I've read several of the threads concerning using two 18" vs the elliptical dishes for HDTV...I have a third monkey to throw into the works...

I live in the RDU/NC area where I can get the local channels via a third satellite. If I want standard DBS, HDTV, and the local channels, what is the most cost affective, and aesthetically pleasing (I can't have a bunch of dishes sitting in the yard) to accomplish this, and how many coax runs would I need to the exterior of the house?

Would an elliptical with a third LNB suffice? What about rain fade on these?

Any help would be appreciated

Robert-
Yep, the elliptical dish with the three LNB's is the "standard" method for getting the full complement of channels in your area.

You need to run one coax to the dish (or wherever you loate your multiswitch) for each receiver you'll be connnecting. If you have a DirecTivo, or any other sat receiver with multiple tuners, you'll need two coax runs to those boxes.

DirecTV has moved all of their locals to the spot beam satellite at the 101 position. You only need an 18" dish for core programming and locals. The only thing on 119 now is Spanish, HD and NASA.

-Robert

Does this mean that we can get locals now? When, when, when???

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

Locals are available for SOME viewing areas, mainly the larger US metropolitan areas. Since this thread deals with DirecTV, I'll assume your question relates to them also. As was stated above, since their spot-beam satellite went up and went into service, the has enabled them to have all their locals sent from the one satellite farm at 101. This just went into effect very recently.

You can see if you have locals available for your area via DirecTV here: [Link: directv.com]

I'm sure Echostar has similar information available regarding its local coverage.

No such luck for me, in the wilds of northern Michigan -- still stuck with bottom-tier cable for locals.