New HD channels 5/7/08 -RUMOR ONLY

This is only a rumor but speculation is Bravo and ESPNews will be available in HD this coming Wednesday on channels 9437 and 9438 respectively. It's only a rumor as I don't even know if these channels are uplinked or not, guess we'll just have to wait and see. But, if you've been around a while you know not to hold your breath.

The last time we were promised ESPNNewsHD we ended up with SciFiHD so here's hoping we get something good instead. SmithsonianHD sounds attractive....

This is only a rumor but speculation is Bravo and ESPNews will be available in HD this coming Wednesday on channels 9437 and 9438 respectively. It's only a rumor as I don't even know if these channels are uplinked or not, guess we'll just have to wait and see. But, if you've been around a while you know not to hold your breath.

Yep.. Thats what Mr. Rumor Man from the other site said. LOL

There is stuff uplinked there but Dish is trying to keep it real quiet so the channels are not labeled. They are just named "TEST" and invisable to normal subs.

More HD LiL's are expected as well. Congrats go out to HD subs in:
Hartford, CT
Portland, ME
Albany, NY
Syracuse, NY
Fort Meyers, FL
You guys are getting your HD locals this Wed (tomorrow) afternoon. :yippee:

Look for all of this around 2PM EDT.

How do I know when the Grand Rapids, MI market will be getting locals in HD? We are set to launch this month.

How do I know when the Grand Rapids, MI market will be getting locals in HD? We are set to launch this month.

If someone has a better answer than this they will post it but from my limited experience it seems you probably won't know when they are coming until you turn on the tv one morning (or afternoon) and there they are. :what:

For the longest time we have been hearing that Grand Rapids HD locals would come in May. Then, in the last month or so, all the latest news on HD locals has not mentioned anything about GR locals.
What's the deal?
Anyone know something more recent?

Is anyone aware of a list for the remaining locations to be activated throughout 2008? I saw the shorter list that goes through July.

On the Dish promo it shows big gold cartoon dots all over California as areas to be covered.
But I have yet to see the Central Valley (Fresno, etc.) actually listed anywhere. A population in excess of 1 million people.
It took us a while to get SD locals on Dish too, for that matter.

This is what's frustrating about Dish. Why not at least 'leak' information about locals in HD? If I knew that I'd be seeing my locals in 2008 I'd be happy to sign a 2 yr contract. As it is, I need to see some action or will be forced to switch to Direct. Whilst I appreciate that Shreveport, LA doesn't have LocalHD through Direct either, I have a lot more faith that the dark side would at least throw me a bone now and then.

I'm perfectly happy with everything Dish does (obviously I don't mean customer service) but am distinctly underwhelmed with what they don't do - keep they're customers informed.

I agree, satellite problems, negotiations, etc. are understandable.
But we are only asking for estimations, or at least WHAT'S PLANNED! .. we already know full well delays can occur.

For the GR market, I have been told they are launching this month. I talked to the local distributor as dell as Dish and both have said this month they will just show up some time. Atleast we know they will be here by June! Why not say that instead of May?!?

Last night I turn on USA/105 to catch an episode of Law and Order and it was in HD. To make sure I hit the info button and sure enough the ghosted HD was at the top of the page. On the guide, no indication of HD.

Something may be about to happen. But then again maybe I was just dreaming.

Last night I turn on USA/105 to catch an episode of Law and Order and it was in HD. To make sure I hit the info button and sure enough the ghosted HD was at the top of the page. On the guide, no indication of HD.

Something may be about to happen. But then again maybe I was just dreaming.

USA HD went live last month. 4-18 to be precise.

Last night I turn on USA/105 to catch an episode of Law and Order and it was in HD. To make sure I hit the info button and sure enough the ghosted HD was at the top of the page. On the guide, no indication of HD.

Something may be about to happen. But then again maybe I was just dreaming.

The same thing is happening on SciFi. The only way to know if it's HD is to view the show. Thats the only time yoy see the HD logo as well.

I hope someone fixes this issue.

Well this week's HD has been delayed a little. Some are now saying by Friday. I am talking about ESPNews and BravoHD.

More national HD was however uplinked this Wednesday. The rumor now is that they will be turned on by the end of next week.

I just noticed jpfrasier had the channel spots wrong so here is where they will be for you to find them easier. Of course they will also be mapped down to their SD counterparts locations.

9433 - Disney
9434 - ABC Family
9463 - Cartoon Network
9484 - Toon Disney
9492 - Bravo
9494 - ESPNews

Well this week's HD has been delayed a little. Some are now saying by Friday. I am talking about ESPNews and BravoHD.

More national HD was however uplinked this Wednesday. The rumor now is that they will be turned on by the end of next week.

I just noticed jpfrasier had the channel spots wrong so here is where they will be for you to find them easier. Of course they will also be mapped down to their SD counterparts locations.

9433 - Disney
9434 - ABC Family
9463 - Cartoon Network
9484 - Toon Disney
9492 - Bravo
9494 - ESPNews


Thanks for the location clarification. I was hesitant to post something that was merely a rumor but I'm relieved to see there was at least a little truth behind it. That is also where my incorrect channel assignments came from. Sorry about that :o

Hopefully these new HD channels are part of Top 200

9433 - Disney
9434 - ABC Family
9463 - Cartoon Network
9484 - Toon Disney
9492 - Bravo
9494 - ESPNews

Hopefully these new HD channels are part of Top 200

The SD version of these channels are included in the AT200. Therefore if you receive the SD version and you subscribe to the HD Essentials or higher then you will receive the HD feed when they become available to subscribers.

It seems like the assignment of channel numbers in the 9400's is a little haphazard. Can there be a technical reason or is it intentionally random?

It seems like the assignment of channel numbers in the 9400's is a little haphazard. Can there be a technical reason or is it intentionally random?

If they have a reason I wouldn't know what it is. I set up my favorites list with the mapped down channel number anyway unless it's an HD only channel like MHD or HDNET.

It seems like the assignment of channel numbers in the 9400's is a little haphazard. Can there be a technical reason or is it intentionally random?

Who knows? It seemed that they were trying to group certain types of channels next to each other but now they are running out of room for this practice unless they shuffle everything around.

AnimaniaHD was just placed in the middle of the Voom pack at 9474then Family Room was added later to 9486. That was odd but all the Vooms are grouped together with the exception of a two channel gap at 9483 and 9484. That was where CBS was back in the old days.

RaveHD was at the bottom of the Voom group at 9470 so later when MHD was added it made sense to put it at 9469 since that channel spot was open.

Someday they should at least map the HD only channels (the ones without a SD counterpart) down to somewhere they could be arranged in groups and found easier. 357 through 399 are now open since the RSN's have been moved off of them so why not put kids programming (Animania, Family Room, etc.) in the 360's, Music (MHD, Rave, etc.) in the 370's, Variety (HDNet, Gallery, etc.) in the 380's and Movies (HDNet Movies, Kung Fu, Monsters, etc.) in the 390's. Oops.. Gotta squeeze the sports in there somewhere too but you get the idea.

There is plenty of room to start a practice like this. Just my opinion.

Well the work week is now over. We were expecting some new HD but Dish came up a little short. All that happened was Hartford, CT and Portland, ME got their HD locals (minus Fox in both markets).

One more good thing is that all the new hidden uplinked HD channels were issued places in the 5300 range for the latino package HD folks so they will get turned on at the same time.

I feel pretty good about next Wednesday as Thursday is the start of Team Summit. (A Dish / Echostar annual trade show where the company promotes all their new stuff to thier retailers and other interested parties).

I am sure Dish would want these new channels turned by the time this event begins. My fingers are crossed.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Can there be a technical reason or is it intentionally random?Several years ago on Directv, they organized the channels twice within a year for "convenience." It sure was not convenient for me. Once they did it while I was on vacation. OOPS. I recorded a cheerleading contest instead of NASCAR. LOL:banghead:

whats wrong with watching cheerleaders:banana:

They can't turn left without counting....ready,OK.:thumbsup:

Last night I turn on USA/105 to catch an episode of Law and Order and it was in HD. To make sure I hit the info button and sure enough the ghosted HD was at the top of the page. On the guide, no indication of HD.

Something may be about to happen. But then again maybe I was just dreaming.

My guide shows both SD and HD channels for USA (105 and HD 105), same for SciFi. It's been that way since the HD channels were uplinked.

My guide shows both SD and HD channels for USA (105 and HD 105), same for SciFi. It's been that way since the HD channels were uplinked.

This part of the discussion is about particular shows and not the SD vs. HD channel itself.

There are plenty of shows that were never made in or really made into HD. Many of the HD channels indicate this in the shows description (info). HistoryHD, for example is very good at accurately indicating this.

Go to the guide, highlight a show and press info. If it says (HD) there, it really is. Pick out several more shows on this channel and check them as well. If it doesn't say (HD), then it's not but it may be stretched or cropped to fit your 16x9 screen better without pilar boxes on the side. You may also see narrower pilar boxes but it all depends on the show.

TBS is the other extreme as they call everything (HD). Many shows on this channel are just stretched SD but they are coming up with some real HD lately. For months after last years baseball playoffs, nothing was HD but here you really can't tell by the guide. You can bet if the show is more than 5 years old, it's just stretched SD.

The 2 new channels, SciFi and USA-HD never indicates this as discussed above. You have to look at the show to see if it is. You will find it easy to tell here as they don't seem to stretch HD at all so you will both find pilar boxes and the HD bug next to the logo on the screen is absent. If the show is real HD, the HD bug is there.

Bottom line here, even if you are looking at the HD version of a channel does not mean you are actually watching a show in HD.

One more thing. You meant "turned on" and not "uplinked". Normal receivers cannot see channels that are merely uplinked. You need special equipment to see that. The channel must be turned on and you need to be eligable to at least subscribe to it to be able to see it. If you don't sub to it, the channel is is highlighted in green (you can upgrade to get these channels with just your remote control) or red (here a call to Dish is necessary to get them). Also, if you are in the NYC DMA, you cannot even see KYW because you are not allowed to subscribe to it. Only Philadelphia DMA people can see it.

There is more to this such as AAD channels being invisable to people not subscribing to them even if they are eligable. Once you sub to them, they will appear. If you are a Dish Latino subscriber, you will find the HD channels in the 5300's and not the 9400's. You must sub to the Latino package with a ViP HD receiver to even see the 5300's. Non ViP HD receivers will never see a MPEG-4 encoded channel. SD only receivers will never see a HD channel at all.

I hope I cleared this all up.

There is more to this such as AAD channels being invisable to people not subscribing to them even if they are eligable.
I hope I cleared this all up.

I guess it clears it up...truth is I lost focus half way through the explanation because I'm AAD.:lol:

just had a email from dish and they are adding a bunch of channels on may 12th. i am still waiting on columbus,ohio locals so i can come back to dish but no word on that yet.

These are the channels you guys should be getting:

ABC Family HD 180*
Disney HD East 172
Biography HD 119
Hallmark Movie Channel HD 187*
Bravo HD 129
Cartoon HD 176
MGM HD 385
Cinemax 5 Star 381
Cinemax HD West 380
Smithsonian HD 374
Comcast Sports Network Bay Area HD 419
Comcast Sports Network New England HD 435
Tennis Channel HD 400
Toon Disney HD 174
Travel Channel HD 215*
USA HD 105
CNBC HD 208
Weather Channel HD 214
World Fishing Network HD 396* (I thought this was a joke; I didn't think this channel actually existed???)

*Channels Direct currently does not have...

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Looks like you guys are finally getting what you deserved. Congratulations!

We have the USA HD already......

Well this deserves a new thread.. lets put this one to sleep.

Yep.. Thats what Mr. Rumor Man from the other site said. LOL

There is stuff uplinked there but Dish is trying to keep it real quiet so the channels are not labeled. They are just named "TEST" and invisable to normal subs.

More HD LiL's are expected as well. Congrats go out to HD subs in:
Hartford, CT
Portland, ME
Albany, NY
Syracuse, NY
Fort Meyers, FL
You guys are getting your HD locals this Wed (tomorrow) afternoon. :yippee:

Look for all of this around 2PM EDT.

There are no HD locals in Fort Myers, FL as of this date and time. Where did you see the info that Fort Myers HD was being turned on?

Thanks

There are no HD locals in Fort Myers, FL as of this date and time. Where did you see the info that Fort Myers HD was being turned on?

Thanks

From another more technical type of forum. Sorry it didn't happen for you. Right now even the top executives are very confused as to what is going on with this company. The Voom take down was a total surprise to many.

The only ones actually turned on that day were Hartford, CT and Portland, ME and in both these markets the Fox station was not included. Both of these stations are owned by News Corp.

There are no HD locals in Fort Myers, FL as of this date and time. Where did you see the info that Fort Myers HD was being turned on?

Thanks

Fort Myers HD locals for FOX (WFTX) and CBS (WINK) were turned on on 5/21. Picture great! No ABC or NBC and I am guessing those two stations which are owned by the same company, Waterman Broadcasting, are having some carriage negotiation problems. Does Dish usually carry the local PBS station in HD?