More questions from prospective switcher

[x5ray]

in browsing through dishchannelchart.com i found that lot of the international programming that is on 61.5 and 148 now seems to be 121 as well. is this correct. so, if i need 110 and 119 for locals and hd, can i get a superdish for 121 international programming? however, i think i will still need a 2nd dish for extended locals in atlanta w/ 61.5 satellite location. but that defeats the purpose of trying to have only 1 satellite. but planning for the future, will additional international programming be put on all 3 (61.5, 148, 121)?

are there any multiswitches that integrates the use of OTA's w/ 3 satellite locations? I'm still hoping to connect 5 tv's...so, i'm looking for switch to handle 4 inputs w/ at least 5 outputs. i'm not having too much luck here. will i need to couple some switches?

 

[Cyclone]

There will be a 4 satellite switch available soon. Its called the Dish Pro Plus 44 (DPP44). It would allow you to have a 121 SuperDish (105/110/119) and a Wing satellite dish (61.5) connected up at the same time. If only has 4 outputs, but a 2nd DPP44 can be added on to add an additional 4 outputs.

We are not sure about the future, but 121 does appear to be the new home for International programming at Dish. It used to be the Wing satellites (61.5 & 148), but most of that content was co-located over to 121 when it was launched last fall. Since then all new International programming has been placed on 121.

Also, the FCC might be ordering Dish to consolidate all locals onto a single Dish instead of splitting them between a wing dish, and the main Dish 500 slots. So either those 3 Atlanta locals will be moving over to the Dish500 (110/119) slots, or the rest of your locals will be moving over to the wing satellite (61.5).

 

[SummitAdvantageRetailer]

Since the locals may be combined into one or two satellite locations (but on one dish if FCC enforces it), you may just want to concentrate on the international channels. I also think the SuperDISH 121 is where the international programming will be at. This is because all of the 61.5 international programming is simulcast on 121 and there are some exclusive programming on the 121 that's not slated for launch on 61.5.

So the best thing for you now is to get 110, 119, and 61.5 and later do a SuperDISH 121 upgrade if you see international programming come on 121 exclusively and when locals disappear from 61.5.

 

[SimpleSimon]

... are there any multiswitches that integrates the use of OTA's w/ 3 satellite locations? I'm still hoping to connect 5 tv's...so, i'm looking for switch to handle 4 inputs w/ at least 5 outputs. i'm not having too much luck here. will i need to couple some switches?

The others have handled the first half of your questions, so here's the switch skinny.

First, gotta ask - are we looking at 5 satellite tuners? Or fewer, with 5 TVs - there's a BIG difference! What receiver models are we talking about?

A single satellite tuner can drive more than one TV - but those TVs will all be seeing the same satellite channel. Of course, OTA is different - any TV with a tuner that has the OTA feed can tune to any OTA station. If you're using the satellite's OTA tuner, it'll act the same as satellite.

So, with 4 satellite inputs (typically 110, 119, 105 or 121, and 61.5 or 148), and more than 4 tuner feeds, you'll need to cascade 2 DP44's together, and your LNBFs must all be DishPro.

As for your OTA, it can be diplexed into the tuner feeds - NOT the LNBF to switch feed. You'll probably need a distribution amplifier between the antenna and the diplexers. You can get an amp that provides multiple outputs.