Canadian Directv Subscription

[Jordank14]

Hi All,

I live in Montreal, Canada and wish to subscribe to Directv. I have a friend that subscribes to Directv through an address that he has in Oakland, California and he loves his service with the exception of one thing - he does not receive the major networks (East or West) in HD. Meaning he is unable to subscribe to the HDs that you would normally find around the 90s and 390s. If I were to get a Directv subscription, how could I go about getting the major networks in HD? Does anyone know of a specific US zip code that would give me eligibility to subscribe to these HDs? Also, my friend was telling me about the OTA HD locals, but I believe this requires a seperate antenna right? Any info would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[jcrandall]

Welcome to Satelliteguys...

I can tell you that OTA would not help you in Montreal with a Directv box. They are only setup for US zip codes and it would have no data to pul your local stations off.

As for DNS zip codes, I have no idea.

 

[Jordank14]

I was thinking about the OTA antenna in terms of picking up the HD networks out of my local US market (I'm about an hour from Plattsburgh, NY). Also, when using an OTA antenna does it require seperate wiring or does it merely run through the satellite's RG6? I guess the easiest solution would be to simply have access to the HD's situated in the channel 90s range. Anyone else have answers?

 

[stone phillips420]

i think a dtv ota box would work in mtl burlington vt is far away at all

 

[Jordank14]

So what does this OTA antenna consist of and is it seperately wired to the back of the receiver, or can it be wired to the dish itself?

 

[stone phillips420]

on the dtv boxes there is a ota port on back of box, no it cannot be wired to dish

 

[riga]

I was thinking about the OTA antenna in terms of picking up the HD networks out of my local US market (I'm about an hour from Plattsburgh, NY). Also, when using an OTA antenna does it require seperate wiring or does it merely run through the satellite's RG6? I guess the easiest solution would be to simply have access to the HD's situated in the channel 90s range. Anyone else have answers?

For OTA you could use a) a D* box that has an ATSC tuner (getting harder to find); b) a stand-alone ATSC tuner box; or c) the ATSC tuner that may be in your TV. Most TVs sold these days have ATSC tuners built-in. All three require a separate antenna feed, although there is equipment to multiplex the 2 signals.

Another option might be to get Burlington locals on D* - they are scheduled to add HD in Sep. You would have to be inside the BVT HD spotbeam though, which might be a problem.

Getting access to the HD channels in the 390s would require you to get a waiver from your locals, that due to geographics you can't pick up their signal.

 

[stone phillips420]

montana and maine are waiver freindly

 

[Jordank14]

What about New York City, NY, Ithica, NY or Hollywood, Florida? Those are three US addresses that I can use. Anyone know if those are waiver friendly? To be honest the way my place is currently wired it would be a huge pain to run another wire from the two receivers to the roof. If I could multiplex the signal from the roof and not touch anything inside that would work just great and then I could go with OTA. Otherwise I would need a US address in a waiver area. Alternatively would there be anything I could simply tell D* over the phone that would inspire them to offer me access to those channels in the 90s?

 

[wob2me]

i don't believe u should be phoning D . canadian subs arent really legit in canada , and they might take offence , if u get my drift !!!

 

[Jordank14]

Ok I think the simplest solution is to piggyback on to my friend's existing D* sub. If I do this however I won't get the locals in HD. So now my answer becomes somehow adding the OTA antenna. I would like to have this antenna on the roof yet not run new wiring into my home, and just use the existing wiring. Stone Phillips mentions above that I can multiplex the signal. How could I go about doing this so that I don't have to run any new wiring into my home as well as not lose any picture quality? Again, I'm in Montreal and not that close (well I guess not that far) from Burlington, VT. I might be able to pick up their HD OTA signal but as you said, Directv does not presently offer HD in Burlington, VT. So basically, in a nutshell, what are my present options to get the major networks in HD? All advice welcome! Thanks again!