The Uplink Report - August 2022

[pattykay]

Okay, let's try this one more time. Since it looks like we are no longer going to have any kind of automatic uplink report, the purpose of this thread is to provide a convenient place for all of us to report any changes to the Dish channel lineup that we happen to notice. For the last couple of months, I have been providing this service in my Locals Only threads. Obviously, with such a low-level package, I am not going to be able to spot every new channel that Dish adds. Since Dish seems to have completed their wave of adding free channels that I had been tracking, I decided that starting this month I would ask for everyone's help in spotting and documenting any changes that Dish may make.

Dish's major uplinks each week usually occur on Wednesday afternoons, between 3:00 PM Eastern and 4:00 PM Eastern. So, any time after that would be a good time to scroll through your guide and look for any new channels, or any other changes that Dish made that week. If you see anything noteworthy, please post it here so we can have some kind of record of approximately when these changes occurred. Remember, we no longer have an automatic archive of Dish's uplinks, so it is up to all of us to look for and track these changes. By posting here, it may help us better answer any future questions that may be posted about when specific channels were added, moved, or changed packages.

This thread is intended to document any changes to Dish's national channel lineup. (The kind of changes that we can all verify, no matter where we live.) If you spot any changes to your local channel lineup (especially any channel removals due to contract negotiations) you are encouraged to start a new thread about your market or about that dispute. (Or, look for the existing thread, if someone else has already started one.)

Thank you for your cooperation in this effort. If this is a success, I will continue this project as a series of monthly Uplink Report threads, similar to my monthly Free Previews threads. Have a great month, everyone! Enjoy your Dish service, and keep watching the skies...

 

[jackson85]

Just Curious, but why is there no uplink updates anymore??

 

[pattykay]

Just Curious, but why is there no uplink updates anymore??

Officially, all the explanation we have from James is this notice that he posted in his final uplink thread on the other site:

"The Uplink Activity capture system is currently down.​

No restoration date is known.​

​

Please do not ask."​

Unofficially, here is my best speculation on what happened:

As far as James's process for capturing the uplinks, all we know for sure (based on what he posted at his site) is that the capture system is down. This, combined with his specific request not to ask him about it (in his final uplink post) lead me to believe that whatever process he had been using no longer works, and will no longer work in the future. He had speculated before that Dish might change something about the way they do uplinks, so that the uplink report system would no longer work.

Another possibility is that someone from Dish hit James with an official "cease and desist" order, due to the uplink reports technically leaking proprietary information. Again, the fact that he requested that we not ask him about it leads me to believe that he may be subject to a gag order.

Channels that are included in Locals Only core package - Updated July 2022

Other than the local channels, obviously. In other words, this is a listing of all of the "free" channels on Dish that are included in every package subscription. Dish has added many channels to this package over the last month. So, I will continue to post new updated threads each month as...

www.satelliteguys.us

 

[cpdretired]

Dish has the capibility of sending you a message thru the Hopper. Most of us keep as current as possible. Some subscribers don't have any idea if the have a new channel added to their package. If the soly use a favorite list the new channel may not be there.

 

[pattykay]

Some subscribers don't have any idea if the have a new channel added to their package. If the soly use a favorite list the new channel may not be there.

Exactly! So, this thread is for the benefit of those subscribers. The idea is to have at least one member (hopefully, at least one member with each of the most popular base packages) set their guide to All Channels at least once per week, look for any changes, and post them here. That way, the rest of us can be informed about any new channels. We shouldn't really have to do it this way, but with no new uplink reports, I really don't see any better way to accomplish this goal. Think of it as a fun easter egg hunt through the guide. Maybe there will even be a prize for the member(s) with the most valuable reporting.

 

[Jim S.]

Dish has the capibility of sending you a message thru the Hopper. Most of us keep as current as possible. Some subscribers don't have any idea if the have a new channel added to their package. If the soly use a favorite list the new channel may not be there.

I'm not sure if I've ever been notified of a channel change via the Hopper's messaging feature.

The old receivers also had a messaging feature. They never used it. The official explanation was that they didn't want the call center swamped with people asking why the message light was blinking. (It was documented in the manual.)

 

[TheKrell]

The idea is to have at least one member (hopefully, at least one member with each of the most popular base packages) set their guide to All Channels at least once per week, look for any changes, and post them here.

Happy thought! But who among us has the time to go through all channels every week to look for changes? If I did this, I'd be lost since I have no idea what (in detail) is there now, much less remember all that and notice differences from the week before.

 

[zippyfrog]

One change that we are going to see shortly - channel 360 is going to renamed from BNC to The Grio. BNC is no longer being shown, it is now The Grio.

 

[pattykay]

Happy thought! But who among us has the time to go through all channels every week to look for changes? If I did this, I'd be lost since I have no idea what (in detail) is there now, much less remember all that and notice differences from the week before.

These lists may help. They are outdated, since there have not been any updates made to them since 5/6/2022. (I still have no idea how that worked, since the uplink capture system crashed on 4/22/2022. ???) At least it is a place to start, since they show what was there at that time:

Channels 1-999 on DISH Network (Unofficial Listing)

Channels 1000-9999 on DISH Network (Unofficial Listing)

 

[zippyfrog]

Happy thought! But who among us has the time to go through all channels every week to look for changes? If I did this, I'd be lost since I have no idea what (in detail) is there now, much less remember all that and notice differences from the week before.

What I have done over the years (even when James's website was up and running but maybe the uplink didn't post) is shortly after a predicted uplink occurs -

For New Channels: I flip through the channels and I look for "No Info Available" in the EPG. I have my guide set to show 3 hours. Right after a channel change occurs, the EPG will only be filled in for the current program and the next program, maybe 2 programs. But I can almost always see "No Info Available" in the last hour on the EPG.

For Renumbered Channels: depending how Dish did the channel change, I look for some strange EPG that alerts the user the channel has moved to a new location as well as no info available. Those old channel numbers are also renamed "Info" so I can channel names for Info, and are usually there for a week or two. But there has been times that Dish changes the number and just does a straight renumber and nothing at the old channel number is there. I will usually miss those.

I have only been able to do this on the days I don't have work over the years. James's site used to post the uplink pretty consistently around 2:15pm central time; I wouldn't see the changes closer to 2:30pm. But when I get home from work at 5 or 5:30pm, the EPG has refreshed since the uplink so I can't see the changes as easily.

This takes about 60 seconds for me to scan through.

 

[pattykay]

James's site used to post the uplink pretty consistently around 2:15pm central time; I wouldn't see the changes closer to 2:30pm. But when I get home from work at 5 or 5:30pm, the EPG has refreshed since the uplink so I can't see the changes as easily.

I'm pretty sure the guide doesn't refresh as long as the receiver is left turned on. Perhaps set an autotune timer for around 2:00 PM, and maybe another autotune timer for another time during that time frame, to make sure that the receiver doesn't turn itself off due to inactivity before you get a chance to check the guide.

 

[cpdretired]

Ch 244 Shop HQ is unavailable.

 

[zippyfrog]

The uplink did occur and 360 is no longer BNC, it is GRIO. That is the only change that I see in my guide.

 

[pattykay]

Ch 244 Shop HQ is unavailable.

That one happened around June 6, with both channels 134 and 244. I reported on it in my June threads:

Channels 134 and 244 have been replaced by Info slates about Dish's dispute with ShopHQ. These info slate channels remain available with a Locals Only subscription, so it is likely that ShopHQ will still be included in Locals Only if they ever reach a new carriage deal with Dish.

Regarding deactivated receivers:

Update: no more ShopHQ. Now there is an Info channel about the dispute on channel 134. This Info channel is red in the guide. So, ShopHQ may no longer be free, even if the channel does eventually return.

 

[zippyfrog]

One thing that could have changed on the uplink on this past Wednesday is a package change for some channel. As I am looking at the AT120+ packages on Dish's site, there was an update on 8/11/2022. I just don't know what has changed in terms of channels being added or removed. All the other packages have no change to them since the end of June.

https://my.dish.com/cms-files/channelcards/2022/0811/AT120Plus.pdf

 

[pattykay]

One thing that could have changed on the uplink on this past Wednesday is a package change for some channel. As I am looking at the AT120+ packages on Dish's site, there was an update on 8/11/2022. I just don't know what has changed in terms of channels being added or removed. All the other packages have no change to them since the end of June.

https://my.dish.com/cms-files/channelcards/2022/0811/AT120Plus.pdf

I noticed that the pdf does not list channel 360, Black News Channel. Yes, I know that channel 360 is now GRIO. However, Dish's package comparison list still shows it as Black News Channel, and still lists it in both AT120 and AT120+:

MyDISH

my.dish.com

Neither name (Black News Channel or GRIO) appears on the list in the pdf. Not sure if that is a sign that GRIO has been removed from AT120+, since that list is obviously incomplete. Some other notable omissions are Shop LC and all of the Dish CD channels.

 

[zippyfrog]

Today HD Channels 89, 90, 91, 92, and 93 launched about moving from your cell phone company to Republic Wireless.

 

[pattykay]

Today HD Channels 89, 90, 91, 92, and 93 launched about moving from your cell phone company to Republic Wireless.

These all replace the old channel 800 Republic Wireless By Dish ad, which is no longer in the guide. The new channels are:

89 Republic Wireless By Dish (what used to be on channel 800)
90 " " - Verizon
91 " " - AT&T
92 " " - T-Mobile
93 " " - Other

All of these channels are in both SD and HD.

 

[MikeD-C05]

I'm surprised that the other cell phone companies are ok with this ? It is telling you how to change over from their service to DISH cell phone service.

 

[pattykay]

I'm surprised that the other cell phone companies are ok with this ? It is telling you how to change over from their service to DISH cell phone service.

What, AT&T never did anything like that while they owned Directv, or on their U-verse service for that matter? Those Dish channels are available as shopping channels to any advertiser who is willing to pay to advertise on them. For the right price, each of those cell phone companies could launch their own infomercial channel on Dish, if they wished.