Local Channals on Directv. La Orl Hou....blah blah. DRIVES ME NUTS!!! (1 Viewer)

[Ken Garrison]

Do any of you with Local Channels experience this? I have to wait a minute or so for the correct info to show up. Then when I go to surf the non local channels, it pauses for a minute and it's back to La Orl Hou crap. Anyway to fix this?

 

[Larry Schneider]

What? I've never seen anything like that.

 

[Ken Garrison]

Is my system too old? It was manufactured in 1996. It's a Hughes brand. Also, it's slow as hell.

 

[Bruce N]

Yep, it's your old style box. The newer ones don't do that and are much faster.

 

[Ken Garrison]

Do the new Hughes systems have the same Ease of Use like the older ones? I've tried the RCA systems and they are a real PITA to use.

 

[David Ely]

Any 4th generation or older receiver will show locals like that.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Exactly. Please remember that there are reasons for new systems. Processing improvements, added memory, new software, etc.

Channel tuning gets improved, speed of the guides increases, and the understanding of the method for the "new" locals listings is added.

For example, the DTC-100 HD receiver from RCA REMAPS your local channels to the actual station numbers. So if NBC is channel 9 in your town, then it will be channel 9 on your DTC-100. Whereas on older boxes you would still need to tune into the 900's for your stations.

The main reason for the delay is the method for getting the local listings. They aren't coming to your receiver in the same manner as the rest of the DirecTV listings, so some boxes need a few seconds to adjust while others might have the option of continously pre-fetching data for the locals so that it's always ready. I have 3 different boxes in the house and also replaced an older one about a year ago. Each new box was faster and nicer than the previous one and the quality change is quite noticeable.

 

[Ken Garrison]

If I got a box that receives High Definition channels, can I still out put it to the old piece of crap TV? That way, when we get a new TV that's HDTV, we'll already have the channels for it. Plus, I'd like to watch ABC in letterbox. I think they're showing in HD.

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

I think any of the DirecTV "Plus" receivers which can receive the second and third satellites with the oval dish are capable of remapping the local channels to their actual two digit numbers.

The RCA DTC-100 HD DirecTV box will do it, but none of the broadcast networks are in HD on DirecTV. The only way to get ABC in high definition is with an antenna and only then if the signal is being broadcast in your area and your reception is good enough.

I think it's a wonder that they were able to implement the spot beams and local channels in a way that at least still lets you watch them with the oldest first generation receivers. I remember that it took them a long time to add song titles to the Music Choice channels because they had to figure out how to do it in a way that would work on the oldest receivers.