Getting HD service in the Chicago area

[ccm0114]

I am planning on upgrading to HD service and live in the Chicago area. I called Dish to see what hardware changes I need. They told me that for the 722 unit I would need three dishes on my roof to get all HD and all local channels, and that I need to connect 4 coax cables to the 722. This seems a little overboard to me. I already have single coax lines to each SD receiver in the house. I realize that I probably need to realign my existing dishes (presently point at 111/119 and 61.5), to have both HD and SD service, but add a third dish? I'm not about to rip up all my walls for HD. Is there an HD receiver offered that only needs one satellite tuner coax connection?

 

[DanLee]

Wow! That seems a bit much. I live in NW Indiana and receive local HD, and all HD channels through AT200 with one Dish 1000 that picks up 3 satellites (110, 119, 129). I would check with an installer; he might know more info. could limit it to possibly two dishes.

 

[jimboeau]

I am planning on upgrading to HD service and live in the Chicago area. I called Dish to see what hardware changes I need. They told me that for the 722 unit I would need three dishes on my roof to get all HD and all local channels, and that I need to connect 4 coax cables to the 722. This seems a little overboard to me. I already have single coax lines to each SD receiver in the house. I realize that I probably need to realign my existing dishes (presently point at 111/119 and 61.5), to have both HD and SD service, but add a third dish? I'm not about to rip up all my walls for HD. Is there an HD receiver offered that only needs one satellite tuner coax connection?

They probably meant to say that you will need to see 3 satellites, but you will only need one dish. (dish 1000). That one dish will see all the sats you need to see..... 110, 119 and 129. Call back or order online....

 

[flyingsquirrel]

I live in the north suburbs and I have ONE DISH looking at THREE SATELLITES.

I used to have a second Dish looking at 61.5, but that was "decommissioned" a while ago.

What you need to look into is an OTA antenna so you can get Channels 9, 11, 26, etc in HD. Dish will only give you 2,5,7, and 32 in HD. Also, adding OTA gives you the ability to record three programs at once (as long as one is OTA).

 

[FunkyBoss]

I live in the north suburbs and I have ONE DISH looking at THREE SATELLITES.

I used to have a second Dish looking at 61.5, but that was "decommissioned" a while ago.

What you need to look into is an OTA antenna so you can get Channels 9, 11, 26, etc in HD. Dish will only give you 2,5,7, and 32 in HD. Also, adding OTA gives you the ability to record three programs at once (as long as one is OTA).

ditto everything squirrel said. I also have a single dish hooked up (Dish1000) now, with another dish pointed at 61.5 that is doing nothing except plugging the holes in my roof.

The OTA channels are great to have. You could even probably get away with an indoor smaller antenna and get most of the Chicago HD locals depending where you are located.

 

[flyingsquirrel]

Like the "holes" line. I may actually use the 61.5 pole to remount the OTA antenna.

Problem with OTA in Chicago is Channel 2 is damn near impossible to pick up. Indoor or outdoor.

I am 45 miles from downtown, and indoor antenna was marginal at best, so I had to go outdoor. Still can't get Channel 2, though.

 

[volzjr]

Like the "holes" line. I may actually use the 61.5 pole to remount the OTA antenna.

Problem with OTA in Chicago is Channel 2 is damn near impossible to pick up. Indoor or outdoor.

I am 45 miles from downtown, and indoor antenna was marginal at best, so I had to go outdoor. Still can't get Channel 2, though.

Yeah, I'm 47 miles due north along the shoreline, and I could get all the HD channels from Chi with an antenna that was mounted in the attic of my garage EXCEPT ch 2. I had to roof mount a massive piece of Winegard aluminum to get ch 2 most of the time. It occasionally still pixelates slightly in iffy weather. Ch 2 is the only Chi HD channel that is still broadcasting on VHF. All the other Chi HD's are on UHF, which explains the difficulty. I have not heard back from WBBM as to whether that was ever going to change.

 

[Yes616]

Hello Folks:

I am not in your area but I did a little checking up on this for you..

WBBM-DT is transmitting on channel 3 (mapped to channel 2.1) and is operating a very low power (IMO) at 4.4kW compared to the SD channel 2 at 26.4kW. (Looks like "test mode" to me).

So it seems to be getting this channel anywhere beyond 20 miles (if that) outside of Chicago, you better get the channel from Dish.

This has got to change before Feb 2009 but no updates available at this time. Even from the FCC site.

Check here for the info..
http://radiostationworld.com/locations/United_States_of_America/Illinois/tv_information.asp?m=chi

 

[rad]

Hello Folks:

I am not in your area but I did a little checking up on this for you..

WBBM-DT is transmitting on channel 3 (mapped to channel 2.1) and is operating a very low power (IMO) at 4.4kW compared to the SD channel 2 at 26.4kW. (Looks like "test mode" to me).

So it seems to be getting this channel anywhere beyond 20 miles (if that) outside of Chicago, you better get the channel from Dish.

This has got to change before Feb 2009 but no updates available at this time. Even from the FCC site.

Check here for the info..
RadioStationWorld - Illinois - Television Broadcasting Stations

WBBM-DT is not running ar low power/test mode. They are running at the highest power authorized by the FCC for that channel and antenna height allowed to cover their service area. It's just that low VHF channels are a real b*tch to get, they'll be moving to a VHF-high channel after the analog cutoff. Check out the Chicago OTA threa at Chicago, IL - OTA - Page 40 - AVS Forum for info on this channel and assistance on what you need to get the OTA.

BTW, I used to live in Chicago and was able to receive WBBM-DT via OTA about 40 miles from the transmitter site.

 

[ccm0114]

which DVR to get

Thanks for all the helpful replies above. I didn't know about the dead 61.5. BTW, I do have an OTA antenna, and pick up most things at 55 miles away. I am still wondering about the DVR. Does Dish have one that only works with one coax input? I looked at the 722 and 622 and they both have two sat inputs, and I found out the hard way that the 722 needs both inputs. Would the 622 work with only one input? In the meantime, I'll have to touch base with a local installer.

 

[osu1991]

They will both work with a single coax from the dish, you just need to make sure you have a Dish Pro Plus (DPP) lnb and a Dish Separator to break the single feed back into 2 feeds behind the receiver.