# 9 Games on NBA League Pass and only 1 in HD



## pistolpete52 (Sep 3, 2010)

I'm now starting to find that this is ridiculous and a waste of money to buy the NBA League Pass if the games will not be shown in HD by Dish. I know that a lot of HD channels are only in HD part time (another thing that I don't understand), but when someone pays for a premium package, they should be able to view it with the best resolution possible. I was trying to watch the OKC-Clippers game last night, and everything looks blurry in SD. I'm glad that the playoffs are just around the corner. I won't have to strain my eyes to see a basketball go through the hoop.

I know that I'm "satellite tv challenged". People talk about how this works and how that works, but it's all foreign to me. So, my question is, does Dish not have to capacity to show these premium packages in HD? If Directv can show these games in both HD and SD, why can't Dish do the same thing? Right now, it's a crapshoot if the game that you want will be in HD or not.


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## cthtexas (Jul 21, 2008)

I could see this situation coming, that's why I didn't buy the package this year. It's my opinion that Charlie is really hacked about the little tiff he had with Fox last year and it's his way of punishing Fox Sport Network. Never mind about those who really suffer the most......the people who subscribe to Dish and send Charlie the big fat checks each month. Charlie must get his revenge. It's always about Charlie. I will never buy this package again until they guarantee that all games will be shown in HD. Should this really be that hard for the company that claims the be "the leader in HD"? I just can't believe this company! What a joke!


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## tampa8 (Mar 30, 2002)

If what you say is true, your statement "but when someone pays for a premium package, they should be able to view it with the best resolution possible." is 100% on the money to me. You really should write to the CEO email and express that. Let them know you won't spend more money on premiums unless they are in HD if available. I don't any sports premiums, but do get movies, and expect them to be in HD when they are available that way.


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## pistolpete52 (Sep 3, 2010)

tampa8 said:


> If what you say is true, your statement "but when someone pays for a premium package, they should be able to view it with the best resolution possible." is 100% on the money to me. You really should write to the CEO email and express that. Let them know you won't spend more money on premiums unless they are in HD if available. I don't any sports premiums, but do get movies, and expect them to be in HD when they are available that way.


I did, and yesterday I got a call from a James Chang who works in Executive Communications for Dishnetwork. According to James, they just don't have the bandwidth(???) to carry premium sports packages in HD. He is aware of the problem as he has been dealing with this issue for awhile, and hopes that this can be worked out by next season. I told him that there seems to be a bunch of channels that are broadcast in HD that I doubt many people ever watch.

I also mentioned the fact that channels 434 and 435 are listed as HD on the Dish Guide that Dish provides online, and in reality, they are being broadcast in SD. Again, he mentioned the bandwidth problem. Ok, I understand that, but those channels need to be changed on the website from SD to HD, so that new subs will know what they're getting. I had Directv and have no plans of ever going back. So, my hope is that these issues get resolved. I'm only one sub, but if a lot of subs send emails to James, maybe something will be done. Or, they can sit on their hands like DTV does.


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## tampa8 (Mar 30, 2002)

I don't get why they can't just give you the same HD channel we get normally on NESN. Most every Sox game is broadcast in HD unless you have to get it off a different sat.

(BTW I am just down RT19 from you in NPR area when I am at my home there)


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

pistolpete52 said:


> ... they just don't have the bandwidth(???) to carry premium sports packages in HD.


True. DISH has the capacity to transmit 12 HD RSNs at one time maximum. They have over 30 RSNs plus alternates on their system. DISH does not have the space to add the additional feeds needed to carry all the RSNs in HD 24/7.



> I also mentioned the fact that channels 434 and 435 are listed as HD on the Dish Guide that Dish provides online, and in reality, they are being broadcast in SD. Again, he mentioned the bandwidth problem.


Those two channels are in HD, game only. Look for 5434 and 5435. You will need an Eastern Arc dish to receive the channels (although they are "testing" on Western Arc so that will change). The channels are mapped down to 434 and 435.

Being "game only" there is limited content on them ... not even every game. Yankees at Red Sox is on now on 434. Wizards at Celtics is on 435 at 7pm ET. Senators at Bruins is on NESN tomorrow at 12:30pm followed by Boston College vs Duke basketball. MLS is on CSNNE at 7:00pm tomorrow. Actually more HD than I expected to see, but it is the weekend.


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## pistolpete52 (Sep 3, 2010)

James Long said:


> True. DISH has the capacity to transmit 12 HD RSNs at one time maximum. They have over 30 RSNs plus alternates on their system. DISH does not have the space to add the additional feeds needed to carry all the RSNs in HD 24/7.
> 
> Those two channels are in HD, game only. Look for 5434 and 5435. You will need an Eastern Arc dish to receive the channels (although they are "testing" on Western Arc so that will change). The channels are mapped down to 434 and 435.
> 
> Being "game only" there is limited content on them ... not even every game. Yankees at Red Sox is on now on 434. Wizards at Celtics is on 435 at 7pm ET. Senators at Bruins is on NESN tomorrow at 12:30pm followed by Boston College vs Duke basketball. MLS is on CSNNE at 7:00pm tomorrow. Actually more HD than I expected to see, but it is the weekend.


I've tried to get those games on 5434 and 5435, but it just tells me to tune in to see if the game is in HD. Is it possible that I'm on the wrong arc?


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## pistolpete52 (Sep 3, 2010)

tampa8 said:


> I don't get why they can't just give you the same HD channel we get normally on NESN. Most every Sox game is broadcast in HD unless you have to get it off a different sat.
> 
> (BTW I am just down RT19 from you in NPR area when I am at my home there)


Do you get NESN on HD? I don't get CSNNE or NESN at all. I'm wondering if they put me on the wrong arc. Is there a way that I could tell if it's right or wrong?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

pistolpete52 said:


> I've tried to get those games on 5434 and 5435, but it just tells me to tune in to see if the game is in HD. Is it possible that I'm on the wrong arc?


If you're seeing 5434 and 5435 you have the right arc. You should see the same stuff I saw in the guide.

The "tune in later" message should only appear when there is no game scheduled. There is (was?) a bug setting timers for the sports channels where hours of the "tune in later" screen would be recorded instead of the games. But if you're watching live you should see the game (or a "blacked out" message).


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## tampa8 (Mar 30, 2002)

pistolpete52 said:


> Do you get NESN on HD? I don't get CSNNE or NESN at all. I'm wondering if they put me on the wrong arc. Is there a way that I could tell if it's right or wrong?


You said in an earlier post NESN shows as HD in the guide but broadcasts in SD. If you don't get it at all, how do you know that? I am confused. Be assured, NESN broadcasts virtually every Sox game in HD.

You would not get NESN if your address with DISH is Spring Hill FL. You only would get the RSN's that are in that area, such as the SUN network.
The only way you would see NESN, and most all the other RSN's, is if you had the add on sports package, but that would not allow you to see PRO games, unless they ran over the blackout time period. What I do not know is, but suspect, they only get the SD feed, since usually only the games are in HD anyway......


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## david_jr (Dec 10, 2006)

James Long said:


> True. DISH has the capacity to transmit 12 HD RSNs at one time maximum. They have over 30 RSNs plus alternates on their system. DISH does not have the space to add the additional feeds needed to carry all the RSNs in HD 24/7.


Is there a solution in the future? Is there another bird coming or something that will create the space needed?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

david_jr said:


> Is there a solution in the future? Is there another bird coming or something that will create the space needed?


They could reduce quality to add the channels ... or use every bit of available space and not add any other HD and barely be able to cover the 24/7 channels.

There is not a satellite launch scheduled that will help Western Arc.

About the only trick left up their sleeve is converting SD to 8PSK ... which would allow more SD channels to be packed on a transponder (freeing up transponders for HD) but make a lot of receivers on Western Arc obsolete.


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## MikeW (May 16, 2002)

Do they have the capacity with HD PPV channels that could be shut down for certain sports broadcasts?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

MikeW said:


> Do they have the capacity with HD PPV channels that could be shut down for certain sports broadcasts?


DISH only has 23 PPV channels (21 100% movies). Anything could be shut down (including regular channels such as TNT - although I expect there would be other suggestions) but with only one channel per movie DISH would be losing PPV income, not just reducing the number of times a movie plays.


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## pistolpete52 (Sep 3, 2010)

tampa8 said:


> You said in an earlier post NESN shows as HD in the guide but broadcasts in SD. If you don't get it at all, how do you know that? I am confused. Be assured, NESN broadcasts virtually every Sox game in HD.
> 
> You would not get NESN if your address with DISH is Spring Hill FL. You only would get the RSN's that are in that area, such as the SUN network.
> The only way you would see NESN, and most all the other RSN's, is if you had the add on sports package, but that would not allow you to see PRO games, unless they ran over the blackout time period. What I do not know is, but suspect, they only get the SD feed, since usually only the games are in HD anyway......


I do have the extra $7.00 sports pack, and only bought it specifically for CSNNE and NESN. I could care less about the other RSN's. And, the guide on the website shows those 2 channels as HD. If I knew that those channels were not going to be in HD, I wouldn't have purchased that package nor the NBA LP.

Now today, my Tampa local RSN Sun Sports is broadcasting the Rays game in SD and not in HD. It's really a screwy set-up. I can live with it because the NBA regular season is over on Wednesday. And, I like Dish better than Directv, which I had for several years.

There are a lot of *D* subs who stay because of the HD sports channels. I'll bet that Dish could draw a lot of those subs away if they could offer the same. Are there a lot of subs who get the Dish HD Platinum pack? Maybe they could drop a few of those HD channels. I've got that pack free now, but so far, the only channel that I've watched is the Palladia channel. Nothing else in that package worth watching.


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## pistolpete52 (Sep 3, 2010)

James Long said:


> If you're seeing 5434 and 5435 you have the right arc. You should see the same stuff I saw in the guide.
> 
> The "tune in later" message should only appear when there is no game scheduled. There is (was?) a bug setting timers for the sports channels where hours of the "tune in later" screen would be recorded instead of the games. But if you're watching live you should see the game (or a "blacked out" message).


Nope...even when the game is on, I can't get 5434 or 5435.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

pistolpete52 said:


> Nope...even when the game is on, I can't get 5434 or 5435.


What ARE you getting when you tune to the channel?

Are you seeing the games listed in the EPG?
Are you getting the (743) "This program is not available for viewing in your area." popup?
When tuning to the SD version are you seeing the game or the (743) error?

(743 refers to the number in the upper corner of the "Attention" box.)

You said you saw the channels in your guide earlier so you should see the same EPG as the rest of us ... the games noted above. Today (ending at 6pm ET) is NHL: Bruins at Devils on 5434. Tomorrow (Monday) is MLB: Rays at Red Sox on 5434 and NBA: Celtics at Wizards on 5435 (both at 6:30pm). Are you seeing these games?

If you see the games noted, select one of them. Do you then see the error popup or does a recording setup screen occur?

If you are getting the (743) error popup you're not getting the games because they are blacked out in your area.


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## pistolpete52 (Sep 3, 2010)

James Long said:


> What ARE you getting when you tune to the channel?
> 
> Are you seeing the games listed in the EPG?
> Are you getting the (743) "This program is not available for viewing in your area." popup?
> ...


Right now, I'm getting a 744 message....program is not available for viewing in your area. When a game is on, it just says to check back to see if my team is playing.

Not once have I seen anything in HD on channels 434 and 435 nor 5434 and 5435.

This may sound stupid, but do I have the correct dish for where I live (Tampa Bay, FL)? I think that a tech told me that I'm on the western arc.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

5434 and 5435 are not available on Western Arc ... if you see them in your guide you have an Eastern Arc dish (or at least 61.5 added to a 119-110 dish). But that is not the core of your problem.

The core of your problem is blackouts. The programming you wish to view on 5434 and 5435 is not available in your area.


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## pistolpete52 (Sep 3, 2010)

James Long said:


> 5434 and 5435 are not available on Western Arc ... if you see them in your guide you have an Eastern Arc dish (or at least 61.5 added to a 119-110 dish). But that is not the core of your problem.
> 
> The core of your problem is blackouts. The programming you wish to view on 5434 and 5435 is not available in your area.


I found it weird that my local RSN (Sun Sports) didn't carry the Rays game in HD. The SD 422 had it, but the HD 422 just read Sun Sports HD. I would have thought that I'd at least get my local RSN's in HD. I guess that it will just be luck if I get to see them in HD.

Just wondering.....has this been an ongoing problem with Dish? It seems like I'm the only one having a problem with this....lol!


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## tampa8 (Mar 30, 2002)

You do (should) not get ANY games on NESN. The sports pack does not get you pro games for Baseball, not even in Rerun. The most to hope for is when the game goes beyond the blackout period you can see the end of the game.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

The OP is used to how DirecTV handles the Sports Pack channels along with services like NBA League Pass. Celtics games on NESN...DirecTV opens the NESN channel 629 and remaps the feed to the LP channel in the 700s. LP subs can watch the game on either channel regardless of location. With Dish, it's different...You must watch it on the assigned LP channel in the 560-572 (9560-9572) and not on NESN 434.

I'll use a hypothetical night of a game of NY @ Boston as an example of how to watch a NBA League Pass game. 
DirecTV - Can be watched on LP channel 751 or NESN 629.
Dish - Can only be watched on LP channel 561.


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## pistolpete52 (Sep 3, 2010)

tampa8 said:


> You do (should) not get ANY games on NESN. The sports pack does not get you pro games for Baseball, not even in Rerun. The most to hope for is when the game goes beyond the blackout period you can see the end of the game.


I understand that. I'm saying that when I signed up, I looked at the guide on the website and it said NESN HD and CSNNE HD, when in reality, it is not. I know how the RSN's work. I know that you don't get games on those channels. If these channels are NOT in HD, then Dish should not advertise them as such.


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## pistolpete52 (Sep 3, 2010)

sigma1914 said:


> The OP is used to how DirecTV handles the Sports Pack channels along with services like NBA League Pass. Celtics games on NESN...DirecTV opens the NESN channel 629 and remaps the feed to the LP channel in the 700s. LP subs can watch the game on either channel regardless of location. With Dish, it's different...You must watch it on the assigned LP channel in the 560-572 (9560-9572) and not on NESN 434.
> 
> I'll use a hypothetical night of a game of NY @ Boston as an example of how to watch a NBA League Pass game.
> DirecTV - Can be watched on LP channel 751 or NESN 629.
> Dish - Can only be watched on LP channel 561.


Exactly. And it's the luck of the draw if the game will be in HD or not, whereas on Directv, if the home team's RSN broadcasts the game in HD, then that is how you receive it. Not so with Dish. I know that CSNNE broadcasts the Celts in HD, but I've seen only 1 game in HD so far.

That goes back to my original post. One night there were 9 games on the League Pass, and only 1 aired in HD.


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## david_jr (Dec 10, 2006)

James Long said:


> They could reduce quality to add the channels ... or use every bit of available space and not add any other HD and barely be able to cover the 24/7 channels.
> 
> There is not a satellite launch scheduled that will help Western Arc.
> 
> About the only trick left up their sleeve is converting SD to 8PSK ... which would allow more SD channels to be packed on a transponder (freeing up transponders for HD) but make a lot of receivers on Western Arc obsolete.


I think this was very shortsighted on their part to not have a plan in place to increase this capacity. Outrageous really. You can see the consternation it is causing subs by the posts to these boards constantly. I think they should consider further reducing the SD quality to make room. Most SD only subs can't tell the difference anyway. I mean how many people do you know who say they can't tell the difference between SD & HD? It is staggering that they exist, but they do and they will not probably notice a notch down in quality from what they're seeing. Wouldn't require replacing any equipment and who knows maybe the ones who do notice will finally upgrade to HD.


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## hiero4life (Apr 10, 2008)

I left for Direct in the beginning of the NHL season because of the HD. I was a happy Dish customer until the messed with the Center Ice package. I do pay more and I hate the speed of Direct tv boxes, but having the games in HD is worth it to me.


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