Uplink Activity Report - 9/24/2008 6:02pm - 87 changes

[toto]

Maybe we're supposed to be excited because it is "DIGITAL."


I'm having trouble seeing the point in adding MPEG-4 versions of our market's local channels in SD when we're already getting those SD channels in MPEG-2 from another satellite. It would only be significant if E* was phasing out all MPEG-2 SD local channels.

With those MPEG-4 SD channels added to the 61.5° satellite, does that mean that fiber optic cables or whatever infrastructure is required has been installed to link those local TV stations with the E* uplink centers (like Wichita Falls, TX stations being linked to New Braunfels, TX)? If the hardware has been put into place then it shouldn't be all that big a deal to have the HD versions of those channels follow.

Think goodbye to MPEG2 hello 2.64.

 

[cyclone27]

Surprised to see the DSM locals on 61.5...hopefully they put them on 129 too at some point.

Agreed. I would prefer to not have to mess with the setup I already have.

 

[digiblur]

Hold tight guys... I am trying to track down the issue with the locals getting named with the wrong area tags.

 

[mike123abc]

Think Eastern Arc.

The point is that you have to have an MPEG-4 receiver to have eastern arc anyways, so they could uplink the HD versions of the channels and not have any equipment differences at the customer premises. It is not like they need the SD version because they are supporting old boxes. All the boxes that support MPEG-4 are also HD.

 

[tempVAdish]

The point is that you have to have an MPEG-4 receiver to have eastern arc anyways, so they could uplink the HD versions of the channels and not have any equipment differences at the customer premises. It is not like they need the SD version because they are supporting old boxes. All the boxes that support MPEG-4 are also HD.

This looks like what they're going to do for Norfolk, VA. If you look at "the list", the big 4 are in HD only (WAVY, WTKR, WVEC, & WVBT). The networks such as "my tv" and the CW, along w/ the Norfolk PBS's are MPEG4 SD (just not available). They may do this w/ the rest of the markets once all of the HD's are agreed on & active.... Perhaps? It makes since anyways, not to duplicate the HD's in SD since, like you said, the MPEG4 receivers are all HD.

But then again, they may surprise us and come out w/ a MPEG4 SD only unit....

 

[cornholio]

Des Moines HD locals? Think I just piddled.

 

[JonOlson]

I live in Des Moines and have a 1000.2 dish. I get no signal on the 61.5 location. Do I need to get another dish or will the local channels be available on other satellites as well?

 

[Laddyboy]

I live in Des Moines and have a 1000.2 dish. I get no signal on the 61.5 location. Do I need to get another dish or will the local channels be available on other satellites as well?

To get them from the 61.5 satellite you will need another dish. They probably will also be available on 129 when everything is lit up, but maybe not until the 129 replacement is launched and in place sometime after the first of the year, but with E* what makes sense is not always the case.

 

[wkomorow]

The point is that you have to have an MPEG-4 receiver to have eastern arc anyways, so they could uplink the HD versions of the channels and not have any equipment differences at the customer premises. It is not like they need the SD version because they are supporting old boxes. All the boxes that support MPEG-4 are also HD.

The SD versions that are being uplinked are ones that Dish does not have agreement for the HD version, e.g., WRGB (Freedom Corp) and WXXA (Newport). This is actually bad news for those of us in those markets in that although no one thought agreements would be quickly forthcoming, the fact that they are linking the SD versions for markets they have not even announced as coming to EA (Albany NY) means there is no agreement anywhere in sight.

 

[kstuart]

Several channels "Off Air" at 3 AM ET. None associated with the MPEG2 to MPEG 4 conversion.

Examples ??

 

[JohnH]

Examples ??

They were listed in the EPG as "Off Air" at 3 AM and many did go out for a short period. It is not significant now as no "activity" was noted. They apparently were doing encoder upgrades.

 

[jlhugh]

crap, i did not want to be on the EA. WA is working just fine for me.

7860(7) - KSWO [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 03 Area 3 beam (NA)(Lawton, OK)
7862(3) - KFDX [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 03 Area 3 beam (NA)(Wichita Falls, TX)
7863(18) - KJTL [MPEG4 SD] added to Echostar12 61.5W TP 03 Area 3 beam (NA)(Wichita Falls, TX)


what happened to KAUZ?

 

[cubsfan34]

This looks like what they're going to do for Norfolk, VA. If you look at "the list", the big 4 are in HD only (WAVY, WTKR, WVEC, & WVBT). The networks such as "my tv" and the CW, along w/ the Norfolk PBS's are MPEG4 SD (just not available). They may do this w/ the rest of the markets once all of the HD's are agreed on & active.... Perhaps? It makes since anyways, not to duplicate the HD's in SD since, like you said, the MPEG4 receivers are all HD.

But then again, they may surprise us and come out w/ a MPEG4 SD only unit....

Didn't the FCC mandate that if they carry 1 HD channel in a market that all channels in that market have to be carried in HD (or did I horribly misunderstand things)?

So in the situation you descirbe, "my tv" and the CW will be HD at whatever deadline the FCC gave them (or they have to take away the big 4 in HD, which I doubt would happen).

 

[JohnH]

Didn't the FCC mandate that if they carry 1 HD channel in a market that all channels in that market have to be carried in HD (or did I horribly misunderstand things)?

So in the situation you descirbe, "my tv" and the CW will be HD at whatever deadline the FCC gave them (or they have to take away the big 4 in HD, which I doubt would happen).

There is no FCC mandate about HD. The FCC only has something about DIGITAL. In many cases you cannot tell whether you are getting the analog or the digital since both are SD.

 

[kstuart]

Didn't the FCC mandate that if they carry 1 HD channel in a market that all channels in that market have to be carried in HD (or did I horribly misunderstand things)?

So in the situation you descirbe, "my tv" and the CW will be HD at whatever deadline the FCC gave them (or they have to take away the big 4 in HD, which I doubt would happen).

No, you understood correctly.

The deadlines are:

15% by Feb 2010
30% by Feb 2011
60% by Feb 2012
100% by Feb 2013

What that means is that by Feb 2010, 15% of markets in which Dish Network has 1 HD channel, Dish will have to carry all the HD channels, and so forth. Same for DirecTV. So this allows them to juggle things around, and many markets will be counted by them as qualifying, because they only have 4 HD channels anyway.

News article at:

http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6543480.html

 

[JohnH]

So, when does the 1440 X 1080i go away?

 

[MikeD-C05]

SOON!

 

[JohnH]

Wow, that sure seems quick.

 

[dhageremtp]

Bismarck, ND finally gets all of our SD locals. Wonder how many years it will be for HD.

It not even all of the locals! People in Bismarck are not getting KXMB, they are getting KXMC out of Minot. People in Minot are not getting KMOT, they are getting KFYR out of Bismarck. FOX and ABC are from Bismarck, so I guess the Minot FOX and ABC are out of the question. While there isnt much that differs on FOX and ABC, there is a bit of difference in CBS and NBC.

 

[kstuart]

So, when does the 1440 X 1080i go away?

References to "1440 X 1080i" as well as "HD-Lite" with regards to satellite transmission represent misunderstandings of the digital video systems.

Right now, if all 1440 x 1080i channels on Dish Network were changed to 1920 x 1080i, they would look worse.

Why ? 1920 is 33% larger than 1440 - it means that the effective bitrate is 33% less.

Those who understand digital video know that bitrate is actually more important for visual quality than resolution. By reducing the bitrate by 33%, the picture would deteriorate significantly, and look worse than it does now.

Lastly, many people bought HD TVs and turned on Discovery HD Theater, and talk about the "wow factor" " things jumping out at you " and " the 3 dimensionality ". All those programs were photographed using HD cameras at 1440x1080 and then upscaled by Discovery to 1920x1080. So, those people were actually watching a 1440x1080 source.

Also, the TV show that has been most praised for how great it looks in HD is "Lost". That show is broadcast in 1280x720 and looks better than a lot of the 1080i programming...