They will want as many slots as they can get for HD locals. They may end up having two versions of a SuperDish. One would be for the east coast and another for the west coast.
Dish asks FCC to test 138.5 with E-10
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What's up with AMC-16
The AMC-16 E* satellite that was launched last December to the 85 slot was supposedly CONUS. However, E* said at the launch time that they did not know what they would do with it. With all this talk about E* not having enough capacity for HD, it appears that if E* really wanted to expand HD that they have sufficient capacity for most of the US except the West coast with this satellite plus Rainbow 1 at 61.5, which is said to be difficult to receive in the West.GeorgeLV said:
If dish ever needed more space for HD channels why wouldn't they do it by stopping the internationals on 61.5 and 148. They are on 121 anyway. I never understood why they do this anyway. Its the same way with HBO and SHO HD on 148. Why are they there if they are on 110.
JohnC said:
In regards to AMC-16, Dish has applied to the FCC to temporarily move it to the 118.7 W slot and use its Ku band capability from there. Telesat owns the Ku band license at 118.7 W and Dish has an agreement with Telesat to use it when the Anik F3 satellite is launched late in 2006. I believe Dish requested this move in case something happens to E-10 in order for them to meet the single dish for a locals in a market requirement. Dish could also use the 118.7 W slot for HD locals and undoubtedly a Superdish could be configured to receive 110, 118.7 and 119.
AMC-16 has CONUS coverage capability even from 85 W and I would think that the folks on the west coast would not have that low of a look angle for a satellite at 85 W. Here is SES Americom website address that shows the coverage area of the AMC-16 satellite from 85 W:
http://www.ses-americom.com/americo...eleports/coverageareas/kuband/amc16/index.php
JohnC said:
The problem with having so many locations over such a wide arc is that people will literally need a network of dishes to get Dish Network programming. If Echostar can't offer a single dish solution for hdtv and most locals, DirecTV will have a huge competitive advantage.
GeorgeLV said:The problem with having so many locations over such a wide arc is that people will literally need a network of dishes to get Dish Network programming.
Maybe that is what Dishnetwork has in mind when they say Dish network. A network of dishes.
DirecTv is offering 5 orbital locations from one dish. Dish Network offered three at most but I can see them adding even more in the future. Having 118.7 means they could use the same feedhorn to receive 119 as well like DirecTv does with the new 5 slot dish that they have for HD locals.
Stargazer said:
Yeah, but there's limitations to how wide an arc you can get, even more so with the one meter limitation for OTARD protection. There's not east coast Dish 1000 that would pick up 61.5, 110, and 119 because it just can't be done. The DirecTV 5LNB dish isn't really a good example because 3 of the locations are only 2 degrees apart and the "wing" locations of 110 and 119 are high powered DBS. Who knows, maybe they are planning a 110, 118.7, 119, 121, and 129 Super-duper dish.
I'm sure there is more of an arc one can achieve with a SuperDish than the HDTV dish that DirecTv has. If they get 118.7 they will have four slots that they can pickup and with two versions of the SuperDish that is five slots but there are no spotbeams on 105/121.
GeorgeLV said:
I don't believe it is possible to have a single Dish pick up two different Ku band slots like 118.7 and 121. Now folks on this forum have reported being able to pick up 105, 110, 119 and 129 on a single Superdish. If the spotbeam capacity of E-10 allows Dish to move all the SD locals off of 105 and 121 then Dish could offer three different versions of a Superdishes for HD locals; 105/110/119/129, 110/118.7/119/129 and 110/119/121/129. Dish also has filed applications with the FCC for an extended Ku band satellite at 109, Ka band satellites at 113 and 117 and a new Ka band/extended Ku band at 121 but these satellites are at least a few years off.
By the way there are spotbeams at 105 with AMC-15 but they are Ka band. These spotbeams cover the entire CONUS as well as Alaska and Hawaii. AMC-16 also has Ka band spotbeam capacity similar to AMC-15 but that is only currently licensed to be used at 85 W not at 118.7 W.
