What is Eastern Arc?
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Eastern Arc is a new configuration that DISH is gearing up on. So far, it will consist of service offered from the 61.5 orbital slot. It should also include service from 72.7 in the future as DISH has negotiated broadcast rights from that location from its owners, TeleSat of Canada. Speculation includes the possibility of broadcasts coming from the 77 orbital slot, but that is not a real certainty.
Eastern Arc will be different in that it will be an all MPEG4 service possibly using an 8psk modulation scheme which means excellent efficiency in delivering channels, so a greater channel capacity will be realized. For many customers who currently need a dish at 110/119 and at 61.5 for HD, this will permit the ability to have a single dish pointed at the Southeastern sky instead of two separate dishes.
It is foreseeable that DISH may gradually transition customers over to using Eastern Arc or a future Western Arc (148 + others) that can be MPEG4 8PSK as well, leaving 110/119 to be for the MPEG2 systems until such time that a full conversion of old customers is financially reasonable, facilitating an all MPEG4 service from three different Arcs.
Eastern Arc will be different in that it will be an all MPEG4 service possibly using an 8psk modulation scheme which means excellent efficiency in delivering channels, so a greater channel capacity will be realized. For many customers who currently need a dish at 110/119 and at 61.5 for HD, this will permit the ability to have a single dish pointed at the Southeastern sky instead of two separate dishes.
It is foreseeable that DISH may gradually transition customers over to using Eastern Arc or a future Western Arc (148 + others) that can be MPEG4 8PSK as well, leaving 110/119 to be for the MPEG2 systems until such time that a full conversion of old customers is financially reasonable, facilitating an all MPEG4 service from three different Arcs.
This post should be made a sticky so people can find easily what Eastern Arc is.
This post should be made a sticky so people can find easily what Eastern Arc is.
i totally agree!
:up
DishSubLA: the following was posted in another thread and may be a reason not to go EA single 61.5 dish right now.
http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-forum/134600-couple-questions-before-i-take-plunge.html
I'm sure EA will have it's own EEPG once it's started up. Might be a while before it's offered to existing customers.
The dividing line is where the AMC-14 sat crashes when it comes flaming back down to earth.
I know of people getting 61.5 from as far west as California. 72.7 and 77 ought to be even easier to achieve. Also, Rainbow 1 spotbeams cover many western USA cities, so it is possible those cities will be uplinked. However, I doubt there is much of a priority to do so anytime soon. There's that "s" word again. Rainbow 1 was originally intended by VOOM to serve HD locals in many parts of the US so it was designed with Spot coverage for many Western US areas. It appears from the Rainbow Spotbeam maps that there are spotbeams for even over here in Phoenix. Will we get uplinked to 61.5 too? Only time will tell.
I thought "eastern arc" referred to the easternmost Rainbow 1 spotbeams on the ground. But I was corrected by somebody around here who said that it referred to the arc of satellites in the sky. So in principle, anybody under a Rainbow 1 spotbeam could potentially take part in the eastern arc.
It is likely that larger markets will have a choice to point to either 61.5-77 or 110-129 depending on obstructions (like trees). The larger markets should have spot locals from both 61.5 and 129, This will give Dish line of site solutions for most of the country. The rest of the smaller markets most likely will have to point one way or the other, with eastern US markets most likely going with 61.5-77 and western to 110-129.
Dish has more capacity in the West, but that is offset by having to carry all the standard definition channels and using MPEG-2/QPSK. Dish over time will probably start to convert the western satellites to MPEG-4/8PSK, but there are a lot of old boxes out there, so it will probably take years and be slow. The HD channels from both systems are 8PSK/MPEG-4, so the PQ should be the same.
It should also be noted that since AMC-14 has not reached orbit (and quite possibly never will). Eastern Arc could be delayed quite a while. For now it will be a way for the NE to get HD LiL and HD programming, and other markets in the west to get locals in HD if they are under a 61.5 spot. But, for now, a single dish solution pointing east appears to be delayed 6 months to a year.
Dish has more capacity in the West, but that is offset by having to carry all the standard definition channels and using MPEG-2/QPSK. Dish over time will probably start to convert the western satellites to MPEG-4/8PSK, but there are a lot of old boxes out there, so it will probably take years and be slow. The HD channels from both systems are 8PSK/MPEG-4, so the PQ should be the same.
It should also be noted that since AMC-14 has not reached orbit (and quite possibly never will). Eastern Arc could be delayed quite a while. For now it will be a way for the NE to get HD LiL and HD programming, and other markets in the west to get locals in HD if they are under a 61.5 spot. But, for now, a single dish solution pointing east appears to be delayed 6 months to a year.
Also, Dish is still currently installing mpeg2 receivers on new installs. Seems like they would at least only install mpeg4 receivers, if they really intend to discontinue mpeg2.
Well, I feel totally honored that this thread went sticky. It makes me feel like I've contributed something useful.
As a matter of pure speculation, I think eventually HD will take over. It wouldn't be hard to complete that transition by simply raising the price point of the SD packages without increasing the price of the base HD package. Once both are basically the same price, people should be getting ViP equipment at that point since HD channels wouldn't cost any extra. The transition is probably slowed down until the manufacturing costs of the ViP components comes down and a 722 is near the same costs as a 625 to build. The transition is probably also waiting until they can tier the HD packages the same way as the SD packages. Right now, there isn't enough HD channels to do that, but once there are, I imagine DISH will be close to an all-HD lineup. The exception will be the older equipment still on 110/119.
Here in Phoenix, many apartments don't have line of sight to the 500 or 1k2 locations. An alternative at 61.5 would be welcome. If a Western Arc eventually comes in to play, then there would be line of sight for every apartment except north-facing ones. There's a lot of would-be subscribers except they can't view the satellites. Three arcs would provide enough options to fix that. I can see this being done for those major markets where MDU penetration makes it worthwhile to do.
As a matter of pure speculation, I think eventually HD will take over. It wouldn't be hard to complete that transition by simply raising the price point of the SD packages without increasing the price of the base HD package. Once both are basically the same price, people should be getting ViP equipment at that point since HD channels wouldn't cost any extra. The transition is probably slowed down until the manufacturing costs of the ViP components comes down and a 722 is near the same costs as a 625 to build. The transition is probably also waiting until they can tier the HD packages the same way as the SD packages. Right now, there isn't enough HD channels to do that, but once there are, I imagine DISH will be close to an all-HD lineup. The exception will be the older equipment still on 110/119.
Here in Phoenix, many apartments don't have line of sight to the 500 or 1k2 locations. An alternative at 61.5 would be welcome. If a Western Arc eventually comes in to play, then there would be line of sight for every apartment except north-facing ones. There's a lot of would-be subscribers except they can't view the satellites. Three arcs would provide enough options to fix that. I can see this being done for those major markets where MDU penetration makes it worthwhile to do.
They won't do 61.5 and Phoenix. 110 is better because the uplink facilities are right there in Gilbert. The move from 119 improved coverage for the rest of the state slightly and enabled Dish to go from source to POP to uplink center to sat to dish much faster, because most everything was in Arizona. (110°W runs right through the eastern portion of the state, like Mount Graham in Safford.)
I live in Houston, tx and have a second dish pointed at 61.5 for my HD content so you should be able to get it.
I'm not talking exclusively offering locals from 61.5, I'm talking another uplink to 61.5 in addition to what they have on the 1000.2 dish. It would solve lots of line of sight issues and the Rainbow satellite has spot coverage over PHX.
I'm in L.A., a few miles east of Venice Beach, here as well as at my previous Dish equipped house, no prob @ 61.5.
It looks like a smaller version of EA is going to happen soon. http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-network-forum/135185-echostar-6-moved-72-7wl.html
Dish is going for broke and putting their one backup satellite over at 72.7. They do not appear to have a satellite for 77 yet that will cover the US (they have one pointed at Mexico there, but has limited capacity).
Dish is going for broke and putting their one backup satellite over at 72.7. They do not appear to have a satellite for 77 yet that will cover the US (they have one pointed at Mexico there, but has limited capacity).
