# VIP722K OTA Guide in area with no locals



## FarmerCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

After reading several posts here and speaking with several Dish reps, I am confused about OTA channels and the guide. I just had Dish install a VIP722K and a VIP222K with the dual tuner modules. We live in the 36832 ZIP, where locals are not available. I pick up several OTA channels with the receivers, but the guide shows only "Digital Service." One Dish rep told me that this is because their receiver gets its guide information from the OTA broadcast, and for some reason those are not coming through. Someone else told me that was incorrect information. On this forum I read that the OTA guide works only if you subscribe to local channels, which I cannot do.

On my DirecTV receivers, I simply entered the two ZIP codes for the markets I wanted, and the guide showed up just like it does for satellite channels.

Can someone please explain the actual facts on this issue? It seems to me like Dish ought to provide OTA guide information--especially if they do not offer locals. Could they provide that information if they wanted to, or is there a technical reason that they could not. I would not even mind paying a reasonable fee for that service.

On a related question, I read on the PBS WEB site that Dish will provide the PBS national feed for people who cannot receive locals from Dish. Is that correct?

Thanks,

Charles


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

In order to get guide info for your OTA channels from DIsh, you must subscribe to your locals - otherwise - you get that "Digital Service" and that's it. If your locals are NOT available on Dish - I guess you can't get the EPG data for the local channels, even if you are receiving them OTA. You'll need another ATSC tuner that DOES provide the OTA guide from the stations PSIP. Among your better options (IMHO) are Dish's own DTVPAL family / DTVPAL DVR.


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## FarmerCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

scooper said:


> In order to get guide info for your OTA channels from DIsh, you must subscribe to your locals - otherwise - you get that "Digital Service" and that's it. If your locals are NOT available on Dish - I guess you can't get the EPG data for the local channels, even if you are receiving them OTA.


But is this a technical limitation, or could Dish provide that guide information if they wanted to?spelling


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## scooper (Apr 22, 2002)

FarmerCharlie said:


> Bur is this a technical limitation, or could Dish provide that guide information if they wanted to?


I don't know - I can't see it being a technical issue. OTOH - how many subscribers would be interested in this service (at some cost less than subscribing to locals) ? Obviously - you would - how many others - again, I don't know...


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## Michael P (Oct 27, 2004)

I wonder if subbing to AAD will turn on the OTA guide data?

E* needs to do something for those subs who live in DMA's not carried. It's one thing to not provide data to someone who does not pay for their locals, quite another if your locals are not available via E*.

Has anybody in this situation brought this up to "CEO"?


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## FarmerCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

I mentioned earlier that the PBS WEB site said I am eligible for PBS NATIONAL feed, because locals are not available in my area. http://www.pbs.org/aboutpbs/aboutpbs_prog_dish2.html.
I informed DISH, and they turned on the Alabama PTV feed--NOT the NATIONAL PBS feed. Lo and Behold, when they did that, all of a sudden the guides started displaying for the Montgomery channels, but not for the Columbus channels. I think this pretty well indicates that what they did was turn on locals for the Montgomery area, but enabled only the PBS channel. And that is what turned on the guide. So it looks like everyone who said this was not a technical problem was correct.


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## peter atchley (Apr 1, 2006)

_"I mentioned earlier that the PBS WEB site said I am eligible for PBS NATIONAL feed, because locals are not available in my area. I informed DISH, and they turned on the Alabama PTV feed--NOT the NATIONAL PBS feed."_
Has anyone else in this situation gotten an almost-local PBS? I am also in a no-locals DMA (Springfield, MA) and get many CT stations OTA (all with no guide data) so this could be my solution. I called DISH and they said I could only get the national PBS (which I already subscribe to).


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## FarmerCharlie (Jan 16, 2008)

peter atchley said:


> _"I mentioned earlier that the PBS WEB site said I am eligible for PBS NATIONAL feed, because locals are not available in my area. I informed DISH, and they turned on the Alabama PTV feed--NOT the NATIONAL PBS feed."_
> Has anyone else in this situation gotten an almost-local PBS? I am also in a no-locals DMA (Springfield, MA) and get many CT stations OTA (all with no guide data) so this could be my solution. I called DISH and they said I could only get the national PBS (which I already subscribe to).


Looks like we were told two different things by different agents. I suppose it is conceivable that you are in a location that cannot pick up any DMS signals. That is what they told me the first time I called. But then the next time I called they connected me to the PBS station that is in the Montgomery DMS, which ends about ten miles from my house. I would actually prefer the national feed, because I can get the local stations OTA. But when they connected the local station, that is when the guide suddenly started working. That's the only reason I have left it connected.


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## gparmer (Oct 8, 2009)

Hey FarmerCharlie. Is your guide still working? The lack of a guide has irritated me for years. The entire "local channel debacle" for our area doesn't seem to be an issue for Dish or our Legislators, because they've all heard from me. I'll continue to vote for someone else but in the meantime this may provide a patch for the problem. Thanks for sharing!

Your neighbor on the Plains.
gparmer


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## iamru (Nov 13, 2010)

I get LiL from Atlanta but can receive OTA from Birmingham. I get EPG data on all Birmingham stations except ABC. Sometimes I can pick up stations from Montgomery and Meridiam MS. I get guide data for these as well. I guess 
as long as you subscribe to locals you get get OTA EPG from anywhere.


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