So, Does Dish Respond Today?

I had a post the other day that got no response. So i will ask it here. Does anyone know how much room or bandwith does dish have available?? Who is James Long??

James Long is a mod an DBSTalk that keeps saying that E* has plenty of capacity to add more HD channels, you might want to go there and read some of his posts.
 
Digiblur would be a good person to answer that question with a precise answer. I know he has said in the past that there is room on both the core satellites and the wings (61.5&129). I can't give you a number but I know there is room for several more national HD channels right now.

In response to the OP I think we might see more national HD uplinked today, but not made available yet.

I think the reason we don't get an answer is that it is a variable that depends on things that only dish can control. There are both engineering and programing decisions that really make it impossible to predict. IE: Will they cut back on the HDPPV channels and free up space for programing? Will they reshape the VOOM offerings to reduce the number of channels? How efficiently will they use the available space on the existing TP's? How aggressively will they convert MPEG2 to MPEG4?

In general it sounds like E has the capacity to keep up short term if for now other reason than there are still a limited number of national full time HD offerings. We E subs should be happy that D is increasing their capacity beyond what they actually need given what is out there right now. D has good reason to beat the bushes for more and more available channels. Now that they have 'built it, they (available national HD channels) will come'. E also has plans to launch 2 more satellites in 2008. When they are up E will be on at least equal footing with D again in terms of capacity. It's a very healthy competition and I don't think it is going to get all that lopsided one way or the other at any particular point in the near future.
 
Well, E* responded to D*'s new channels by removing the fish tank demo channel. :)

I think Digi said that TP31 on 129 is free and TP 20 on 61.5 is also free (fish tank channel was there). They could add 3 MPEG2 HD channels or 6 MPEG4 HD channels.
 
Also, does anyone know how many customers still have MPEG 2 receivers vs MPEG 4?

Oh, I'd hazard a guess that there are at least 12 million MPEG-2 receivers of various sorts still out there. Actually, I guess more like 15 plus million.

There are close to 14 million Dish subscribers. How many have multiple boxes? I have 3. The only boxes capable of MPEG-4 are the ViP series (& the 411, of which there are few). The ViP211 came out in December of 2005, the ViP622 a couple of months later. So the vast, and I mean VAST majority of Dish receivers in use today cannot process MPEG-4 signals. Only HD subscribers have had good reason to upgrade to MPEG-4 receivers so far. Within a few months, all HD will be in MPEG-4. Then the process of converting SD over will begin.
 
Only HD subscribers have had good reason to upgrade to MPEG-4 receivers so far. Within a few months, all HD will be in MPEG-4. Then the process of converting SD over will begin.

Which makes me glad I sucked it up at the time and went with the 622.
 
Yep. Could've saved a few bucks by going with the ViP211- but once you've had a DVR ........ :D
 
I'm sorry, I don't have much sympathy for people clinging to mpeg2 receivers. I was fine with going thru 3 500 series analog pvr/dvr to a 921 to 2 942's to get to my current configuration of 2 622's. Get rid of those receivers so we can all move on to something better ..... PLEASE!!!! :)
 
Well, E* responded to D*'s new channels by removing the fish tank demo channel. :)

I think Digi said that TP31 on 129 is free and TP 20 on 61.5 is also free (fish tank channel was there). They could add 3 MPEG2 HD channels or 6 MPEG4 HD channels.

Does that completely clear tp 20 on 61.5? 31 on 127 is completely clear so 6 new national hd's could easily slot there. I was wondering if they had done something equivalent on 61.5.
 
Dish can add 11 MPEG4-HD channels on 129 immediately, due to TP31 being clear, and 5 channels space being available on other transponders.

Dish can add 4 MPEG4-HD channels on 110 by converting their two transponders of MPEG2-HD channels to MPEG4-HD.

What is unknown is how many of the unused transponders on 129 are actually working and can be supported by the other systems on the satellite, which are not working at full strength (and a replacement satellite is scheduled to launch).

Dish has given out cups at NASCAR events that say "Dish Network" and "The Weather Channel HD", so it seems likely that they will add that channel. ;)

But a lot of the HD channels launching have very little HD content. TWC-HD will launch with only an hour or two and their studios won't be fully HD until 2008. This is true of a lot of so-called "HD" channels, and so Dish wants to be somewhat choosy about what they add to their lineup and when.
 
I'm sorry, I don't have much sympathy for people clinging to mpeg2 receivers. I was fine with going thru 3 500 series analog pvr/dvr to a 921 to 2 942's to get to my current configuration of 2 622's. Get rid of those receivers so we can all move on to something better ..... PLEASE!!!! :)

I also have 2 622's, but I also have 3 510's and a 625, so excuse me. I don't have the need to upgrade to HD receivers for ALL of my TV's when many of them don't need an HD receiver. I think there are many like me that have multiple TV's, but only have the ViP's on a couple of them.
 
With Directv having begun their roll-out of channels today, does Dish respond today to take some of the wind out of their big day?

DISH did press release that four more RSN HD channels were added, so it takes a little wind out of the sails to announce some new Hd channel additions on DIRECTV's first wave day.
 
I also have 2 622's, but I also have 3 510's and a 625, so excuse me. I don't have the need to upgrade to HD receivers for ALL of my TV's when many of them don't need an HD receiver. I think there are many like me that have multiple TV's, but only have the ViP's on a couple of them.

Sorry, still not a lot of sympathy. When I got my very first install with Dish (and it was a VERY long time ago) it was a 5xx receiver and I remember asking the installer at the time about how soon it would be before the receiver would need to be swapped out to something MPEG4 compatible. It wasn't a huge investment in any case. Of the 3 5xx's I've had, I've hauled 2 to the dump because their value was too small to bother with Ebay. I sold the 921 there a long time ago and hope the purchaser has gotten their money's worth. Dish took back the 2 942's in exchange for the 2 622's I have now. Maybe you are totally happy on all those tv's you have hooked up to old receivers. But on the 2 622's that are hooked up, wouldn't you like MORE?
 
Dish can add 11 MPEG4-HD channels on 129 immediately, due to TP31 being clear, and 5 channels space being available on other transponders.

Dish can add 4 MPEG4-HD channels on 110 by converting their two transponders of MPEG2-HD channels to MPEG4-HD.


How many on 61.5? You can't add national HD channels to 129 unless you also add them to 61.5. Otherwise substantial portions of the East Coast will not get those channels.
 
I'll give DISH 6 months to respond with adding more HD, if that doesn't happen, well.....
 
I still dont see what the big deal is.... Dish still has MORE hd channels. If in 6 months we say that D* has more, then its time to worry!
 
Does that completely clear tp 20 on 61.5? 31 on 127 is completely clear so 6 new national hd's could easily slot there. I was wondering if they had done something equivalent on 61.5.

Yes. I posted in another thread yesterday that without trying very hard DishNetwork could put up 6 HD MPEG4 national HD channels right now.

Dish can add 11 MPEG4-HD channels on 129 immediately, due to TP31 being clear, and 5 channels space being available on other transponders.

Dish can add 4 MPEG4-HD channels on 110 by converting their two transponders of MPEG2-HD channels to MPEG4-HD.

What is unknown is how many of the unused transponders on 129 are actually working and can be supported by the other systems on the satellite, which are not working at full strength (and a replacement satellite is scheduled to launch).

I don't agree on the number you stated on what that can add to 129. A quick count on 129 shows that could add closer to 20 without firing up any additional TP's. But this would probably require significant uplink changes at some of the uplink facilities.

It is all just speculation though, as DishNetwork's crew is the only ones that know their true capabilities of the equipment they have on the ground and the equipment in the sky. Another factor that people are quick to forget about when they chant "Add this...add that...add this". The uplink facility has to obtain the master feed either via satellite or fiber, pass it over to the uplink side of the system, put it through their encoders, and send it up to the subscribers. Then that's not even taking into the consideration the legal contract side of things. I'm sure it is a fairly large undertaking to add each HD channel.

Looking at Charlie's previous history... I'd say it would be safe to say, he will respond.
 
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