Fat chance of E* getting actual LIL HD anytime soon. The bird they bought from VOOM is in orbit about ten feet above Bermuda, so best of luck to them with dealing with the rain fade issues that lost VOOM about half of its subs.
Second of all, E* has been lobbying the FCC to allow it to consider the local channels DBS providers deliver, which are little more than up-converted OTA analog signals, as digital channels for purposes of meeting the 85% digital penetration required for the FCC to initiate the mandatory digital transition. The problem with this is that E* also told the FCC they would only support this if it meant they would not have to broadcast true HD locs, as long as they can still provide a down-converted digital signal. This is because, even with the purchase of the new bird from VOOM, E* simply does not have the bandwidth capacity to support even a modest LIL HD rollout...not by a long shot...and nowhere near the estimated 1500 HD LIL markets that D* estimates will be online by 2007.