Chicago, IL - DBS - Page 3

I have an antenna in my attic and can tune each local, ABC (7) and Fox (32) come in well as does PBS (11), however NBC (5) and CBS (2) come in at borderline acceptable with some interference. I am getting an HD TV and have Directv, I would like to use the current HD Tivo, but understand I may have some difficulties with my locals if I don't receive them that well over the air. I am in Vernon Hills, (60061) and would like to know what others have done.

dhkinil

Assuming a larger antenna and/or outdoor mounting aren't options in your situation, you'll have to wait until midsummer at least (the date remains uncertain) if you want a D* "TiVo" that receives local NBC and CBS. The present version relies on OTA reception for all local digital stations and cannot receive them from D*s satellite. Or, you could forget the DVR for now, and add a new D* HD receiver and antenna.

Even when the new DVR arrives, there is no indication when D* will offer anything more than ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox local stations from their satellite, so you'll still need your antenna for channels 9, 11, 26 and 50.

The best solution would be to upgrade your antenna, if that is possible. (Even then, channel 2 may be problematical out there.)

I am assuming I am going to use the OTA antenna, but sadly, upgrading or outdoor is not really a good option. I have a homeowner's association and while legally there is nothing they can do about an outdoor antenna, I really would prefer not to butt heads with them over this one.

I suspected as much. That leaves you with the new D* HD receiver option. Unfortunately, I don't think your homeowners' association is going to like their new antenna very well, either.

I hate to use this kind of language, but cable perhaps?

I am figuring the three LNB dish, I understand that can go on my chimney and that won't be a huge issue, besides my house is all cedar and there is no wood sheathing, only foam board, (my heating bills are wonderful) except in the corners, at least the chimney per village ordinance is brick,

as for cable, bite your tongue.

I have the 3 LNB dish on my chimney. Unfortunately, it won't get local HD stations from D*, so you'll still be out of luck for channels 2 and 5. You'll need the 5 LNB monster for MPEG 4 reception.

Well, I noticed that my SD locals were looking worse than ever last night on E*. Upon further investigation I noticed that they had added a channel 13 - WOCK, which is a low-powered all-Spanish local channel. Less bandwith and worse-yet picture quality, all for another channel that will never be anything but completely worthless to me.

Does anyone know if the local Chicago HD channels on Dish network satellite (129 degrees) are spot beam or CONUS?

i also just got Dish installed with HD and locals. do they pretty much have all local digital channels? i assume that 050-00 (UPN), for example, is from satellite while 050-01 is from the antenna. if so, then i see all HD digital locals, including WCIU. i didn't notice an obvious difference as well between the satellite equivalent and digital antenna locals. are the locals broadcast in full HD or downrezzed?

Yes the -01 locals are your antenna. The dish hd locals are in the 6300 range and should map down to the Channel number-00 range unless specified for hd priorty. make sure your reciver is setup properly for hdtv IE: that the settings are changed from 480I to 720P/1080I. They Do down rez the voom channels and LIL HD. Everything else is in full hd

I live in Vernon Hills, I just put in the V4 MK11 antenna, and as of now I am getting channel 2, yes WBBM, in high def!. There is a combiner that joins it with my wyngard and both are then connected to the amplifier that came with the wyngard.

This belongs in the Chicago OTA thread.

This thread could use some reports from D* subscribers who have the AT9 dish in Chicagoland.

Maybe we should bump it up out of the musty basement every so often, so some of those people can actually see that it exists.

Just curious...

I'm an HD subscriber in Evanston. I have the 3-LNB dish, OTA antenna, and the HD Tivo (plus I get the NY HD feeds in the 80s). Since the MPEG4 DVR is not yet out and I get the locals OTA, I am in no hurry to upgrade to the AT9 dish and H20 receiver. But I'm kind of surprised that DirecTV hasn't at least contacted me about upgrading. Has anyone been contacted by DirecTV or has everyone who has the AT9 proactively called DirecTV and asked for it? How would a regular customer even know that HD locals were available via satellite if they didn't check the message boards? I figured that all HD customers would have been contacted within a few months of the HD locals launching in Chicago. Why else would DirecTV be in such a rush to launch as many markets as possible so quickly?

I dont know of anyone that has been contacted. I think the rush to get the equiptment was so all new subscribers would get the AT9 and H20.

I am in Vernon Hills, all locals are spotty over the air, I was turned down by all of the locals, how did you get the override?

dhkinil

I dont understand your question. What do you mean by "override"?

Sorry, how did you get D* to allow you to get locals from NY, they would not let me have them, actually, the networks would not let me have them. D* told me they would request permission to give me the NY feed for equipment issues, and a few weeks later I got a postcard saying no

dhkinil

It was just a matter of signing up at the correct time. When I signed up for D* and the HD pack the channels just came on. They aren't letting new subscribers add them anymore because of the HD LIL with out waivers.

So, what's the consensus from those that have upgraded to the new 5-LNB dish and MPEG4 H20 receiver? Has DirecTV worked out the kinks? How does the picture quality look compared to DirecTV's MPEG2 overly compressed HD LITE and also compared to OTA? How about audio?

With DirecTV set to add Comcast SportsNet Chicago next month to the LiL MPEG4 in Chicago, I'm considering upgrading. Now we just need the new HD-DVR with MPEG4 to be released and it would be a no brainer.

Thanks for the feedback for those who have been watching locals via MPEG4.

MJC

I recently moved to Algonquin from Elgin. I installed an OTA antenna in my attic at my old house along with a 3 lnb dish and the HR10-250. I called DTV to move me and they told me since the MPEG 4 HD DVR isnt out yet, they would install the new 5 lnb dish and give me a free OTA to hook up to the HR10-250. The installer gets here and tells me the free OTA wont work cause I am to far away from the city. If I want a good OTA I would have to pay for it and have them install it...yada yada. So I call DTV back to complain and they send me an H20 so I could get my HD locals, I would just have to deal with not having the locals on my HR10-250. So they send the H20 out, I leave one cable connected to the HR10-250 and the other I run into the H20. I currently get 2 (CBS), 5 (NBC), 7 (ABC) and 32 (FOX) in HD on my H20. Now mind you, I still also get 80 (CBSE), 82 (NBCE), 84 (ABCE) and 86 (FOXE) on my HR10-250. I STILL DONT GET THE ONLY CHANNELS I REALLY CARE ABOUT 9 and 26!!! So I call back and they let me know I would need an OTA for 9 and 26 because the arent broadcast nationally or something like that.

Needless to say, this H20 is pretty much useless if you have an OTA and the HR10-250 with the East coast feeds.

Can someone tell me if there is ever any plans to get 9 and 26 in HD with this 5 lnb guy or do I need to get another OTA at my new house?



Also, a few weeks ago I received an email from HDTV forums stating that as of July 18th, all RSN channels will be broadcast in HD to DTV customers. I must have deleted the email cause now I cant locate it. But there has been plenty of baseball on Comcast since then and not one game has been in HD. Is there a different channel for the HD CSNC Channel. Id really love to watch my White Sox in HD again!!

Thanks in advance for any help guys. This forum never fails me!!

FJ,

Yep, only CBS, NBC, ABC and FOX HD locals are being carried for now, due to bandwidth considerations. If you want WGN and WCIU (and WPWR) in HD, you need an OTA antenna.

You also need the new MPEg 4 decoders to receive the RSN's.

FJ,

DirecTV will begin broadcasting Comcast Sports Net in HD in August (I don't have the exact date handy). As mentioned, it will be in MPEG4 and only available on your H20 until the new HD DVR comes out.

As for adding Ch. 9, I'd be willing to bet that it will be available before the start of the fall TV season. A few markets (I think Philly is one) have already had their CW affiliate added to the MPEG4 LiLs on DirecTV.

How do Channels 2, 5, 7 & 32 look and sound with your H20?

MJC

The H20 actually looks a little better then the HR10-250, maybe thats only because I have the H20 hooked up with a DVI cable and the HR10-250 with Components. Either way, looks good and sounds good. But, there hasnt been a whole lot to watch on 2,5,7 and 32 lately.

MJC, any confirmation on this? Did you get an email or just word of mouth?

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix....397&highlight=

In August DIRECTV will deliver HD MLB games from SportsNet New York (Mets), as well as continuous 24/7 HD feeds from Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic HD (Orioles) and Comcast SportsNet Chicago HDTV (Cubs, White Sox).

Well, if Im reading this correctly, Comcast SportsNet Chicago is a 24/7 continuous feed, it should be HD on the current channel which is 640. Well, Ive been watching it for the last few days and....no HD for you!!! Am I doing something wrong. Do I need to re-run the setup or something. Can anyone else verify they are getting HD on CSNC? If so, what channel is it on? Thanks guys.

Post from 2005 by Hawkeye7.


This post was made a year ago, (2005), by Hawkeye7, and all of the same college games will be played this year and broadcast in stunning high definition.

ABC has Texas Vs. Ohio St. at 7 pm on September 9. ESPN HD will show Iowa at Iowa St. on Sept. 16th at 11 am. And NBC will show Michigan vs. Notre Dame at 2:30 pm on Sept. 16th.

Since ABC isn't carryng Monday Night Football anymore, they are putting more into college football. Every Saturday they will broadcast a primetime game in high definition.

Notre Dame plays 3 times this year; at Georgia Tech, (Sept. 2), at Michigan St. (Sept. 23rd), and at USC (Nov. 25th).

USC will play 3 times, (Notre Dame, Cal, and Nebraska), and UCLA during championship week at 3:30 Chicago time, (no mention on whether it'll be in HD or not).
Michigan could play 3 times, (Notre Dame, Penn State, Minnesota maybe)
Ohio State could also play 3 times (Texas, Iowa, Minnesota maybe).

So, last year ABC only broadcasted the bowl games and conference championship games in High def. This year they are adding their primetime games, and I'll bet they'll even have some of the big games in HD this year too. Putting this with their broadcast of the ACC and Big 12 championship games and the Rosebowl, they are putting together a nice High Def. line up. So with CBS broadcasting everyweek in high definition the SEC games of the week, and NBC showing the Notre Dame home games you're bound to see a lot of HD college football broad cast over the air this year.

If you've got cable it gets ever richer, because of ESPN HD and ESPN 2 HD now offered by Comcast. Both these channels are going to have a couple of games each week in HD. We're steping in the age of High Definition here, and the networks are satisfying the demands of the patrons who enjoy their service.

I think that all if not most of the Bears games this year are going to be in High Definition on Fox and NBC, as they were last year with Fox and CBS. Its going to be a great fall, I feel like we're getting a treat. I can't hardly wait!

FJ,

I don't have MPEG4 yet so I can't tell you for sure, but from what I've read on other forums, the HD version of CSN-Chicago will appear on channel 96 (at least that's where other RSN HD feeds have shown up in other markets). Also, I don't believe DirecTV has started broadcasting CSN-Chicago yet. They just said that it would be sometime in August, but did not give an exact date. Keep checking channel 96 and report back to us when you see something!

Thanks,
MJC

Ok, the White Sox were on Comcast last night...channel 640 was not in HD, so I checked in the 90s. There I see, Yankees @ White Sox on channel 96. I get all excited and press the select button like Ive never pressed it before and poof...channel not available in your area (727).
But here is the kicker...the game was also on ESPN in HD, so Im not sure if that takes over for 96. Then when ESPN doesnt have it they will show it on 96? I wont be able to verify tonight cause I will be at the game. But hopefully this was a good sign.