Getting my feet wet, please help

[milwaukeebear]

Hello all, wondering if you could help a newbie...

i'm in need of new service for a new house in slinger, wi.  it is too far tp get local channels reliably be antennae (there is an antennae,, but the previous owner said he couldn't get the locals very often), so any local hd channels will have to come through the provider.

here are my options

d--more expensive than dish, in programming and equipment.  the only reason i would go with them is if they were likely to have hdtv locals in this area when E would not.  i'm a bears fan, so the sunday ticket would be nice, but 250 bucks is outrageous, so i'm not paying for their monopoly.

e--they have two nice dual tuner boxes--the 942 (hd) and 642 (not hd), and their programming is cheaper.  i've heard that the 942 will be made obsolute by something called mpeg4, and if thats the case i might not want to "lease" the 942 for 250 dollars if i'll have to switch in the near future.

cable (charter)--could get the locals in hdtv now, but with equipment rental and programming its 60 bucks a month, whereas satellite is 40. plus in my experience the channels that aren't in hd look bad on a big screen--very snowy.

so i guess my decision comes down to the future here in milwaukee:
1. when are locals projected to come to milwaukee, and will they come to D or E first, and when will the other follow, if ever?

2. when will mpeg4 come, and how will that change equipment needs.

3. has anyone had better luck with the non-hd cable channels?

4.  is there any way to get fox in chicago via satellite--are there any magic words to say to the satellite company when requesting this?

5. who has, and in the future is likely to have, better hd programming?

thanks for all your help

[AndrewP]

First, both D* and E* HD boxes will be obsolete and will be replaced by both D* and E* most likely for free with service contract.
Milwaukee HD locals will be first on D*, if ever on E*.
But in your situation, HD OTA should not be a problem It will cost you $40 for reliable ChannelMaster 4228 and $50 or so for Titan 7777 pre-amp from Marmax (68 & Rawson).
As for sports local from Chicago - NO, it will not available in your area from D*, E*.
I get Chicago Sportsnet from E*, but I live in Muskego. Also can get OTA Chicago stations. So if you really want those channels, then move to south. :wave:

[murdoc]

I also recommend the Channelmaster 4228.  I have it installed on my single story house on a 15' mast and get all the local channels in the 90% range and Fox6 around 70%.  As prevously stated, MPEG 4 will be here soon, but will probably not hit the Milwaukee area until sometime in 2007.  Milwaukee's TV market is 32nd highest I believe, and will not be due for an MPEG4 change until 2007.  

That said, D* and E* boxes will not be obsolete for a while.  When they do become obsolete, speculation and talks with a few D* employees have said that they will swap your box with a MPEG4 replacement for free, allowing that you sign a 1 or 2 year contract.  

I cannot vouch for the E* HD DVR, but the D* HD DVR (TIVO) is what I am currently using.  There have been talks of customers getting this box for $199 or less (after rebates and calls to D* for some credits).  Due note, there will be a $4.99 DVR fee if you want to use the recording ability of the box.  The only complaint I have with the box, is that the guide can become rather slow.  There is talk on the TIVO community board that a future software update will indeed fix this issue.

D* does offer it's sports package for an additonal $12/month.  Details here: http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/learn/Packages_SportsPack.jsp   This will not get you the FOX station out of Chicago, but will give you FSN and Comcast out of Chicago.  The only way to get Chicago FOX would be OTA with an antenna at this point.  D* only offers the NY and LA locals at this time in HD.  I was able to get a waiver from D* to get FOX5 from NY on channel 88.  You should be able to get this station as well, but it may take a few phone calls.

As far as picture quality, I don't know anyone with Charter cable.  Everyone has either D* or E*, so I guess the picture must be pretty bad, or they don't want to pay extreme prices up here.  If TWC made its way over here, I may consider a switch, but until then I'll stick with D* or E*.

As far as HD programming currently E* has the most channels right now.  They added a few channels from the failed VOOM sat. company and will add them to your HD package for an addtional $5/month.  Both D* and E* look to have reached there maximum bandwidth, so unless they launch a few more satellites, neither will be adding much more HD content in a while.  

D* has plans to launch 2 new satellites, but the first launch was delayed, and has still not happened to my knowledge.  Both D* and E* provide ESPN-HD, HDNET, HD MOVIES, and Discovery HD.  E* has TNT-HD (as does TWC).  D* has Universal-HD and plans to launch ESPN2-HD sometime this September, just in time for NCAA football.  Both plans are priced the same (within a dollar or two of eachother), but if you add the 5 old VOOM channels E* HD package jumps to $17.99.  D* HD package is priced at $12.99, but you may be able to get up to 6 months free if you get the HD-DVR.  

As far as pricing, your best bet is to call Charter, E*, and D* and tell them what you need/want.  They will be able to give you a much better answer and may be able to save you some money with a few discounts.

[Den Mayer]

I just pulled out my Garmin GPS topo maps & located

 downtown Slinger, GBay Towers & MKE Tower Farm on Capitol Dr.

   Green Bay is 72 miles at 12 Deg angle off North.

   Milwaukee  is 25 miles at 131 Deg angle off North.

  Topo profile plots shows no BIG hills that a 1000' tower
       can't clear....

   Unless you live in 'Slinger valley'........     A Channel Master UHF

     3021 4 bay bow tie ($25) should easily go 25 miles.....

    Due to the 'Ski Hill',   A new Profile Topo map may be of interest.....

     using an exact residence location.

[AndrewP]

but if you add the 5 old VOOM channels E* HD package jumps to $17.99.  D* HD package is priced at $12.99, but you may be able to get up to 6 months free if you get the HD-DVR.  

Correction: if you add the 10 (not 5) VOOM channels E* HD package jumps to $14.99. (9.99 standard + 5 Voom). E* offers 6 moths free standard HD pack also and you don't need DVR to get this deal.
DirecTV HD pack was 10.99 as I remember.

[vegasvic]

I was able to get a waiver from D* to get FOX5 from NY on channel 88.  You should be able to get this station as well, but it may take a few phone calls.

I called DTV a few days before this years Super Bowl and it was pretty quick and painless.  I just told them that my local Fox station (6) is owned by Fox and I should be eligible for the national Fox feed (88).  He put me on hold for about a minute, came back and said I should now have it.  And I did.  Just in time for a sweet HD Super Bowl.  

But, as is always the case with DTV, it all depends on who you are (un)lucky enough to get when you call.

One other thing, I have some friends in Hartford who get Milwaukee HD OTA just fine so you should be able to get them easily with the right equipment.