Uplink Activity Report - 11/13/2008 4:02pm - 15 changes

[Hemi 6.1]

(My cable company is hybrid digital and has all the SD channels in MPEG4 now... finally)

Well what are you waiting for then?

 

[Rey]

I agree. It dawned on Charlie one day that if he has slots available but no channels ready, why not put up something that might pay a few bucks while it's sitting there rather than something that just cost him money (like demo or info channels).

at least it shows they do have the capacity to add more hd channels for those who might have been worried about that.

 

[TheKrell]

With the deletion of 23 from Echo12, there are now 3 transponders free. (17, 23, and 27 for those not paying attention.) Note that 2 of them could be turned into spots.

 

[Fitzie]

Things are looking good for Lexington, Louisville and Cinci!

Fitzie

 

[kstuart]

With the deletion of 23 from Echo12, there are now 3 transponders free. (17, 23, and 27 for those not paying attention.) Note that 2 of them could be turned into spots.

Spots are always a priority, because it makes more effective use of the transponders, since the frequencies can be reused.

Both Dish and DirecTV have a greater shortage of HD local bandwidth than they do of national bandwidth (despite the whining in the Forums). By 2013, they must provide all HD locals in all markets where they have any...

 

[Fitzie]

at least it shows they do have the capacity to add more hd channels for those who might have been worried about that.

REY_1178's comment reminded me of something that Charlie said in his last chat, and this is directed primarily at those who don't watch the Chat.

After talking about Dish's increased capacity, Charlie said approximately this: "If you have a favorite channel that you want us to add, you need to tell us. When we are adding channels, we take into consideration what folks are asking for. We won't be adding channels nobody watches."

The essence of this is that Dish has new capacity, but it's limited, and they have to decide what to use it for. Locals are first priority, and after that it's what everyone is clamoring for so long as the contracts can be made.

So if you want something carried, tell Charlie!

Fitzie

 

[rglore]

Things are looking good for Lexington, Louisville and Cinci!

At least we now know that our HD locals will be on Eastern Arc. I just added a 77 wing dish until I get around to switching over to the EA dish.

 

[JohnH]

560 NBA TV switched to Preview mode. Report coming up. Or not coming up.

 

[kstuart]

560 NBA TV switched to Preview mode. Report coming up. Or not coming up.

Technically speaking, what is "Preview mode" ??

It is red in my Guide...

 

[JohnH]

Technically speaking, what is "Preview mode" ??

It is red in my Guide...

We have noticed at times Preview mode makes a channel available to some but not everyone. The channel is available here. I have AT250, Multisports and HD+. The channel also seems to have an AT200? tag which may or may not place it in the Multisports group.

 

[aaron12]

Yes, I realize that, and was being sarcastic. I'm just about done waiting around for E* to add more HD channels. I have the HD only package, and I figured that we'd see Comedy Central HD like 9 months ago. We havn't and I'm about to jump ship to cable just so I can see Comedy Central (even if it is SD...) There is NO way I'd pay for the over-compressed crap that is E* Standard Def Mpeg2 monstrosity. (My cable company is hybrid digital and has all the SD channels in MPEG4 now... finally)

But Comedy Central isn't in HD yet. There was a thread a while back about it where Viacom said January 2009 was the target date. So there's no way they could add a HD version of the channel 9 months ago when one didn't exist, and still doesn't yet.

Just sayin'.

 

[sgarringer]

But Comedy Central isn't in HD yet. There was a thread a while back about it where Viacom said January 2009 was the target date. So there's no way they could add a HD version of the channel 9 months ago when one didn't exist, and still doesn't yet.

Just sayin'.

They could upconvert the SD feed to HD so that I would at least get it. There are a handful of channels that are basically "essential" for any subscriber. Comedy Central is one, CNN is another. They could do something like what CNBC does; they don't have any HD programming themselves. They could surround it with jokes or something.

 

[HDRoberts]

They could upconvert the SD feed to HD so that I would at least get it. There are a handful of channels that are basically "essential" for any subscriber. Comedy Central is one, CNN is another. They could do something like what CNBC does; they don't have any HD programming themselves. They could surround it with jokes or something.

Agreed. Comedy Central is number 1 for me. Fortunately Stewart and Colbert are on hulu.com. MTV, VH1, and CMT had HD versions a year before they actually had HD, why not Comedy Central? Heck, they would have a great source of HD programming in their rebroadcast of HBO specials.

 

[sgarringer]

Agreed. Comedy Central is number 1 for me. Fortunately Stewart and Colbert are on hulu.com. MTV, VH1, and CMT had HD versions a year before they actually had HD, why not Comedy Central? Heck, they would have a great source of HD programming in their rebroadcast of HBO specials.

Holy crap! You're kidding me. I've been paying 99 cents each day to watch the Colbert Report on iTunes. I had no idea they were on Hulu. Even better, Hulu is not blocked at my work... iTunes Music Store is!

 

[HDRoberts]

Yep, gotta sit though a few ads at the beginning at at the normal breaks, but free on hulu.

 

[Stargazer]

I've seen Hulu getting some other shows such as ALF in which I have not seen in a good while. I have been seeing some great content being available online lately that I have not seen before (or not been able to find). IPTV is the wave of the future.

 

[kstuart]

NBC has Heroes in HD on their web site.

 

[kstuart]

Holy crap! You're kidding me. I've been paying 99 cents each day to watch the Colbert Report on iTunes.

Uh, 99 cents a day times 22 weekdays a month = $21.78

IIRC "HD Only" is $30, total of $51.78.

AT100 incl Comedy Central + HD = $42.99

(IIRC, there is a DVR Advantage package with AT100 incl DVR fee for further savings)

 

[waltinvt]

Uh, 99 cents a day times 22 weekdays a month = $21.78

IIRC "HD Only" is $30, total of $51.78.

AT100 incl Comedy Central + HD = $42.99

(IIRC, there is a DVR Advantage package with AT100 incl DVR fee for further savings)

If you've got this much time on your hands Ken, we expect to see that roof shoveled off this winter - at least around your dish.

 

[sgarringer]

Uh, 99 cents a day times 22 weekdays a month = $21.78

IIRC "HD Only" is $30, total of $51.78.

AT100 incl Comedy Central + HD = $42.99

(IIRC, there is a DVR Advantage package with AT100 incl DVR fee for further savings)

Although this is a bit off topic, my favorite channel is Science HD which I'd need AT250 to get, which means that it be something like $80/mo, plus its horribly compressed. The downloads from iTunes / Hulu are at least 480p.