I'm A DIRECTV HD Novice...

[jason.cinema]

I purchased a 19-inch Magnavox LCD HDTV for my bedroom yesterday. After all the discounts, I paid about $81 for it. I was also able to procure an HDMI cable from Circuit City (regularly $44.99) for $16.99, as someone goofed and placed the cable on the wrong hook.

So now that I've gotten the television and appropriate cable, here comes the other part...getting HD service.

I believe I have an older dish (installed in mid-2005) though I'm not certain. I'll definitely contact DIRECTV to be certain, as the position it's mounted at (right corner of the roof) only allows me to see that it has three of those pieces that are pointed inward toward the center of the dish.

If I need a new dish, is it true that DIRECTV will install a new one for free? Can we still receive television on the SD television in the living room? Also, how much does a new DIRECTV HD receiver cost?

If I can't receive my local affiliates (as I know Comcast offers all of the HD channels our affiliates have) via DIRECTV, how easy is it to get a waiver so that I can get NBC and other affiliates from New York?

And finally, what's the best (i.e. definitive) HD programming package to get so that I receive the most HD channels?

I'm really enjoying my new television and I simply cannot wait to take it to the next level with HD. I'm amazed at how crisp and wonderful my DVDs (I watched a bit of Serenity and the first season of Torchwood.) are looking thanks to my new 1080i upconverting DVD player (it helps that this television, while 19 inches, can also display 1080i.) and I'm really excited to be able to watch television with the same amount of highly defined clarity.

Any help you wonderful people can give is more than greatly appreciated.

 

[Jimbo]

I purchased a 19-inch Magnavox LCD HDTV for my bedroom yesterday. After all the discounts, I paid about $81 for it. I was also able to procure an HDMI cable from Circuit City (regularly $44.99) for $16.99, as someone goofed and placed the cable on the wrong hook.

So now that I've gotten the television and appropriate cable, here comes the other part...getting HD service.

I believe I have an older dish (installed in mid-2005) though I'm not certain. I'll definitely contact DIRECTV to be certain, as the position it's mounted at (right corner of the roof) only allows me to see that it has three of those pieces that are pointed inward toward the center of the dish.

If I need a new dish, is it true that DIRECTV will install a new one for free? Can we still receive television on the SD television in the living room? Also, how much does a new DIRECTV HD receiver cost?

If I can't receive my local affiliates (as I know Comcast offers all of the HD channels our affiliates have) via DIRECTV, how easy is it to get a waiver so that I can get NBC and other affiliates from New York?

And finally, what's the best (i.e. definitive) HD programming package to get so that I receive the most HD channels?

I'm really enjoying my new television and I simply cannot wait to take it to the next level with HD. I'm amazed at how crisp and wonderful my DVDs (I watched a bit of Serenity and the first season of Torchwood.) are looking thanks to my new 1080i upconverting DVD player (it helps that this television, while 19 inches, can also display 1080i.) and I'm really excited to be able to watch television with the same amount of highly defined clarity.

Any help you wonderful people can give is more than greatly appreciated.

Why so small ???
That is equivalent to about a 13" in 4x3 format ...

If you want all the HD channels that D* carries, you will need the Slimline 5 LNB dish and a HD rec. for each location.

If you order your HD Rec's from D*, Yes they will install the dish and potentially a Multiswitch if needed.

Rec's are LEASED and run anywhere from Free to $ 199 depending on what kind you want and what deals D* is offering at the time.

As far as your local affiliate, you never said where you were, so I can't determine if you can get your locals via D*, you can always use a OTA antenna and get them for FREE !!!, and it will incorperate into the D* rec. guide as well.

As for programming, check the D* website and determine what channel you want to watch to decide what package is best for you.

Sorry to disappoint you, but a TV that small , you will not be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080i. That becomes more appearent with the larger screens, I'd say 42" and up.

Jimbo

 

[jason.cinema]

Why so small ???
That is equivalent to about a 13" in 4x3 format ...

If you want all the HD channels that D* carries, you will need the Slimline 5 LNB dish and a HD rec. for each location.

If you order your HD Rec's from D*, Yes they will install the dish and potentially a Multiswitch if needed.

Rec's are LEASED and run anywhere from Free to $ 199 depending on what kind you want and what deals D* is offering at the time.

As far as your local affiliate, you never said where you were, so I can't determine if you can get your locals via D*, you can always use a OTA antenna and get them for FREE !!!, and it will incorperate into the D* rec. guide as well.

As for programming, check the D* website and determine what channel you want to watch to decide what package is best for you.

Sorry to disappoint you, but a TV that small , you will not be able to tell the difference between 720p and 1080i. That becomes more appearent with the larger screens, I'd say 42" and up.

Jimbo

Funds at the time only allow for the smaller television.

And the multiswitch will allow the SD TV to use the new HD dish to receive an SD signal, correct?

I have done research on local channels and they're not available in HD on DIRECTV (even though Comcast, our cable provider here, has them.). Hopefully, our local affiliates won't be evil about getting a waiver for other HD affiliates (though I've heard getting a waiver is about as easy as finding Hoffa's body).

 

[ClemSole]

The HDMI cable comes with the HD receiver. No need to buy it.

 

[joed32]

Funds at the time only allow for the smaller television.

And the multiswitch will allow the SD TV to use the new HD dish to receive an SD signal, correct?

I have done research on local channels and they're not available in HD on DIRECTV (even though Comcast, our cable provider here, has them.). Hopefully, our local affiliates won't be evil about getting a waiver for other HD affiliates (though I've heard getting a waiver is about as easy as finding Hoffa's body).

Yes you can watch SD with the new setup.

 

[Jimbo]

Funds at the time only allow for the smaller television.

And the multiswitch will allow the SD TV to use the new HD dish to receive an SD signal, correct?

I have done research on local channels and they're not available in HD on DIRECTV (even though Comcast, our cable provider here, has them.). Hopefully, our local affiliates won't be evil about getting a waiver for other HD affiliates (though I've heard getting a waiver is about as easy as finding Hoffa's body).

Whats your zipcode ?
Can you get them OTA (locals), no need to pay extra for them if you can get them for free

JImbo

 

[jason.cinema]

Whats your zipcode ?
Can you get them OTA (locals), no need to pay extra for them if you can get them for free

JImbo

My zipcode is 31419.

My television has an ATSC tuner but I can only get one or two snowy channels. Do I need an HD tuner? I've found a Philips indoor HDTV antenna for $9.99. Might that do the trick in helping me acquire OTA HD signals or do I need something more?

 

[iwc5893]

The HDMI cable comes with the HD receiver. No need to buy it.

Actually, D* has stopped shipping those cables with the receivers. Techs are to provide the cables and BBC's seperately.

 

[hdtvtechno]

Actually, D* has stopped shipping those cables with the receivers. Techs are to provide the cables and BBC's seperately.

Yup true..

 

[Jimbo]

Actually, D* has stopped shipping those cables with the receivers. Techs are to provide the cables and BBC's seperately.

The BBC's are no longer supplied ?
Thats pretty stupid if you ask me.
So if I go to the locals store and buy a D* rec. I will not get my HD MPEG4 channels ?

I hope someone has mis read/ been misinforned..... otherwise you would have to wait for D* to send you some ???
That would definatly piss me off.

Jimbo

 

[Jimbo]

My zipcode is 31419.

My television has an ATSC tuner but I can only get one or two snowy channels. Do I need an HD tuner? I've found a Philips indoor HDTV antenna for $9.99. Might that do the trick in helping me acquire OTA HD signals or do I need something more?

You are right on top of the towers pretty much, only 8 miles away, you may be able to get them with an indoor antenna, though I don't usually recommend them.

Have you checked out this site yet ?
Antennaweb.org

AntennaWeb

Anything you see with the star next to it, in the DTV column is a digital signal you should be able to get. Most of the time the HD signal comes in on the .1 location such as 3.1, 11.1.

After looking at your page a bit closer,. if I am reading it right, some of them may be waiting till after the Feb '09 date to go digital, that would seem odd to me, but they didn't ask me.

Jimbo

 

[scottie_h]

Actually, D* has stopped shipping those cables with the receivers. Techs are to provide the cables and BBC's seperately.

That must have just changed - I got an HR21 just over a month ago, and everything was in the box. I suppose the installer could have thrown them in the box though... (can't remember if the box seal was broken when he brought it in)

 

[hdtvtechno]

My installer brought the box unopened inside..and there was no cables nor any bbc's

he had to get those from his truck

 

[brian360]

My installer brought the box unopened inside..and there was no cables nor any bbc's

he had to get those from his truck

Same here... I just upgraded to HD last week (via directv.com). The box came with no cables, and the installer didn't have any cables. I had to pull the HDMI cable from my DVD player to even hook up the box. The installer didn't have any B-Band convertors with him, so I was without HD channels until the next day when he came back with them.

They added a section to the users manual that basically says if you are getting a box from an installer, no cables are included -- the installer is supposed to give them to you on an as-needed basis. Pretty stupid.