Here’s a picture of the DirecTV guide screen on our TV this morning. Notice anything different?
We now have not only the local stations offered via satellite by DirecTV, we have all of the local off-air alternative stations – the dash one, dash two, etc. – stations listed as well.
Not quite a year ago, we upgraded our system to an HD-DVR, and we love the flexibility (NFL meets DVR) but it has its drawbacks.
As much as we have gotten spoiled to prerecording, or just putting our favorite shows on pause while we finish the dinner dishes or simply take a break – then fast-forwarding through all the annoying commercials, we soon found that the high definition satellite signal is much more susceptible to atmospheric interference. We have totally lost the HD signal in the den on several occasions while the old SD receiver in the bedroom kept receiving without a single glitch.
The solution? A DirecTV model AM21N off-air tuner that connects via the USB input on the DVR. This allows us to receive (and record) all the local stations – including the dash-N stations not normally seen – and to switch seamlessly to the local off-air station if the satellite signal is lost. I believe this unit is available from DirecTV, but we got ours from Solid Signal for under 50 bucks.
We haven’t had a chance to check that seamless switching thing out yet, but there is a 90% chance of rain all day today, so we should be trying it out any time now.
No comments:
Post a Comment