Signal Strength is 35? Is that OK?

[swellde]

I live in the Johnstown, PA market where HD locals finally became available. My normal HD channels always used satellite 110 or 119 I believe and the signal strength was always in the 80s.
When I called to order the locals I was told I needed a "third?" dish on my roof but when the tech arrived he said that the woman didn't know what she was talking about and he just needed to reposition my satellite dish. I got the local channels now and my old HD stations but they mostly use 129 and the signal strength is in the mid 30s to as low as 28 at times.
I have had company over, who knew nothing about the change in pointing my dish, that have commented that my HD doesn't look as sharp as they remembered, more like a good DVD. Does anyone know if the weak signal is making my picture suffer or am I just getting more used to watching HD so it doesn't look as impressive anymore. I also think I lose signal much easier in what should be mild rain now as well.
Any advice would be very appreciated so I know what I'm talking about if I call Dish Network.

 

[AKGolf]

I live in the Johnstown, PA market where HD locals finally became available. My normal HD channels always used satellite 110 or 119 I believe and the signal strength was always in the 80s.
When I called to order the locals I was told I needed a "third?" dish on my roof but when the tech arrived he said that the woman didn't know what she was talking about and he just needed to reposition my satellite dish. I got the local channels now and my old HD stations but they mostly use 129 and the signal strength is in the mid 30s to as low as 28 at times.
I have had company over, who knew nothing about the change in pointing my dish, that have commented that my HD doesn't look as sharp as they remembered, more like a good DVD. Does anyone know if the weak signal is making my picture suffer or am I just getting more used to watching HD so it doesn't look as impressive anymore. I also think I lose signal much easier in what should be mild rain now as well.
Any advice would be very appreciated so I know what I'm talking about if I call Dish Network.

I don't know what signal strength you should be getting, but that's plenty to get a signal. I live in Alaska and was just watching the Mariner's game and the signal strength was 24. The higher the better in case of bad weather, but if you get a signal you get it. A higher number doesn't mean a cleaner picture.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I don't know what signal strength you should be getting, but that's plenty to get a signal. I live in Alaska and was just watching the Mariner's game and the signal strength was 24. The higher the better in case of bad weather, but if you get a signal you get it. A higher number doesn't mean a cleaner picture.

But it does mean a consistent signal in rainy times. Something that will keep you from having rain fade and messed up recordings , unless it is raining very, very, hard. That signal is very low for the new 129 sat. It should be at least 45 - 50 at the minimum.

 

[bross]

I just installed a system yesterday in Somerset PA and signal strengths on 129 were in the 50's, so your dish might need adjusting or something is partially blocking the signal. From your location 129 is pretty low in the sky and signal levels will be lower than 110/119 but 30 is lower than I would expect.

I doubt that signal strength is affecting your picture quality though, it's more of an all or nothing thing. Either you're getting the HD signal or you're getting nothing. With low signal levels you'll be prone to signal loss during bad weather but if the signal is locked you'll get full HD.

Make sure you're connected with good quality HDMI or Composite Video Cables from the receiver to the TV and that you have the the HDTV settings correct in the receiver. These are usually the problem areas with picture quality.

 

[pabeader]

can anyone say micro-blocking?

 

[KAB]

30 or less, you should call Dish and have them send someone out to re-peak. I was in same boat, I'm now at 50+ on 129.