This seems to be a different law from those covering receipt of distant networks. Or maybe it's buried in there someplace, and I just can't find it. Not easy to find things on the FCC website.

HR22-100
Philips DSR-708
Philips DSR-708
R10

Don't know about the actual FCC regs, but looking at the SHVERA text, you get this

After the date on which a satellite carrier makes available the digital signal of a local network station, the carrier may not offer the distant digital signal of a network station affiliated with the same television network to any new subscriber to such distant digital signal after such date, except that such distant digital signal may be provided to a new subscriber who cannot be reached by the satellite transmission of the local digital signal.

From http://www.satelliteguys.us/rbbrittain/SHVERA.html

[Rhughes]

Originally Posted by kaszeta

Don't know about the actual FCC regs, but looking at the SHVERA text, you get this



From http://www.satelliteguys.us/rbbrittain/SHVERA.html

Thanks for that reference, but it doesn't appear to address high definition transmission per se. I have been a subscriber to DirecTV for nearly 15 years, so not really a new subscriber. We were grandfathered into the east and west coast networks years ago. All we did now was add HD to our existing programming. Unfortunately, it added HD to everything BUT the networks.

[kaszeta]

Originally Posted by Rhughes

Thanks for that reference, but it doesn't appear to address high definition transmission per se. I have been a subscriber to DirecTV for nearly 15 years, so not really a new subscriber. We were grandfathered into the east and west coast networks years ago. All we did now was add HD to our existing programming. Unfortunately, it added HD to everything BUT the networks.

Using the current technology, high-definition broadcast requires digital transmission, so the segment I quoted applies. For the purposes of what you're asking "distant digital signal" = "HD DNS"

The SD distant network signals had looser qualifications in the SHVIA, and while they tightened those up a bit in SHVERA, people that had channels under SHVIA were allowed to keep them.

[bkdtv]

Originally Posted by Rhughes

We have had the east and west coast networks since they were available on DirecTV. There are no OTA signals in this area. Last week we upgraded to HD with a new dish and DVR. Now it appears that we are not eligible for HD on the distant networks, and would have to switch to local channels to get network HD. Can someone point me to the FCC regs that deal with HD on distant networks? This seems to be a different law from those covering receipt of distant networks. Or maybe it's buried in there someplace, and I just can't find it. Not easy to find things on the FCC website.

As noted above, if a digital (HD) signal is available to you locally, then you cannot add distant signals in HD if you don't have them already. DirecTV considers SD service to be different from HD service.

You should also be aware that DirecTV provides its HD locals using satellite spot beams, which can only be seen from each specific region.

[Rhughes]

Originally Posted by bkdtv

As noted above, if a digital (HD) signal is available to you locally, then you cannot add distant signals in HD if you don't have them already. DirecTV considers SD service to be different from HD service.

You should also be aware that DirecTV provides its HD locals using satellite spot beams, which can only be seen from each specific region.

OK. Thanks. The SD/HD treatment explains it for me. Maybe we should have signed up for HD as soon as it became available in New York and L.A. Might have gotten us under the wire. Looks like our only solution now is to go with the Phoenix locals, and give up those great east and west coast stations.

We did try Phoenix locals when the spot beams first began. DirecTV gave us a month or so free to see if we wanted to sign up for them. I don't remember the specific problems at the time, but we decided to stick with the nationals. Seems like the programming was goofy. Network shows that were produced on one network were shown on another, which pre-empted things we really wanted to watch on the other network. We see the same thing all the time when we stay in hotels and watch their network "locals."