about to jump into the HD waters, so some (probably) stupid questions

[whatchel1]

YES

actually, we have no local channels on Dish here in Indiana at the moment- our ABC/NBC/Fox are provided by all american direct- is that something that will be affected by the move to HD and a new satellite?

I think our local CBS station (which we use an antenna to receive) is SUPPOSED to be on Dish sometime in June, so we'll see what happens there.

If you have to have AAD then you will need WA(western arc). Since they only broadcast on 110/119. So you need to have a 1k.2 dish for WA.

 

[R0ss]

Thanks for the info, R0ss- do I need to be able to get BOTH eastern arc AND western arc for HD? Or is one enough?

And don't worry- no barrel connectors for the final run of coax, although they are GREAT for helping pull a new strand of coax through the house! Once it's outside, unhook the old coax, take it to the antenna, go back indoors and strip and crimp, and all is well- at least when we're talking antennas!

One or the other is the norm it usually depends on what part of the US you are in I don't know if there is an exact dividing line, and from what I read on this forum it can also depend on which sats you can see from your particular location. Sounds to me like your tree issue is defiunily going to dictate which arc or hybrid (combination of arcs) you get dishpointer give you any idea of what kind of success you might have????

Ross

 

[R0ss]

110/119/61.5 doesn't work anymore. Will be missing too much HD. Mixed arc like that just doesn't work anymore.

I realize that as i have that set up at the moment, however give the tree issue he has elaborated on it is an option maybe not the best but if he wants HD.....

 

[R0ss]

actually, we have no local channels on Dish here in Indiana at the moment- our ABC/NBC/Fox are provided by all american direct- is that something that will be affected by the move to HD and a new satellite?

I think our local CBS station (which we use an antenna to receive) is SUPPOSED to be on Dish sometime in June, so we'll see what happens there.

According to the post Scott put up, and remembering that dish will do what it wants when it wants, Lafayette, IN locals will be added in June. Don't know if that helps or not. here is the link to the post:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-forum/213309-dish-locals-launching-june.html

Ross

 

[R0ss]

Just a thought here, and maybe you already checked this out, but are there any local Dish installers? If so they would have some idea of the terrain and tree issues in your area. When you go through dish, you never know if you are going to get an installer that really knows what they are doing and can think through the issues (no offense to the installers on the forum) or one that will roll up and realize that this will be a JOB and decide after giving it just enough time, that he can't do anything for you because of the trees. In my experience a local installer will be honest and upfront with you right off the bat (again no offense to the installers on the forum), they have a business reputation in your community and they certainly don't want to intentionally provide bad advice or service, especially in this economy. I can't imagine that it would cost any more or less to do this going that way as opposed to going through dish....just an idea

Ross

 

[dadsquared]

I so much appreciate all the replies, and apologize for not coming on earlier to say so. It turns out on Sunday, my wife went shopping and, long story short, came home with an HD tv and blu ray player! This initially filled me with dread, because she tends to buy items based on how they will look in the house, but I think she made a good choice- the picture looks great (our tv the past 17+ years has been a non-hdtv) and watching a couple of blu-ray dvd's has convinced me that even really cute Hollywood starlets have (gulp!) wrinkles.

So I should probably change the title of this thread to "I just got pushed into the HD waters, someone throw me a life preserver!" I've definitely spent a lot of time memorizing new remote control functions.

However- we're now looking much closer at HD packages from Dish, and, for sake of comparison, we looked at- well, a competitor of Dish. We were pretty surprised at the promotion offer they have going on now- $29 off per month for the first year, $14 per month off for the second year. Being a loyal guy who has been with Dish for 11 relatively pain-free years, I'm trying to balance some (pretty substantial) savings with loyalty. Who knows? We might go to the extreme, and cancel everything and just watch blu ray movies- although the kids would probably miss SpongeBob...

 

[sundrop]

R0ss- we have quite a few trees on the property. When we moved here 11 years ago, we had a surveyor come out to give us an idea of how many trees were on our 5 acres. He was here for five minutes, said "I'm not charging you folks for this- the terrain is too rugged. I'm calling it 500 trees per acre, average." Surrounding our place, there are 72 mature trees taller than our two story house. Plus side: nice and shady in the summer. Down side: satellite dish 180 feet from house.

I just wanted to say, that it sounds like you live in a wonderful place. I would love to see some pictures.

I will continue to follow this thread. I want to see the outcome. (Which I hope is good)