View Full Version : Broncos TV - (directv and other questions)????
Ok - so I heard that if I got an off-air antenna that I would be able to hook that up to my DirecTV box (which I did sucessfully) and get my local HD channels. I bought the RCA indoor power amped antenna. The local HD channels come in great. NOW, I thought I could call up DirecTV and have my programming changed to Denver and that I would just watch my local AZ channels on my antenna. Called DirecTV and they changed it over all all the channles worked fine EXCEPT the Denver local channels. I called them back and I guess the newer boxes have some type of GPS in them (they call it spot beam) and unless the box is within a certain mile range of Denver, it won't get them. How F'd up is that crap man?
So - I switched my DirecTV programming back to Phoenix and now I got all my AZ local channels on my DirecTV so I thought I might give it a shot to see if my antenna could pick up Denver stuff. I programmed it and a few did come though and some did not.
Please tell me I'm lucky and the Broncos games will be on either of these channels.........that would be sweet.
KMG HD ABC Denver
KREG DT CBS Grand Junction
KRMADT PBS Denver
Also - I'm currious to know why I can get KMG (ABC) from Denver but not FOX or NBC or CBS from Denver. I got the RCA ANT1251 model. I wonder if a stronger antenna would work, maybe not.
Thanks for the help guys - I really would love to get the Broncos games without having to pay for the Ticket.
theAPAOps5
07-30-2007, 12:33 AM
Well CBS Denver is the "Home" of the Broncos so I assume CBS GJ is the same. Many of the 2:15 games will be on CBS. ABC doesn't carry Monday night football anymore its on ESPN and NBC gets Sunday night football. So it looks like you will only have a chance at AFC day games on CBS.
AS for not getting the others, I am sure its their transmitter. They might have a weaker one. I do know at some point all the antennas on Lookout Mt are being consolidated into one HD TV antenna so when that happens you may have a better chance.
Well CBS Denver is the "Home" of the Broncos so I assume CBS GJ is the same. Many of the 2:15 games will be on CBS. ABC doesn't carry Monday night football anymore its on ESPN and NBC gets Sunday night football. So it looks like you will only have a chance at AFC day games on CBS.
AS for not getting the others, I am sure its their transmitter. They might have a weaker one. I do know at some point all the antennas on Lookout Mt are being consolidated into one HD TV antenna so when that happens you may have a better chance.
The Broncos are actually shown quite a bit on local TV down here but I'm tyring to find out how to get them all without paying DirecTV TICKET. I can't see paying $350 (Ticket - plus Fan so you can get them in HD) for just a few games. I'll get the Monday night games on ESPN and hopefully I can get those CBS games on the antenna, if they are not on locally here in AZ. I did look at the Broncos TV schedule and some of the away games are on FOX and NBC so if those are not on locally, guess I will have to hit the sports bar for those. Plus whatever NFL Network gets. Also, didn't the NFL have a deal now with TV that they can change the game scheduled to a different game if there's a match up they like, you know, the sucky teams get dropped for the better teams?
theAPAOps5
07-30-2007, 12:45 AM
Yeah its called flex scheduling. I know the Minnesota game on Dec 30th is a flex game so that could change. Unfortunately for you with Fox you get the AZ games so that definately eliminates Broncos games.
labronx
07-30-2007, 12:55 AM
Ok - so I heard that if I got an off-air antenna that I would be able to hook that up to my DirecTV box (which I did sucessfully) and get my local HD channels. I bought the RCA indoor power amped antenna. The local HD channels come in great. NOW, I thought I could call up DirecTV and have my programming changed to Denver and that I would just watch my local AZ channels on my antenna. Called DirecTV and they changed it over all all the channles worked fine EXCEPT the Denver local channels. I called them back and I guess the newer boxes have some type of GPS in them (they call it spot beam) and unless the box is within a certain mile range of Denver, it won't get them. How F'd up is that crap man?
So - I switched my DirecTV programming back to Phoenix and now I got all my AZ local channels on my DirecTV so I thought I might give it a shot to see if my antenna could pick up Denver stuff. I programmed it and a few did come though and some did not.
Please tell me I'm lucky and the Broncos games will be on either of these channels.........that would be sweet.
KMG HD ABC Denver
KREG DT CBS Grand Junction
KRMADT PBS Denver
Also - I'm currious to know why I can get KMG (ABC) from Denver but not FOX or NBC or CBS from Denver. I got the RCA ANT1251 model. I wonder if a stronger antenna would work, maybe not.
Thanks for the help guys - I really would love to get the Broncos games without having to pay for the Ticket.
Hey which model did u get? and do you think it will be able to reach all the way from Los Angeles?
Thanks!
BlaK-Argentina
07-30-2007, 01:05 AM
350 dollars for the NFL Ticket? Wow, that's a LOT!! Thankfully NFL Ticket is really cheap here, only like 20 dollars for all the games. I don't know what I would do without it.
Hey which model did u get? and do you think it will be able to reach all the way from Los Angeles?
Thanks!
Also - I'm currious to know why I can get KMG (ABC) from Denver but not FOX or NBC or CBS from Denver. I got the RCA ANT1251 model. I wonder if a stronger antenna would work, maybe not.
It was only $30 at Best Buy so get it, try it, if it doesn't work, take it back.
bmanhas
07-30-2007, 01:37 AM
spot beam has been around for a while, it was introduced during the HU card days, which was the football player on the blue card. it's something to do with government regulations that only allow certain locals to certain places.
dish network got nailed with that this past year as the NY and LA channels were taken out.
all i can tell you is do your research as I'm in Vancouver, Canada and I get all the Denver stations.
Do you live in the Phoenix area?
How the hell do you pick up Denver stations with an antenna. That's not possible.
Jens1893
07-30-2007, 02:05 AM
The Broncos are actually shown quite a bit on local TV down here but I'm tyring to find out how to get them all without paying DirecTV TICKET. I can't see paying $350 (Ticket - plus Fan so you can get them in HD) for just a few games. I'll get the Monday night games on ESPN and hopefully I can get those CBS games on the antenna, if they are not on locally here in AZ. I did look at the Broncos TV schedule and some of the away games are on FOX and NBC so if those are not on locally, guess I will have to hit the sports bar for those. Plus whatever NFL Network gets. Also, didn't the NFL have a deal now with TV that they can change the game scheduled to a different game if there's a match up they like, you know, the sucky teams get dropped for the better teams?
the nbc sunday night games should be nationally televised and the broncos only have 2 games max on fox every season anyway. those are the 2 home games against nfc opponents. all other games are on either cbs, nbc or espn and youre covered there.
UnderArmour
07-30-2007, 02:13 AM
Even if you would have switched to Denver local channels on DirectTV, they'd probably black out the games.
Blueflame
07-30-2007, 02:26 AM
Even if you would have switched to Denver local channels on DirectTV, they'd probably black out the games.
If you're gonna troll this forum, I'd suggest an elevation of your "game".... running "blackout" smack on a forum devoted to a team that perennially sells out makes one look like... well, not the sharpest tool in the shed.
Jens1893
07-30-2007, 03:13 AM
If you're gonna troll this forum, I'd suggest an elevation of your "game".... running "blackout" smack on a forum devoted to a team that perennially sells out makes one look like... well, not the sharpest tool in the shed.
I dont think hes trolling, Blue. DirecTV ain´t dumb and I know they black out NBA and NHL games on the FSNs if you aren´t in the team´s market. There´s money at stake for DTV and if it was this easy to avoid buying Sunday Ticket, well, I think they´d be broke.
Blueflame
07-30-2007, 03:39 AM
I dont think hes trolling, Blue. DirecTV ain´t dumb and I know they black out NBA and NHL games on the FSNs if you aren´t in the team´s market. There´s money at stake for DTV and if it was this easy to avoid buying Sunday Ticket, well, I think they´d be broke.
Blackouts happen in the team's market when a game isn't sold out.
Actually Direct TV will not show any game on Sunday Ticket in an area where the local channels are airing that game.
I think the person you are responding to is referring to that.
Jens1893
07-30-2007, 03:46 AM
Blackouts happen in the team's market when a game isn't sold out.
Yes, I know that, but I still think you misunderstood him.
Blueflame
07-30-2007, 04:16 AM
Actually Direct TV will not show any game on Sunday Ticket in an area where the local channels are airing that game.
I think the person you are responding to is referring to that.
Local stations, running advertising for the local businesses, want the viewer to have little option but to watch the "home team's" games on their channels. It's all about the $$. But if you're paying DirecTV for the Denver network channels (and they agree to allow your receiver access to those channels), I don't think they'd black out a sold-out game.
Yes, I know that, but I still think you misunderstood him.
Perhaps I did.... if so, my bad. :) (hey, a 5-post noob with 4 of those posts defending the $30 mil contract the Lions' rookie WR reportedly expects can be reasonably taken as an indication of a non-Broncos fan)
spot beam has been around for a while, it was introduced during the HU card days, which was the football player on the blue card. it's something to do with government regulations that only allow certain locals to certain places.
dish network got nailed with that this past year as the NY and LA channels were taken out.
all i can tell you is do your research as I'm in Vancouver, Canada and I get all the Denver stations.
What the heck do you mean "all I can tell you is do your research"? Obviously I've tried that. If you think you have something that will work, can't you at least PM me or email me (azhelton@cox.net)? Not sure why you can't say anything. Maybe the FCC doesn't have any restrictions on your area. If you're refering to a black box, I'm not gonna do anything illegal. But if you have a legal and proven way to get Denver locals, damn, come on, fess up. Thanks.
Do you live in the Phoenix area?
How the hell do you pick up Denver stations with an antenna. That's not possible.
Mesa (85212) to be exact. Yes, it is possible. I watched programming on all the channels I listed above.
Mediator12
07-30-2007, 09:49 AM
Local stations, running advertising for the local businesses, want the viewer to have little option but to watch the "home team's" games on their channels. It's all about the $$. But if you're paying DirecTV for the Denver network channels (and they agree to allow your receiver access to those channels), I don't think they'd black out a sold-out game.
Perhaps I did.... if so, my bad. :) (hey, a 5-post noob with 4 of those posts defending the $30 mil contract the Lions' rookie WR reportedly expects can be reasonably taken as an indication of a non-Broncos fan)
Directv is VERY fickle about games being "unavailable in your area". They made me miss the first 7 minutes of a broncos game last year with over time coverage of another game on the Direct TV Broncos channel. Oh, Boy did I have fun reaming their ass over that. They were supposed to give me a credit for free Superfan this year and i just got my first bill from them that does NOT show the credit. Luckily, I recorded the telephone call and someone is about to give me some more credits for screwing up again.
They also will blackout games in CIN even if its a sell out and I live in North Indianapolis! Their reasoning is that we are technically in the CIN and INDY markets. A phone call to a certain supervisor usually rectifies the problem though.
Bronco_Beerslug
07-30-2007, 09:54 AM
spot beam has been around for a while, it was introduced during the HU card days, which was the football player on the blue card. it's something to do with government regulations that only allow certain locals to certain places.
dish network got nailed with that this past year as the NY and LA channels were taken out.
all i can tell you is do your research as I'm in Vancouver, Canada and I get all the Denver stations.Good job on helping him out with his questions! And as far as getting ALL the Denver stations, how do you do that living in Canada?
Also - I'm currious to know why I can get KMG (ABC) from Denver but not FOX or NBC or CBS from Denver. I got the RCA ANT1251 model. I wonder if a stronger antenna would work, maybe not.
It was only $30 at Best Buy so get it, try it, if it doesn't work, take it back.How are you getting any Denver locals with a OTA living in AZ? Looking at this again you have an INDOOR antenna and claim you're getting Denver locals with it?
x123z
07-30-2007, 10:01 AM
Up until this year I have been able to talk direct tv down on the football package. If you are going to get the package try to get a better price.
Rock Chalk
07-30-2007, 10:07 AM
Blackouts happen in the team's market when a game isn't sold out.
Yes but theoretically if you could get every local station in the country, all games that are not normally broadcast in your area would be blacked out Blue.
At least, this is what happened to my pops a couple of times when he had LA, NY, SF and Denver stations, he could only get the SF (local) stations for football games.
ALl others were blacked out, regardless of whether the game was sold out or not.
Bronco_Beerslug
07-30-2007, 10:17 AM
Yes but theoretically if you could get every local station in the country, all games that are not normally broadcast in your area would be blacked out Blue.
No, if you get every local station you would get every local broadcast of every local game in that area if they broadcast it.
Sports Blackouts Explained (http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/global/contentPage.jsp?assetId=C700004)
Blackouts are determined by the right to broadcast a given game in a given area, and defined by sports leagues or by their rights holders, such as ESPN and TNT.
Blackouts and National Rights
If a national broadcasting service, such as ABC, NBC, CBS or FOX has national rights to broadcast an NBA, NHL® or Major League Baseball® game, customers may not be able to receive that game, depending on their local market. If a service that DIRECTV carries, such as ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, TBS or USA Network, has national rights, subscribers will be able to receive it through their programming package (although some of these games are also subject to blackouts). Regional sports networks do not obtain national broadcast rights.
Blackouts and Local Rights
If a local off–air broadcast channel (not ABC, NBC, CBS or FOX) or local cable system has rights to broadcast a game in a certain region, customers in that area will be unable to receive that game through their DIRECTV® subscription(s). If a regional sports network DIRECTV carries has local rights to broadcast a game, customers within the region can receive that game through any DIRECTV® CHOICE or SPORTS Pack subscription, which includes customers' local regional sports network(s). Customers outside of the region will receive that game through the appropriate out–of–market pro sports subscription.
Sports Subject to Blackouts
The following sports subscriptions are subject to blackouts:
NFL SUNDAY TICKET™
NBA LEAGUE PASS
NHL® CENTER ICE®
ESPN FULL COURT
ESPN GamePlan
MLB EXTRA INNINGSS
MLS DIRECT KICK™
MEGA MARCH MADNESS™
What are the blackout rules for my local team's home games?
A regular-season, Sunday afternoon home team game will be blacked out in a home team's territory if the game fails to sell out at least 72 hours before the game. This is to make sure that the team benefits from a stadium full of enthusiastic fans, to assure the entertainment value of a full stadium, and to protect home game attendance and local television coverage. If it is blacked out on your local broadcast station, it will also be blacked out in your area on NFL SUNDAY TICKET.
How will I be affected by blackouts on NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ Game Mix?
All NFL SUNDAY TICKET™ games that are blacked out because they didn't sell out will appear on Game Mix 2. However, if you live in one of those markets, you will be blacked out entirely from the Game Mix 2 channel.
Good job on helping him out with his questions! And as far as getting ALL the Denver stations, how do you do that living in Canada?
How are you getting any Denver locals with a OTA living in AZ? Looking at this again you have an INDOOR antenna and claim you're getting Denver locals with it?
That's what I was saying. The normal over the air reception range is only about 50 miles for TV stations I thought.
Bronco_Beerslug
07-30-2007, 10:36 AM
That's what I was saying. The normal over the air reception range is only about 50 miles for TV stations I thought.70 miles max is the best I've seen.
Archie
07-30-2007, 10:57 AM
I called them back and I guess the newer boxes have some type of GPS in them (they call it spot beam) and unless the box is within a certain mile range of Denver, it won't get them. How F'd up is that crap man?
So... the spot beam is actually what it sounds like. DirecTV is reusing the same frequencies for different parts of the country so they only beam the Denver channels to Denver area. Depending on the specific spot beam it may be fairly large. Denver's is pretty big. I can watch Denver locals in my RV in Moab Utah (which is right on the edge) but AZ is to far....
Here is a map of the spot beams that someone has put together...
http://www.scottandmichelle.net/scott/dtv.html
Spider
07-30-2007, 10:58 AM
i live a mere 270 miles north of exit 279 and I-25 ......I dont get preseason games , and I get regional games , if it is a double header I cant watch the Broncos until the first game is over ...........I have yelled and screamed to no avail ............ and there are some hard core Bronco fans up here .........
The Casper Rockies are the Colorado Rockies farm team ,if you get really sick or in a high risk pregnancy , you get flown to Denver ... you would think we would have more of Denver programing here .......
ScottXray
07-30-2007, 11:06 AM
That's what I was saying. The normal over the air reception range is only about 50 miles for TV stations I thought.
With a good antenna it is possible to pull in stations from as far away as 125 miles. The real limit is the antenna, the strength of the transmission signal and the terrain between the two. In this case it would be the entire
Rocky Mountain range, a rise of almost 10,000 feet in elevation. That blocks
the possibility of receiving ANY TV broadcast over the air (via antenna) since OTA TV is a " line of sight " reception mode. It will not bounce off the ionosphere like AM radio, since tv is FM (frequency modulated).
There is no way that anyone in Mesa, Arizona is going to pick up Denver stations at all, unless it is a re- transmitted signal coming from somewhere else. Even Grand Junction (which will carry all broadcast network games) has too much terrain in between, as well as a weak signal.
Spot beaming is a term describing a technique used in satellite transmission. Modern direct broadcast satellites usually have about 32 different transponders. A transponder is like a channel on TV , except that each transponder can have up to 24 different tv channels on it. Each of the transponders can also be AIMED at specific "spots" on the earth below. This allows the maximum amount of power for that area to be focussed there. If you are in that area your satellite dish (direct tv type) will be able to recieve that spot beam. If you are not in that area you will not receive enough signal to get a picture.
A method that MAY work to get the Denver spot beam in Arizona is to get a LARGER dish, say a 1 meter diameter one. A larger dish will gather more signal, and since AZ is close to Denver, might get enough to get the Denver channels there. This would not work on the NY spot beam in California, as the further away from the spot beam you are the weaker the signal. Az is right next to Colorado in spot beam terms.
There is a legal way to get the Denver stations in any other part of the country, but it involves the use of a large C-band dish (8 feet diameter) and not being able to receive OTA tv.
Either way good luck in watching the broncos
Orange_Beard
07-30-2007, 11:36 AM
I just brought the DirectTV NFL ticket. I justed wanted to make sure I got all the games with no hassle.
I am going to get the HD antena.
Blueflame
07-30-2007, 11:47 AM
Yes but theoretically if you could get every local station in the country, all games that are not normally broadcast in your area would be blacked out Blue.
At least, this is what happened to my pops a couple of times when he had LA, NY, SF and Denver stations, he could only get the SF (local) stations for football games.
ALl others were blacked out, regardless of whether the game was sold out or not.
Let's just say that I've never failed to receive the "local" team's games (Seahawks; not that I care about watching them) on the Spokane Fox affiliate station. Now, Fox Sports Northwest has been known to black out Mariners games even for the east side of the state if the game isn't sold out.... we thought that was rather outrageous, blacking out the game for fans 300+ miles from Seattle....but I digress.
When we were able to get the Denver channels on C-band, we never missed a Broncos game. Ever. There were no blackouts...
No lie - I pick up the channels I listed above on my antenna in Mesa, AZ. I don't know how I guess after reading up on that stuff but I'm watching some local Denver stuff and Grand Jct also. Watched Denver news last night, from my couch in Mesa (Phoenix) Arizona. Cool.
Still waiting for that one fella in Vancouver to tell us how he gets ALL the locals from Denver.
Dempsey Dog
07-30-2007, 04:11 PM
I am in AZ. Last year I switched from Direct TV to Dish. After about a month or so, I called Dish and told them I got a temp transfer to Denver and gave them my buddy's address in Denver as the service location. I told them to keep the mailing address, my location in AZ, as the same. No problem and within in minutes I had the Denver locals. I also got FOX RM and Altitude for the Rox and Avs. I also have a local antenna for the AZ locals. On Dish's box, the AZ locals are integrated into the channel guide too.
It is great. I get a lot of sports with this setup including most NFL games, since Denver and Phoenix do not always carry the same games.
I do not think Dish cares. Frankly, since they do not have the NFL package, if this is a way for them to get and keep a customer, they probably turn a blind eye...don't ask and don't tell.
Screw Direct TV! They charge too much for the NFL package and they do not have as much HD content!
Last, I have had it over a year and I have never had a problem. The only thing is, if I need service for an outage, I need to remember to switch the service address back to AZ. Otherwise, my buddy in Denver will be getting a knock on his door.
Bronco_Beerslug
07-30-2007, 04:45 PM
No lie - I pick up the channels I listed above on my antenna in Mesa, AZ. I don't know how I guess after reading up on that stuff but I'm watching some local Denver stuff and Grand Jct also. Watched Denver news last night, from my couch in Mesa (Phoenix) Arizona. Cool.
Still waiting for that one fella in Vancouver to tell us how he gets ALL the locals from Denver.:) You're not watching them because of that antenna.
http://antennaweb.org/aw/info.aspx?page=FAQ
http://www.highdefforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=18
UnderArmour
07-30-2007, 04:49 PM
Yes but theoretically if you could get every local station in the country, all games that are not normally broadcast in your area would be blacked out Blue.
At least, this is what happened to my pops a couple of times when he had LA, NY, SF and Denver stations, he could only get the SF (local) stations for football games.
ALl others were blacked out, regardless of whether the game was sold out or not.
I suppose blackout was the wrong word to use in my original post, but I've had the exact same problem with the many different Fox Sports channels. I get all of them EXCEPT when a game is actually on, then the game becomes unavailable to view. I can only actually see my Fox Sports channel which means I only get to see the Astros. Had the same situation with the Comcast Chicago Sports channel as well, no Cubs or Bulls games.
DirectTV will block you from viewing games without the corresponding subscription or living in the local area. Hence why the games are 'blacked out'.
philiptr2
07-30-2007, 04:56 PM
He is not talking about "normal over the air reception." He is talking about off air broadcasts in HD.
http://tv.about.com/od/hdtv/a/hdantenna.htm
Bronco_Beerslug
07-30-2007, 05:04 PM
He is not talking about "normal over the air reception." He is talking about off air broadcasts in HD.
http://tv.about.com/od/hdtv/a/hdantenna.htmHe's talking about watching stations in Colorado through an antenna that has a range of about 70 miles.
Local HD stations aren't available where I live so I told them I relocated my dish hundreds of miles away to an area that has HD locals and I now have those HD locals and national channels. Zona says he's getting Colorado channels, although he lives in AZ, through a $15 antenna.
Borks147
07-30-2007, 05:13 PM
Ok - so I heard that if I got an off-air antenna that I would be able to hook that up to my DirecTV box (which I did sucessfully) and get my local HD channels. I bought the RCA indoor power amped antenna. The local HD channels come in great.
hey Zona, this might be a more basic question, but how did you hook up the off-air antenna to the DTV box, and are channels you pick in the programming guide and "Tivoable" or something different. Thanks for your help.
Bronco_Beerslug
07-30-2007, 05:17 PM
hey Zona, this might be a more basic question, but how did you hook up the off-air antenna to the DTV box, and are channels you pick in the programming guide and "Tivoable" or something different. Thanks for your help.You can find answers to those questions and most any others in the DirecTv HD forum (http://www.highdefforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=18).
hey Zona, this might be a more basic question, but how did you hook up the off-air antenna to the DTV box, and are channels you pick in the programming guide and "Tivoable" or something different. Thanks for your help.
BTW - it was $36.00, not $15 lol
I hooked one cable up to the TV and one goes into the DirecTV box and yes, I can see the channels through the guide.
jbiel
07-30-2007, 10:50 PM
Actually Direct TV will not show any game on Sunday Ticket in an area where the local channels are airing that game.
I think the person you are responding to is referring to that.
Actually, they still do show it if its on Superfan, I'm not sure why, but I was very surprised last year when I noticed that. It was every week also.
I don't really understand some of Direct's ways. Sometimes when the first local game goes over in airtime, Direct will throw the Broncos game on its NFL ticket channel, other time it says its not broadcasted as its already on the local channel.
So far, I've noticed every time the Broncos have been on here locally, it has been viewable on Superfan channel for the Broncos game.
ScottXray
07-31-2007, 02:32 AM
He is not talking about "normal over the air reception." He is talking about off air broadcasts in HD.
http://tv.about.com/od/hdtv/a/hdantenna.htm
HD or regular..doesn't matter. Over the air is off an antenna that
MAX will reach 125 miles if you are HIGHER than the transmitter.
Denver or Grand Junction doesn't matter either...both are beyond any possible reception range that way. My bet its actually coming in via satellite....
So Zona...GO THROW A BLANKET OVER YOUR DISH....I'll bet your Denver antenna feeds disappear, along with everything else from the dish.
If I win you get to take the blanket off...and watch the Broncos.
If I'm wrong you are the luckiest SOB on the planet, and I want you to buy me a powerball ticket, which I'll gladly pay for.:flower: :thumbs: