While this is good, and a step in the right direction, the Eastern Arc is already approximately 8-10% vacant by estimates that I have read. This would mean there is already space there to do somehting with, that they are doing nothing with. All this appears it will do is create more unused space. UNLESS, and I think this highly unlikely, they are planning to add services to the Eastern Arc that will NOT be available on the Western Arc.
Western Arc is where space is needed. Last year when they were working on the 8PSK conversion, they should have stopped installing any MPEG-2/SD equipment, and began replacing the non-8PSK units with 211 receivers rather than issuing new 311 units.
My bet is on this being a cost saving measure and nothing else. They can discontinue the encoders for the SD channels and save a few bucks. If they do add anything, they'll probably stick it in some stupid package that you have to downgrade to to get, and then spend more to add the $h*t you already had back, to get the new stuff. Must be their new strategy to keep the ARPU up.
The cost saving is not with the encoders that Dish often changes out for the latest generation of encoders--
IF they provide sufficient increased efficiencies and PQ. Encoders are
relatively a cheap expense for Dish that can be easy and done. IMHO, it was a solely bandwidth consideration to pull the SD's at EA. However, addressing your other points, it is the cost savings of
NOT having to change out all those MPEG2 boxes for MPEG4 boxes is use at the WA. That is a LONNNNNNGGGG and SLOOOOOWWW and really
expensive process. I believe in one quarterly conference call Ergen referred to his experiences with both HD and MPEG change-outs as being both very
". . . painful [pause]
and costly." He clearly wants to avoid that process at almost any opportunity.
Considering how fast tech is changing, if he were to do MPEG4 at the WA, it would soon reach its limits and one would need to change-out to HEC, or wait and change-out to HEC and bypass MPEG4 altogether . . . BUT then would all that cost and "pain" be wise when the TV landscape is changing and looks to be headed to the internet for distribution. Probably best to not undertake ANY more tech change-outs of sat boxes until we have a far better idea of how MVPD's like Dish really fit into the bold new world. Dish is already offering its internationals at Sling International, and it is my humble opinion that Dish plans not to use any sats to distribute internationals when their lease is up at 118, but will use internet via its Sling International exclusively. So much cheaper, and by then DVR capability via internet will be ubiquitous. Still, so much cheaper.