How do I get local channels on Directv?

[redletter1]

How do I get Local Channels not offered on DirecTV?? - HELP!?
We got DirecTV specifically for NFL Sunday ticket and now that the regular season is over we were told that it does not cover the post season which would not be a problem if they provided local channels in my area - which they don't! Which means no playoffs or superbowl for us!!

Obviously, we are stuck in a contract and DirecTv told me that I can get free over the air channels if we purchase a converter box but they could not give me more details. We have a newer 1080i HDTV and I cannot seem to find any information about how to use a converter with this type of television - everything out there is for analog TV sets. We also live on a military base where we cannot put an antenna on our roof and someone told me you need to use an antenna WITH a converter box. At this point I'm ready to pull my hair out because no one can give me a straight answer (not even Bestbuy or Radioshack). Can anyone out there tell me exactly what to do? We need a solution by January 15th lol.

Our "waivers" for local stations were all denied as well.

 

[EeFeHutton]

What they're talking about with the converter box is a using an antenna to receive your local broadcast stations on an old TV. DirecTV carries the full power broadcast stations for most cities. But there are a few areas still not served. There is a process where you can get a waiver where DirecTV will offer you network affiliate stations from another market if they do not offer such programming from what should be your local broadcast stations. I'm surprised your waiver was denied. Is there a local station holding it up, refusing to authorize it?
I would put up an antenna and watch your local broadcast stations that way. You only need a converter box if you have an older TV without a digital broadcast tuner. All televisions manufactured for sale in the US after March 1, 2007 include the digital tuner.
I would double check the rules about putting up an antenna. US Federal law prohibits restrictions against erecting an outdoor antenna up to 3 feet in size. I don't know how that law applies to a military installation. If that law does not apply due to being on a military base perhaps you can get the military to persuade DirecTV or whomever is holding up your waiver to address it.
How far are you from the broadcast stations? If you're close enough for reasonable reception using an indoor antenna you could try that. They don't work nearly as well as an outdoor model but if the signals are strong enough where you live it may work out fine. The only such antenna I could recommend is the Winegard Sharpshooter. As a general rule all these modern indoor "digital" TV antennas flat suck. All of them have miserable performance for stations operating in VHF. Do you have an attic you can access, try putting up an outdoor antenna in the attic. Roofing material attenuates the signal but this may work too.
If all you need is UHF you could even make your own antenna. A good design would be using PVC pipe and some 1/2" hardware cloth, and copper wire. This holds up outdoors. A simple yet effective design is using a 2x4, some paneling, cardboard, or similar flat material and tin foil and wire. Use these to construct a multi-bay bow tie antenna. It may not be pretty but it's cheap and will outperform most any commercial product, seriously. This is for UHF stations only. I can give you more details if you wish to try. Here's a sample: http://uhfhdtvantenna.blogspot.com The foil coated duct material is certainly causing problems in the example but it still works well enough.
This works remarkably well. You of course could buy a commercial bow tie antenna. Here's a commercial version http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/6466/pu4a.jpg
They're small enough that you could make it work inside somehow at least to get you through postseason. Understand, these are not small "table top" indoor antennas.
Unfortunately this http://www.dtvprimer.com/Bowtie.jpg is no longer available.
FYI, there is no such thing as a digital antenna. It's a piece of metal and it doesn't care what the signal is.