Retailer Chat Recap - August 7, 2008

[Derwin0]

Eastern Arc will require a new smartcard to watch... Receivers which have this new smartcard will be marked with a "Circle A" mark on the label on the front of the receiver box. All ViP receivers shipped over the past 3 months have had the new smart card included. The new smartcard is called G3.

So much for me just popping an lnb into the empty slot on my Dish 500 pointed to 61.5 (already skewed to include 72).

 

[jlhugh]

so nothing on where the line is drawn at in the US to use EA or WA?

 

[rdinkel]

Will 622/722 with new smart card work on either Western or Eastern Arc (and both at same time)? I am looking forward to MPEG4 SD, but probably need to keep hooked up to Western Arc for regional sports and locals.

 

[VinceT3]

My HD set in the kitchen is on lifeline cable, since I don't have any more ports on my switch. I scanned in the local digitals with the QAM tuner. Mostly I use it to watch the news while I eat.

I need to run an RG6 wire there then it'll be on the OTA at least.. (it has an ATSC tuner built in)

 

[navychop]

so nothing on where the line is drawn at in the US to use EA or WA?

I keep reading where folks expect a simple line to be drawn between the two. Which is used will depend upon LOS of the particular location, and where the locals are hosted. Could be a lot of different answers, even in a single state, esp if mountainous.

 

[TalonDancer]

I keep reading where folks expect a simple line to be drawn between the two. Which is used will depend upon LOS of the particular location, and where the locals are hosted. Could be a lot of different answers, even in a single state, esp if mountainous.

Agree. Right now the best indicator is where the HD locals are hosted. BTW there are a bunch of HD locals on 61.5 for towns that most folks think are pretty far west

Talon Dancer

 

[Laddyboy]

Hmmm, that's also about the time D* is going to light up a bunch of HD LiLs for top 100 DMAs like mine which E* hasn't even mentioned even in passing. Victory might be in short supply. We need competition to keep pricing as low as possible, but it seems as though E* is late to the party by half a year or so. Hopefully, it won't be fatal.

 

[gjh3260]

I see Minneapolis is scheduled for EA on Aug 20 which suprises me seeing i am in the midwest. What advantange or is there an advantage for me switching my current Dish 1000 (110,119,129) for the new Dish 1000.4 ? I know my RSN is on both 129 and 61.5)

Is there a cost in switching for current customers ?

 

[scots]

I saw Raleigh, NC on the list for Eastern Arc on August 20...and I just happen to be in Raleigh. Would switching to Eastern Arc give me better reception than what I have now? Many years ago when I had a 500 dish and whatever receiver (don't remember the model number...didn't have HD and no DVR either) my reception was rock solid. It only went out one time (that I'm aware of) when a really bad thunderstorm came through that had horrendous lightning, and was only out for maybe 5 to 10 minutes. Other than that I never lost signal in rain, snow, clouds, whatever. Now that I have the 622 and the 1000.2 (I think that's what dish I have), I can predict the dang weather with the thing. Every time I lose signal I know it's going to start raining within 5 minutes...and signal usually doesn't come back for 10 to 20 minutes. It totally sucks.

 

[ncted]

I saw Raleigh, NC on the list for Eastern Arc on August 20...and I just happen to be in Raleigh. Would switching to Eastern Arc give me better reception than what I have now? Many years ago when I had a 500 dish and whatever receiver (don't remember the model number...didn't have HD and no DVR either) my reception was rock solid. It only went out one time (that I'm aware of) when a really bad thunderstorm came through that had horrendous lightning, and was only out for maybe 5 to 10 minutes. Other than that I never lost signal in rain, snow, clouds, whatever. Now that I have the 622 and the 1000.2 (I think that's what dish I have), I can predict the dang weather with the thing. Every time I lose signal I know it's going to start raining within 5 minutes...and signal usually doesn't come back for 10 to 20 minutes. It totally sucks.

Sounds like you need to be re-peaked or you are watching HD on 129. With my 61.5 wing dish, my experience is more similar to your first description. If you are using 129 for HD, then yes, the EA dish should give you better reception on those channels. I don't know if anyone can say for sure about the stuff on 110/118.7/119 yet.

Ted

 

[Laddyboy]

I see Minneapolis is scheduled for EA on Aug 20 which suprises me seeing i am in the midwest. What advantange or is there an advantage for me switching my current Dish 1000 (110,119,129) for the new Dish 1000.4 ? I know my RSN is on both 129 and 61.5)

Is there a cost in switching for current customers ?

I would guess there would be a cost for the install now unless they pulled your locals from 129 and forced you to 61.5. I think EA installs are only for new customers in the beginning. If you have your own equipment and do the install, I don't think it would be a problem to switch as long as your receiver supported it. Other than having an all mpeg4 service, even for the SD channels, I don't see much difference between EA and what we already have. Obviously you could store more SD programming on your DVR using mpeg4 as compared to mpeg2.

 

[PhillySky]

Did they mention anything about Wildblue or DSL promotions?

 

[scots]

Sounds like you need to be re-peaked or you are watching HD on 129. With my 61.5 wing dish, my experience is more similar to your first description. If you are using 129 for HD, then yes, the EA dish should give you better reception on those channels. I don't know if anyone can say for sure about the stuff on 110/118.7/119 yet.

Ted

Yeah...my HD is 129. Everything goes out when it's getting ready to rain though...not just HD.

Maybe I could just get a job helping Greg Fischel predict the rain?

 

[jbernardi]

What does the Eastern Arc do, if anything, for existing customers who have 622s and a Dish 500 and 300 Dishes to capture 110, 119, and 61.5?

Will Dish upgrade receivers, swap dishes, etc?

 

[TalonDancer]

...Now onto Eastern Arc! It launches on August 20th in 21 areas. It is an all MPEG4 service. It offers folks on the East Cost better look angles....

Scott, Could you post a higher resolution version of the "Dual Arc Concept" shot (retailer34.jpg). It's a bit hard to read the content planned for each of the sats.

TIA - Talon Dancer

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

FOLKS LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR...

EASTERN ARC IS FOR NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY.

EASTERN ARC REQUIRES THE NEW 3G SMARTCARD WHICH CURRENTLY IS ONLY INCLUDED WITH NEW MPEG4 RECEIVERS.

When the new smartcards are out and your current MPEG4 receivers get them then it may be possible for you to tune into the Eastern Arc satellites.

 

[jbernardi]

Thanks for the clarification, Scott.

 

[mbole]

Not sure if this has been answered or not but my Locals for Waco, TX are uplinked to 61.5. Will Dish come out to install a new 61.5 wing dish when the Waco locals launch or will I need to ask them for it?

 

[Laddyboy]

Not sure if this has been answered or not but my Locals for Waco, TX are uplinked to 61.5. Will Dish come out to install a new 61.5 wing dish when the Waco locals launch or will I need to ask them for it?

You'll have to call and request the HD locals.

 

[OV_HDFan]

Does dishstore have any of the 3G enabled receivers in stock yet?