Is there digital Broadcast TV - OTA HD in the VI

Are you speaking English?

LOL! translation: are there regular broadcast television channels receivable on STJ (preferably high definition)

A few channels are available with satellite tv...DishNetwork. Network channels are not available in HD in the VI, yet.

Figured some of you more tech savvy people might have info on the Blue Ray thing-a-ma-bob....
Is that something that will be available there?

Tamara

JayDVa, I googled usvi tv stations and it looks like three on island (one being digital only). Maybe someone can tell us if STX or PR stations can be received on STJ.

This will show what stations are broadcasting in the USVI with links to the stations.
http://tinyurl.com/2zw5jj

Digital does not equate to a HD broadcast.
And off-the-air broadcasts can be tricky to receive (especially HD) if your on the wrong side of hills and mountains.

Blu-Ray is the top notch HD dvd format. Blu-Ray is not a broadcast, cable or satelite signal.
You must have a Blu-Ray dvd player and a 1080P HDTV to utilize the Blu-Ray format.

According to http://www.antennasdirect.com/HDTV_station_lists.html only PBS broadcasts in HD OTA. Your best best at this time (and the foreseeable future) is DirecTV.

The only way to get HD in the VI is Dishnetwork. The only DirecTV down here is DirecTV LatinAmerica which has no HD. The FCC website says that the PBS station here is broadcasting in ATSC SD but I don't believe that is true. I do get 4 ATSC channels from PR all in SD.

now, this idea may not be up to snuff, but if you have an address stateside, you can subscribe to your desired package, get billed there, and then just bring your dish+receivers down and point it. you'll have to install it yourself, but it's not that difficult. I've installed my own 4 times. there are plenty of websites that will give you the coordinates. all you need is a level and a compass. directv has no idea where you are because sat tv is unidirectional. again, i take no responsibility for your decision. i'm only saying that it works.

The little dishes they sell stateside are not big enough for what you need here. The smallest that will work well is the four foot one. Also depending where you live you may end up needing two. Satelite tv is cheaper monthly but much is expensive to get installed. You're looking at about $500 and up.

cbs.com is listing
ST. THOMAS WVXF-TV 17
as broadcasting OTA in HD (not SD)

simkiss,
just don't plug a phone line into the reciever.
What your doing is very common amongst the big RV crowd.

Its not a matter of bringing your DTV dishes down here and installing them. We are outside the footprint of the DTV satellites down here. We are barely in the Dishnetwork footprint, you will need a 4-6 foot dish to receive it. I have 3 six foot dishes, one each for 119, 110 and 61.5.
Also, don't believe everything that you read. The last time that I checked only ABC was available OTA. CBS and NBC are only available on cable and not in HD.

i don't even have satellite, but i know it does work. i have FiOS, and i'm reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally going to miss it on STT. oh well!

rotorhead, i would look at a toroidal dish then if you need more than one.

We do get satellite down here, either Dishnetwork or DirecTV LatinAmerica. We DO NOT get DirecTV from CONUS. We are outside the footprint.

Sorry, no fiber optic available. The best internet available here is wireless. BroadBandVI is the best on STX.

I have not seen toroidal dishes in the 4-6 foot range. Most are in the 24-36 inch range. Not enough gain for down here. I have a few friends that use a 6 foot round dish with 2 lnbs and are able to receive 119 and 110 (echostar 7 and echostar 8/10) with the single dish. They tend to have precipitation fade more than two separate dishes.

You could get a friend with DirecTV to SlingBox it down from the states for you but it wouldn't be HD.

The other alternative is to get a 4dtv receiver and put up a 12 foot c-band dish. HD is available on c-band. I know, I have a 16 foot c-band dish.

i might have to look at getting a bigger yard then!

Okay, at the risk of being called a grouch...what is wrong with dealing with what your new home has to offer? We do have cable and I think a wireless TV deal, too. If high tech television entertainment is really that important, maybe the USVI isn't a good fit...

You can get by down here even if we are low tech. I have tried many internet/TV sources in my 10 years on STX. The best from my point of view is Dishnetwork. You need a view almost due west and 30 degrees above the horizon for 119 and 110 and a view due south for 61.5. All of the HD is on 110 and 61.5. I have 9 dishes total so I also get c-band and quite a few ku-band satellites.

For Internet, I have BroadBandVI and Innovative DSL feeding a dual WAN router/firewall which feeds 4 wireless routers on the property. Automatic load balancing means that the Internet connection is almost always up.

=======================================
It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.

-- Carl Sagan

i only really care about internet. i rarely watch tv these days.
:o)))

rotorhead,
This thread is not my field, I don't even know what most of it's all about. But, just to clarify, I do not have cable. I only have DishNetwork, and I only have one 4 foot dish, and I get ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX. It is not actually part of the DishNetwork package, but a company called All America Direct works with them (somehow) to provide the networks. And, for the record, I didn't get any waivers. Now, maybe someone at All America got the waivers for me, but I doubt it because when my husband finally got the "right" person on the phone, the networks were on in about 5 minutes. I pay All America Direct separately for the networks ( about $3.00 each). This came up a while back, and someone on here kind of challenged my post, but I truly do have the networks! I don't have an HD TV, so I can't comment on that.

Juanita,
It wasn't me who challenged you. I have the same thing, all 4 networks, east coast and west coast. All from All American Direct delivered via Dishnetwork. You just go to www.mydistantnetworks.com to sign up. All American Direct requested the waivers on your behalf. The law requires it, they can't provide the distant network package without a waiver from your local affiliates.

The networks are on channels 241-248 and are delivered via echostar7 in the 119 degree orbital slot.

Rotorhead, couldn't have explained it better.
For those thinking you can just pick an address and ship em down..............Keep in mind that the HD local networks are spotbeamed. So what you saw stateside won't necessarily be available.

SkysTheLimit,
Any word on when All American Direct might be offering the networks in HD? Did you hear any more about the PR locals being available in the VI?

The only way that I know to get the networks in HD in the USVI is via C-Band.