Getting HD from satellite 61.5 vs. 129

[phibei]

Hi Guys,

I live in Philly and currently subscribe to DishNetwork American Top 100. The satellite on my roof points to the south which I have an unobstructed view of. Now I'm planning on getting Dish HD Absolute. Since there are quite some tall trees right behind my house at the southeast direction, I very much doubt that I can get much signal from the satellite 61.5.

I've called Dish and was told that customers could get HD programming either from satellite 61.5 or 129, and if I couldn't get a clear view of 61.5, I could get HD from 129 instead, which is roughly at the same direction as the ones from which I currently get my SD programming.

I ran into a Dish installer the other day and was told a different story. What he said was that 129 is only used in the west, midwest and down south. And he was not aware of anyone trying to get HD from 129 in Philly area. I asked if there were any particular technical reasons, he said he didn't know.

I'm very much confused. If I can get HD from 129 in Philly area, I'll have a chance. On the other hand, if the only way to get HD for me is from 61.5, I'll be out of luck because of all those tall trees right next to my backyard.

Any clarifications will be greatly appreciated.

 

[garys]

The Northeast has a problem seeing 129. Only person I have seen that was able to get 129 was a person in Pittston who used the extremely large old style dish to get just 129, the ones that are about 10 feet around. You would be better served trying to get 61.5, you only need a narrow view and may have a line of sight over the trees or between them as 61.5 is very high in the sky in PA. Also note that Philly HD locals are only on 61.5 and not on 129.

 

[phibei]

The Northeast has a problem seeing 129...

Thanks very much garys for taking time to reply. Now I understand that my best bet is 61.5. But I'm still curious about why the Northeast cannot get HD from 129 while other areas of the country can.

I also have a few more questions:

1. Other than Philly local channels, are the HD programming on 129 the same as the one on 61.5?

2. Do satellite TV providers generally replicate their programming on more than one satellite to help sign up more customers who otherwise may not be able to get on board? Is that the reason why Dish has the same HD programming on both 61.5 and 129?

3. Any future plans in terms of replicated HD programming coverage as far as Dish is concerned?

Thanks.

 

[peano]

Also keep in mind 61.5 is much more powerful than 129. I am in the east and 129 reception was a joke when I tried it. Watching pixellated HD is not so good. Go with 61.5 for sure.

 

[dlsnyder]

You may be surprised, go ahead and give 61.5 a try. You may need to mount a dish on another part of your house or property somewhere. Chances are there is somewhere on your property that has an unobstructed view of 61.5. Even out here in SoCal where the look angle is 22 degrees and the dish looks like it is pointing down there are places where we get a good view. I was pointed to 61.5 for over a year and it worked great, so it should be even better for you.

 

[mike123abc]

129 works in the NE, it is just low to the horizon and much more likely to be obstructed and get more rain fade. But, Philly HD locals are on 61.5 so it is a better to try to get 61.5 if you can do so.

 

[Jerryinvirginia]

Have a chainsaw party and forget 129.

 

[navychop]

You might be interested in this link. Look especially near the bottom about the dish 1000.

 

[primetimeguy]

Don't mean to hijack the thread but I have a question about 61.5 vs 129 from MN.

Recent storms messed something up on my Dish such that I no longer see 129. Running a check switch it only sees 110 and 119. So I have a service call fror Friday. With Easter Arc coming along, Minneapolis locals and FSN North were recently added to 61.5 (previously on 129) so my thought was on Friday to have the tech swing me around to 61.5 (129 is already on a separate dish, they idd this a while back to see if I could get better signal than one dish 110/119/129). My thinking was I'd getter a stronger signal and less rain fade this way. Thoughts?

My only worry now is with E2 failing, EA may be put on hold and they no longer will duplicate my locals on 61.5 and then I need another call in the near future to go back to 129.

 

[dlsnyder]

Don't mean to hijack the thread but I have a question about 61.5 vs 129 from MN.

Recent storms messed something up on my Dish such that I no longer see 129. Running a check switch it only sees 110 and 119. So I have a service call fror Friday. With Easter Arc coming along, Minneapolis locals and FSN North were recently added to 61.5 (previously on 129) so my thought was on Friday to have the tech swing me around to 61.5 (129 is already on a separate dish, they idd this a while back to see if I could get better signal than one dish 110/119/129). My thinking was I'd getter a stronger signal and less rain fade this way. Thoughts?

My only worry now is with E2 failing, EA may be put on hold and they no longer will duplicate my locals on 61.5 and then I need another call in the near future to go back to 129.

If you can get your locals OTA and don't care about your RSN in HD (if it is even available!!) then you would DEFINATELY be better off pointing that second dish to 61.5. Here in SoCal we don't have as much of a problem with 129 as those in other areas do. That far north you were probably having issues with 129 before that storm knocked out your dish. When Ciel-2 launches it will be a whole new ballgame, but repointing a single dish is not a big deal. For now, 61.5 is probably your best bet.

 

[primetimeguy]

If you can get your locals OTA and don't care about your RSN in HD (if it is even available!!) then you would DEFINATELY be better off pointing that second dish to 61.5. Here in SoCal we don't have as much of a problem with 129 as those in other areas do. That far north you were probably having issues with 129 before that storm knocked out your dish. When Ciel-2 launches it will be a whole new ballgame, but repointing a single dish is not a big deal. For now, 61.5 is probably your best bet.

My RSN and locals are now available on both 61.5 and 129 so programming wise there is no difference. So you pretty much confirmed my thoughts of going with 61.5 now and in the future if I have to swing back to 129 so be it. I just hope it's not 2 weeks from now.

 

[gjh3260]

My RSN and locals are now available on both 61.5 and 129 so programming wise there is no difference. So you pretty much confirmed my thoughts of going with 61.5 now and in the future if I have to swing back to 129 so be it. I just hope it's not 2 weeks from now.

Let me know how the repoint to 61.5 goes on Friday. Unlike you, I just have the one dish for 110/119/129. Have had some intermittent problems with 129 during storms but it hasnt been too bad for me. I recognize your name from the Twin Cities forum.

 

[phibei]

...When Ciel-2 launches it will be a whole new ballgame...

With this new launch, will Dish HD programming be put on a different satellite? Can someone provide some more details please?

 

[primetimeguy]

Let me know how the repoint to 61.5 goes on Friday. Unlike you, I just have the one dish for 110/119/129. Have had some intermittent problems with 129 during storms but it hasnt been too bad for me. I recognize your name from the Twin Cities forum.

My two dishes were too close together such that if I swung the 129 dish for 61.5 it would hit the other one. So I just left it as is rather than adding more holes to the roof.

 

[garys]

My two dishes were too close together such that if I swung the 129 dish for 61.5 it would hit the other one. So I just left it as is rather than adding more holes to the roof.

Can you switch them, ie: use current 129 for 110/119 and move 110/119 for 61.5?

 

[Voyager6]

Hi Guys,

I live in Philly and currently subscribe to DishNetwork American Top 100. The satellite on my roof points to the south which I have an unobstructed view of. Now I'm planning on getting Dish HD Absolute. Since there are quite some tall trees right behind my house at the southeast direction, I very much doubt that I can get much signal from the satellite 61.5.

I've called Dish and was told that customers could get HD programming either from satellite 61.5 or 129, and if I couldn't get a clear view of 61.5, I could get HD from 129 instead, which is roughly at the same direction as the ones from which I currently get my SD programming.

I ran into a Dish installer the other day and was told a different story. What he said was that 129 is only used in the west, midwest and down south. And he was not aware of anyone trying to get HD from 129 in Philly area. I asked if there were any particular technical reasons, he said he didn't know.

I'm very much confused. If I can get HD from 129 in Philly area, I'll have a chance. On the other hand, if the only way to get HD for me is from 61.5, I'll be out of luck because of all those tall trees right next to my backyard.

Any clarifications will be greatly appreciated.

You should be able to get your locals from OTA. Have you used the sat angle calculator to find the actual direction to point the dish for 61.5? Satellite Angle Calculator - SatelliteGuys.US
I live just southwest of Philly and the direction is about 160 and the elevation is almost 42. I believe that yours should be about the same. Unless those trees are right on top of you, you should be able to get signal. The elevation for 129 is about 18 or 19 from this area. Very hard to acquire and hold signal.

 

[primetimeguy]

Can you switch them, ie: use current 129 for 110/119 and move 110/119 for 61.5?

I thought about it. 110/119 were on 1000, 129 on 500. I decided to just let it go. When/if eastern acc becomes reality I'll make the necessary changes then.

 

[Yes616]

Thanks very much garys for taking time to reply. Now I understand that my best bet is 61.5. But I'm still curious about why the Northeast cannot get HD from 129 while other areas of the country can.

I also have a few more questions:

1. Other than Philly local channels, are the HD programming on 129 the same as the one on 61.5?

2. Do satellite TV providers generally replicate their programming on more than one satellite to help sign up more customers who otherwise may not be able to get on board? Is that the reason why Dish has the same HD programming on both 61.5 and 129?

3. Any future plans in terms of replicated HD programming coverage as far as Dish is concerned?

Thanks.

I am in upstate NY and I too have large trees just to my south and southeast.

The installer put the dish for 61.5 up a tripod and I am alright. The trees are well over 100 feet tall, about 50 feet away from the Dish and I am in a one story house with the dish on the peak of the roof so it's not too high up at all.

There will be some duplicated programming for the east and west as remember.. Everyone wants to watch TV and the earth is not flat. It's round like a ball.

 

[spudz160]

Don't mean to hijack the thread but I have a question about 61.5 vs 129 from MN.

Recent storms messed something up on my Dish such that I no longer see 129. Running a check switch it only sees 110 and 119. So I have a service call fror Friday. With Easter Arc coming along, Minneapolis locals and FSN North were recently added to 61.5 (previously on 129) so my thought was on Friday to have the tech swing me around to 61.5 (129 is already on a separate dish, they idd this a while back to see if I could get better signal than one dish 110/119/129). My thinking was I'd getter a stronger signal and less rain fade this way. Thoughts?

My only worry now is with E2 failing, EA may be put on hold and they no longer will duplicate my locals on 61.5 and then I need another call in the near future to go back to 129.

I live a few hours north of Minneapolis and I am considering the same thing. Please let us know how it goes.

 

[phibei]

You should be able to get your locals from OTA...

I've tried several different internal antennas but the OTA reception was not good on the 1st floor and was merely okay on the 2nd floor.

...The installer put the dish for 61.5 up a tripod and I am alright. The trees are well over 100 feet tall, about 50 feet away from the Dish and I am in a one story house with the dish on the peak of the roof so it's not too high up at all...

My trees are on an elevated ground and they are pretty tall and also fairly close to the house -- 20 to 30 feet away. Three different installers all concluded that there is no way for me to get the reception from 61.5