New HD Locals coming in Feb 2006

[waltinvt]

Has anyone else considered this as "E"s option.

I wouldn't be surprised to see "E" limit HD LiLs to only some major cities, keep them on conus and also offer them as HD DNS. Similar to what they had with analog before they started doing SD LiLs.

Correct me if I'm wrong but although analog DNS basically went away with SHVERA, digital DNS are clearly allowable to anyone that can't get a certain quality OTA signal and as long as digital (HD) LiLs ARE NOT offered by that sat company. Also, if SD LiLs are offered, you have to sub to them.

Think about it. In the short term (until the digital hard cutoff date), as long as "E" DOESN'T offer HD LiLs in a DMA, they CAN offer HD DNS to anyone that qualifies; PLUS those subs have to buy the analog LiLs; PLUS "E" saves a significant amount of bandwidth to use for other national HD. Eventually, down the road (wayyyyy down for some of us), when most affiliates are doing full power digital, "E" will have more sats up and have reclaimed bandwidth by no longer having to do analog LiLs, so doing all the DMAs in HD LiLs won't be near the problem.

It's win-win for "E" but "D" (who's already committed to HD LiLs everywhere), gets buried. No, they probably won't get buried but "E", if they play their cards right, could come out WAY ahead on the HD issue.

 

[David Dietzel]

Myself and many others use satellite as we cannot get transmission tower light of sight or have distance issues for off-air reception of content, whether SD or HD.

We need Dish to offer HD locals and HD national feeds.

Everything will eventually be delivered in HD, so Dish needs to offer all HD content available or lose to competitors that do.

I'm not so sure why a few people can't grasp these concepts.

Ten years from now everyone will look bad at all this debate as so much silliness.

 

[mike123abc]

Not exactly. Spot beam transponders aren't free, you have to give up the some conus transponders (i.e. cutting back on national services). Take a look at the spot beam map and see for yourself how many conus transponders will be lost when E10 lights up. http://ekb.dbstalk.com/297

Well the net loss of national TPs on 110 should not be very big if they turn off E8 spots. They already have transponders on 110 national beam being used for LiL on TP5, 12, 14 and part of 20. So, when E10 goes up they could lose anywhere from 1.5 to 6.5 national TPs net (1.5 if they turn off spots on E8 and use the 5 TPs from E8 spots, or 6.5 if they go with 10 spots from E10 and 5 on E8).

 

[The Big Wood]

I wouldn't be surprised to see "E" limit HD LiLs to only some major cities, keep them on conus and also offer them as HD DNS. Similar to what they had with analog before they started doing SD LiLs.

I was thinking that was E* plans for the first HD offerings they have lined up. But...I couldn't justify why Boston was one of the first in this scenerio, though. Since Boston is close enough to NY, DNS from NY would have been sufficient (but maybe the Red Sox versus Yankees feud worked into this equation ). Also, Denver is left out which is typically a DNS for that area.

That would be best for E*, IMO...but will it be allowed?

 

[sbturner]

Since I receive WSB the Atlanta ABC via distant locals, that I am no longer able to get other than through a grandfather clause, would I be able to receive the HD feed through the grandfather clause?

 

[waltinvt]

I was thinking that was E* plans for the first HD offerings they have lined up. But...I couldn't justify why Boston was one of the first in this scenerio, though. Since Boston is close enough to NY, DNS from NY would have been sufficient (but maybe the Red Sox versus Yankees feud worked into this equation ). Also, Denver is left out which is typically a DNS for that area.

That would be best for E*, IMO...but will it be allowed?

Boston was part of the original analog dns choices. Maybe because it's prefered by more New Englanders to the NY stations.

 

[JohnH]

Well, it sounded like Charlie said those would be in January 2006 on the last Chat.

 

[waltinvt]

Well, it sounded like Charlie said those would be in January 2006 on the last Chat.

Sounded like that to me too.

 

[jcord51]

putting up HD channels only available to said cities and get this:
they can already get them with rabbit ears
am I missing something here ??
-Gary

Gary I normally would never disagree with anyone's opinion. In my case I live in New York and have both a 921 and a 942 receiver. Just to advise you that all of our transmissions for HD went down during 9/11. We had to wait for a Combiner to be place on the Empire State Building, and the Combiner still has not been fully calibrated and the major stations are still trying to align themselves. I live only 8 mile away from the ESB and have had to reorient my thirty foot high Windguard antenna three times this last year along. I for one am very happy that we are getting the local HD channels and I do agree that more bandwith is needed. Maybe we don't need an HD Demo channel! Maybe Mpeg-4 is the solution.

 

[Stargazer]

I did not know that there was this huge of a demand to get the locals in HD. I would think that there would be even more demand to get the basic and movie channels in HD.

 

[gbjbany]

This thinking, is why i asked a question a few days ago about locals market share that only dish can provide.

There were examples given by other more knowledgable people than I, of Dish's importance in serving locals. http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=50388

The need for cbs/nbc etc on HD is not being met by just OTA. DISH and Direct Tv are filling a gap with HD NBC/ABC etc that keeps being missed or dismissed.

Edit : - Changed "locals" to NBC/EBC etc i am too not worried about locals per se..

 

[Big_Ed]

Does anyone here know for sure if the locals for these 5 markets will be provided via MPEG-4?

As I'm in the Boston DMA, cannot get OTA signals at my location, the CBS affiliate in Hartford (whose signal I can't receive) has denied my waiver to get the distant feed...I'd get myself on the early adopter list for the 622 if I'll need it to get these.

 

[voripteth]

I'm at a loss to understand the desire for HD locals. Do local stations even HAVE HD content? I would much prefer to have network HD than locals. Give us all national HD versions of CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, WB and get around to local versions later.

What does the abbreviation LiL mean?

 

[rdinkel]

What does the abbreviation LiL mean?

Local-in-Local

 

[waltinvt]

I'm at a loss to understand the desire for HD locals. Do local stations even HAVE HD content? I would much prefer to have network HD than locals.

So would most people if they bothered to think about it. They just don't really understand the big picture (no pun intended) and they've been programed (again no pun) to think subsidized locals is better. And you're correct, most locals don't originate any HD programing.

 

[mdonnelly]

So would most people if they bothered to think about it. They just don't really understand the big picture (no pun intended) and they've been programed (again no pun) to think subsidized locals is better. And you're correct, most locals don't originate any HD programing.

But locals do originate huge amounts of local advertising, and the NAB wants to make sure that you can see it.

 

[rdinkel]

So would most people if they bothered to think about it. They just don't really understand the big picture (no pun intended) and they've been programed (again no pun) to think subsidized locals is better. And you're correct, most locals don't originate any HD programing.

The problem is, because of the law, most folks will be stuck with locals only. Therefore, it will be either HD locals or no HD at all--unless you can get OTA HD.

 

[BobMurdoch]

putting up HD channels only available to said cities and get this:
they can already get them with rabbit ears
am I missing something here ??
-Gary

Guys like us in the burbs (or white areas) are really interested. I'd have to put a massive antenna on the roof, a preamp, cable runs, etc. I'd much rather get the signal from E* if I could.

 

[M Sparks]

putting up HD channels only available to said cities and get this:
they can already get them with rabbit ears
am I missing something here ??
-Gary

Yes you are.

There are the people who won't/don't hook up an antenna...I don't have any sympathy for them, but they are a good chunk of the market. I used to work for a full power NBC affiliate. When we interviewed someone for the news, about half the time they asked us for a copy. "I can't get your channel...I have a dish.." They never said "don't", always "can't".

Then there are people like me, who have 10 foot antenna, and get only two channels. Yet I get 15 channels in my LIL package. And I will never get HD OTA.

Now, I'm lucky, because even though I get nothing, I live in a top 15 DMA. I got LIL the first day DirecTV had it. Hopefully, I'll have HD LIL in a few months.

BUT, I also don't think 1000 HD channels on satellite is the answer. Hopefully, congress will someday come up with some kind of compromise.

 

[M Sparks]

I'm at a loss to understand the desire for HD locals. Do local stations even HAVE HD content? I would much prefer to have network HD than locals. Give us all national HD versions of CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, WB and get around to local versions later.
What does the abbreviation LiL mean?

Well, obviously we all would prefer that. But we don't live in fairytale land. Unless congress fixes things, LIL is the only answer.