4/29/2009 2:26pm - Uplink Activity Report - 223 changes

[jegrant]

I think it would have made *much* more sense for Dish to add either ION Life or qubo, over ION West.

 

[wkomorow]

8584(41) - KPXM [MPEG2 SD] added to EchoStar7 119W TP 14 ConUS beam (NA)(St. Cloud, MN-N/A)
8584(41) - KPXM [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar6 72.7W TP 31 ConUS beam (NA)(St. Cloud, MN-N/A)

Interesting they are adding Pax/Ion all of a sudden. I guess to be like D*

Why would they add them to a CONUS TP?

edit: Looks like these arent uplinked...more like remaps. Ion is on TP14 too so they probably just remap it to the "local" Ion channel....so no bandwidth wasted

The more interesting question for me is whether they will be adding EPG info for the ION stations and their sub-channels for the digital OTA versions - IonLife and QUBO has some interesting programing, but because it reads digital service I don't often find it.

 

[digiblur]

Are HDNet/Discovery HD Theater/HBO/Showtime still using the big mpeg2 bandwidths they had on the 110 satellite?

I'm hoping HDNet will retain its highest bit-rate and picture quality for demo purposes!

Those haven't been MPEG2 for quite a while. Although, the HD on 110 is generally running a higher bandwidth since there isn't as many channels packed on those TPs.

 

[nlk10010]

Wishin' and Hoping'...

I'm more a "I Only Want To Be With You" fan, but my gut tells me that even if they actually end up going live those channels are more likely to be Premium HDs. Are there any Showtime/TMC/etc. HDs Dish doesn't have?

 

[djmaui]

Yep. The E-10 spot for AK/HI is the same uplink. It's just downlinked into AK and HI. The 129 AK/HI spots are separate, they can uplink different things to AK and HI on those.

Thanks Digiblur,

I'm grateful for the guys like you (I'm thinking of several but won't try to name you all since I'll miss a bunch) who know so much about the technical stuff and take time to answer questions here, not to mention all the hard work behind the scenes.

They have already begun treating us the same on the separate 129 spots (other than adding some locals for Anchorage).

I'm still thinking 110 is going to be used for AK/HI. No point in wasting beams they have designed for there and E-11 for designed with AK/HI in mind also.

I agree. Does anyone see why a 3-bird dish (110/119/129) would not work for Hawaii and Alaska? Dish could really make some headway in Hawaii with this move. Lots of HD with one dish would put them way out in front here. Currently it looks like Direct is picking up more new customers by selling a better "lots more HD soon" story.

I already have 3 dishes so I'm just waiting for the 129 spot switch to be turned on. Maybe Scott could accidentally bump into the switch when he's at the uplink center next week.

 

[digiblur]

Not a problem. This hobby of doing the uplink report stuff is fun with you hear people benefit from it.

Although the channels might not be on yet, are you able to lock any signals labelled as spotbeam on 129 TP 1-16?

 

[djmaui]

The new 11 channels on 110 haven't showed up, and I checked with my dealer friend about the 30 channels on 129, since I don't have a dish pointed there yet. Those don't show up either, but he is picking up great signals on tp's 2,4,6,14 at 129 which will be carrying the HI spot 55.

39" dish overcast, light rain
tp2 78
tp4 68
tp6 78
tp14 80

Now that I know there's a beam to lock onto, I'll be pointing a 30" dish at 129 as soon as I can and report back.

 

[djmaui]

Got the 30 incher pointed and here are the numbers (spotbeam transponder only):

30" dish 129 west
dpp44
722
cloudy, light drizzle

tp1 0 not locked
tp2 73 129 w
tp3 0 not locked
tp4 57 129 w
tp5 0 not locked
tp6 70 129 w
tp7 0 not locked
tp8 0 not locked
tp9 0 not locked
tp10 0 not locked
tp11 0 not locked
tp12 69 locked, name not acquired
tp13 0 not locked
tp14 72 129 w
tp15 0 not locked
tp16 72 129 w
tp17 0 not locked
tp18 0 not locked
tp19 0 not locked

 

[digiblur]

Post your numbers in the sticky above this one.. Good place for people to reference their numbers.

 

[AKGolf]

Thanks Digiblur,

I agree. Does anyone see why a 3-bird dish (110/119/129) would not work for Hawaii and Alaska? Dish could really make some headway in Hawaii with this move. Lots of HD with one dish would put them way out in front here. Currently it looks like Direct is picking up more new customers by selling a better "lots more HD soon" story.

My local dealer said he would try the single dish this weekend. If he gets around to it he says he'll call me and I'll let you know. Since a lot of the up linked channels were on 110 I hope this works for new customers.

He's expecting a special dish for this, I'm unsure if Dish was shipping this to him or if it was a third party.

 

[Chena]

I'm smiling from ear to ear. Just had my 6 ft. dish swung over yesterday and already gets alot more HD,

I have a 148 dish I can move after cutting a tree, but I saw the other thread that said 129 legacy problems. I am using a sw64 with a 722, am out of luck for now?

 

[Pat A]

I have a 148 dish I can move after cutting a tree, but I saw the other thread that said 129 legacy problems. I am using a sw64 with a 722, am out of luck for now?

You should be good with your 148 dish. I am planning on aiming my old 148 dish (24") at 129 this weekend. I will post my readings when I get it done.

 

[siuc1996]

According to the list from the last retailer chat, the following areas should get HD locals next week:

Minot-Bismarck, ND
Sioux Falls - Mitchell, SD
Rockford, IL
Twin Falls, ID
Butte-Bozeman, MT
Chico-Redding, CA

Just curious about the locals in Rockford. This post makes me hopeful we are getting them soon. Is this list pretty solid or more on the rumor side of things? If real, when would you expect we would see this happen?