# DISH Network(R) Introduces DISH Earth Channel



## tsmacro (Apr 28, 2005)

DISH Network(R) Introduces DISH Earth Channel

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., April 22, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ -- Real-time views of planet from world's first Earth-directed camera mounted on a commercial communications satellite

ENGLEWOOD, Colo., April 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- DISH Network Corporation (Nasdaq: DISH) today announced the launch of DISH Earth, a channel exclusively available to DISH Network customers, offering dramatic live views of Earth 24 hours per day, including passing views of the moon, Venus, and even unidentified flying objects. DISH Network customers can experience the camera's live feed for free on Ch. 212 beginning this evening.

The DISH Earth channel content is supported by a camera installed on DISH Network's EchoStar 11 satellite - the world's first Earth-directed camera mounted on a commercial communications satellite. Six years in the making, the DISH Earth camera offers a 30 degree x 22.4 degree field-of-view that includes fascinating live full-disk views of the planet from a distance of approximately 22,300 miles above Earth. The regular night/day cycle, weather patterns, and seasonal changes in the western hemisphere are clearly visible via the 'eyes' of the camera, which observe objects in the visible spectrum, similar to the human eye, with a resolution of about 20 km per pixel.

"We are pleased to be able to offer, exclusively to our customers, footage from the world's only Earth-viewing live video camera on a commercial communications satellite," said Dave Shull, senior vice president of Programming at DISH Network. "What's more, from time to time, the DISH Earth camera is able to capture some unique images, including an unidentified flying object last August."

The DISH Earth camera was integrated onboard the EchoStar 11 spacecraft, a high powered satellite launched in 2008 to a geo-synchronous orbit at 110 degrees west longitude, which provides video service for DISH Network customers.

In addition to the live video footage, DISH Network has also partnered with Space Services, Inc. (SSI), a Houston-based aerospace company, to offer consumers photos of the planet on a loved one's special day via its Give the World(TM) service. The camera captures the cloud formations, storms, and the green and blue beauty of planet Earth forever in a nicely packaged photo frame to commemorate a birthday, wedding, anniversary or any memorable occasion. Regular photo pricing ranges from $29.95 to $99.95.

The DISH Earth camera was developed by the EchoStar Spacecraft Operations Team, Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation of Pasadena, CA, and Space Systems/Loral and is operated under a license granted by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

For more information about DISH Earth and Give the World, visit www.GiveTheWorld.com. To view videos of timelapsed images of the earth and an unidentified flying object, visit www.GiveTheWorld.com/aboutEchoStar11.asp. To learn more about DISH Network, visit www.dishnetwork.com.

About DISH Network Corporation

DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) provides approximately 13.678 million satellite TV customers as of Dec. 31, 2008 with the highest quality programming and technology at the best value, including the lowest all-digital price nationwide. Customers have access to hundreds of video and audio channels, the most international channels in the U.S., state-of-the-art interactive TV applications, and award-winning HD and DVR technology including 1080p Video on Demand and the DuoDVR(TM) ViP(R) 722 DVR, a CNET and PC Magazine "Editors' Choice." DISH Network is included in the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) and is a Fortune 250 company. Visit www.dishnetwork.com.

About EchoStar Technologies L.L.C.

EchoStar Technologies L.L.C. is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (Nasdaq: SATS), which provides equipment sales, digital broadcast operations, and satellite services. EchoStar has 25 years of experience designing, developing and distributing advanced award-winning set-top boxes and related products for pay television providers. The company includes a network of 10 full-service digital broadcast centers and leased fiber optic capacity with points of presence in approximately 160 cities. EchoStar also delivers satellite services from eight owned and leased in-orbit satellites and related FCC licenses. Visit www.echostar.com for more information.

About Space Services

Space Services, Inc. is a Houston-based aerospace company and a leader in public participation spaceflight. Space Services, Inc. heritage encompasses nearly 30 years of leadership in private sector space missions and applications including the first ever private launch into outer space, the first ever memorial spaceflight, and several high visibility public space missions for science, education and entertainment. This orbit allows EchoStar 11 to remain at the same position above the Earth 24 hours a day. The DISH Earth camera on EchoStar 11 is operated under a license from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

About Ecliptic

Pasadena, Calif.-based Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation is the world's leading provider of video systems for use with rockets and spacecraft. Since 1997 its rugged RocketCam(TM) systems have been successfully launched onboard 62 rockets and 4 spacecraft, including EchoStar 11. Three NASA lunar spacecraft will carry RocketCam to the Moon during the next three years. Visit http://www.eclipticenterprises.com.

SOURCE DISH Network Corporation

http://www.dishnetwork.com


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## jimmyv2000 (Feb 15, 2007)

what a waste of bandwith if you ask me


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## stanggt03 (Jun 13, 2006)

Sounds kinda cool to me. Something interesting to flip to when you only have a couple of minutes and don't wanna get engrossed in something. You KNOW they'll be making money off selling stock footage from the stream.


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## Koz (Sep 16, 2006)

This will be very cool during hurricane season.


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## ka8zay (Feb 12, 2009)

I think this is a GREAT idea, I can't wait for it to start showing up in my system.


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## jsk (Dec 27, 2006)

Ah. That's why they moved C-SPAN 2. I figured that we would get C-SPAN 3 on 212. This will be kind of cool to see a live view of the earth though.

As for the pictures they have for sale, they have options for nice frames, but it has the Dish Network & Space Services logos on the front of them which kind of detracts from the look of it (not that I don't like the logos, just not on something that I would give to someone as a gift).


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## blackwhole (Apr 12, 2007)

Surprised no one has asked this yet:

Is it HD?


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## Dario33 (Dec 15, 2008)

Interesting concept -- will be curious to see how it pans out.


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## Brandon428 (Mar 21, 2007)

Koz said:


> This will be very cool during hurricane season.


Yeah,now I can watch it destroy my house from afar:lol:


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## ka8zay (Feb 12, 2009)

blackwhole said:


> Surprised no one has asked this yet:
> 
> Is it HD?


camera facts:

* Two identical cameras mounted in radiation-protective aluminum housing on spacecraft earth-face deck. Cameras have 12mm focal length lenses.
* Resolution is approximately 25km/pixel and the output is 720 x 486 pixel NTSC.
* Image quality and rate are configurable on-orbit, with 3 modes.
* Modes for 400kbp/s (recommended default/clear sky), 150kbp/s (medium rain fade), and 25kbp/s (heavy rain fade)
* Imagery is continuously archived at EchoStar's Uplink Facilities.


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

Where can I subscribe to PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network?


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## RollTide1017 (Oct 12, 2008)

Who wants to look at an SD image to the Earth? If DiSH really wanted to be innovative, they would have mounted an HD camera on the thing.


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## ka8zay (Feb 12, 2009)

SD or not, for the first company to try something it will still be cool. Maybe in the future we will see improvements on new sats if this works out and shows an interest. Maybe it was a power consumption issue also, you know there are no 22,500Mi extension cords.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

It will be nice to have something to watch that doesn't have audio dropout and video pixelation and freezing.

I know it's cool to look at, but I do wonder how it's going to help me more than being able to get this with just one click:


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## ka8zay (Feb 12, 2009)

phrelin said:


> It will be nice to have something to watch that doesn't have audio dropout and video pixelation and freezing.
> 
> I know it's cool to look at, but I do wonder how it's going to help me more than being able to get this with just one click:


Maybe because that is a satellite image, not a picture from a camera of the entire earth. I recommend you check out the web site link to some images put together of what the satellite sees, its really quite impressive.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

ka8zay said:


> Maybe because that is a satellite image, not a picture from a camera of the entire earth. I recommend you check out the web site link to some images put together of what the satellite sees, its really quite impressive.


Oh, I looked and it is impressive. And I'm going to get it at "no extra cost" with my Dish subscription payments which were intended to go towards nearly flawless HD TV signals.

So what's this going to do for me, again?


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## Lincoln6Echo (Jul 11, 2007)

Anybody notice the irony with the Channel number, 212? one channel above NASA-TV at 213?


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## DustoMan (Jul 16, 2005)

I wonder if they could make 3D images since the cameras are right next to eachother like that.


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## tnsprin (Mar 16, 2003)

Plenty of such pictures are available from the various weather sites. Not sure what advantage this video will have.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

As long as the expense for this this doesn't keep Charlie from dropping some coins for FX and SPEED in HD this Summer, I guess his toys are ok, but that's what it is - a cool toy for grownups.


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## ka8zay (Feb 12, 2009)

tnsprin said:


> Plenty of such pictures are available from the various weather sites. Not sure what advantage this video will have.


What weather sites have a still camera of the EARTH from 22K Miles like this one again? The only time I can come across images like these are from the space station and shuttle images. Not sure there is a weather site where I can actually see what is going on around us and even see things floating by in space.


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## JohnH (Apr 22, 2002)

It is here.


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## dennispap (Feb 1, 2007)

It is live on 212. Nice classical music


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## stanggt03 (Jun 13, 2006)

Ok. I'm disappointed. I was expecting HD.


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## ejjames (Oct 3, 2006)

For those of us with directv, is there a link to any stills
/


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## Michael P (Oct 27, 2004)

> The DISH Earth camera was developed by the EchoStar Spacecraft Operations Team, Ecliptic Enterprises Corporation of Pasadena, CA, and Space Systems/Loral *and is operated under a license granted by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)*.


:eek2: The NOAA has the copyright on pictures of the Earth?!? Mother Earth should be in the public domain. Oh wait, it must be the weather pattern observed by the camera that need the NOAA's license. Sheesh, what's this world coming to?


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## russ9 (Jan 28, 2004)

Well, it's cool, but I can't find the zoom in button on the remote......



> "What's more, from time to time, the DISH Earth camera is able to capture some unique images, including an unidentified flying object last August."


So, it can see in to the past?


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## Brandon428 (Mar 21, 2007)

It needs to be HD. Also is it capable of zooming?


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## garys (Nov 4, 2005)

russ9 said:


> Well, it's cool, but I can't find the zoom in button on the remote......


Format button near the bottom of the remote.


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## Michael P (Oct 27, 2004)

garys said:


> Format button near the bottom of the remote.


Only works on HD channels


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## garys (Nov 4, 2005)

stanggt03 said:


> Ok. I'm disappointed. I was expecting HD.


It would look a lot better in HD. Looks like if you watch it too long, it will put one to sleep.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

ka8zay said:


> What weather sites have a still camera of the EARTH from 22K Miles like this one again? The only time I can come across images like these are from the space station and shuttle images. Not sure there is a weather site where I can actually see what is going on around us and even see things floating by in space.


Everything you say is true, but I'm not planning on ducking any space junk any time soon, or ever.

This GOES-West image means more to me:










And I'm sure this GOES-East image means more to others:










And the government actually uses these for something. I'm too practical to share Charlie's enthusiasm for an image of the Earth from a geosynchronous orbit satellite accompanied by music which he's apparently attempting to pay for by selling "commorative photos" at the Give the World web site.


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## garys (Nov 4, 2005)

Michael P said:


> Only works on HD channels


It works on all channels.


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## russ9 (Jan 28, 2004)

garys said:


> Format button near the bottom of the remote.


Yeah, I know about that one, I want the one that works like Google Earth.
(I guess I one of these would have helped:


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## dreadlk (Sep 18, 2007)

Nice idea but I am not sure it's really going to be a winner.
I think that they could have just bought up some NOAA images and created a kind of quick play thing that loops through 2 hours of images in 10 seconds. Directv could match them by doing that and have a more interesting channel. IMO seeing it real time must be soooo boring, gosh even a hurricane would take hours of watching the screen just to see a small amount of movement.


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## opus74 (Mar 8, 2006)

Cool Pix....and I finally have a music channel (Sirius Pops) with my TurboHD Bronze only package.


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## ka8zay (Feb 12, 2009)

opus74 said:


> Cool Pix....and I finally have a music channel with my TurboHD Bronze only package.


+1


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## russ9 (Jan 28, 2004)

Okay, so now the earth looks like a half moon....


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## razorbackfan (Aug 18, 2002)

Uh oh...


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## JohnH (Apr 22, 2002)

Looks like some Stars showing to the right.


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## HDftw (Jul 12, 2008)

Brandon428 said:


> Yeah,now I can watch it destroy my house from afar:lol:


Lol, hahah. I think I'm going to wait for U.F.O.s


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

I like it. It's different and in real-time (well, almost). I won't spend any great amount of time per sitting, but then, I don't spend any great amount of time contemplating other slow-moving objects.


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## music_beans (Mar 21, 2003)

jimmyv2000 said:


> what a waste of bandwith if you ask me


I haven't seen it yet (Im stuck at college with cable) but I actually think this channel is a very good idea. It would be interesting to see the Earth from that high up in the sky whenever you want to.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Looks like the moon is up to the left at this very moment. But it is moving so don't expect to see it there for long.


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## Deke Rivers (Jan 8, 2007)

really gotta wonder what the point is for any satellite provider in adding more SD channels nowadays? Especially one as lame as this


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## ka8zay (Feb 12, 2009)

Looks like Christmas all over now, must be the way the sun's light is reflecting off the lens, but you see green and red and blue dots all over the image now.


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## ka8zay (Feb 12, 2009)

Deke Rivers said:


> really gotta wonder what the point is for any satellite provider in adding more SD channels nowadays? Especially one as lame as this


Gota tell ya most people still could care less about HD (not likely anyone on here reading this though). Its just TV to a lot of people out there. Most of my friends don't care if they watch a show in HD or SD. Now I am not that way but I'm the picky A*Hole type of person who has to have everything perfect though.


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## Slamminc11 (Jan 28, 2005)

Deke Rivers said:


> really gotta wonder what the point is for any satellite provider in adding more SD channels nowadays? Especially one as lame as this


Dish has 13+ million customers. Between 11 and 12 million of those customers have SD only programming. The other 1-2 million of those have either a combination or HD only. Maybe that is why they added an SD channel...


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## FastNOC (Sep 11, 2007)

I can't believe how much crying there is in this thread. lol wow.

And yes, they should put it on a format 80% of their customer base doesn't get. Great idea


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## JohnH (Apr 22, 2002)

JohnH said:


> Looks like some Stars showing to the right.


Must be spots on the camera or housing since they have not moved.


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## RollTide1017 (Oct 12, 2008)

JohnH said:


> Must be spots on the camera or housing since they have not moved.


It also could be light reflecting off of other satellites.


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## jerbear4 (Dec 19, 2005)

oooh the Earth Channel is a life long dream come true. Now I can spend hours and hours of watching the earth. With that channel who needs anything else. Good job at using that channel space wisely.


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## solmakou (Mar 6, 2009)

This channel looks very intriguing to me as a sleep aid and is the probably the straw that is bringing me over.

Are people always this irritable for a channel launch that they don't watch? I personally don't watch 90% of the channels out there like many of you but I have to believe that someone is watching "MTV" and "TBN" while I don't see them in my programming guide. If you don't like the channel can't you just skip it?


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## Deke Rivers (Jan 8, 2007)

FastNOC said:


> I can't believe how much crying there is in this thread. lol wow.
> 
> And yes, they should put it on a format 80% of their customer base doesn't get. Great idea


and I cant beleive the amount of people that think this channel is a plus..so where did you pull that 80 % number from? let me guess


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## Deke Rivers (Jan 8, 2007)

Slamminc11 said:


> Dish has 13+ million customers. Between 11 and 12 million of those customers have SD only programming. The other 1-2 million of those have either a combination or HD only. Maybe that is why they added an SD channel...


aahh more assumed statistics..


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## Phil T (Mar 25, 2002)

When do we get the moon channel?


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## JohnH (Apr 22, 2002)

Well, certainly could not fit an HD channel in that space. Can't think of any other free channels which would fit unless a slow moving dreaded shopping channel would.


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## willc (Apr 26, 2008)

Deke Rivers said:


> and I cant beleive the amount of people that think this channel is a plus..so where did you pull that 80 % number from? let me guess


 Remember, 65% of the stats found on message forums are made up. :grin:


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## Deke Rivers (Jan 8, 2007)

:lol:


willc said:


> Remember, 65% of the stats found on message forums are made up. :grin:


:lol:


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## Aransay (Jun 19, 2006)

sd chaenl are wwelcoem always ut if they can irmpvoe the quility i oeyul dbe eber

thechanel has ben fta n eh aps and likos nice ut isbroin , sjua few secosn x


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## JJJBBB (May 26, 2007)

It will be fun and games until somebody spots a UFO, then all hell will break loose, license pulled, congress summons Charlie, it just seems like really bad idea. Maybe a time delay so NASA can edit the inevitable sitings?


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## JohnH (Apr 22, 2002)

A UFO was spotted last August.


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

phrelin said:


> Oh, I looked and it is impressive. And I'm going to get it at "no extra cost" with my Dish subscription payments which were intended to go towards nearly flawless HD TV signals.
> 
> So what's this going to do for me, again?


Nada!


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

Deke Rivers said:


> really gotta wonder what the point is for any satellite provider in adding more SD channels nowadays? Especially one as lame as this


+1


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## BJK (Feb 21, 2007)

One more channel added to my "Locked Channel List".

BJK


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## dennispap (Feb 1, 2007)

Michael P said:


> Only works on HD channels


:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:


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## Lincoln6Echo (Jul 11, 2007)

HDG said:


> I like it. It's different and in real-time (well, almost). I won't spend any great amount of time per sitting, but then, I don't spend any great amount of time contemplating other slow-moving objects.


Yeah, the pictures update every 15 seconds...however it's not every 15 second mark of the clock...so for example, one pic will be at :53, the next at :08


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## Lincoln6Echo (Jul 11, 2007)

Aransay said:


> sd chaenl are wwelcoem always ut if they can irmpvoe the quility i oeyul dbe eber
> 
> thechanel has ben fta n eh aps and likos nice ut isbroin , sjua few secosn x


I'm sorry...what was that again? Didn't get the last part of the first sentence, and the second makes no sense whatsoever.


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## nmetro (Jul 11, 2006)

I used to work at a satellite providers and always liked watching pictures of the Earth from space. Considering DISH already had cameras pointed to the Earth; it makes sense to at least get a birds eye view of the western hemisphere. It also could be useful to tracking large storms.

On the negative side, as night time crosses about 1/2 the Earth, the camera does not adjust its iris to reduce sun glare, which makes the picture look more like watching a total solar eclipse. If DISH could monitor the channel and reduce the glare; we might be able to see a night image of the western hemisphere as well.

For those who do not like the channel, then we take the Earth view for granted. It was in 1968 that the people of Earth got to see the Earth rise from the moon (Apollo 8) for the first time. It was awe inspiring then and it is still today. If nothing else, with the current economic turmoil; it is a good channel to escape to just to decompress.


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

Lincoln6Echo said:


> Yeah, the pictures update every 15 seconds...however it's not every 15 second mark of the clock...so for example, one pic will be at :53, the next at :08


Maybe they borrowed a timer from a 622.


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## FastNOC (Sep 11, 2007)

Deke Rivers said:


> and I cant beleive the amount of people that think this channel is a plus..so where did you pull that 80 % number from? let me guess


Well, if you want to cry about it, there's nobody stopping you. but there's this amazing trick that Dish came out with. it's called a remote, where you can SKIP channels you don't like. Most times it's better than putting the effort of whining in on a forum.

By the way, the entire DVR penetration is only about 35%. And if you'd do some research you'd know the answers. instead of just blurting out dumb insinuations

It just seems childish and self indulgent to whine about something that has no affect whatsoever on you.


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## RWar24 (Mar 7, 2009)

We can't get Speed HD, but we can watch the earth.. Glad to see the priorities are in order. Ugh!


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## music_beans (Mar 21, 2003)

BJK said:


> One more channel added to my "Locked Channel List".
> 
> BJK


What for? I see no problem with the Earth Channel at all.


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## retexan599 (Aug 1, 2006)

Thanks for this posting. As another 'old geezer', I am amazed to see another awe-inspiring view of our planet from space. 

Psalms 19:1. 
"The heavens declare the glory of God,
the vault of heaven proclaims his handiwork..."

Psalms 33:13. 
"From heaven Yahweh looks down, he sees all the children of Adam;from the place where he sits, he watches all who dwell on the earth....

Maybe those Psalmists had some insight after all....


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## Slamminc11 (Jan 28, 2005)

RWar24 said:


> We can't get Speed HD, but we can watch the earth.. Glad to see the priorities are in order. Ugh!


Dish owns the satellite. Dish owns the camera. Dish owns the channel slot that DISH Earth is showing on so no negotiations for carriage. 
Dish doesn't own Speed HD, Dish doesn't choose the price it is being sold at to carry, a bit tougher to negotiate a carriage agreement than with DISH Earth.


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## solmakou (Mar 6, 2009)

Slamminc11 said:


> Dish owns the satellite. Dish owns the camera. Dish owns the channel slot that DISH Earth is showing on so no negotiations for carriage.
> Dish doesn't own Speed HD, Dish doesn't choose the price it is being sold at to carry, a bit tougher to negotiate a carriage agreement than with DISH Earth.


+1


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## SATL382G (Jan 7, 2009)

I like it.

And at only 4 frames a minute and an existing audio feed the bandwidth used is miniscule.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I suspect there is no uplink either.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Slamminc11 said:


> Dish owns the satellite. Dish owns the camera. Dish owns the channel slot that DISH Earth is showing on so no negotiations for carriage.


And Charlie chose to put out the money for the cameras on the satellite, pay for the operation of the cameras, and pay for the costs to send the feed to me and all other subscribers using monies derived from our subscription payments. So there appears to be some loose change somewhere at Dish when the time comes this summer to renegotiate with News Corp. I think is wonderful to know, as I was afraid I'd not only not get FX in HD, but might lose FX in SD.

(Yeah, yeah, I know that the camera costs were committed prior to Dish's economic collapse, but the ongoing costs are still there.):nono2:


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

SATL382G said:


> I like it.
> 
> And at only 4 frames a minute and an existing audio feed the bandwidth used is miniscule.
> 
> Correct me if I'm wrong but I suspect there is no uplink either.


As an SD channel the bandwidth is minimal. It *IS* uplinked as part of the mux for the transponders it is on ... to both 110 and 77. The pictures you see are downlinked via a special telemetry channel at slow speed. Having this channel available certainly is easier than figuring out how to receive and decode the slow scan video. 

BTW: I believe DISH could put up a free porn channel and some would still complain that it wasn't Speed HD or FX HD. People want what they want ... and even the best channel in the world won't satisfy if it is not the one they wanted. Adding this channel does not prevent the addition of any other channel.

BTW2: What ongoing costs? The cameras are there ... they could turn them off but what would it save?


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## Mr-Rick (Dec 1, 2004)

nmetro said:


> I used to work at a satellite providers and always liked watching pictures of the Earth from space. Considering DISH already had cameras pointed to the Earth; it makes sense to at least get a birds eye view of the western hemisphere. It also could be useful to tracking large storms.
> 
> On the negative side, as night time crosses about 1/2 the Earth, the camera does not adjust its iris to reduce sun glare, which makes the picture look more like watching a total solar eclipse. If DISH could monitor the channel and reduce the glare; we might be able to see a night image of the western hemisphere as well.
> 
> For those who do not like the channel, then we take the Earth view for granted. It was in 1968 that the people of Earth got to see the Earth rise from the moon (Apollo 8) for the first time. It was awe inspiring then and it is still today. If nothing else, with the current economic turmoil; it is a good channel to escape to just to decompress.


Exactly. I think it is neat. I don't understand why people are so bent out of shape over it. For those of you complaining about bandwidth and cost, start your own satellite service and run it the way you like.


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## jerbear4 (Dec 19, 2005)

I am curious if that channel could actually leave a burn out mark on the tv from where it shows the sun shining upon the Earth.


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## fredp (Jun 2, 2007)

James Long said:


> BTW: I believe DISH could put up a free porn channel and some would still complain that it wasn't Speed HD or FX HD. People want what they want ... and even the best channel in the world won't satisfy if it is not the one they wanted. Adding this channel does not prevent the addition of any other channel.


... and it doesn't do much for it either. Yeah it free but who would pay for it. Let me know when this "SD" channel becomes more requested then SPEED or FX.


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## TulsaOK (Feb 24, 2004)

jerbear4 said:


> I am curious if that channel could actually leave a burn out mark on the tv from where it shows the sun shining upon the Earth.


:lol:


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

jerbear4 said:


> I am curious if that channel could actually leave a burn out mark on the tv from where it shows the sun shining upon the Earth.


I had the same thought ... and did see a little afterglow when changing to a solid color channel. I suggest that one enjoy this channel in the daylight.


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## JohnH (Apr 22, 2002)

Do not watch for extended periods on your CRT projectors(RPT or otherwise).


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## samhevener (Feb 23, 2006)

Deke Rivers said:


> and I cant beleive the amount of people that think this channel is a plus


Thomas Edison would have loved it.:sure:


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## jerbear4 (Dec 19, 2005)

What does that comment you posted to my remark have to do with my comment TulsaOK? "Life is hard and harder if you are stupid".


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## TulsaOK (Feb 24, 2004)

jerbear4 said:


> What does that comment you posted to my remark have to do with my comment TulsaOK? "Life is hard and harder if you are stupid".


Well, the part you quoted is called a "sig". The post was ":lol:". 
I ":lol:'ed" thinking of someone who would watch that channel long enough to burn their screen.


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## ZBoomer (Feb 21, 2008)

The geek in me finds this channel extremely cool; I mean come on, it's like you're sitting on the satellite looking back at Earth. Just seeing the vantage point of a satellite in real-time I find very interesting and fascinating, even if you don't see a lot happening in real time.

Oh well, I think it's cool as hell.


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## billsharpe (Jan 25, 2007)

JohnH said:


> Do not watch for extended periods on your CRT projectors(RPT or otherwise).


I can't imagine anyone watching this channel for extended periods 

However I might tune to it, turn off the TV, and listen to the classical music through my stereo set.


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

BJK said:


> One more channel added to my "Locked Channel List".
> 
> BJK


Yep that channel is locked! I wonder what Charlie was thinking.


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## solmakou (Mar 6, 2009)

Amazing time we live in, everything is amazing and everyone is unhappy.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

No matter how amazing it might be, between now and May 24 how many _hours_ of total viewing by Dish subscribers is this thing going to get? And would anyone choose Dish over cable or DirecTV because of it?

Paying for the Earth Channel doesn't make me unhappy. But Dish Network, unlike the technology company Echostar, is a retail service company that is sitting on the edge of financial non-viability.

It's management makes mundane financial decisions that make me worry about my TV signal subscription choice and could make me very unhappy in the long run. Those decisions do amaze me though, and not in a good way.


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## BillJ (May 5, 2005)

For half the day it's more like a bad abstract painting than Earth. A combination of glaring white and black or all black. Image is really only useful when the full disk is illuminated. People who work all day will only see Earth on weekends. 

OTOH, I switched to it early this AM and was rewarded with Dylan's "Tangled Up in Blue", which was a nice way to start the day. Apparently they're going to use a variety of Sirius channels for the background music.


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## ka8zay (Feb 12, 2009)

Slamminc11 said:


> Dish owns the satellite. Dish owns the camera. Dish owns the channel slot that DISH Earth is showing on so no negotiations for carriage.
> Dish doesn't own Speed HD, Dish doesn't choose the price it is being sold at to carry, a bit tougher to negotiate a carriage agreement than with DISH Earth.


LOL :hurah: I wonder what EARTH is getting per sub for its glory?


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## ka8zay (Feb 12, 2009)

phrelin said:


> It's management makes mundane financial decisions that make me worry about my TV signal subscription choice and could make me very unhappy in the long run. Those decisions do amaze me though, and not in a good way.


God gave you free will, you can always move on if you hate it that much. But come on, this doesn't cost DISH squat, your money isn't even in play here. It is not uncommon for sat's to have camera's on them, its just the first time anyone has made them public. Oh and let's not forget the millions of young people and schools that might like it. Just cause your old and don't appreciate the earth doesn't mean everyone isn't in awe if it.


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## Slamminc11 (Jan 28, 2005)

This thread just goes to show that people which complain and ***** about anything if given the opportunity.


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## Dood (Mar 16, 2006)

Dool. Now I can watch for aliens to attack us.


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## fbara (Dec 22, 2008)

I'm calling this channel the 'Watch Aliens Attack' network, or WAA-TV for short. 

That way people who want to complain about E* have an aptly named channel to refer to......


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## tsmacro (Apr 28, 2005)

Slamminc11 said:


> This thread just goes to show that people will complain and ***** about anything if given the opportunity.


Absa-frickin-lutely! (+1)


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

OK. I give up. It's utterly amazing. Nothing already available from NASA or NOAA was even close. And Dish allocated no funds earned from subscriber revenue to make it happen and has diverted no paid engineer and tech time of employees (who could have been working on technical problems that it doesn't have) to uplink this relaxing video stream designed to put you to sleep. It was a freebie and we hope Dish will provide more interesting stuff like it instead of some HD TV channels that work flawlessly.

I'm old, yes. What I understand from experience is that if I were running Dish's engineering department I'd much rather fool around with this than discuss with local channel engineers whose fault it is that our signal is glitching. And if I were Charlie I'd find it more satisfying to spend money to have employees doing this rather than negotiate with Rupert Murdoch's minions for a contract renewal and for FX and SPEED in HD.

I'm a 20+ year customer of Echostar interested in Dish Network succeeding as a retail TV signal provider. That means focusing on what attracts and keeps new customers. As a comparison, we have Channel 212 while DirecTV has Channel 101. One's briefly interesting. The other is being developed specifically to broaden subscriber interest. So this month, we see the following news releases:


> DirecTV's unique channel 101 has inked a rare deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution to bring three critically acclaimed drama series
> back to television for the Wednesday lineup.
> 
> "Smith", "The Nine" and "Eyes" will return to primetime with never-before-seen episodes, commercial-free and in HD, on the 101 Network and DirecTV on DEMAND.





> DISH Network Corporation today announced the launch of DISH Earth, a channel exclusively available to DISH Network customers, offering dramatic live views of Earth 24 hours per day, including passing views of the moon, Venus, and even unidentified flying objects. DISH Network customers can experience the camera's live feed for free on Ch. 212 beginning this evening.
> 
> In addition to the live video footage, DISH Network has also partnered with Space Services, Inc. (SSI), a Houston-based aerospace company, to offer consumers photos of the planet on a loved one's special day via its Give the World(TM) service. The camera captures the cloud formations, storms, and the green and blue beauty of planet Earth forever in a nicely packaged photo frame to commemorate a birthday, wedding, anniversary or any memorable occasion. Regular photo pricing ranges from $29.95 to $99.95.


 You all tell me which business focus is going to actually attract customers. One is a news release from a TV entertainment oriented company and the other is a news release from a shopping channel company for techies.

I don't want to go somewhere else for service. And I also don't want to _*have to*_ go somewhere else for service.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

phrelin said:


> What I understand from experience is that if I were running Dish's engineering department I'd much rather fool around with this than discuss with local channel engineers whose fault it is that our signal is glitching. And if I were Charlie I'd find it more satisfying to spend money to have employees doing this rather than negotiate with Rupert Murdoch's minions for a contract renewal and for FX and SPEED in HD.


"This" is trivial. You make it sound like there are 100 employees working around the clock to get and keep the "Earth" channel on the air. "This" has been up since shortly after the launch of E10 on an internal channel on 110. The only difference now that it is public is that you know about it and you can see it. "This" required no negotiations, so those employees were not involved at all.

But don't let the facts stand in the way of a good rant.


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## Slamminc11 (Jan 28, 2005)

James Long said:


> "This" is trivial. You make it sound like there are 100 employees working around the clock to get and keep the "Earth" channel on the air. "This" has been up since shortly after the launch of E10 on an internal channel on 110. The only difference now that it is public is that you know about it and you can see it. "This" required no negotiations, so those employees were not involved at all.
> 
> But don't let the facts stand in the way of a good rant.


Like I said earlier...


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## dubber deux (Mar 8, 2009)

Here's an interesting thought. Remember that odd vid that was shown from one of the space shuttles some years ago, (a strange object (UFO) was shown moving in space and even the astronauts commented on it), afterwards NASA kept strict controls on pictures frequestly blacking out live feeds from the shuttles.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

James Long said:


> "This" is trivial. You make it sound like there are 100 employees working around the clock to get and keep the "Earth" channel on the air. "This" has been up since shortly after the launch of E10 on an internal channel on 110. The only difference now that it is public is that you know about it and you can see it. "This" required no negotiations, so those employees were not involved at all.
> 
> But don't let the facts stand in the way of a good rant.


I won't.

I'll just keep on my one-customer campaign, badgering Dish Network to become more competitive _in the business it's in_ and reminding customers that Dish Network is no longer Echostar, the cool technology company, that still has liquid assets unlike Dish Network.

I never said anyone spent much time on this after the satellite got there and camera worked. They did spend a small amount of time uplinking it and handling the news release. But all these decisions and most of the costs were likely made before Echostar spun off Dish Network.

My desire is to have Dish management and employees focused on what Dish Network is about, a retail home _entertainment_ service provider. In the future I would prefer to see Charlie and the guys play with their technology toys on Echostar's nickle.


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## jsk (Dec 27, 2006)

For those of you saying it is a waste of bandwidth, I doubt it is taking much bandwidth. It is a SD signal of a still picture that updates every 15 seconds with audio. Also, the picture changes very little with each update. I'm sure it is highly compressed without anyone noticing.

This would be a good channel for Charlie to fool around with on April Fool's day  He could superimpose a picture of the TARDIS moving toward earth or maybe have the Earth blowing up into a million pieces.


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## Slamminc11 (Jan 28, 2005)

jsk said:


> For those of you saying it is a waste of bandwidth, I doubt it is taking much bandwidth. It is a SD signal of a still picture that updates every 15 seconds with audio. Also, the picture changes very little with each update. I'm sure it is highly compressed without anyone noticing.
> 
> This would be a good channel for Charlie to fool around with on April Fool's day  He could superimpose a picture of the TARDIS moving toward earth or maybe have the Earth blowing up into a million pieces.


Now if the the Doctor flew by in the TARDIS, that would be cool!


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## JackDobiash (Jul 20, 2005)

I recorded a couple of 8 hour segments of the channel, it only takes about 3.5GB of space for each 8 hour period (usually an SD program takes about 1GB for each hour). Running it at 300x actually looks pretty cool.


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

jsk said:


> For those of you saying it is a waste of bandwidth, I doubt it is taking much bandwidth. It is a SD signal of a still picture that updates every 15 seconds with audio. Also, the picture changes very little with each update. I'm sure it is highly compressed without anyone noticing.
> 
> This would be a good channel for Charlie to fool around with on April Fool's day  He could superimpose a picture of the TARDIS moving toward earth or maybe have the Earth blowing up into a million pieces.


Now that would be _*entertainment*_.:lol:


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## Michael P (Oct 27, 2004)

garys said:


> It works on all channels.


True, if you have an HD set hooked up. I have an SD set hooked via S-video, so no zoom for me on any SD feeds.


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

Everyone has missed the point -- the Earth channel is the ultimate homeland security camera -- it allows you to keep an eye on your country from anywhere on the interweb. Using Dish _Super-Duper_ zoom I can even see _my_ house from here!

See someone prowling around my back door, I call the cops! How cool is that?! :icon_cool


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

Must be one heck of a zoom. Most of the time I can barely make out where California is.:scratch:


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

It is the same zoom they use on all the cop shows to turn grainy security camera images into high def.


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## ZBoomer (Feb 21, 2008)

Yeah, where you can read a license plate, which has been reflected off a water puddle, then a store window, then on someone's glasses, from a mile away? lol


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

Next week - on CSI: Dish Network......


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## rtd2 (Oct 2, 2006)

Awesome! Thanks Dish!


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## portagent (Jan 5, 2006)

OK so should I focus my TV or what?
Looks like a big blob over a flashlight.http://www.dbstalk.com/images/smilies/frown.gif Maybe if I squint ...... Nope still a blob !http://www.dbstalk.com/images/smilies/scream.gif


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## JohnH (Apr 22, 2002)

Maybe if you take your thumb out of the way, so you can see the picture.


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## audiomaster (Jun 24, 2004)

Actually I suspect the NSA has the copyright to earth images so we can't see where thier sats are at any given time! But I wonder if we looked at the right time and at the right sun angle, we could see the International Space Station going by far below? Probably would be just a glint of light.


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## olguy (Jan 9, 2006)

This is a fun thread to read. But here's a curiosity question. The music on Ch 212 is The Bridge on Ch 6033. Does that mean Charlie pays for it twice since he's broadcasting it twice? Not that it makes a fat rat's patooty one way or the other. I now have 6033 as the channel my Harmony One tunes to when I click the Music button. As well as all the On buttons. Likes me some good music whilst browsing the DVR list, guide, etc. Gives my old brain a few seconds to get tuned in to watching TV.

Speaking of On buttons, who else remembers and was a subscriber to On? Not to hijack this very enlightening thread:lol:


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## JohnMI (Apr 2, 2002)

JackDobiash said:


> I recorded a couple of 8 hour segments of the channel, it only takes about 3.5GB of space for each 8 hour period (usually an SD program takes about 1GB for each hour). Running it at 300x actually looks pretty cool.


Indeed -- that's the first thing I did when the channel started -- recorded 8-10 hours of it and then, the next day, played it through at 300x. I thought it was pretty cool looking -- my wife teased me for being a geek. 

- John...


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## just_dave (Feb 25, 2009)

Any chance of seeing the Space Shuttle launch (or fly by) on DISH Earth? Now that would be cool! I think it would be hard given the distance of the camera, but maybe?- Dave


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## ZBoomer (Feb 21, 2008)

I kinda doubt it, but that would be awesome. I think the satellite is at over 22k miles up in geo orbit, the Shuttle will be a couple hundred miles up or something, quite a far ways down and a long ways to see.


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## jpk (Nov 5, 2008)

When you look at how they did it, it's very clever, and uses almost no bandwidth at all.


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

phrelin said:


> OK. I give up. It's utterly amazing. Nothing already available from NASA or NOAA was even close. And Dish allocated no funds earned from subscriber revenue to make it happen and has diverted no paid engineer and tech time of employees (who could have been working on technical problems that it doesn't have) to uplink this relaxing video stream designed to put you to sleep. It was a freebie and we hope Dish will provide more interesting stuff like it instead of some HD TV channels that work flawlessly.
> 
> I'm old, yes. What I understand from experience is that if I were running Dish's engineering department I'd much rather fool around with this than discuss with local channel engineers whose fault it is that our signal is glitching. And if I were Charlie I'd find it more satisfying to spend money to have employees doing this rather than negotiate with Rupert Murdoch's minions for a contract renewal and for FX and SPEED in HD.
> 
> ...


I'm with you!


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## eckertman (May 20, 2005)

James Long said:


> "This" is trivial. You make it sound like there are 100 employees working around the clock to get and keep the "Earth" channel on the air. "This" has been up since shortly after the launch of E10 on an internal channel on 110. The only difference now that it is public is that you know about it and you can see it. "This" required no negotiations, so those employees were not involved at all.
> 
> But don't let the facts stand in the way of a good rant.


You just said that the employees were involed. Now you say that they are not.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

eckertman said:


> You just said that the employees were involed. Now you say that they are not.


Those employees, the ones involved in negotiations.


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## SayWhat? (Jun 7, 2009)

Quite phrankly, I don't give a phlying phart about HD and I'd rather that Charley spend my nickles on something like this. I'm more annoyed with them using my subscrtiption money to carry 47,000 channels of ESPN, ESPN Spanish, ESPN Alternates, NBA, NBA Alternates, NHL, NHL Alternates, Alternate Alternates, etc., etc., etc., .......


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## Henry (Nov 15, 2007)

SayWhat? said:


> Quite phrankly, I don't give a phlying phart about HD and I'd rather that Charley spend my nickles on something like this. I'm more annoyed with them using my subscrtiption money to carry 47,000 channels of ESPN, ESPN Spanish, ESPN Alternates, NBA, NBA Alternates, NHL, NHL Alternates, Alternate Alternates, etc., etc., etc., .......


Unfortunately, it's the other subscriber's money (nickles?) as well. They enjoy and welcome those channels. I have to think they form the majority of subscribers to boot. _(Of course, I have no way of proving that.)_

I don't watch sports either, but if the $$$ support Dish gets from the sports subscribers allows them to give me more of the TV I like, who am I to complain?


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## roccojs (Jun 10, 2009)

I just re-registered to say dish earth is awesome. I watch it 2-3 times per day.


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## Paul Secic (Dec 16, 2003)

roccojs said:


> I just re-registered to say dish earth is awesome. I watch it 2-3 times per day.


Why??


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## phrelin (Jan 18, 2007)

roccojs said:


> I just re-registered to say dish earth is awesome. I watch it 2-3 times per day.


Are you a zen master?:grin:


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## david91722 (Oct 10, 2010)

Does anyone know why the Dish Earth channel is no longer available?


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## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

david91722 said:


> Does anyone know why the Dish Earth channel is no longer available?


All reports I have read so far say the camera quit working.

I actually think the last pictures transmitted showed a little bugeyed dude trying to use his ATM card,when it didn't pay up,he beat the heck out of it.:eek2:

We did report it to the Men In Black division.

Or they just don't want us to see those 15 mile wide space ships coming for us(Independence Day).:eek2:


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## Ray [email protected] Network (Dec 28, 2010)

Effective October 29th, DISH Earth (Ch 287) will no longer be available due to the cameras being decommissioned. Thanks.



david91722 said:


> Does anyone know why the Dish Earth channel is no longer available?


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## ccrowe3 (Jun 24, 2010)

Ray [email protected] Network said:


> Effective October 29th, DISH Earth (Ch 287) will no longer be available due to the cameras being decommissioned. Thanks.


Are there any plans to bring it back in the future?


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## Michael P (Oct 27, 2004)

ccrowe3 said:


> Are there any plans to bring it back in the future?


Kinda hard to get a repairman up there 

Seriously that camera has been on 24/7 since the day E10 launched and had a daily bombardment of sunlight that overloaded the lens when the Sun was over the Pacific.

Here's an idea. Did they save any of the images over the years? How about a "best of The Earth Channel"? I recall someone saying that a UFO was once detected by this camera.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

I wonder if the permission to have the experimental camera expired? I'm too lazy to go back and find the launch authorization documents tonight ... but there may have been terms attached.


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## ggotch5445 (Sep 27, 2009)

As an avid amateur astronomer, I delighted in occasionally tuning in to the view of Earth from 22,000 miles away. 

I never got to glimpse Venus in the image, but I did see the moon on the opposite side of its orbit, from time to time.

And large weather systems were often quite fascinating to observe from that position/distance of the onboard camera.

I always thought that it was pretty neat for Dish to provide something that was likely to only appeal to a small viewership. A decision made without dollars ruling the reason why it was carried.


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## Ray [email protected] Network (Dec 28, 2010)

I haven't heard if it will be available with any future satellites. Thanks.



ccrowe3 said:


> Are there any plans to bring it back in the future?


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