# Is Al Jazeera America available in HD?



## ykseulb (Nov 7, 2014)

Is Al Jazeera America available in HD?

Thanks!


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

It seems to be available... I'm just not sure anyone carries it. It is frustrating to see Dish airing HD commercials for this channel and then only carrying the channel in SD.


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## Jaspear (May 16, 2004)

Just like Blaze TV. It _is_ available in HD as a few cable systems do carry the HD feed.


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

Yep... I knew Blaze was producing HD stuff for their Web service as well.

It's odd to me for Dish not to carry these in HD... and right now with the Turner dispute would be a great time for either or both of these channels to gain some ground on CNN if they were available in HD.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

DISH needs transponder space to carry the channels. They could use CNN and HLN's space ... but when the Turner channels return DISH will need that space for the Turner channels. It would be bad to have them in HD and then pull them.

AJA might attract more viewers if it was in HD, but at last report their ratings were “tiny to the point of immaterial” (per the Columbia Journalism Review). It is hard to support dedicating scarce HD resources for a channel that barely exists.


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## acostapimps (Nov 6, 2011)

I bet it would gain more viewers and higher ratings if it would be carried in HD.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

It (AJAM) and NASA are the only SD channels I ever tune into for any reason.


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## acostapimps (Nov 6, 2011)

I doubt if Directv would ever carry it in HD might even be dropped since their in a court battle with AJA for breaking the MFN deal for a better carriage deal with Time Warner.


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## kucharsk (Sep 20, 2006)

I think before we got those in HD we'd get the balance of the HBO/MAX channels in HD.


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## ykseulb (Nov 7, 2014)

James Long said:


> DISH needs transponder space to carry the channels. They could use CNN and HLN's space ... but when the Turner channels return DISH will need that space for the Turner channels. It would be bad to have them in HD and then pull them.
> 
> AJA might attract more viewers if it was in HD, but at last report their ratings were "tiny to the point of immaterial" (per the Columbia Journalism Review). It is hard to support dedicating scarce HD resources for a channel that barely exists.


I find it amazing that a huge satellite TV company like Dish has so little reserve transponders for additional HD channels. ???
Just launch another dozen new satellites and problems solved.(which will probably double our monthly bills  )


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## Stewart Vernon (Jan 7, 2005)

kucharsk said:


> I think before we got those in HD we'd get the balance of the HBO/MAX channels in HD.


Doubtful... The price of HBO/MAX will be the same whether we get those missing HD feeds or not... that's how that package is priced... so unless HBO "demands" it, Dish has no incentive to try and get those HD feeds.

I'm not against having them, mind you... but the reality at this point is adding another HD HBO/MAX channel wouldn't impact Dish by getting new subscribers as much as having an HD feed for another channel might entice people to jump up a programming tier would.


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## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

ykseulb said:


> I find it amazing that a huge satellite TV company like Dish has so little reserve transponders for additional HD channels. ???
> Just launch another dozen new satellites and problems solved.(which will probably double our monthly bills  )


You can't launch a satellite if you do not have transponder frequencies available and there is a limited supply of frequencies at each orbital location, so dish should have done its due diligence and not lost the 149 slot, they could have put up another WA/Alaska/Hawaii satellite there and had ample TPs.

Oh, and do you know how much a satellite costs to develop, build and launch - low 9 figures - maybe 250 million.


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## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

Jim5506 said:


> ... dish should have done its due diligence and not lost the 149 slot, they could have put up another WA/Alaska/Hawaii satellite there and had ample TPs.


148 had it's value ... I would not mind seeing an AK/HI only service from there. But 32 transponders is not enough for a full service system with HD. DISH turned its investment to the east where one dish can receive multiple locations. 62 transponders on 72.7 and 61.5 is easier to work with than 32 (the other transponders are not licensed by DISH and are used for testing under special temporary authority).

I did not like seeing 148 lost ... but looking back every DBS company abandoned their western locations (148, 157, 166, 175). Only DISH bothered to build out any of their assigned space on the original western locations. It made more financial sense to lease Canadian (72.7 and 129) and Mexican (77) space that could be used with single dishes than to maintain 148.


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## RG6-Q (Apr 21, 2013)

Al Jazeera America is the only channel I watch in SD and that is saying a lot. I called DISH and was given it for 3 months after the free preview. This is real news channel. Just my opinion.


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## djlong (Jul 8, 2002)

It's one of exactly TWO SD channels on my "Normal" guide list. The other is NASA. I would love to see them both in HD before any others are added.


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