NASA TV shutting down this August

[dishrich]

For those that still watch it on satellite:

NASA will shut down NASA TV on cable to focus on NASA+

NASA TV is shutting down in August.

www.engadget.com

 

[RTCDude]

At first I was also shocked and saddened by this. But when you go look at NASA+, it looks better than I was expecting.

Everything is in either HD or 4k (as opposed currently NASA TV is only SD). And it all streams on demand, or stream repeated live events. So there is no need to be slave to a schedule. Lastly, given it’s a government resource, its free; no silly subscriptions.

On the down sides, it does leave out those that don’t have high speed internet. And currently it appears to be only accessible via a web browser, and that’s not very convenient (hopefully dedicated apps will show up for the different streaming services).

So, I will miss the convenience of just tuning to a channel (at least until dedicated apps). But I think on balance given the significant resolution improvement, and the free access, it will be a win.

P.S., after re-reading the article again, it says there are apps for Roku, Apple TV, and Fire TV. So that eliminates the major objection for me (Apple TV). We’ll see if they pick up more services in the future.

 

[syphix]

And so the march toward streaming moves on. I predicted years ago that linear channels would start shutting down in favor of on demand, leaving sports and news channels as the only remaining live, linear channels. I figured the first ones to do so would be Nickelodeon or MTV, given their audience is more than likely already streaming a majority of their content anyway. Never considered NASA TV. But it's a good choice for cost savings on their end.

 

[TRG]

In 2007 Dish Network had a few channels in the clear. One was NASA TV. I bought a $50 special (Azure Shine 90cm) Ku band offset dish from 3ABN. I mounted an Invacom QPH-031 Combined Circular / Linear LNB and enjoyed watching NASA TV FTA on my plasma TV for free! That's where my FTA journey began. The Plasma TV and LNB are long gone but I still have the dish.

Does anyone know if the C-Band feeds on 127W will be going away?

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Does anyone know if the C-Band feeds on 127W will be going away?

Yes. They are going away.

 

[navychop]

The Plasma TV … long gone

Miss it? Especially if it was a Panny.

 

[Universe93B]

Interesting! I made a thread about why the NASA channel and some others are still on SD - they just look so bad! Who wants to see the Earth from space in SD?

Why does dish network down convert some channels to SD?

I'm a big Space/Universe/Astronomy fan and am glad dish carries NASA official channel 286. But NASA has been broadcasting their official channel in HD for over 10 years now. Why is it only in SD on my dish? It looks so bad, especially after being used to HD for this many years. I found this...

www.satelliteguys.us

Recently, I have just been going to the YouTube app on the Hopper 3 and go to the NASA streaming there and watch it in HD. I wish NASA+ would have an easier way to just watch on my tv and dish hopper. That's something that I would still miss about streaming - I like the interface and just channel surfing and switching of dish.

 

[charlesrshell]

I wonder when Dish is going to add the NASA app for the Hopper!

 

[Bobby]

I never use the NASA channel on Dish. I have the NASA app on my AppleTV and use it when I want to watch a launch or a documentary. It is soooo much cleaner and easier to look at.

 

[Foxbat]

Remember when HDnet used to have the Space Shuttle launches in HD? That was always a treat, visually. Their host got annoying to listen to, though.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

I wonder when Dish is going to add the NASA app for the Hopper!

That's up to who makes the NASA app. They don't have the Dish Android boxes as supported by the app in the app store. DISH has no control over that.

 

[comfortably_numb]

Information courtesy of Rick's-

"According to a press release from NASA, the linear NASA Television channels provided to cable systems and over-the-air TV stations are to be phased out in August 2024. Programming will continue to be available through NASA+, the streaming service NASA launched in 2023 to serve as an eventual replacement to NASA TV."

NASA Embraces Streaming Service to Reach, Inspire Artemis Generation - NASA

 

[Mr Tony]

Big thread here on the site

NASA TV shutting down this August

For those that still watch it on satellite: https://www.engadget.com/nasa-will-shut-down-nasa-tv-on-cable-to-focus-on-nasa-120015334.html

www.satelliteguys.us

 

[comfortably_numb]

Big thread here on the site

NASA TV shutting down this August

For those that still watch it on satellite: https://www.engadget.com/nasa-will-shut-down-nasa-tv-on-cable-to-focus-on-nasa-120015334.html

www.satelliteguys.us

Oops. Sorry, didn't see that before.

 

[n0qcu]

Can’t really say I will miss it since I haven’t watched it since they grounded the shuttle

Sent from my iPhone with Chrome real Satelliteguys don’t use tapatalk!

 

[Ron_MNdish]

Information courtesy of Rick's-

"According to a press release from NASA, the linear NASA Television channels provided to cable systems and over-the-air TV stations are to be phased out in August 2024. Programming will continue to be available through NASA+, the streaming service NASA launched in 2023 to serve as an eventual replacement to NASA TV."

NASA Embraces Streaming Service to Reach, Inspire Artemis Generation - NASA

Does that include the FTA channels on Galaxy 37? If so, seems like the fta dish will become 'obsolete' in the next decade or so. I'll be an old man to see that happen!

 

[navychop]

Damned youngster!

 

[Almighty1]

I wonder when Dish is going to add the NASA app for the Hopper!

Just came back from Toronto, Ontario Canada after a almost 2 week trip with my 95 year old mom so was not very active with the forums as it seems like the last time I read the forums was prior to July 30, 2024.

It might not be available for all Android TV devices or not available for the Hopper Plus as I don't have another AndroidTV device to see if it shows up in Google Play or not. That's why there is sideloading as it took me exactly 1.5 minutes to add it using the sideloading method. This version came out July 29, 2024 which I got from apkmirrors.com. Yes, I am a NASA Astrophysicist but not in the department that does the app development and anyways, this is the NASA app on my Hopper 3 with Hopper Plus, I should mention that the app does not show up in the "More apps" which is the 5th icon with the 3 x 3 boxes for the icon on the main Hopper Plus home screen in the photo below :

Per NASA - Apps on Google Play

Because USB Debugging Mode on the Hopper Plus is blocked, I had to first add CX File Explorer CX File Explorer - Android Apps on Google Play as one solution so I can send/receive files on the Hopper Plus using ftp and then downloaded the NASA app apk on the PC and then did the following:
ftp
ftp> open 192.168.2.133 3502
Connected to 192.168.2.133.
220 File Manager ready
200 UTF8 OK
User (192.168.2.133none)): pc
331 Password required
Password:

230 Access granted
ftp> binary
200 Binary type set
ftp> ls
200 PORT OK
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for LIST
drwxr-xr-x 1 owner group 3488 Nov 02 2023 device
226 Data transmission succeeded
ftp: 62 bytes received in 0.00Seconds 20.67Kbytes/sec.
ftp> cd device
250 CWD OK
ftp> ls
200 PORT OK
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for LIST
drwxr-xr-x 1 owner group 3488 Dec 13 2021 Alarms
drwxr-xr-x 1 owner group 3488 May 25 2023 Android
drwxr-xr-x 1 owner group 3488 Nov 02 2023 Audiobooks
drwxr-xr-x 1 owner group 3488 Dec 13 2021 DCIM
drwxr-xr-x 1 owner group 3488 Nov 02 2023 Documents
drwxr-xr-x 1 owner group 3488 Jun 19 12:29 Download
drwxr-xr-x 1 owner group 3488 Nov 02 2023 Movies
drwxr-xr-x 1 owner group 3488 Nov 02 2023 Music
drwxr-xr-x 1 owner group 3488 Dec 13 2021 Notifications
drwxr-xr-x 1 owner group 3488 Nov 02 2023 Pictures
drwxr-xr-x 1 owner group 3488 Dec 13 2021 Podcasts
drwxr-xr-x 1 owner group 3488 Dec 13 2021 Ringtones
226 Data transmission succeeded
ftp: 732 bytes received in 0.04Seconds 20.91Kbytes/sec.
ftp> cd Download
250 CWD OK
ftp> ls
200 PORT OK
150 Opening ASCII mode data connection for LIST
226 Data transmission succeeded
ftp> put "gov.nasa_5.1.3-104_minAPI29(arm64-v8a,armeabi-v7a,x86,x86_64)(nodpi)_apkmirror.com.apk"
200 PORT OK
150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for writing
226 Data transmission for writing succeeded
ftp: 13451308 bytes sent in 1.80Seconds 7485.42Kbytes/sec.
ftp>
Connection closed by remote host.

Then went to CX File Explorer and then opened the apk from the Download folder and then clicked on Install.

 

[TRG]

Does that include the FTA channels on Galaxy 37? If so, seems like the fta dish will become 'obsolete' in the next decade or so. I'll be an old man to see that happen!

That question was answered in post #5

 

[Bobby]

That question was answered in post #5

Yep, it looks like NASA is quitting all satellite and going strictly stream.