# Press Release: Dish Network Outlines Upcoming HD Launch Schedule



## Rob Glasser

*DISH NETWORK® OUTLINES UPCOMING HD LAUNCH SCHEDULE*​
*Englewood, Colo., March 18, 2008* - DISH Network Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH), the nation's third-largest pay-TV provider, today confirmed that plans to enhance its HD programming line-up this spring remain on track, despite the launch anomaly experienced by the AMC-14 satellite on March 14.

Over the next two months, DISH Network will increase its local HD offering by more than 60 percent with the addition of HD broadcast networks in the following markets:

*April*

Abilene, TX
Austin, TX
Baltimore, MD
Columbia, SC
Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, MI
Ft. Myers, FL
Greensboro, NC
Milwaukee, WI
Orlando, FL
Providence, RI
Tampa, FL
West Palm Beach, FL

*May*

Beaumont, TX
Burlington, VT
Grand Rapids, MI
Green Bay, WI
Greenville, SC
Huntsville, AL
Knoxville, TN
Norfolk, VA
Richmond, VA

"DISH Network customers can be reassured that the expansion of our HD programming over the next few months will proceed as planned," said Charlie Ergen, Chairman, CEO and President of DISH Network. "We are fortunate to have two more satellites scheduled for launch later this year to continue our HD rollout and reach our year-end goal of 100 local HD markets and 100 national HD channels."

Upcoming national HD announcements may include the addition of ABC Family HD, AMC HD, BET HD, The Biography Channel HD, Bravo HD, Cartoon Network HD, CMT HD, CNN HD, Disney Channel HD, ESPN News HD, HBO2 HD, IFC HD, MGM HD, MoreMAX HD, MTV HD, Nickelodeon HD, Sci-Fi HD, Smithsonian Channel HD, Starz Edge HD, Tennis Channel HD, Superstation WGN HD, The Weather Channel HD, Toon Disney HD, USA Network HD and VH-1 HD.

For more information about DISH Network, call 1-800-333-DISH (3474), visit www.dishnetwork.com, or visit your local DISH Network retailer.

# # #​
*Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995*
Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements set forth above involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from any such statement, including the risks and uncertainties discussed in DISH Network Corporation's Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements included in its recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and DISH Network Corporation expressly disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

*About DISH Network Corporation*
DISH Network Corporation (Nasdaq: DISH) provides more than 13.78 million satellite TV customers with industry-leading customer satisfaction, which has surpassed major cable companies for seven years running. DISH Network customers also enjoy access to a premier line of award-winning Digital Video Recorders (DVRs), hundreds of video and audio channels, the most International channels in the U.S., industry-leading Interactive TV applications, Latino programming, and the best sports and movies in HD. DISH Network offers a variety of package and price options including the lowest all-digital price in America, the DishDVR Advantage Package, high-speed Internet service, and a free upgrade to the best HD DVR in the industry. DISH Network is included in the Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) and is a Fortune 300 company. Visit www.dishnetwork.com/aboutus or call 1-800-333-DISH (3474) for more information.


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## smendira

While there is obviously nothing set in stone with this, it is pretty clear that to Dish, additional local HD channels are higher priority than national HD channels. This isn't really news, other than some damage control for the launch anomaly.


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## bjs188

Wasn't it 150 national HD channels by the end of the year? Or did I mis-read?


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## Hunter Green

Woooooooooooooooooooot!


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## James Long

bjs188 said:


> Wasn't it 150 national HD channels by the end of the year? Or did I mis-read?


You mis-read. DISH promised 100 markets and 100 national HD channels by the end of 2008. This press release reaffirms that. You may be confusing DISH's "number of available markets" with DirecTV's capacity claim.

Why locals before nationals? Because that is the satellite they have in place. (E12/R1)

Dave, do you need the toll free number for how to subscribe to DirecTV or can you pull it off of their website?
Blame congress for the DMA restrictions. (DirecTV won't give you GR or SBN locals either, BTW.)


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## Stephen J

Why isn't Cleveland on that list? They have been uplinked?


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## Stewart Vernon

James hit the nail on the head... All things are not currently equal, so Dish has a greater opportunity to spotbeam new HD LiLs moreso than national CONUS HD channels. IF all things were equal, I don't know which way the priority would lean... but right now they can more "easily" add HD LiL.


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## James Long

Stephen J said:


> Why isn't Cleveland on that list? They have been uplinked?


They may be having issues with one of your local stations (contract problems).

Cleveland is assigned to a transponder (E12 1s10 in my book) and there is a "spotbeam" signal on TP1 at 61.5° for those who live within this beam (I'm getting signal strength 20 in the fringe - Northern Indiana). There is hope.



HDMe said:


> James hit the nail on the head... All things are not currently equal, so Dish has a greater opportunity to spotbeam new HD LiLs moreso than national CONUS HD channels. IF all things were equal, I don't know which way the priority would lean... but right now they can more "easily" add HD LiL.


OPINION: DISH is further behind on locals than nationals. Even without the AMC-14 problems, I expect that DISH would have pushed out the locals.

National HD is needed as well ... but it will come. No one has been able to answer the why question on nationals (since new channels ARE occupying space).


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## Stephen J

James Long said:


> They may be having issues with one of your local stations (contract problems).
> 
> Cleveland is assigned to a transponder (E12 1s10 in my book) and there is a "spotbeam" signal on TP1 at 61.5° for those who live within this beam (I'm getting signal strength 20 in the fringe - Northern Indiana). There is hope.
> 
> OPINION: DISH is further behind on locals than nationals. Even without the AMC-14 problems, I expect that DISH would have pushed out the locals.
> 
> National HD is needed as well ... but it will come. No one has been able to answer the why question on nationals (since new channels ARE occupying space).


I for one am getting sick and tire of hope. They should not have made the press release back in January, or talked about it if they did not have all of their ducks in a row. Now I am seriously thinking of going back to Time Warner. At least then I know that I can get my locals, and my RSN in HD. Right now STO HD is only at 129, which is too low for my area. I had e-mailed dish and asked if they were going to put it at 61.5, and they gave me the we don't know answer. I pay my bill, I should get the programming that I want.


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## jackienopay

Rob Glasser said:


> Upcoming national HD announcements may include


 [whiny rant]

This is a meaningless statement.

I just don't understand. My wife keeps asking me why we don't have SciFi when Cable and Directv have it and I keep telling her about all this good news I heard on dbstalk.com.

Thanks Ecostar, thanks Charlie, Thanks eighteen month contract.

[/whiny rant]


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## Rob Glasser

Before this thread spirals out of control, please keep the discussion related to the contents of the press release. This is not a new "gripe about Dish Network's HD lineup" thread. We already have one of those and it can be found here.

Thank you


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## swissy

Living in the Grand Rapids DMR, I am glad to see they are still planning on HD locals. I am currently OTA and it would be nice to have an HD backup instead of an SD one. 

In addition, D* offers locals but has no contract with LIN (local NBC and ABC). Therefore even if someone in our area switched, they would be missing 2 major networks.

Thank you dish for the locals and the recent agreement with LIN.

FX HD would be nice.


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## PeterB

They had listed Hartford, CT before, now its not even mentioned.


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## jgurley

This is great news. I've been following the thread re the problems with AMC-14 and was very concerned that Dish would not be able to offer the new HD when they planned to.

As far as additional locals are concerned, my area probably won't be covered until the last group is up and running, that's why I've been relying on OTA from the first day I got my 622. In fact, even if Dish offered locals in HD I would still use OTA and can't figure out why others don't as well. Heck, if I can pick up the majority of networks living in the mountains I feel certain those living in the "flatlands" could do at least as well.


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## peak_reception

Is there a map someone can link to which shows the local DMA (or DMR?) boundaries? 

For example, how far south does the Grand Rapids MI DMA extend? Three Rivers? 

And to the west, is South Haven included? Thx.


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## lionsrule

peak_reception said:


> Is there a map someone can link to which shows the local DMA (or DMR?) boundaries?
> 
> For example, how far south does the Grand Rapids MI DMA extend? Three Rivers?
> 
> And to the west, is South Haven included? Thx.


Put in your address on dish's website and it will tell you your dma

south haven, YES

I'm in lawton and I get gr locals


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## richiephx

It's truly amazing to me that people complain about E* when they don't communicate anything, unlike the way D* does, and, now people are complaining because they are communicating something, but it's not good enough and means nothing.


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## Earl Bonovich

richiephx said:


> It's truly amazing to me that people complain about E* when they don't communicate anything, unlike the way D* does, and, now people are complaining because they are communicating something, but it's not good enough and means nothing.


Good-Old Catch 22... Dammed if you Do.... Dammed if you don't.


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## BNUMM

peak_reception said:


> Is there a map someone can link to which shows the local DMA (or DMR?) boundaries?
> 
> For example, how far south does the Grand Rapids MI DMA extend? Three Rivers?
> 
> And to the west, is South Haven included? Thx.


Does not include Three Rivers. It includes Van Buren and Kalamazoo ( and I believe Calhoun ) counties and counties to the North.


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## James Long

Earl Bonovich said:


> Good-Old Catch 22... Dammed if you Do.... Dammed if you don't.


As predicted ...

Folks --- the gripe thread is thataway >>>>



BNUMM said:


> Does not include Three Rivers. It includes Van Buren and Kalamazoo ( and I believe Calhoun ) counties and counties to the North.


Three Rivers and Sturgis are in St Joseph County and ARE included in the Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo DMA.

http://ekb.dbstalk.com/TVMarkets/Maps/


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## BNUMM

I forgot they were in St. Joseph County. Thanks for catching the mistake.


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## peak_reception

Thanks everyone. That colorful map of the DMAs is fantastic! 

The entire State of Utah is one local DMA!


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## ncxcstud

If this holds true...maybe the fact that Dish Network will be offering HD locals in Columbia, SC that DirecTV will soon offer them as well  That would make me very happy


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## phrelin

> ...and 100 national HD channels."
> 
> Upcoming national HD announcements *may include *the addition of ABC Family HD, AMC HD, BET HD, The Biography Channel HD, Bravo HD, Cartoon Network HD, CMT HD, CNN HD, Disney Channel HD, ESPN News HD, HBO2 HD, IFC HD, MGM HD, MoreMAX HD, MTV HD, Nickelodeon HD, Sci-Fi HD, Smithsonian Channel HD, Starz Edge HD, Tennis Channel HD, Superstation WGN HD, The Weather Channel HD, Toon Disney HD, USA Network HD and VH-1 HD.


 Or may not. Or may include BBCA and FX. Or may not. What kind of silly wording is _*that*_.


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## kenyarnall

What's up with the Harrisburg, PA locals? This is a pretty densely populated region (certainly compared to the SC DMAs, for instance).

What's holding up HD in this area? Any ideas?


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## braven

kenyarnall said:


> What's up with the Harrisburg, PA locals? This is a pretty densely populated region (certainly compared to the SC DMAs, for instance).
> 
> What's holding up HD in this area? Any ideas?


You're not the first person to ask that. No one here will be able to answer it for you. Maybe you should send Charlie a daily email?


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## lionsrule

Earl Bonovich said:


> Good-Old Catch 22... Dammed if you Do.... Dammed if you don't.


NO, not damned if you do. What do you consider DO? I don't consider any statement with: may,might,we'll see,within a year, hopefully.....a STATEMENT. Anyone can say that.

Damned if you don't, YES. Damned if you do........no way. The statement regarding locals IS GREAT. Everything else is double talk and pointless.


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## Earl Bonovich

lionsrule said:


> NO, not damned if you do. What do you consider DO? I don't consider any statement with: may,might,we'll see,within a year, hopefully.....a STATEMENT. Anyone can say that.
> 
> Damned if you don't, YES. Damned if you do........no way. The statement regarding locals IS GREAT. Everything else is double talk and pointless.


You are then more of an exception then the rule.

What I was referring too....

A LOT of people read those statements and don't see the words... may, might, and subject to change...

People are going to complain about the announcements... and complain if they are not achieved to the T... (aka they don't read the part that things may change).

or

People are going to complain about the lack of announcements, and have no idea of what may happen.


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## James Long

Actually you were spot on Earl ...
"People" complained about the near total silence.

At CES DISH mentioned expanding to 100 national HD and 100 local HD markets by the end of the year ... no list or timetable. --- And "people" complained that there was no details.

Last week DISH during the Charlie Chat they provided the lists and a rough timetable. --- And "people" complained that the list of channels and markets DISH would like to add and the timetable was too vague.

This week DISH put it in writing for all to see (not just Charlie Chat fans) and made a stronger statement. --- And "people" still complain.​
No matter what DISH does "people" will complain ... so yes, DISH did 'do something' and they were damned by those "people" just as much (if not more) than when DISH was not 'doing something' public.


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## cjking

You people amaze me. Dish led the way in HD for a long, long, long time while Direct sat there with only 5 HD channels. Now Direct TEMPORARILY got ahead for a little bit and everyone is mad at DISH. When Dish gets their new satellite into position they will be right up there again with being the HD leader. They will figure out how to get the AMC 14 satellite into position afterall the company is not stupid.I don't mean to offend anybody here but it seems like a little set back and everyone is ready to switch. What happened to being loyal to a company that has been good to you in the past. For 2 years I watched commercials about Direct Tv saying 100 HD channels coming soon. If DIRECT customers waited 2 years watching only 5 HD channels I think us Dish customers can wait a couple extra months while we watch our 50 HD Channels. After all Dish still has a lot of HD channels so cheer up and be patient.


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## RAD

cjking said:


> You people amaze me. Dish led the way in HD for a long, long, long time while Direct sat there with only 5 HD channels. Now Direct TEMPORARILY got ahead for a little bit and everyone is mad at DISH. When Dish gets their new satellite into position they will be right up there again with being the HD leader. They will figure out how to get the AMC 14 satellite into position afterall the company is not stupid.I don't mean to offend anybody here but it seems like a little set back and everyone is ready to switch. What happened to being loyal to a company that has been good to you in the past. For 2 years I watched commercials about Direct Tv saying 100 HD channels coming soon. If DIRECT customers waited 2 years watching only 5 HD channels I think us Dish customers can wait a couple extra months while we watch our 50 HD Channels. After all Dish still has a lot of HD channels so cheer up and be patient.


Don't know where you came up with 5, I had HBO, Showtime, ESPN, ESPN2, Discovery HD Theater, TNT, Universal HD, HDNet and HDNet Movies, that's 9. Besides those national channels I also had ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC network feeds in HD so I had 13.

It will be interesting to see how they become the leader again when Dish says they'll have 100 national HD channels by the end of 2008 and DirecTV has 90 right now and will be adding a bunch more once DirecTV11 gets launched. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out between both companies this year.


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## booger

ncxcstud said:


> If this holds true...maybe the fact that Dish Network will be offering HD locals in Columbia, SC that DirecTV will soon offer them as well  That would make me very happy


We'll you'll be getting them a month sooner than us if the release schedule holds true. I'm in the Greenville area. I can wait until May. I just hope it's early May. Direct has been unloading sat dishes in the upstate since Direct added HD locals last year. I spoke with a neighbor of my parents yesterday. He had Direct installed last week. I asked him why he went with D. He said that Charter had only about 20 HD channels so no to them. When he compared Dish and Direct, he went to direct for his locals in HD. The guys at my local BB and CC are very informed of this information and make sure everyone hears it when shopping for hi-def programming.

At least this will stop the bleeding for Dish here in my area.

Keeping my fingers crossed.


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## carl066

I'm curious why Dish has chosen to add their HD locals and nationals in the already crowded Ku-Band and not expand into Ka-Band as D* has done. Several of the Dish owned or leased satellites have some Ka-Band transponders, but I'm not aware of Dish putting up channels.
In my working career, I sold mircowave equipment to the TV broadcasters, and the gear we made in the Ka-Band had limited range due to rain attenuation. So when I heard D* was lighting up channels on the upper band, I was skeptical of how reliable they'd be under adverse weather conditions. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Ka birds on 99 and 103 were less affected than the Ku signals on 101 when we experienced some really heavy rains last January.
I'll ask Charlie the question at his next chat and see what the reason is.


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## James Long

Before DirecTV turned on their service Charlie scoffed at Ka ... I believe it was on a Charlie Chat. DISH's focus has been on high powered DBS for the past couple of years. They tried the Ku FSS band (105 and 121) but moved away. It looks like internationals will be relegated to 118.7 but the rest of DISH seems to be staying DBS.

DISH has Ka assignments .. extended Ku assignments and is seeking "reverse DBS" assignments. They might need that bandwidth some day.


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## nitz369

Where's Las Vegas??

Many of the cities seems much smaller DMA than Vegas!


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## James Long

The last time I checked Las Vegas was out west.

DISH is working on using spotbeams at 61.5° for locals.
People in Las Vegas don't want their locals on 61.5°.
Their time will come.


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## phrelin

James Long said:


> Actually you were spot on Earl ...
> "People" complained about the near total silence.
> 
> At CES DISH mentioned expanding to 100 national HD and 100 local HD markets by the end of the year ... no list or timetable. --- And "people" complained that there was no details.
> 
> Last week DISH during the Charlie Chat they provided the lists and a rough timetable. --- And "people" complained that the list of channels and markets DISH would like to add and the timetable was too vague.
> 
> This week DISH put it in writing for all to see (not just Charlie Chat fans) and made a stronger statement. --- And "people" still complain.​
> No matter what DISH does "people" will complain ... so yes, DISH did 'do something' and they were damned by those "people" just as much (if not more) than when DISH was not 'doing something' public.


I'll always complain about lack of information. But sorry, I stand by my complaint about the words chosen in this last news release even though I applaud their effort to give more informaiton.

While the locals announcement was fairly clear given the general situation, the national HD announcement wording was silly.

"Upcoming national HD announcements may include...."

How about: "It is our intention to include in our upcoming national HD announcements...."

That would be more in keeping with the tone in the paragraph before: "...reach our year-end goal of...100 national HD channels."

But "announcements may include" sounds like somebody might forget to announce one. They need to rethink their news release department- find someone with strong writing skills.


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## James Long

> "Upcoming national HD announcements may include...."
> 
> How about: "It is our intention to include in our upcoming national HD announcements...."


One is too wordy ... the other isn't. They both mean the same thing - "We're not announcing anything, we're just sharing a list of channels that may be announced later."

If your writer is in the classifieds department they are apparently going for word count. "May be announced later" is simple.


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## lionsrule

what "people" are complaining about the LOCAL part of the Press Release?

Direct me to one thread or post?


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## PghGuy

While I am happy to see Dish make an announcement, I had to laugh (and question) the addition of "Cartoon Network HD", "Nickelodeon HD" and "DIsney Channel HD"? :grin: 

First let me say that I have two boys (4 & 2) who love these channels and as a result I think I could recite every episode every made of Handy Manny. But seriously, what is the benefit of having cartoon's in HD? Considering the age group that watches these channels, do you really think my 4 & 2 year old (or any child) really cares at all if there shows are in HD or not? Rarely do my kids watch their shows on my HDTV, most of the time they watch them on a smaller 27" non-hd television that I could care less about how many fingerprints end up on the screen. I personally see adding these channels in HD as a waste of bandwidth.


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## Kman68

Thanks for the update. Woo Hoo! I'm gettin' locals for NHL playoffs! Shame it won't be in time for March Madness. CBS is the only local HD channel I can not receive. Have two CBS affiliates locally. One is 67 miles away with 600 megawatt. The other is 52 miles away with 2 megawatt. Locals will arrive by Dish before transmission wattage is raised by law in 2009.

Edit: Found these screen shots from a "retailer Chat." Some locals might be a go in late March:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/attachment.php?attachmentid=22969&d=1205858632

http://www.satelliteguys.us/attachment.php?attachmentid=22970&d=1205858632

http://www.satelliteguys.us/attachment.php?attachmentid=22971&d=1205858632

http://www.satelliteguys.us/attachment.php?attachmentid=22972&d=1205858632


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## Stephen J

Kman68 said:


> Thanks for the update. Woo Hoo! I'm gettin' locals for NHL playoffs! Shame it won't be in time for March Madness. CBS is the only local HD channel I can not receive. Have two CBS affiliates locally. One is 67 miles away with 600 megawatt. The other is 52 miles away with 2 megawatt. Locals will arrive by Dish before transmission wattage is raised by law in 2009.
> 
> Edit: Found these screen shots from a "retailer Chat." Some locals might be a go in late March:
> 
> http://www.satelliteguys.us/attachment.php?attachmentid=22969&d=1205858632
> 
> http://www.satelliteguys.us/attachment.php?attachmentid=22970&d=1205858632
> 
> http://www.satelliteguys.us/attachment.php?attachmentid=22971&d=1205858632
> 
> http://www.satelliteguys.us/attachment.php?attachmentid=22972&d=1205858632


Again, no mention of Cleveland. I don't understand what happened. Up untill yesterday they have been repeadetly mentioned. They are even uplinked, while most of the rest of these markets haven't been.


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## James Long

Your guess is as good as anyone's, Stephen. Perhaps DISH read the forums, saw who wanted it and decided to personally tick those people off?


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## archer75

There are only 4 HD channels I want, I don't care about the rest. And Dish doesn't list two: FX HD and Travel Channel HD

Aside from those I want Sci FI and USA.


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## booger

archer75 said:


> There are only 4 HD channels I want, I don't care about the rest. And Dish doesn't list two: FX HD and Travel Channel HD
> 
> Aside from those I want Sci FI and USA.


As of a few weeks ago, Direct released a statement that they have no plans to add Travel Channel HD. I don't know what the 50 additional for Direct will be but since Cox cable owns the Travel Channel, who knows.


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## lionsrule

Earl Bonovich said:


> You are then more of an exception then the rule.
> 
> .


Thank you.

I've always thought of myself as rather exceptional.


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## lionsrule

PghGuy said:


> While I am happy to see Dish make an announcement, I had to laugh (and question) the addition of "Cartoon Network HD", "Nickelodeon HD" and "DIsney Channel HD"? :grin:
> 
> First let me say that I have two boys (4 & 2) who love these channels and as a result I think I could recite every episode every made of Handy Manny. But seriously, what is the benefit of having cartoon's in HD? Considering the age group that watches these channels, do you really think my 4 & 2 year old (or any child) really cares at all if there shows are in HD or not? Rarely do my kids watch their shows on my HDTV, most of the time they watch them on a smaller 27" non-hd television that I could care less about how many fingerprints end up on the screen. I personally see adding these channels in HD as a waste of bandwidth.


While I agree with parts of your comment (4 and 2 yr olds NOT caring about HD), I do NOT agree with dismissing the desire or quality of having cartoons in HD. I know that ALOT of the programs themselves will either be stretched/pillared uprezed sd, BUT true HD animation is beautiful. Even seen cars/shrek/incredibles/nemo etc in 1080i/720p? (let alone 1080p in bluray). It looks very NICE. IMO, the only type of programming that benefits more is sports. Disney will also have alot of live action stuff in HD. Although I am not the biggest fan of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 1&2, my wife and kids are, and it will look great in HD.

Finally, for those of us (like me) who have downgraded to HD only package, we essentially will be getting the major channels back for "free" while the rest of you pay more. (a topic for another thread=whether or not rates will go up soon for hd only package).

My 2 cents.....


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## ZBoomer

Come on Charlie, fire up the Austin HD locals.  I'm waiting...

Then I can record more than one local in HD at at time. Up to three then, woo hoo!

Plus maybe D will take those God-awful commercials off every radio station that play every 5 minutes touting their HD locals. I used to have D for YEARS, but would never go back thanks to their commercials, I just hate commercials that bash the opposition in a missleading way (Truck commercials are the worst). Just tell me what you got and let me make a decision.

(twiddling thumbs, counting down the minutes...)


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## PghGuy

lionsrule said:


> While I agree with parts of your comment (4 and 2 yr olds NOT caring about HD), I do NOT agree with dismissing the desire or quality of having cartoons in HD. I know that ALOT of the programs themselves will either be stretched/pillared uprezed sd, BUT true HD animation is beautiful. Even seen cars/shrek/incredibles/nemo etc in 1080i/720p? (let alone 1080p in bluray). It looks very NICE. IMO, the only type of programming that benefits more is sports. Disney will also have alot of live action stuff in HD. *Although I am not the biggest fan of HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 1&2, my wife and kids are, and it will look great in HD.*


Your last sentence summed up my entire point. I don't want to speak for your wife and kids but do they really care all that much that it is in HD? I have seen Cars & Nemo in HD and yes it does look good, but my point is the majority of the audience for these channels are probably indifferent to them being in HD or not. Again maybe I am wrong, but I would think if you took a survey on what HD channels people want added, these would probably not be anywhere near the top of the list.

Also remember that the movies you reference above were made in HD...do you really think there is going to be all that much content available in HD for these channels? A lot of the cartoons you are watching on these channels are anywhere from 3-5 years old (if not more). They don't need to have as much new content because kids can't tell the difference of when it was made...cartoons don't age, lol. It's not like all the programming is now going to be made in HD.


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## Jerryinva

Comments concerning the Travel CH. Like the WEATHER CH., Travel ch should be called THE ADVERTISING CH. Equator doesn't hve commercials or world championship poker. But, I would like to see Samantha Brown in HD.


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## davethestalker

ATHF in HD.

Watching Fox's animated Sunday night shows is much better on the OTA .1 channel compared to the muddy uplink the network is giving Dish to give us.


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## Lincoln6Echo

My local market is the *Cape Girardeou, MO - Paducah, KY* market, as I live in southeastern Illinois which is just slightly out of range of getting these OTA, and I pretty much suspect these won't be added until late this year, as D* just recently got it themselves.

But whenever they come, it'll be a Godsend as the current SD feeds of these channels is aweful. ABC is almost unwatchable (and that's my nearest station). NBC isn't much better. FOX is alright, and CBS is actually slightly worse than NBC. We severely miss those distant network feeds on CH241-246.


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## davethestalker

Lincoln6Echo said:


> But whenever they come, it'll be a Godsend as the current SD feeds of these channels is awful. ABC is almost unwatchable (and that's my nearest station). NBC isn't much better. FOX is alright, and CBS is actually slightly worse than NBC. We severely miss those distant network feeds on CH241-246.


My local ABC's HD signal is much weaker than the neighboring networks. Picking it up OTA is a crap shoot. For me, it's strength is usually in the low 60%. If it dips below 58%, the signal completely drops. While our NBC runs at a blazing 100%.

I have to record Lost on the OTA ABC and also on the satellite ABC as a backup. I can't depend on the OTA. I've been in contact with the engineer and hopefully, this problem will be fixed by this time next year.


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## cjking

Well if I was to count HBO,Cinemax,Starz and local channels Dish had those besides the other national HD channels.


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## lionsrule

cjking said:


> Well if I was to count HBO,Cinemax,Starz and local channels Dish had those besides the other national HD channels.


I have NO idea what you are talking about.


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## Kman68

Jerryinva said:


> Comments concerning the Travel CH. Like the WEATHER CH., Travel ch should be called THE ADVERTISING CH. Equator doesn't hve commercials or world championship poker. But, I would like to see Samantha Brown in HD.


Funny you mention someone by name. The few times I have watched the Weather Channel via satellite, the female, er, ah, em, meteorologists (?) have been pregnant.


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## Schizm

Kman68 said:


> Funny you mention someone by name. The few times I have watched the Weather Channel via satellite, the female, er, ah, em, meteorologists (?) have been pregnant.


it gets them out of covering the hurricanes


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## cmproh

Stephen J said:


> Why isn't Cleveland on that list? They have been uplinked?


Could it be that DISH has spread it self so thin that they cannot do any more ......
My friends have said that they were PROMISED by the end of April that Cleveland would be up......... my other sources say BANDWIDTH issues.........


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## mhowie

cmproh said:


> Could it be that DISH has spread it self so thin that they cannot do any more ......
> My friends have said that they were PROMISED by the end of April that Cleveland would be up......... my other sources say BANDWIDTH issues.........


Same promise made to those of us in Indy nearly two years ago. When dealing with satellite TV providers, especially E*, don't believe anything you are told. Seeing is believing!


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## HDlover

davethestalker said:


> My local ABC's HD signal is much weaker than the neighboring networks. Picking it up OTA is a crap shoot. For me, it's strength is usually in the low 60%. If it dips below 58%, the signal completely drops. While our NBC runs at a blazing 100%.
> 
> I have to record Lost on the OTA ABC and also on the satellite ABC as a backup. I can't depend on the OTA. I've been in contact with the engineer and hopefully, this problem will be fixed by this time next year.


You can watch ABC programs on ABC.COM -IPTV, the future of television, you can't skip the commercials.In the interum, when they shut off their analog signal they should increase their digital signal by at least 50% of the power they were using for the analog. Still a net savings. Bet that would help most people get all their OTA. Satelite/Cable shouldn't have/need to carry locals. Only nationals for those few (with a waiver)who can't get OTA. It is a tremendous waste of bandwidth. Either that or shut down OTA, another tremendous waste of the airwaves. Not to mention all that electricity being used to broadcast it. For me it doesn't matter where the national broadcast channels come from, I don't watch the commercials- DVR  Another reason for the death of OTA.


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## JohnnyHighGround

It deserves to be asked again: Where the @#$#% is Cleveland in that list? It was, what, a week ago that Charlie was still talking about it? 

Getting SO tired of the rabbit ears on top of the TV every Thursday. What the hell is up?


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## James Long

At least Cleveland is uplinked ... that puts it much closer than the cities that have never been mentioned.


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## phrelin

archer75 said:


> There are only 4 HD channels I want, I don't care about the rest. And Dish doesn't list two: FX HD and Travel Channel HD
> 
> Aside from those I want Sci FI and USA.


I certainly hope SciFi gets "turned on" shortly and that isn't just because I want to see the upcoming Battlestar Galactica season in HD. What good is a superlative HDDVR when you can record the most DVRed network in HD? Consider this from Advertising Age:


> Sci-Fi has become the little network that could, finishing 2007 as the fourth-highest-rated cable network among viewers 25 to 54. Driving that significant growth was the huge success of "Tin Man," its four-part "Wizard of Oz"-inspired miniseries, which finished the year as the highest-rated original movie on ad-supported cable, garnering more than 4 million viewers a night. Nielsen's C3 metric also has become a friend to Sci-Fi, which frequently ranks as _the most DVRed network_ on the dial.


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## hildred

cw in hdtv how soon


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## lionsrule

NEVER


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## phrelin

hildred said:


> cw in hdtv how soon


Don't count on there being a CW three years from now.


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## jclewter79

HDlover said:


> You can watch ABC programs on ABC.COM -IPTV, the future of television, you can't skip the commercials.In the interum, when they shut off their analog signal they should increase their digital signal by at least 50% of the power they were using for the analog. Still a net savings. Bet that would help most people get all their OTA. Satelite/Cable shouldn't have/need to carry locals. Only nationals for those few (with a waiver)who can't get OTA. It is a tremendous waste of bandwidth. Either that or shut down OTA, another tremendous waste of the airwaves. Not to mention all that electricity being used to broadcast it. For me it doesn't matter where the national broadcast channels come from, I don't watch the commercials- DVR  Another reason for the death of OTA.


When we get 100% Broadband coverage in this country, then we can talk about IPTV being a mainstream option but not until then. When it does happen I think that internet will be a pay per amount of use thing like your electric bill.


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## PRIME1

lionsrule said:


> NEVER


Just curious as to why? 

D* has my local CW in HD but not E*. I have asked E* the same question 4 times but no one seems to know. They always just say that they will pass it on to someone else (Programming?) as a suggestion.


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## ZBoomer

I'm sure the three people watching CW would love it in HD.


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## James Long

:backtotop (HD Launches)


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## joebird

James Long said:


> At least Cleveland is uplinked ... that puts it much closer than the cities that have never been mentioned.


I wouldn't put any weight in the fact that something is uplinked. Fox Sports Net Bay Area has been uplinked for...I don't know -- you tell me...and it's still not available.


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## FogCutter

richiephx said:


> It's truly amazing to me that people complain about E* when they don't communicate anything, unlike the way D* does, and, now people are complaining because they are communicating something, but it's not good enough and means nothing.


I think this is because we have been stung before. The external hard drive issue comes to mind. After a year of teases and vaugery, actually longer than that I think, the product came to market. That experience left me with a firm distrust of press releases and promises.

The only certainty is it will take much longer than we expect, or what they initially tell us. Just the way it is.

People using D* complain a bunch, too, but they are watching SciFi HD even as I type.

This is the perfect excuse to expand my BluRay collection, and someday when the promises and rumors end, the new channels will light up and we'll find something else to complain about.

So it goes. . .


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## Paul Secic

cjking said:


> You people amaze me. Dish led the way in HD for a long, long, long time while Direct sat there with only 5 HD channels. Now Direct TEMPORARILY got ahead for a little bit and everyone is mad at DISH. When Dish gets their new satellite into position they will be right up there again with being the HD leader. They will figure out how to get the AMC 14 satellite into position afterall the company is not stupid.I don't mean to offend anybody here but it seems like a little set back and everyone is ready to switch. What happened to being loyal to a company that has been good to you in the past. For 2 years I watched commercials about Direct Tv saying 100 HD channels coming soon. If DIRECT customers waited 2 years watching only 5 HD channels I think us Dish customers can wait a couple extra months while we watch our 50 HD Channels. After all Dish still has a lot of HD channels so cheer up and be patient.


I'm staying! Directv is way too high for me, and Comcast SUCKS!


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## Paul Secic

hildred said:


> cw in hdtv how soon


Waste of bandwith. GARBAGE!


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## JaguarJoJo

James Long said:


> They may be having issues with one of your local stations (contract problems).
> 
> Cleveland is assigned to a transponder (E12 1s10 in my book) and there is a "spotbeam" signal on TP1 at 61.5° for those who live within this beam (I'm getting signal strength 20 in the fringe - Northern Indiana). There is hope.
> 
> OPINION: DISH is further behind on locals than nationals. Even without the AMC-14 problems, I expect that DISH would have pushed out the locals.
> 
> National HD is needed as well ... but it will come. No one has been able to answer the why question on nationals (since new channels ARE occupying space).


The EKB shows Cleveland HD on E12, TP1, SB14. Is there a spotbeam map out for e12? Looks like there will be quite a few HD locals spotbeamed on that bird.

JoJo


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## James Long

The powers that are still have not settled down on accurate spot beam numbers ... what I call 1s10 is currently labeled TP1 "SB14" in the charts (I use the spot numbers assigned by Rainbow DBS in their filing to the ITU).

Unfortunately no one has been able to pull an accurate spot beam map. The maps I've seen are just circles drawn from the perspective of 61.5° and looking at what stations are on each beam are nowhere near accurate. For E7, E8, E10 and E11 I was able to pull "accurate" spot beams and ConUS coverage out of the FCC filings (as accurate as they can predict). E12 (formerly R1) doesn't seem to have that information available.

There _is_ going to be a lot on E12 ... which will probably tick off the people who would rather have a service from 129°. But E12 is where the bandwidth is ... the satellite would not work well elsewhere and it would be wasteful not to put it to good use.


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## BNUMM

I think it will only tick off new people who do not want 2 dishes. I am happy that they are going on 61.5 because of the signal strength. Most people I know are happy that the HD locals are going to be available in the Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo market. The only thing that would be nice is if the RSNs could go on 61.5 also. There are many customers in this area that cannot get the 129 sat because of LOS issues.


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## HobbyTalk

I'm a bit in the opposite boat. I can get 129 fine. I'll have to shoot between a couple of trees to get 61.5. When they go to the eastern arc I may be screwed.


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## James Long

I can't imagine DISH putting locals over at 61.5° without the related RSN. That _would_ be stupid. 

With Detroit, Flint and Grand Rapids locals on 61.5° putting FSN-D up ... even if only on spot 10 to Michigan ... would be an easy fix.

DISH has been pretty open with their system in the past ... I doubt if they will lock it down to a "Eastern Arc" only system. I expect that you will still be able to mix in other DISH Network satellites. (Unless they split DISH and Echostar services and become a third provider.)


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## mraif

Got Orlando locals in HD today!!!!!! YYYYYYAAAAAAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!


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## Paul Secic

hildred said:


> cw in hdtv how soon


The CW is in red ink.


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## phrelin

From LA Times:


> ...The channel brought in nearly $700 million in profit last year, an impressive amount even compared with the broadcast networks, including NBC, its corporate sibling, which made about $300 million.
> 
> ...So far this quarter, USA's audience is up 7% over the same period last year to nearly 3 million viewers, putting it ahead of the broadcast network the CW for the first time.
> 
> "It's probably become the single most important entity within the entire portfolio" of NBC Universal, said Jeff Zucker, the company's chief executive.


 I think this was a surprise even to Zucker. Doubt that was is in his business plan of 2005. Now was USA HD put in Charlie's business plan soon enough to make a difference to the long-time Echostar customers who have HD?


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## tsmacro

phrelin said:


> From LA Times: I think this was a surprise even to Zucker. Doubt that was is in his business plan of 2005. Now was USA HD put in Charlie's business plan soon enough to make a difference to the long-time Echostar customers who have HD?


So basically this says that Dish should add USA before they add the CW. I think chances are pretty good that'll be the way it happens.


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## space86

The good news is by the end of 2008 we should have 
the 25 National HD Channels:

ABC Family HD, AMC HD, BET HD, The Biography Channel HD, Bravo HD, Cartoon Network HD, CMT HD, CNN HD, Disney Channel HD, ESPN News HD, HBO2 HD, IFC HD, MGM HD, MoreMAX HD, MTV HD, Nickelodeon HD, Sci-Fi HD, Smithsonian Channel HD, Starz Edge HD, Tennis Channel HD, Superstation WGN HD, The Weather Channel HD, Toon Disney HD, USA Network HD and VH-1 HD.

when they get the next two planned satellites in orbit.


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## Bobby H

I can't remember the web page where I saw it, but the page said Dish Network uplinked a number of local markets in HD at 61.5° on April 2, including the Wichita Falls,TX /Lawton, OK market where I see my local channels. The HD channels are not available to watch, but set at 5150, 5151, 5152 and 5153 for ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox.

How much time does it take on average for local channels in one market to go from being uplinked to being made available to viewers?

The Wichita Falls/Lawton market wasn't listed among the local channel markets Dish was going to bring online in April and May. So I'm wondering if it will really be at least until some time this summer before those channels are made available.


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## James Long

After uplink a channel can be nearly immediately available or never available. There is no set time.

In the case of the new market I expect "within a month" but that is my personal expectation ... not a guarantee.


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## Bobby H

That sounds reasonable.

It would seem foolish for a satellite company to bother uplinking the local channels of a specific TV market and assigning channel numbers to significantly delay or never deliver them to customers in that market.

From my own selfish interests, I'm still trying to decide which way to go in upgrading my existing satellite installation. I've been a Dish Network customer since 1999 and if they have my locals in HD then it would go a very long way towards keeping me as a Dish Network customer. FWIW, DirecTV doesn't have any local channel service at all for the Wichita Falls/Lawton market, much less offer anything in HD.


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## space86

May 14th could be the day for more HD


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## spear61

Dish Release

http://dish.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=309566


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## James Long

Nice find!

Please see new thread:
Press Release: Dish Network Expands HD - 22 channels


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## Paul Secic

James Long said:


> Nice find!
> 
> Please see new thread:
> Press Release: Dish Network Expands HD - 22 channels


WOW! 22 HD channel!


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