Locals in HD

ilan

New Member
Original poster
Nov 18, 2004
3
0
I am about to purchase Dish 921. When I asked Dish rep if I'll be able to recieve Local channels in HD, he said 'if your local networks broadcast in HD, you'll be able to recieve them in HD without OTA'. is that true ? will I be able to get NBC, FOX, ABC, WB, CBS and all the local channels in HD ? (I know they broadcast in HD in Los Angeles). I keep reading here that people dont get anything but CBS HD and I don't want to spend some money on an expansive reciever and find out that I don't get my Local HD Channels. I live in Los Angeles Area. thanks for any help.
 
Welcome to SatelliteGuys!

The only way you will get you locals in HD is OTA. The exception is since you are in LA you will be able to get CBS-HD. There are NO other network HD on dish.
 
Hd

Thank you, Kevin !
So why did the rep said that I'll be able to get HD locals without ota (I called twice to confirm). I know for a fact that almost all local channels broadcast in HD in Los Angeles.
 
Training for HD although it is good they really don't have the time to tailor making sure agents really understand it, especially newer agents barely been on the phones for 6 months to a year.
 
You should be able to receive all your locals in HD (when they broadcast, they don't always) using a small uhf antenna, similar to this one from radio shack. This antenna was originally sold under part #150-0623, or 15-623, and discontinued. Stores that still had them sold them for about $5. Then a bunch of us found out how well it worked for HD if you used a 300 to 75 ohm adapter, and bought every single one we could find. Now it looks like RS has re-released it with HDTV in it's name. Still not a bad price, you just can't walk in to a store and get one without a special order.

Try calling a few stores with part #150-0623 or 15-623 and see if they say they've got one in back, or if they can check stock in stores around you. You might get lucky.

I stuck mine in my attic. :)

Go to http://www.antennaweb.org, put in your zip code and house type. On the screen that follows click the "Show Digital Stations Only" option, and you will see every digital channel near you, along with the uhf frequency. Print that list, you may want it later :D
 
Is there any concrete information on when DISH would offer local HD's in a location like Philadelphia where the cable company does offer them but I don't want to deal with them?

I know a lot of you would say to just get the OTA signals (which I currently am) but the signal isn't steady enough thus why I would want to get it from DISH (so I can get that steady signal).
 
Unless some big surprises occur, there will not be HD locals available on Dish anytime soon. Every HD channel takes 7-8 times the bandwidth of SD. There just isn't enough space available. Despite the recent sales, not that many accounts have HD receivers, yet.
 
People should also note that what is being transmitted locally are digital broadcasts, not necessarily HD. There is an advantage to OTA rather than cable or satellite. Specifically, when not transmitting in HD, most stations transmit multiple channels in their broadcast space. For example, in Chicago, WGN typically broadcasts both the local feed and the national superstation feed (which aften have different programming due to black-out restrictions). WLS typically broadcasts three channels at any given time. Most cable systems do not broadcast the multiple feeds, rather they just broadcast the primary feed.
 
erasmu said:
Unless some big surprises occur, there will not be HD locals available on Dish anytime soon. Every HD channel takes 7-8 times the bandwidth of SD. There just isn't enough space available. Despite the recent sales, not that many accounts have HD receivers, yet.

Keep watching Washington, though....

They are in the midst of passing a bill that will enable Digital Distant channels for those who qualify for analog distants. Even though you are in the LA local market, you can rest assured that LA's HD channels will be among the first added (along with New York, Chicago, and Denver..... one for each time zone).

It depends on bandwidth constraints, but I see this happening in the next 6 months as D* already plans to start adding it by next summer, and E* will have to match their offerings to keep pace or risk falling behind from a marketing standpoint.
 
I'm hoping Bob. :) Even with the timezone restriction, I'm grandfathered on Denver & LA (and NYC), and already have a dish pointed at 148 (CBS-HD west).

Logically, the LA HD feeds should go onto 148 - at least at first.

Denver is currently a split-local market - using 148. SO, E* already has a base of 148 dishes there, so we might see the Denver HD feeds ALSO on 148. :)
 
Ny Hd?

Any info on HD out of NYC? Since the WTC fell the only HD is CBS (every other channel broadcast DTV from the WTC). I find very little info on when it may begin again.