OTA Canadian channels

[bhamster]

Just hooked up my am21 but am not getting any of the canadian channels. I live 25 miles from the border in northwest washington 50 miles from vancouver Does Direct block those out of the am21???

 

[grydlok]

No, AM21, HR20, or H20 don't blind scan. They only scan what guide data is for your zip code.

 

[boba]

Are they broadcasting NTSC or ATSC signals?

 

[aa9vi]

Generally speaking, Is there any hardware preventing the OTA channel scan or is it just lacking a software function? The HR20 series is like this too. How come it works on H20?

 

[jcrandall]

It is just the software of the HR2x series. Instead of scanning for ATSC channels, the box is programmed for them by zip code. Directv didn't include any Canadian channels. Also affects users that get more than 2 markets (it does let you add a second market zip code).

 

[jdspencer]

Generally speaking, Is there any hardware preventing the OTA channel scan or is it just lacking a software function? The HR20 series is like this too. How come it works on H20?

You answered you own question. The software/firmware in the H20 is different than what is in the HR2x

 

[jcrandall]

I recently read of individuals who used the second antenna market zip code feature to put channels in the guide from a different market where one of the chanels matched the Canadian channel you are trying to get.

So, for exmple, if the Canadian station broadcasts on digital channel 40, find a different DMA that has a digital channel 40.

It will not let you see the right guide data, but you could at least tune the channel, and setup manual recrdings.