There are 2 local channels that broadcast in HD, but dish only carries the sd version? Why is that?
Why does Dish carry the sd version of locals when HD version is available?
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Dish doesnt carry all the locals in HD for a couple reasons
-its not in HD from the source
-there is no HD version available (some stations only make the HD feed to cable comapnies)
-no agreement between Dish & the station
-Dish just doesnt want to carry it. They are trying to get the Big 4 for each market in HD first. As example here in Minneapolis they carry the Big 4 + PBS in HD. Directv carries those + CW & My in HD also
-its not in HD from the source
-there is no HD version available (some stations only make the HD feed to cable comapnies)
-no agreement between Dish & the station
-Dish just doesnt want to carry it. They are trying to get the Big 4 for each market in HD first. As example here in Minneapolis they carry the Big 4 + PBS in HD. Directv carries those + CW & My in HD also
I understand what you are saying.........but if they are carrying the SD version, isn't there an agreement ?
CW & My are the channels that Dish is not carrying in HD in my area as well
You don't say where you are. Have you checked "The List" to see if the HD feeds are on a sat that you aren't pointed at? In my case, the HD feeds of my locals are on the EARC and the SD feeds are not.
That was the original problem. I have had the locals in my area since they became available on WA. Then the HD versions became available, but were on EA. I have converted to EA & now receive the HD feeds that area available.
There is an agreement to carry the channels, but (as we have seen with some programming providers) the original contract does not include the HD feeds. Normally that will be added as contracts are re-upped, but in some cases it is the actual supply to us is non-existent (as Iceberg said), or even something crazier like the PQ is poor and would reflect badly on the service. There are so many reasons it can be difficult to comment with any degree of certainty as to the particular circumstances on a particular channel.
Let me add this question (which is what I thought the OP was asking): If they already carry the HD, why not just downconvert that instead of taking up bandwidth transmitting both the HD and SD versions of the same channel? Isn't that feasible?
In what cases do they "already carry the HD" channel but not the SD channel ?
Many receivers cannot decode the HD signal and downconvert it to SD. There are likely millions of these older boxes out there.
If your locals are on Eastern Arc** the channels are either in HD or SD. If its in HD there is no SD counterpart on Eastern Arc
Western Arc has both as there are folks who have just SD
The reason I put ** after Eastern Arc is this. There are markets where the HD locals are on 77 but the SD locals are still on 110/119. In these cases if the customer has a D1000.2 + wing dish for 77W they do get both feeds (HD & SD) of the locals
His was different as I read it, but to respond to yours:
Simply carrying the HD feed and "down-converting" it in route to the receiver would probably not free anything up, at all. In fact, it might possibly increase the bandwidth used. So this option would be out, I think.
In order to 'Free the Bandwidth,' (wouldn't that be a great T-Shirt?-Yes, I will accept a nickle for every shirt sold and probably buy one myself) the box would have to "down-convert" it, and that requires "retooling" boxes to handle it. First, they have to be tooled up to actually see the channels (software), and then they have to have a "processor" of some sort to use a reverse version of line doubling or line averaging to make a clear picture on an SD set rather then have a jigsaw edge to the picture.
The amount of free bandwidth is limited locally to DMA (not even regionally, in case anyone was thinking RSNs), and may not matter much in the grand scheme of things. All of this comes to a point where cost, feature, and benefit may not be practical, whether feasible or not.
It could simply be "customer satisfaction". Much like those of us with HDTVs get annoyed with stretching a 4X3 picture to fit a 16X9 screen, there are people with the opposite problem. They are annoyed by a smaller "widescreen" 16X9 picture rather then filling their 45 inch big screen with a 4X3 format. A lot of 4X3 sets don't have a picture format or zoom feature on them
eek: its hard to imagine). SD boxes don't have that feature either.It also stands to reason that if HD is not included in a contract and therefore is not allowed to be carried, that the exact reverse could be true: SD is in the contract and required to be carried.
Good question, but no real 100% guarantee of an answer.
All in all, remember that digital is the standard, not HD. While there may be a lot of people nationwide that have a single HDTV in the home (in fact, I think HDTV penetration into the market is well over 60% percent (at least an article I found from May of last year says so), it is not every home, and some homes have more TVs and simply the one capable of HD. That figure is also the national "tally" and not isolated just to DISH subscribers (which could show a completely different ratio of HD and SD customers).
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In the case of Rochester NY, the sd version of the locals are on the warc and hd is on the earc. However, if I remember correctly, the sd version was really hte hd version with the edges cut of to 4:3. Before the shut down of sd ota locals, you could tell the the Dish feed of the locals was the same as the HD feed, not the SD feed.
