This sat issue is confusing at best. We have cable at home. We can get a pretty good deal to switch to Direct. Will need a portable antenna as our kingdome is being phased out (or so we are told) An...
You are right about locals. If you have them transferred, anyone at home loses them. Also, unlike Dish, Directv will only transfer them about twice a year.
Also, keep in mind that the Trav'ler is not a portable. If you are parked under trees, you will have no reception. You may need a 3 LNB Slimline dish on a tripod for those occasions.
I don't know of an automatic portable that does Directv HD. With a little practice, though, the manual dish I mentioned above is not THAT hard to aim.