Finally Madison HD (at least 1)

[sikma]

Dish finally lit up Madison for HD. Well, acutally they (E*) seem to be taking 'baby steps,' as I'm only getting Fox, but since the Pack is on there a majority of the time, I can wait for the other 3. Thanks to the DigiSAT uplink report for giving me the "heads-up" to check my guide. I had been checking it weekly, but had given up as of late.

 

[SpenceJT]

Dish finally lit up Madison for HD. Well, acutally they (E*) seem to be taking 'baby steps,' as I'm only getting Fox, but since the Pack is on there a majority of the time, I can wait for the other 3. Thanks to the DigiSAT uplink report for giving me the "heads-up" to check my guide. I had been checking it weekly, but had given up as of late.

Excellent news. Do you know if the HD LILs are available via the Dish 1K or are they still on 61.5 (requiring a second dish)?

Something new to look forward to when I get home!

Cheers,
Spence

 

[SpenceJT]

Excellent news. Do you know if the HD LILs are available via the Dish 1K or are they still on 61.5 (requiring a second dish)?

Something new to look forward to when I get home!

Cheers,
Spence

Okay, I have confirmed that the HD LILs are still going to be on 61.5. I have also confirmed that the installation is 'no charge' (with 2 year contract). I am scheduled for installation on the 22nd. It should be fairly simple for the installer as I've got a Dish 500 on the roof, cabled and ready for aiming. I had attempted to aim it myself (I have been able to do so in the past) but couldn't get a lock on 61.5 (kept getting sats at 70-77). If the installer hooks up his finder, he should be able to see/find quickly providing that the dish isn't obscured by the second story of our home in which case he may have to relocate the dish.

 

[sah0620]

Dish finally lit up Madison for HD. Well, acutally they (E*) seem to be taking 'baby steps,' as I'm only getting Fox, but since the Pack is on there a majority of the time, I can wait for the other 3. Thanks to the DigiSAT uplink report for giving me the "heads-up" to check my guide. I had been checking it weekly, but had given up as of late.

Ok, stupid question. What channel do I get 47 in HD on? Or is this only available for people with those "all-access" smartcards at the moment until Dish turns it on for everyone? I've got locals and an HD package...but scanned through the program guide without seeing any HD WMSN.

 

[SpenceJT]

Ok, stupid question. What channel do I get 47 in HD on? Or is this only available for people with those "all-access" smartcards at the moment until Dish turns it on for everyone? I've got locals and an HD package...but scanned through the program guide without seeing any HD WMSN.

There is nothing stupid about that question at all. Are you talking about HD via terrestrial broadcast or HD locals from the satellite? I have a co-worker that swears that his father inlaw is getting HD locals via the satellite. I know that new installs could be set up with access to the Eastern Arch, which I believe is a single dish that gets everything. If you've been a customer for a while as I have been, and aren't aimed at the eastern arch, you will need a second dish aimed at 61.5 where Madison's HD locals are located.

Here is a link detailing the channels (national as well as local stations) and which satellite they are located on.

EKB: Dish Network Channels at 61.5°

Off air WMSN HD (FOX 47) is on digital channel 11.

 

[sah0620]

There is nothing stupid about that question at all. Are you talking about HD via terrestrial broadcast or HD locals from the satellite? I have a co-worker that swears that his father inlaw is getting HD locals via the satellite. I know that new installs could be set up with access to the Eastern Arch, which I believe is a single dish that gets everything. If you've been a customer for a while as I have been, and aren't aimed at the eastern arch, you will need a second dish aimed at 61.5 where Madison's HD locals are located.

Here is a link detailing the channels (national as well as local stations) and which satellite they are located on.


Off air WMSN HD (FOX 47) is on digital channel 11.

I get SD locals from the satellite and HD locals through the DVR via an OTA Antenna plugged into the back of it. I'm subscribed to the DishHD package but of course right now I only get national HD channels.

I live in a condo and have a community dish so I don't have a second dish to point anywhere. I've had HD service for a few months but have had the same dish now for about a year (others in the complex had HD already before me) So I take it I wouldn't be able to get Madison's local HD's without getting a second community dish pointed at 61.5?

 

[SpenceJT]

I get SD locals from the satellite and HD locals through the DVR via an OTA Antenna plugged into the back of it. I'm subscribed to the DishHD package but of course right now I only get national HD channels.

I live in a condo and have a community dish so I don't have a second dish to point anywhere. I've had HD service for a few months but have had the same dish now for about a year (others in the complex had HD already before me) So I take it I wouldn't be able to get Madison's local HD's without getting a second community dish pointed at 61.5?

Correct. I also understand that the Eastern Arch will be made available, once the new smart-cards have been distributed, so there is a chance that at some point in the future, Dish could swap out the community Dish, with one pointing to the sats on the Eastern Arch.

 

[sikma]

Spence, you're right on. You will need a wing dish for 61.5 or the new dish that sees 72 and 61. I installed a wing dish with no problems at all. I get most of my HD content on that bird as well. And again, as of now the only local HD channel we are getting is WMSN. On my guide it's listed at channels 5183 and I now have two (2) channel 47's, one SD and one HD. As far as I know, if you end up with a new dish that only sees the new satellite at 72 and 61.5, you will no longer get the SD channels, as they are still on 110.

 

[SpenceJT]

Spence, you're right on. You will need a wing dish for 61.5 or the new dish that sees 72 and 61. I installed a wing dish with no problems at all. I get most of my HD content on that bird as well. And again, as of now the only local HD channel we are getting is WMSN. On my guide it's listed at channels 5183 and I now have two (2) channel 47's, one SD and one HD. As far as I know, if you end up with a new dish that only sees the new satellite at 72 and 61.5, you will no longer get the SD channels, as they are still on 110.

WTH? Only one channel? I wonder how long before the others come on line. Also, am I the only one that finds it odd that the first and only channel (so far) is the local FOX affiliate? Considering that FOX is owned by NewsCorp, which is (I believe) still part owner in DirecTV. I would have expected contracts and carriage agreements to be signed with ABC, CBS and NBC, with FOX being one of, if not the last to come on line.

Just kind of odd to me.

As for the 61.5 wing, I have done a number of installations in the past, and once had installed the 61.5 at my old residence, back in the early days of Dish's HD package. I have installed a wing at my current home, but for some reason I can't find and/or lock on to 61.5. I've only got a 'meter only' sat-finder (eBay) which doesn't identify which bird I'm looking at, and I seem to keep getting satellites in the 70 degree range. I suspect that my mounting location may be at fault. I've got my 1K and the wing both mounted on the back side of a single story roof area of our home's West side, with a second story of our home to the East. I am thinking I've got it mounted too far back and that the second story is obscuring 61.5 and that the mount will need to be relocated up toward the peak to get a clearer view. I have decided to let a pro do this as they've got the equipment to verify which satellite and get the signal peaked.

The wife won't be all that happy about more holes in the roof, but I can patch them up so that nobody can tell from the ground.

 

[RSNovi]

I have been waiting for the other two channels (NBC and ABC) to come online for Lansing. I have been waiting for a few months now and I just recently noticed that they are no longer even uplinked. It will probably be a long time.

 

[sikma]

I also noticed, that the SD locals must now be retransmitted in digital vs. analog......no more fuzzy, ghosting on WISC.