Local Channels Directv

I live in a rural area of upstate New York. I'm only five minutes outside of town, but I'm in a valley surrounded by mountains on all sides. When I moved here nine years ago, analog television was still available. I received pretty static reception for just two local channels. Even though there was static, the channels were still viewable. I could still watch ABC and NBC soaps and Live with Regis and Kelly. Two years later my oldest son was born and I went on maternity leave for three months. I finally caved in and signed up for directtv. I signed up directly through them, but you can also sign up at www.dx3.net. The downside, no local channels, so I was stuck watching my soaps through static. The upside, direct tv has a channel called SoapNet, so I could watch my soaps perfectly clear when SoapNet re-aired them at night. At that time, SoapNet also aired old episodes of Ryan's Hope and Search For Tomorrow. Pretty great, not to mention all of the other channels that I now received.
When all local channels went digital and analog became obsolete, I couldn't receive local channels anymore. I tried several different converter boxes, but could never get a stable reception. Just lots of pixelized boxes that would fade in and out, so I pretty much gave up trying to watch any shows on the local channels. The main thing I missed was the local news.
A few years ago, I signed up for ABC through Directv's long distance networking plan. It was nice being able to watch ABC's primetime shows, even though the news broadcasts pertained to New York City and New Jersey.
Last summer, Directv finally enabled local channels in my area. An installer had to come and replace the old box and satellite. I do wish they had sent a more experienced installer as the one they sent was young and ran the cable from the satellite down the whole backside of the house rather than run it down through the inside of the walls, so that it's not visible. Oh well. Receiving local channels is really nice though! Now I can watch the local news and primetime shows. I even receive CBS, FOX and PBS. I've never been able to watch those channels, even before I moved here. Receiving local channels was a long time coming, but well worth the wait.