Special Nov 25th Retailer Charlie Chat Details

[Sparkman]

That might come in handy when you try to get WBBM-DT (channel 3) since that one station has caused more grief then I care to mention with folks trying to get them due to their channel 3 assignment by the FCC.

Rad,

Can you get it with a 6000? I'm up here on the north side of Waukegan & I do get it most of the time, sometimes with a stronger signal than I get with my Toshiba 151 OTA.

I just had an outside antenna installed (the attic mount wasn't cutting it) and I still have wild signal reading fluctuations. I'm waiting for the weather to get better and have the installer come back out and try to do a bit of reaiming to see if that will help.

You may have too much signal coming in or some sort of multipath problem. If you have a signal amplifier have you tried just going straight to the antenna? You could also try using an attenuator on the input of your amp, or on the RF input of your 6000 if you are going direct. How is your reception of the analog channels coming from the same tower?

No, this is a WBBM issue. It is something that anyone in Chicago suburbs who has been trying to get it is well aware of. Has to do with them broadcasting on Digital channel 3. If you want to read all about it, look at AVS Forums, local info. A 3 year old thread is there.

 

[WeeJavaDude]

Well I guess the question is will we see additional HD channels in the near future? Does this change move the timetable back or up for the new HD channels that people have talked about.

From reading the posts, it is hard to tell if this move is a good thing or bad thing short term.

 

[EdV]

Well I guess the question is will we see additional HD channels in the near future?

Answer: No you will not

Does this change move the timetable back or up for the new HD channels that people have talked about.

Answer: Way back

From reading the posts, it is hard to tell if this move is a good thing or bad thing short term.

Answer: It's a total derailment of their entire near term plan for deployment of HD programming as was laid out in previous chats over the last few months.

 

[gpflepsen]

Well I guess the question is will we see additional HD channels in the near future?

Answer: No you will not

Does this change move the timetable back or up for the new HD channels that people have talked about.

Answer: Way back

From reading the posts, it is hard to tell if this move is a good thing or bad thing short term.

Answer: It's a total derailment of their entire near term plan for deployment of HD programming as was laid out in previous chats over the last few months.

It's like a bad dream, but I don't want to wake up because I want it to be a bad dream. :kitty:

 

[rad]

That might come in handy when you try to get WBBM-DT (channel 3) since that one station has caused more grief then I care to mention with folks trying to get them due to their channel 3 assignment by the FCC.

Rad,

Can you get it with a 6000? I'm up here on the north side of Waukegan & I do get it most of the time, sometimes with a stronger signal than I get with my Toshiba 151 OTA.

I just had an outside antenna installed (the attic mount wasn't cutting it) and I still have wild signal reading fluctuations. I'm waiting for the weather to get better and have the installer come back out and try to do a bit of reaiming to see if that will help.

You may have too much signal coming in or some sort of multipath problem. If you have a signal amplifier have you tried just going straight to the antenna? You could also try using an attenuator on the input of your amp, or on the RF input of your 6000 if you are going direct. How is your reception of the analog channels coming from the same tower?

I've tried with and with out an amp, no luck. I've tried attenuators, no good. Channel 2 analog is OK, not the best in the world but it's always been that way. Even the local cable co takes a microwave feed since they reception sucked. After the holidays I'm having the installer come back out and see if he can tweek the direction a bit to see if it helps. It's been very windy here lately and I didn't want him up on the roof. Thanks - RAD

 

[Jerry G]

Answer: It's a total derailment of their entire near term plan for deployment of HD programming as was laid out in previous chats over the last few months.

I'm very concerned that this is correct. I think it will be a very long time before we see Bravo HD, TMC HD, Starz HD, Cinemax HD, etc. Perhaps one of these might make it in the near future, I'd bet on Starz HD. We'll be lucky if we get Bravo HD before the summer Olympics which means missing a lot of the Olympics in HD. Very sad. This of course assumes that Charlie will not start to overcompress the HD channels. If he elects to do so (and decrease PQ as apparently has been done on DirecTV), then we may get new HD channels.

I think the Dec 8 chat will tell. If none or only one new HD channel is announced, then I believe were sunk as far as any significant new HD before the end of next year.

 

[AndyMon]

It's starting to look like Voom just might have a chance of being the HD leader by March 2004, after all. That would be quite a coup.
Strange times, indeed.

 

[alfbinet]

I have been happy with Dish since 1999. I have had no complaints...I want to get the 921 but am patient enough to wait until they release it, BUT...I share Jerry G's concern...I suspect they will announce NO new HD channel(s) in December...sad for me because I am a HD supporter. I get the feeling the SuperDish has been derailed. Charlie...and I really like you...get your act (or Engineering Dept...Software Dept) together. Let's beat the pants of Murdock! OK guys I admit to being a bit biased with E*. It has a feel of a college football rivalry...I admit it being juvenile but I have no excuse...I support E*...it's just that they are not making it easy these days.

 

[James Long]

It still seems like many have put the panic ahead of the horse. Misquotes and misreads. Remain calm. The sky has not fallen!

JL

 

[minnow]

fslove- I bow to anyone who is a mind reader. Cool! But even if you did read his emotion correctly, what makes you think he won't change his mind next week, next month and more importantly, next year when the hardware will be i n place for full implementation of 105?...

Well the FACTS as we know them today indicate otherwise. Why would Charlie be telling his retailers to install two Dish 500's instead of ONE Superdish. Why would Charlie be telling his retailers to install two Dish 500's now when one of these will not be used until some future time for the side sat's fpr HD content ? Don you can hope and dream and hold out for some notion that has a significant chance of never coming to pass.

 

[Guest]

I was told somewhere on here last week that Sherman locals CBS or NBC were waiting on a 'Back haul problem' in Cheyenne.

Last time i asked my local NBC station KTEN , they said SWB just started installing their fiber cables 2 weeks ago..

Does anyone know what this*backhaul problem* means?? or have any more info on Sherman Tx/ ADA Ok locals??

 

[fslove]

Well I guess the question is will we see additional HD channels in the near future?

Answer: No you will not

Does this change move the timetable back or up for the new HD channels that people have talked about.

Answer: Way back

From reading the posts, it is hard to tell if this move is a good thing or bad thing short term.

Answer: It's a total derailment of their entire near term plan for deployment of HD programming as was laid out in previous chats over the last few months.

What information do you have that Dish is unable to put ANY new HD channels up on 110? There is still enough room to put quite a few HD channels that come out in the next year or two and then it seems that the wings are going to be future for the mass HD for the more distant future.

I will bet they design some sort of a mast/mount that can accept both the Dish500 dish AND a Dish300 for the wing satellite to avoid the two mount setup we need to do now. They would just need a longer necked mast that has room to stack one dish over the other. And probably a larger footprint footpad (for the added surface of two dishes) as is the case with the Superdish. This new design will of course not work for everyone but most will be able to use a single mount and be able to have a shot at the 110/119 and wings satellite. For those who can not they would need the two separate dish mount setup. Even today there are those who can not get a Dish500 setup and need two dish300's to get 110/119 so there is precedence.

 

[Stargazer]

I think a lot of people would prefer two smaller dishes instead of one larger dish to receive HD channels. It is also cheaper for Dish to have a Dish500 put in instead of a SuperDish for HD (unless the consumer needs locals from SuperDish as well in which will proably not be the majority of consumers since most of the U.S. could get their locals before SuperDish was even released). At a later time when locals are launched on the SuperDish for that person, one of the dishes would then be upgraded to a SuperDish.

 

[minnow]

I think a lot of people would prefer two smaller dishes instead of one larger dish to receive HD channels...."

I disagree. I don't think many will appreciate the looks of having two dishes hanging off the side of their homes as compared to one larger dish.
I do belive most people would prefer a "clean" look as compared to being known throughout the neighborhood as "that guy up the street whose house looks like the local NASA's Mission Control."
Electronic developments has generally led to smaller and simplier. E* has not gotten there yet.

 

[EdV]

For those of you who are claiming that there's plenty of room at 110, I've attached a spreadsheet sorted by transponder. This came from the Echostar Knowledge Base at http://ekb.dbstalk.com/dishlist.htm so credit goes to them. I pulled this down about a month ago so it doesn't include recent changes and it includes only the 110 slot for the sake of this discussion.

At the 110 orbital slot, there are a total of 32 transponders. However, 4 of those (28,30,31,32) are being used by D*. And 2 of these (20,25) appear to be hot spares to be used if one of the active TP's burn out. And TP's (2,4,6,8 ) are used to deliver LiL using spot beam technology. Here is the spot beam map http://ekb.dbstalk.com/pictures/echo8.gif In the spreadsheet, you'll notice that spot beam 5 on transponder 4 (4s5) has only the 5 Colorado Springs stations, but the 6 Denver stations are on TP 14, probably because it's just outside of beam 5's footprint.

Each of the non spot beam TP's can carry roughly 12 sd channels or 2 HD channels. So where would you put all the new HD channels. About the only thing I see is TP 12. If you could move the 6 Knoxville stations to other TP's that aren't quite full, you could put 2 HD channels on TP 12. If so, what channels should they put there. In my mind, in order to remain competitive with D*'s single dish solution, it should be HBO and Showtime. So that is the basis for my prediction of no new HD channels in the short term.

However, what if E* had made a contractual agreement to carry one or two new HD channels to be carried on the 105 sat. In that case maybe we will see some new HD.

 

[mike123abc]

Actually DIRECTV only owns 3 transponders at 110... 28,30,32. There are no hot spare transponders that are kept vacant. The satellite has spare transponders that can be switched on to replace one that can go bad.

 

[EdV]

Mike,

My mistake. You are correct. TP 31 is assigned to E* and has channels allocated to it in the spreadsheet. That's what I get for posting under the influence on a holiday.

Now if 20 and 25 are not spares as you suggest, why all this foot dragging by E* on at least putting HBO and SHO on 110 now that the HD plans for the existing 105 slot appear to have been scrapped.

This company works in strange ways.

 

[Stargazer]

Perhaps Dish is dragging their feet on adding more HD content at this time, concentrating on adding locals instead until new satellite is launched next year and wants to appease the HD viewers and new HD subscribers by placing the few availabe HD channels on the Dish500 and a wing slot that would be simpler to setup and can be self installed if need be.

 

[Ransack]

All this is making my head spin....I still don't know what this means for me

I currently have a Dish 500 and get Wash DC Locals.....when i upgrade and get an 811 or 921, will i need another Dish to get HD programming???

I have seen mention of having to have 2 Dish 500s due to this change

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

No you will get your HD programming with you Dish 500. (You can do the happy dance now)