HD dish install

ncmark

Well-Known SatelliteGuys Member
Original poster
Oct 17, 2006
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OBX
Getting HD Silver upgrade on Saturday. Any advice on what satellite setup so I can get the best reception. They are suppose to put a DISH 1000 up and ViP 211. I live in Northeast North Carolina and get my locals out of Hampton Roads Va.(Norfolk,Virginia Beach). I would like a heads up before the installer gets here Sat morning. I have read here about some people needing 2 dish's. Will I need this or will Dish 1000 be good enough.
 
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From what I have read I believe it depends on what part of the country you are located as to whether or not you need 2 dishes. I am not sure about your area. I have HD Silver and only one dish (Dish 1000) in St. Paul, Mn.
 
Your basic programming comes from 2 sats., 110 and 119. Some of the "national" HD programming is on 110 also. Both of those can be received with a single dish.

To get the bulk of the HD programming you will need either 61.5 or 129. The D1000 will receive 110, 119, and 129 or you could have a D500 for 110/119 and a second dish for 61.5 or 129. 61.5 requires a separate dish. In many cases folks have reported better results with 129 using a separate dish for that sat. vs. the D1000. If you can get your HD locals via sat. they could be on either 61.5 or 129, but not both, so that will certainly factor into your decision.

You can see what's on all E* sats. at http://www.dishchannelchart.com/ (credit to TNGTony and others.)
 
I'm not an installer whereas many in this forum are. So I don't intend to cast any aspersions with these comments. I feel that many installers have an agenda, either their own, or one imposed by the company they represent. Hopefully you will get an installer who can answer your questions accurately and honestly, but how will you know? One defense is to arm yourself with as much information as possible, from sources like SG and discussions with other techies. Then ask several installers the same series of questions and weigh their answers. In your case I would definitely be asking which sat. carries, or will be carrying, your HD locals. As I said before, that will probably make your choice for you. I'd also ask, it he were doing the installation for himself and could choose the "best" option, which would it be and why? Your exact location may have a bearing, particularly if you don't have line-of-sight to one or more of the sats. If you do have LOS to 129, would a separate dish, perhaps a larger one work better? Or would you be better off with a D500 for 110 and 119 and a separate D300 or D500 pointed to 61.5 (again assuming LOS)? Get answers to these questions and consider the responses. The fact that you know something about the situation will hopefully guide the installer to giving better answers. Perhaps he may even have some flexibility as to what he can/will install.

In general what's considered "best" is what will work reliably for the lowest cost. That may not be optimal, tho'. Caveat emptor, and YMMV...!
 
Some of the houses around here I have noticed them having the DISH1000 without having an extra dish. I tried calling the installer who put up the first dish, but got voice mail, hopefully he will call me back before Saturday.
 
In that case, check with your neighbors. How is their signal reliability with the D1000, especially on the HD channels (most of which are on 129)? If they seem "tech savvy" about this situation, talk to them about it. How/why did the choose or end-up with the D1000 vs. separate dishes.

If they are not having any real problems then you probably won't either. I'm not trying to make it seem like there could be a phantom problem, but you did ask about "best" and most in these threads would consider the D1000 adequate, but not necessarily the best solution for the 129 slot...

Either way - good luck with your installation. I'm sure you will really like the HD result...!
 
For the cost(TV&SATELLITE), I want the best picture I can get. So should I push for 2 dish's or what?
 
well its Saturday. Waiting to get HD'd. Sure hope I dont run into any problems with HD like so many others here have. Never recieved a confirmation call from the installer, hope he makes it today. Is scheduled for 8-12.
 
The Dish1000 has a problem with 129 especially if it is not aligned perfectly.

The 129 satellite footprint moves around due to instability of the satellite itself.

I would go for the 2 dish solution and point at 61.5 instead of 129.
 
For the cost(TV&SATELLITE), I want the best picture I can get. So should I push for 2 dish's or what?
Sorry for the delayed reply - I'm usually offline on the weekends. (Spent a bunch of this last one trying to resolve problems with my OTA antenna!)

Echoing Jim5506, the 2-dish solution will be best in either case and if there's no reason you need 129 (like for HD locals) then go with 61.5, My old D300 has been pointed there for a year now and it's rock solid. I even get typically higher signal strengths from that slot vs. 110, but as always, YMMV. I wouldn't make an issue out of it, but it won't hurt to ask. The installer can only install what's on his work order, but in some cases if they run into a situation where the specified system won't work they will call for a modification to the work order to avoid the inevitable call-back for which they will probably be charged. Another possibility is to "force" the issue - find some programming you might want that's only available on the 61.5 sat (use the link I included in my first reply in this thread to find one or more non-redundant channels then find a package that includes those channels) and have the installer order that for you. It will require the second dish. You can probably cancel that programming later with no change or charge for the additional equipment.

Again - Good luck...!
 
The Dish 1000 (as a one-dish solution) is a better choice now since the 129 sat signal has been coming in better the last several weeks.

However, the 129 sat sits so low that sometimes you can't get the signal from it at the same spot that you need to put the dish to get the signal from the 119 & 110 sats.

So therefore a 2nd dish aimed at the 129 sat (or the 61.5 sat if you live in an area that doesn't have HD locals) is sometimes needed.
 

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