Why 2 sets of local channels?

[WhitePolarBear]

Why are there two sets of local channels? I am not talking about HD channels. Just SD.

one set has the same channel numbers as the OTA. The second set is those channel 83XX.

I don't see any difference in the PQ, etc. Just curious why occupy the channels that way?

[Brew]

You are really only getting 1 set of those down from the satellite. The 83xx numbers are your locals. They map them down to the assigned local channel number for your convenience. They can't have them come down from the sat as the local numbers as those are repeated all over the country. Channel 2 for example is a good channel in Atlanta, Houston, LA and Chicago for example. By putting the on the satellite in the 8000 range they can exist side by side, and they map them down to the correct local number in the software in the receiver.

[Cold Irons]

There is only ONE channel on the satellite. Your reciever "maps" the 8000 series local channels down to match the local broadcast for ease of use. This way, everyone has their familiar channel numbers to use, and do not take up any extra bancwidth.

Only way to make it work nationwide - for example, Channel 7 in Washington DC has a different 8000-series channel number than Channel 7 in Roanoke VA - but they both map to Channel 7 depending on where you live.

[nmoulton]

The 8xxx channel numbers are a way to specify everyone's local channels using a set of numbers that are unique for the entire Dish network system. Then an alias to these numbers is created to map down the channel numbers to correspond with your local stations over the air.

So the short answer is, that's just how E* designed the system. A good question would be, why do our receivers even allow us to view the local channels in the 8xxx range, why don't they just hide these numbers and allow a user to only see the mapped down 2-69 channel numbers.

[comcast]

No wonder their HD quality is low even running in MPEG4. They've got too many junkies like local feeds in their system. I care more about national HD channels like (Discovery, HBO, USA) more than local affiliates.

[cj9788]

A good question would be, why do our receivers even allow us to view the local channels in the 8xxx range, why don't they just hide these numbers and allow a user to only see the mapped down 2-69 channel numbers.

You can do this your self by using the locks feature. Lock the channel you want to get rid of then select the hide locked option. BTW your system must be locke for the feature to work.

[Walker1]

Why are there two sets of local channels? I am not talking about HD channels. Just SD.

one set has the same channel numbers as the OTA. The second set is those channel 83XX.

I don't see any difference in the PQ, etc. Just curious why occupy the channels that way?

1) If you get locals from Dish: Ex. ch. 34 = 34.00, OTA: 34.01,34.02, etc. It's just the way they show up on your guide. Some local chs. here have up to 4 feeds, one being the ch. itself. They are being more creative these days.