Spotbeam vs DMA question

[farmerbob]

What rules does Dish have to follow as it relates to DMA coverage with spotbeams?
I live in the Denver DMA, but the new spotbeam does not reach me therefore I have no more HD locals. The Colorado Springs HD locals are supposed to be available Feb 25. Will Dish let me switch, or will they frown on that since I can still get Denver in SD?

 

[Laddyboy]

What rules does Dish have to follow as it relates to DMA coverage with spotbeams?
I live in the Denver DMA, but the new spotbeam does not reach me therefore I have no more HD locals. The Colorado Springs HD locals are supposed to be available Feb 25. Will Dish let me switch, or will they frown on that since I can still get Denver in SD?

If you're in the Denver DMA, E* is not allowed by federal regulation to allow you to receive locals from another DMA. You may have to "move". The Denver spotbeam is fairly large so I'm surprised you're not in the beam linked below.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/thelist/database/Subscription/images/CIEL2_SB19.jpg

 

[TNGTony]

Overlay the image above with http://www.dishuser.org/TVMarkets/City Maps/Denver.gif

You get a chunk of the Denver TV market no longer served. Specifically two counties right around the Colorado Springs area and two Wyoming counties north of the picture attached.

 

[farmerbob]

Thanks for the info, kinda what I figured someone would say unfortunately.If you were to look at a DMA map of Springs and Denver You would see the area I'm in clearly, It's the one county (Prowers County)surrounded by Springs DMA at the Kansas border. And you can see by the map you linked to, the spotbeam misses us by at least 70 miles

 

[farmerbob]

Hey, Right on TNGTony, That's exactly the image I would have used ,if I knew how

 

[Laddyboy]

Overlay the image above with http://www.dishuser.org/TVMarkets/City Maps/Denver.gif

You get a chunk of the Denver TV market no longer served. Specifically two counties right around the Colorado Springs area and two Wyoming counties north of the picture attached.

That isn't a good deal for those people. I wonder why E* didn't enlarge the beam a bit there for their home DMA?

 

[digiblur]

That isn't a good deal for those people. I wonder why E* didn't enlarge the beam a bit there for their home DMA?

I was surprised too on that one. But I do know the beams are running a bit hotter than the predicted coverage areas. It might be permanent, it might just be due to more power since other beams are not turned on.

But then again Dish setup the Denver HD locals to be one of the first to move to spotbeam.

 

[Jim S.]

This isn't the only area they've done that to. On 61.5, the beam covering Scranton doesn't reach the parts of the DMA that need it the most in the west.

 

[digiblur]

This isn't the only area they've done that to. On 61.5, the beam covering Scranton doesn't reach the parts of the DMA that need it the most in the west.

That DMA wasn't CONUS before though was it?

 

[terpsmandan]

No Scranton WB was spotbeamed from the go, but the DMA goes farther west than the spotbeam. The edge of the spotbeam goes in an arc from Syracuse to Scranton and leaves out portions of Clinton and Lycoming County and other parts as well.

 

[digiblur]

No Scranton WB was spotbeamed from the go, but the DMA goes farther west than the spotbeam. The edge of the spotbeam goes in an arc from Syracuse to Scranton and leaves out portions of Clinton and Lycoming County and other parts as well.

Denver is a little different. One day you had HD locals the next you don't. POOF

 

[terpsmandan]

As big as the Denver DMA is, that is surprising. I am just waiting for Rochester, NY to finally get hooked up.

 

[lgabel]

No Scranton WB was spotbeamed from the go, but the DMA goes farther west than the spotbeam. The edge of the spotbeam goes in an arc from Syracuse to Scranton and leaves out portions of Clinton and Lycoming County and other parts as well.

The Scranton HD feeds are spotbeamed but the SD feeds have always been CONUS on 119. They did duplicate the SD's on the same spot as the HD at 61.5for EA. I just hope they don't decide to drop the CONUS feeds when they get everyone switched over to MP4.

You can add to your uncovered county list Union, Northumberland, Snyder and I think Montour and parts of Columbia.

 

[drsports]

I was surprised too on that one. But I do know the beams are running a bit hotter than the predicted coverage areas. It might be permanent, it might just be due to more power since other beams are not turned on.

But then again Dish setup the Denver HD locals to be one of the first to move to spotbeam.

What do you think Digi? WIll they move them back to CONUS? The rest of the "movers" and I would sure appreciate it.

 

[digiblur]

What do you think Digi? WIll they move them back to CONUS? The rest of the "movers" and I would sure appreciate it.

I doubt it... otherwise they would have done it already. And it's not like they didn't know about it in the first place before they even moved it.

 

[garys]

Dish is going to be using spots on most of their locals, to prevent "movers".

 

[drsports]

I doubt it... otherwise they would have done it already. And it's not like they didn't know about it in the first place before they even moved it.

They might not have realized that the beam would not carry as far as they projected.

 

[digiblur]

Dish is going to be using spots on most of their locals, to prevent "movers".

Negative. Spots are not designed to kill movers dead in their tracks. It is designed to make efficient use of the satellite frequencies they have by reusing then lots of times across the US.

 

[drsports]

Dish is going to be using spots on most of their locals, to prevent "movers".

I don't think that is why they are using spotbeams-they are trying to ramp up their local HD markets.

An unfortunate and probably unintended consequence is the "movers" have lost their signals.

Many of us "moved" for HD locals-either we don't get them in our designated DMA or for some reason one or more of the "big four" is not carried.

In many cases we are the most loyal DISH customers-if not why would we jump through all the hoops we do .

Still hoping LA or Denver is moved back to CONUS.

 

[digiblur]

They might not have realized that the beam would not carry as far as they projected.

Actually just the opposite. I have found that the beams are actually larger than what the projections they filed with the FCC back before the satellite was even launched. So they knew about it... some could say it was in their design. It could have been a limitation to only make it that size? Who knows.