# Indianapolis HD Locals



## softwiz (May 12, 2005)

I saw this today. I hope this is true since it's back on the "Coming Soon" list.

http://www.dishnetwork.com/turbohd/localChannels/default.aspx

Anyone know anything more?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

There are uplinks assigned on the new 129 satellite to provide Indianapolis HD locals.
When they will be active is just a matter of time. (After the satellite reaches 129.)


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## Rob052067 (Nov 20, 2008)

Dish 'plans' to have Indianapolis local HD live by February.


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## Buzzdar (Sep 19, 2006)

when is the new sat suppose to reach the 129 location any ideas.


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## softwiz (May 12, 2005)

Rob052067 said:


> Dish 'plans' to have Indianapolis local HD live by February.


Sweet, can't wait. I was afraid they may put them on 61.5 which my dad and I don't have a dish for.

The ability to record up to 3 local channels (1 OTA and 2 from Dish) in HD will really come in handy.

Thanks


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## geno58 (Jan 14, 2006)

James Long said:


> There are uplinks assigned on the new 129 satellite to provide Indianapolis HD locals.
> When they will be active is just a matter of time. (After the satellite reaches 129.)


James, I now have Dish500, and a second dish at 61.5. If the Indianapolis
locals go to Sat 129, I will need to replace a Dish, correct???


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

geno58 said:


> James, I now have Dish500, and a second dish at 61.5. If the Indianapolis locals go to Sat 129, I will need to replace a Dish, correct???


You will either replace the Dish500 with a Dish1000 variant (most likely the 1000.2) or you can repoint the 61.5 dish to 129 (if it has line of sight and you don't need it for anything specific at 61.5).

I'd suggest the 1000.2.


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## softwiz (May 12, 2005)

Rob052067 said:


> Dish 'plans' to have Indianapolis local HD live by February.


Hey, It's February!!!!!! No Indy locals yet.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Now the word is March. Still waiting to hear the year.

Unless there are contract problems March 2009 is looking very positive.


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## softwiz (May 12, 2005)

Thanks for the update...


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## festivus (Nov 10, 2008)

Not meaning to hijack this thread, is the situation the same for Columbus? I "see" and receive signals currently from 110, 119 and 129. So can I assume that my current config will be enough to get Columbus HD Locals?


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## Ray_Clum (Apr 22, 2002)

James Long said:


> Unless there are contract problems March 2009 is looking very positive.


No contract problems. I've previously (12/08) contacted the GM's and Engineering departments of the stations here and they were all stating that the ink was still drying, but expect HD soon.


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## BobSanders21 (May 7, 2008)

Dish has been talking about adding Indy HD locals for a couple of years, and they kept pushing it back. I wouldn't be surprised if they did it again.


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## ruascott (Mar 2, 2009)

Anybody heard any updates regarding Indy HD?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Last report I saw was uplinked ConUS to 129 (instead of a 129 spot beam). That would lead me to believe that DISH wanted to activate the channels before the March move of Echostar 5 to 148 (and move the channels from ConUS to a spot when E5 left for 148).

There is no telling when they are going to be active. They will be there when they get there.

Uplinked, not available.


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## IndyTim (Nov 11, 2007)

In the past few days, Vegas, Reno, Boise, Charleston, SC.... still no INDY!


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## softwiz (May 12, 2005)

I'm sure hoping for tomorrow!


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## chime1 (Mar 11, 2009)

we were just informed that locals are to launched today


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## softwiz (May 12, 2005)

chime1 said:


> we were just informed that locals are to launched today


Sweet... All of them? I heard NBC may not be included due to contract issues.

Thanks


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## IndyTim (Nov 11, 2007)

softwiz said:


> Sweet... All of them? I heard NBC may not be included due to contract issues.
> 
> Thanks


Uplink activity seems to confirm that NBC is not included:

CHNG 5180 WRTV{INDIANAPOLIS, IN} MPEG4 HD Tp 5 EchoStar 5 129w UNAVAIL HIDE MAP-C 6
TO 5180 WRTV{INDIANAPOLIS, IN} MPEG4 HD Tp 5 EchoStar 5 129w AVAIL HIDE MAP-D 6

CHNG 5181 WISH{INDIANAPOLIS, IN} MPEG4 HD Tp 5 EchoStar 5 129w UNAVAIL HIDE MAP-C 8
TO 5181 WISH{INDIANAPOLIS, IN} MPEG4 HD Tp 5 EchoStar 5 129w AVAIL HIDE MAP-D 8

CHNG 5183 WXIN{INDIANAPOLIS, IN} MPEG4 HD Tp 5 EchoStar 5 129w UNAVAIL HIDE MAP-C 59
TO 5183 WXIN{INDIANAPOLIS, IN} MPEG4 HD Tp 5 EchoStar 5 129w AVAIL HIDE MAP-D 59

And what about the PBS station, WFYI? Are the local PBS stations considered local or not?


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## softwiz (May 12, 2005)

Indy locals are UP!!! However, as predicted channel 13 NBC and channel 4 are not included at this time. Oh well, that nows give us more options for recording stuff in HD in the same time slot. Before I always had to pick which one I wanted to let record in SD.  No longer!


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## tsmacro (Apr 28, 2005)

softwiz said:


> Indy locals are UP!!! However, as predicted channel 13 NBC and channel 4 are not included at this time. Oh well, that nows give us more options for recording stuff in HD in the same time slot. Before I always had to pick which one I wanted to let record in SD.  No longer!


Yeah I had that same issue, especially on monday nights. Of course two of the shows i've been recording are Chuck and Heroes, which are on NBC, so no help there so far. But hey its an improvement, i'll take it!


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## natem50 (Jul 19, 2007)

I hope it's true. I can't wait to get home and find out. Been a thorn in my side for 3 years when they told me they had locals in HD at signup.

Wish NBC was there, but for now I can deal with that OTA and take advantage of recording multiple items in HD at the same time on locals.


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## softwiz (May 12, 2005)

natem50 said:


> I hope it's true. I can't wait to get home and find out. Been a thorn in my side for 3 years when they told me they had locals in HD at signup.
> 
> Wish NBC was there, but for now I can deal with that OTA and take advantage of recording multiple items in HD at the same time on locals.


I stayed home from work today I was so excited... Wait... I work from home... :grin: But I was still excited...


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## IndyTim (Nov 11, 2007)

Still a bummer that WTHR is not included. Now I have to keep the rabbit ears until this is resolved as I will only watch HD programming.
Wrote to WTHR and this was the response:


This week Dish Network began providing local Indianapolis HD signals to their subscribers. For the last two years we have made numerous attempts to reach an agreement with Dish Network that would include the carriage of our HD signal on their system. Unfortunately, DISH has chosen not to accept that new agreement. WTHR has agreements with every other cable, satellite and telephone company provider for our HD signal. It’s unfortunate that DISH customers are shut out and cannot enjoy HD programming from the Indianapolis market leader as do customers of other providers. 

Our agreement with Dish Network expires on August 30th of this year. We are confident any renewal we might reach with Dish Network will include carriage of our HD signal. 

Rod Porter

Program Director

Now will write to Dish to get their take.


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## mhowie (Sep 30, 2006)

IndyTim said:


> Still a bummer that WTHR is not included. Now I have to keep the rabbit ears until this is resolved as I will only watch HD programming.
> Wrote to WTHR and this was the response:
> 
> This week Dish Network began providing local Indianapolis HD signals to their subscribers. For the last two years we have made numerous attempts to reach an agreement with Dish Network that would include the carriage of our HD signal on their system. Unfortunately, DISH has chosen not to accept that new agreement. WTHR has agreements with every other cable, satellite and telephone company provider for our HD signal. It's unfortunate that DISH customers are shut out and cannot enjoy HD programming from the Indianapolis market leader as do customers of other providers.
> ...


What Rod didn't tell you is they are wanting to charge Dish for the carriage of this signal and Dish doesn't want to pay anything. Since Charlie is a cheapskate, Dish customers suffer while DirecTV and cable customers only programming.

I would think a letter to WTHR's advertisers, as well as to NBC, might be more effective. With the TVs I now own, non-HD material is rarely watched.


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## chime1 (Mar 11, 2009)

I'm not sure why everyone is so interested in hd locals.. I get mine off air and i think it is better. You get more channels and you can record 3 programs at once as long if one is off ant.


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## tsmacro (Apr 28, 2005)

chime1 said:


> I'm not sure why everyone is so interested in hd locals.. I get mine off air and i think it is better. You get more channels and you can record 3 programs at once as long if one is off ant.


Well the advantage for me was now that we have HD locals off the dish I can now record more than one network HD program at the same time. I did have some conflicts where I had to choose which show I recorded in HD off the antenna tuner and which one I recorded in SD off one of the satellite tuners. So even though having HD off the antenna is good to have, getting the locals via satellite now means I can if I want to record three HD programs at the same time as long as one of them is OTA even if they're all on local channels, so HD locals is a good thing!


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## IndyTim (Nov 11, 2007)

chime1 said:


> I'm not sure why everyone is so interested in hd locals.. I get mine off air and i think it is better. You get more channels and you can record 3 programs at once as long if one is off ant.


I still have occasions where the signal gets lost, even though the signal strength says it's in the 80's or 90's.
Plus, in the bedroom we have rabbit ears and it's a little unsightly cuz there's no good place to hide them. In the great room, no problem since they're in an AV closet.


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## softwiz (May 12, 2005)

chime1 said:


> I'm not sure why everyone is so interested in hd locals.. I get mine off air and i think it is better. You get more channels and you can record 3 programs at once as long if one is off ant.


By far, it's the ability to record 3 primetime shows in the same time slot in HD. That's why most are excited about HD locals...


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## Renob2317 (May 14, 2008)

How are you able to record 3 shows at once? My DVR only allows me to record 2 shows while watching a third pre recorded show.


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## softwiz (May 12, 2005)

Renob2317 said:


> How are you able to record 3 shows at once? My DVR only allows me to record 2 shows while watching a third pre recorded show.


On the 622 and 722, you can record from both Dish tuners AND from the OTA tuner at the same time and either watch one of those programs OR watch something you've previously recorded.


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## old_geek (Aug 24, 2007)

James Long said:


> There are uplinks assigned on the new 129 satellite to provide Indianapolis HD locals.
> When they will be active is just a matter of time. (After the satellite reaches 129.)


My installer had to install 2 Dish 500s. One points to 110 and 119 for standard def channels and the other to 61.5 for high def channels. He originally tried for 3 hours to get a Dish 1000 to see 110, 119 and 129, but 129 was too low in the sky (tree obstruction) as compared to 61.5.

I now going to miss out on Indianapolis local HD channels now that they are finally here? Is the "new" 129 sat in the exact same spot as the "old" one?

What else am I missing (or will miss in the future) because I can't see sat 129?


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

old_geek said:


> What else am I missing (or will miss in the future) because I can't see sat 129?


All national channels should be on both 61.5 and 129 (or 72/77 and 110) ... because of 61.5 markets on Eastern Arc you should not have any problems with RSNs. It is a shame that you can't get 129, but when mounting options are tight there are limits.


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## softwiz (May 12, 2005)

James Long said:


> All national channels should be on both 61.5 and 129 (or 72/77 and 110) ... because of 61.5 markets on Eastern Arc you should not have any problems with RSNs. It is a shame that you can't get 129, but when mounting options are tight there are limits.


Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think the Indy HD locals are on 61.5.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

softwiz said:


> Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think the Indy HD locals are on 61.5.


You are correct ... Indy HD locals are only at 129. The question was what else would be missed if one was forced to have a 61.5 dish instead of the appropriate 129 dish.


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## tsmacro (Apr 28, 2005)

CW4 was added to the Indy locals today.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

tsmacro said:


> CW4 was added to the Indy locals today.


Actually in yesterday's uplink activity ... but as long as it is there.


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## Adam Richey (Mar 25, 2002)

I am glad that I get WTHR fine on my antenna. I really enjoy a lot of shows on there. It's also nice to have SkyTrack Weather Network on 13.2 and Universal Sports on 13.3.


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## tsmacro (Apr 28, 2005)

Adam Richey said:


> I am glad that I get WTHR fine on my antenna. I really enjoy a lot of shows on there. It's also nice to have SkyTrack Weather Network on 13.2 and Universal Sports on 13.3.


I'm glad to get 13 OTA also, but it'll be nice to get it via Dish also. As far as 13.3 goes (Universal Sports) do they ever show anything but skiing or speed skating? It seems everytime i've surfed to that channel that's all i've seen.


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## platup (Sep 20, 2007)

IndyTim said:


> Our agreement with Dish Network expires on August 30th of this year.


Well, we're less than 1 week away. I wonder if we'll finally get WTHR HD or loose the SD channel too?


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## IndyTim (Nov 11, 2007)

Email response from WTHR today:

We are close to finalizing the contract. Our contract has been extended until Sept. 30th but we are confident we will have a new contract within the next couple of weeks. Thanks!


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## platup (Sep 20, 2007)

Well, it's been a couple of weeks and now the new fall shows are starting and I'm still watching NBC in SD!


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## tsmacro (Apr 28, 2005)

platup said:


> Well, it's been a couple of weeks and now the new fall shows are starting and I'm still watching NBC in SD!


In theory channel 13 will be in HD starting today (what time wasn't specified) according to the memo we rec'd from Dish.


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## mhowie (Sep 30, 2006)

13-00 is being shown as HD on my guide this evening.


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## IndyTim (Nov 11, 2007)

It's up and looking good in vivid HD!


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