When Will Dish Give Us Network Hdtv??
- Thread starter Tvlman
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I see you winkin' at me! CC&R's are what keep my neighbors from pulling transmissions out of their cars on the front lawn...but seriously, after dropping all that $$$ on a Fuji 55" plasma, and only getting 8 HD channels, including the West Coast feed of CBS-HD, I'd like to have more content.BFG said:Then you should move
Garypen- Since when is Directv broadcasting HD locals for fox, abc, etc. I thought it was ED???
Steveindanville- Can you get 61.5? I thought i would never be able to see it in So. Cal. but it comes in fine at high 80s-90s. Have you tried? Also have you tried an antenna? Your CC & R's cannot deny you an antenna or a second dish, They can make you place them in an inconspicuous place though. Have you tried with an antenna? you might be able to get Sac or San fran locals.
Jon
Steveindanville- Can you get 61.5? I thought i would never be able to see it in So. Cal. but it comes in fine at high 80s-90s. Have you tried? Also have you tried an antenna? Your CC & R's cannot deny you an antenna or a second dish, They can make you place them in an inconspicuous place though. Have you tried with an antenna? you might be able to get Sac or San fran locals.
Jon
Speaking of amplified coat hangers, I was playing around with a Silver Sensor - moving it around my room, reading signal strengths. I do have it connected to an amplifier. I had it on the back of a chair and it fell off, landing on its side. I noticed that my station was still at around 75, maintaining a good lock. So I tried the other 5 HD stations in my area and I still was able to lock on all of them. The tower is about 11 miles away from my home, and I sit just behind a small hill that rises about 100' between me and the tower.
Just before it fell, I had had to adjust it by changing the direction it was pointing in, as it was losing its lock. Perhaps it fell into a "magical" zone. I would have never tested putting it on the floor.
Just before it fell, I had had to adjust it by changing the direction it was pointing in, as it was losing its lock. Perhaps it fell into a "magical" zone. I would have never tested putting it on the floor.
Yeah I'm using one of those silver sensors in the room I'm now and the towers are less than 10 miles from me. I'm on the 1st of a 3 story building with tons of concrete all around me. There's also an FM station transmitter a half mile south of me. I constantly have to adjust the thing for each station I watch. Some times I find the oddest places to get a lock, like hangning from the bed rail etc..
If you aren't using an amp on the Silver Sensor, then I advise trying one. It made a BIG difference for me. Before using the amp, I got only 2 of the 5 local stations. With the amp, it is relatively easy to get all 5.
For LA people -
I live so 60 miles west of transmitters with all the hills etc between me and transmitters. If you ask any rat shack or other store in my area they tell you that you can't get OTA signals here. But I got a real 1st rate installer who put a 5ft mast on the roof with a wingard antenna & amp and I now get all the OTA digital LA channels. Note no analogs only digitals. I do not get LA analogs from Dish as I am grandfathered for NY DNS so this really works for me.
What I am saying is it might be worth a try with a really top antenna installer if you want available LA HD and (digital sub carries) including Fox, CBS, ABC football etc.
I live so 60 miles west of transmitters with all the hills etc between me and transmitters. If you ask any rat shack or other store in my area they tell you that you can't get OTA signals here. But I got a real 1st rate installer who put a 5ft mast on the roof with a wingard antenna & amp and I now get all the OTA digital LA channels. Note no analogs only digitals. I do not get LA analogs from Dish as I am grandfathered for NY DNS so this really works for me.
What I am saying is it might be worth a try with a really top antenna installer if you want available LA HD and (digital sub carries) including Fox, CBS, ABC football etc.
I'm in a valley surrounded by hills and 61.5 is not only blocked by the two-story house next door, but the eastern ridge of hills. That bird is VERY low on the horizon, so no VOOM for me. There is not an antenna made that could get me either SF or Sacto OTA signal. I grew up in Lafayette, in the bottom of the same kind of valley, and we never got any TV until cable came to town in the 60's. Like I said, I can't even get FM reception.....j5races said:
Well, I only read the first few pages of this thread, but I'll throw in my two cents. Forgive me if this was covered...
Regarding antennas- I am absolutely in agreement. Every Dish owner should have a GOOD rooftop antenna if at all possible.
BUT- they don't help if there are no signals to get! I have a $100 10 foot antenna 15 feet in the air just to get ONE analog station. (I pick up a couple others, but I don't watch spanish or religious.) That station's digital signal currently isn't strong enough where I live- they are operating at low-power. Even if I could get it, it doesn't broadcast anything in HD, so what's the point?
I agree HD LIL is a waste of bandwidth, but it's the only way around the stumbling blocks set up by the affiliates, lawmakers, and satellite providers.
DirecTV has taken at least one positive step- offering distant HD feeds for all four major networks to at least some people. Dish only offers CBS for some reason...I don't qualify (not that I ever watch CBS anyway). If I had DirecTV, I would only qualify for Fox. But there is NO OTA HD here. It's not a matter of putting up the right antenna. It just doesn't exist.
I should be able to get a Network HD feed for every network- a low wattage UHF analog translator 25 miles a way should not count as a local HD feed. The network feed should not be a distant channel- it should just be a network feed. Only my timezone- no time shifting. At the end of primetime, the feed goes black until late-night starts.
If the affiliate wants me to watch, they should have to provide me with a proper OTA HD signal. Theoretically, my local NBC affiliate will some day go full power and HD- when that happens, turn off my feed.
Oddly, neither DISH nor DirecTV ( nor the government) have any problem feeding me an NBC channel from Phoenix, even though there IS a local Flagstaff NBC affiliate I can recieve in Analog SD.
DISH could provide 3 timezone feeds for each network that broadcasts in HD. That's 21 channels. Broadcast ONLY programs in HD- otherwise it goes black. THAT'S an effecent use of bandwidth. But the affiliates and will never allow it. Until the lawmakers grow a set and allow this, HD-LIL is the only way.
Regarding antennas- I am absolutely in agreement. Every Dish owner should have a GOOD rooftop antenna if at all possible.
BUT- they don't help if there are no signals to get! I have a $100 10 foot antenna 15 feet in the air just to get ONE analog station. (I pick up a couple others, but I don't watch spanish or religious.) That station's digital signal currently isn't strong enough where I live- they are operating at low-power. Even if I could get it, it doesn't broadcast anything in HD, so what's the point?
I agree HD LIL is a waste of bandwidth, but it's the only way around the stumbling blocks set up by the affiliates, lawmakers, and satellite providers.
DirecTV has taken at least one positive step- offering distant HD feeds for all four major networks to at least some people. Dish only offers CBS for some reason...I don't qualify (not that I ever watch CBS anyway). If I had DirecTV, I would only qualify for Fox. But there is NO OTA HD here. It's not a matter of putting up the right antenna. It just doesn't exist.
I should be able to get a Network HD feed for every network- a low wattage UHF analog translator 25 miles a way should not count as a local HD feed. The network feed should not be a distant channel- it should just be a network feed. Only my timezone- no time shifting. At the end of primetime, the feed goes black until late-night starts.
If the affiliate wants me to watch, they should have to provide me with a proper OTA HD signal. Theoretically, my local NBC affiliate will some day go full power and HD- when that happens, turn off my feed.
Oddly, neither DISH nor DirecTV ( nor the government) have any problem feeding me an NBC channel from Phoenix, even though there IS a local Flagstaff NBC affiliate I can recieve in Analog SD.
DISH could provide 3 timezone feeds for each network that broadcasts in HD. That's 21 channels. Broadcast ONLY programs in HD- otherwise it goes black. THAT'S an effecent use of bandwidth. But the affiliates and will never allow it. Until the lawmakers grow a set and allow this, HD-LIL is the only way.
:
Sparks,
Yes, everyone would rather have the FCC allow for direct network HD feeds. We would all stand up and applaud their entry into the 21st Century if they did so.
However, from a business standard, HD-LIL is not the only way to go. For now, the only thing that makes sense from a financial standpoint is to not offer HD-LIL. Or perhaps to offer it only in the largest markets. There simply are not sufficient numbers of HD sets (i.e. likely subscribers) out there to recoup the cost of offering the service.
Now as the number of HD sets grows, and as mpeg-4 becomes available to reduce the number of transponders needed to provide HD-LIL, at some point it will be economically feasible. But that point is probably a couple years off, at best.
Eventually, unless the FCC changes their position, both E* and D* will have to provide HD-LIL as the marketplace will demand it. As HD sets become the mainstream, they won't be able to compete without HD-LILs. That's why we see both companies taking the early steps to position themselves to provide them.
But if there are more than a handful of HD markets being served by E* a year from now, I will be greatly surprised.
Yes, everyone would rather have the FCC allow for direct network HD feeds. We would all stand up and applaud their entry into the 21st Century if they did so.
However, from a business standard, HD-LIL is not the only way to go. For now, the only thing that makes sense from a financial standpoint is to not offer HD-LIL. Or perhaps to offer it only in the largest markets. There simply are not sufficient numbers of HD sets (i.e. likely subscribers) out there to recoup the cost of offering the service.
Now as the number of HD sets grows, and as mpeg-4 becomes available to reduce the number of transponders needed to provide HD-LIL, at some point it will be economically feasible. But that point is probably a couple years off, at best.
Eventually, unless the FCC changes their position, both E* and D* will have to provide HD-LIL as the marketplace will demand it. As HD sets become the mainstream, they won't be able to compete without HD-LILs. That's why we see both companies taking the early steps to position themselves to provide them.
But if there are more than a handful of HD markets being served by E* a year from now, I will be greatly surprised.
This would all work out if the FCC would get off their ass and define digital white areas as provided for in the satellite bill. I see no reason (besides resistance from the NAB) they couldn't use the existing analog white areas as a starting point.
NightRyder
I see no reason (besides resistance from the NAB) they couldn't use the existing analog white areas as a starting point.NightRyder
dodge said:
Not quite. There are still many broadcasters not transmitting at full power. I'd put the number closer to 50% from a geographic standpoint. From a population standpoint maybe 65%.
So is network HD happening soon, or what? Especially given what Scott G said this morning in one of the ESPN-U threads?
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showpost.php?p=648086&postcount=46
Scott G said:
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showpost.php?p=648086&postcount=46
I wouldn't be surprised if E* started offering network HD soon as they are at an competitive disadvantage vs D* on this one. Not that it would do any good for most of us but a small minority of E* subs would be happy.
David Dietzel said:
Just wondering... whereabouts in Rancho are you? I'm using an OTA antenna and I get KCBS, KNBC, KTLA, KCAL, KTTV and KCET, along with many other PBS stations... all in HD. I can't get KABC regularly, so I gave up on it. I live near Baseline and the 15 fwy.
- Mike
Tom Bombadil said:
Amen to that!!! No OTA signals here. If I have any chance of getting any networks in HD, it's gonna have to be via satellite.
