Buffalo HD Locals

[grosek]

Just wondering if this is true or not....I called CS last night to see when exactly we would receive HD local channels, after being told early January, then mid-January, and now it's pushed back to early-mid February. The reasoning, I was told, was that not all of the other cities that are joining Buffalo with local HD channels have agreements signed, so the entire group has to wait until that is done.

Has anyone else heard of this?

 

[NiFi]

We are hearing the same thing as you, which doesnt mean alot as they change so much most times i dont bother following it.

The OTA signals are great throughout Buffalo area so the OTA setups we are doing for customers blow anything coming from the sats away anyways.

 

[mtsz52784]

Yeah i just upgraded to hd last thursday and the installer said that it wouldnt be until march... here is a great find (in my eyes) that i have already posted in a thread... http://www.remotecentral.com/hdtv/

 

[Indiana627]

I emailed D* this week and got the 'by end of January' response. I also asked if they knew specific channels would be available but they said they did not know.

 

[grosek]

mtsz52784...are you able to pick up Toronto OTA HD or just Buffalo channels?

 

[mtsz52784]

im in the city of tonawanda and i am not able to get the toronto locals, but that i believe is my own fault 1) i live in an apartment (all brick) 2) i only bought the $50.00 ota antenna with 10dB gain 3) i am on the first floor... if i had a house (this summer) i will be getting a stronger antenna and putting it in the attic. i have heard (another forum, dont remember) that with a better antenna and the proper alignment you can pick them up. i currently pick up all wny channels with about 80% on all with most getting 90%. i also do pick up the jamestown god channel. its alot better then non-hd. the funny thing is that Time Warner has a bad feed from wivb which is corrupt so those people have to watch corrupt pixels when watching cbs....haha

 

[NiFi]

The toronto HD's on the whole dont come in too well in the buffalo direct area, i am saying from my experience.
The best pickup of them i have had has been with some kick ass Sony tv's in the far North Tonawanda, Niagara Falls area.

 

[grosek]

my HD TV is in my basement...are indoor OTA antennas recommended or are the outdoor one's better?

 

[raoul5788]

my HD TV is in my basement...are indoor OTA antennas recommended or are the outdoor one's better?

Outside is always better, but you may find an indoor one works fine for you. It depends on the strength of signal and proximity to the towers. Check this website: www.antennaweb.org.

 

[NiFi]

Indoor "may" work for some stations and in good weather, just remember HD is digital and is affected by our snow and other bad weather, leaving you "out in the cold" when you want to keep warm and watch some HD tv.

 

[mtsz52784]

BOO i talked to the retention group last night because i was able to get a HR20-700s for 99.00 so i had to go to BestBuy and plop down 299.99 and then get a credit through D*, but anyways i was asking about Buffalo locals and now officially has been pushed back to mid-late APRIL!!! but i'm glad i still have my OTA antenna for Super Bowl!!

 

[ninsega]

DIRECTV... fumbling the ball

I live along the Niagara Falls BLVD and my OTA HD cuts out when cars drive by. Especially police cars and ambulances, it's annoying.

When I had HD installed in October, I was told locals would work in December.

DIRECTV started testing Buffalo locals in mid-December on HR units. So some people can watch Buffalo local in HD, but we have to wait possibly more months now.

Luckily I received the Game Lounge upgrade... that doesn't even work on my receiver. Awesome!

 

[mtsz52784]

has anybody upgraded (as i did) from the h20 (hd receiver) to the hr-20 (hd dvr) and notice that the OTA HD channels don't seem to have the signal strength that they did on the h20? Because after upgrading it seems that i dont get the best signal strength and either when checking the antenna signal meter they both say not accquired then will jump up to the 70's and higher, but they dont show low signals so you can tweak the antenna like the h20??

 

[gator22]

I had the Slimline and a second h20 installed yesterday and the installer told me that yesterday morning they were told that Buffalo locals would launch mid Feb. He said the only reason that they have been pushed back is that the installs were so far behind that D* did not want to bury them so they were holding of until they got caught up. He said they are now pretty much caught up so the locals were a go for mid Feb.

So I guess you can throw this on the pile of rumors going around. If we keep throwing these things at the wall one of them is going to stick eventually.

 

[NiFi]

Looking at your locations ie..tonawanda, OP, Falls blvd area, what you guys can get off a properly installed antenna will give you more channels and better quality than whats coming down the road from DTV.

Especially if the Tonawandas are NT and Falls blvd if your in the falls area, as CBC HD canada comes in decent in those spots.

I watch ALL my locals off my antenna all the time.

 

[ninsega]

I wrote in asking what was up with the Buffalo locals.


"Thanks for asking about HD programming. I know that HD programming is important to you and DIRECTV is committed to offering the best possible HD experience to you. Though currently we are not able to offer local channels in HD for the Buffalo, NY area (zip code 14120), we expect to carry this service in mid-April 2007. Once available, we can upgrade your DIRECTV system with the right equipment to receive the new HD local channels. To learn more, please call us at (888) 355-7530 between 6:05 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. ET any day of the week, and one of our Customer Service Representatives will be able to assist you.

Sine it appears that you may be interested in a new feature for your DIRECTV HD receiver, we do expect Game Lounge to be active on your DIRECTV H20 receiver in the near future.

Thanks again for writing and I hope we're able to fix the problem quickly.

Sincerely,

Emmanuel
Employee ID 100128898
DIRECTV Customer Service"

 

[Indiana627]

I checked my account online and found this:

02/03/2007 xxxxxxxx3653 LOCALS HD - Charge $0.00

I'm in ZIP 14120 too.

 

[mtsz52784]

yeah i seen that on mine too...14150

 

[joeree]

Good morning guys. I have just registered and am having my service upgraded to HD as I type. Just bought a new plasma and can't wait to see what I have been hearing about. My question is: I live in Niagara Falls and need to get an indoor antenna. What have you guys found to work the best? I appreciate any advise you can offer.

 

[NiFi]

Good morning guys. I have just registered and am having my service upgraded to HD as I type. Just bought a new plasma and can't wait to see what I have been hearing about. My question is: I live in Niagara Falls and need to get an indoor antenna. What have you guys found to work the best? I appreciate any advise you can offer.

Why do you need an indoor antenna? Apartment? After installing 1,000's of antennas across WNY including the VOOM days You will find the indoor antenna "may" work well in good weather conditions, but being a digital signal, it will drop out when the weather gets nasty.

If their going to work, then just regular old rabbit ears using the UHF loop will do fine, nothing HD special. :up