DISH Network to Add HDNet, HDNet Movies

[Mark Holtz]

From Yahoo/Businesswire (http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030501/15710_1.html):

DISH Network to Add HDNet, HDNet Movies
DISH Network Unveils New SuperDish Technology Capable of Providing Consumers up to 50 HDTV Channels

EchoStar Communications Corporation and its DISH Network(TM), a leading provider of satellite television entertainment services, announced today an agreement to offer customers this summer two new high definition TV networks, HDNet and HDNet Movies.

HDNet and HDNet Movies will be available to customers using DISH Network's new SuperDish, unveiled to satellite TV retailers today. The SuperDish, an elliptical 66-centimeter dish, is capable of offering customers access to hundreds of popular DISH Network channels, local channels in new markets, HDTV channels and international programming. The SuperDish is capable of receiving satellite signals from three orbital locations.

DISH Network will announce pricing and packaging for HDNet and HDNet Movies when they are made available to DISH Network customers this summer.

Full Article Here (http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030501/15710_1.html)

[James_F]

WTF is "SuperDish"? Where did that come from?

[ibglowin]

Way cooool!

So Summer is like a month away right! No mention about ESPN-HD you notice. Does this mean we will be pulling in 110, 119 and 123 all in one Dish?

No mention about a price for the "SuperDish" either.

[Mark Holtz]

Sounds like a Dish to look at 110/119/121.

[Ken_F]

The "Superdish" is the 110+119+121 dish that will ultimately eliminate the need for a second dish to receive HDTV from Dish Network. You can see it right here (http://www.skyretailer.com/teamsummit1.shtm).

[Lyle_JP]

Yeah, but you'll still need the second dish to see many of your local channels. I hope they'll be making switches for this monster dish + second dish that work with legacy receivers (like my 4900).

[Mark Lamutt]

They damn well better be making a switch that will work with 4 satellite locations as well. 110, 119, 121, and 148 (or 61.5 for most)...of course, in the short run, I suspect that's what the new DP SW-21s can be used for. And damnit...now I'm going to have to run that 4th line into the house after all...grrrrr...

[sampatterson]

Yeah, I am a cynic.

They are announcing this stuff, and the satellite doesn't launch until July, test in August, be ready to transmit in September, and then the dishes, software upgrades, switches, etc will not be ready...

[neyugnt]

Ok now for my silly little question.

Will the SuperDish system be able to provide HD for more than one HD monitor? I currently have the Dish 500 system (2 dishes, a 301 receiver and a 6000 receiver) for my home. The $1499 for a 40" monitor and receiver seems like a pretty reasonable deal. I'm assuming with the appropriate SW's and cabling I would be able to get HD on two 6000 receivers as well as an additional 301 receiver (for another room)? Anyone?

-T

[DarrellP]

I WAS going to move & remount my dish from the front of the house to the back. I guess I better wait till SUPERDISH lands on Planet Earth.

Any news on upgrades/costs, etc for SUPERDISH?

[Ken_F]

ney,

I don't see why not. I presume it would feature at least a dual LNB for 121, just as existing dishes do for 119 and 110.

[Eyedox]

It would have to be orbital slot 121 ... 101 is ALL DirectTV, and 61.5 and 148 are way the hell too far out. Cool deal on HD monitor/HD dish $1499 ... I know its a dummy monitor ... I wonder what kind of connections/inputs it has. As for the Dual LNB ... they would HAVE to do that for the sake of the 921 people that want TWO HD sat tuners. Also, SuperDISH is of course DISHPro technology.

[Jacob S]

Yes, that does seem like a pretty good deal on the HD moniter, dish, and receiver, but can you buy an extended warranty on that moniter like you could on the dish receivers right now?

[neyugnt]

Also, the 40" monitor... I'm assuming it's not a plasma since that would be too expensive, perhaps an LCD or Projection?

-T

[Jacob S]

Whats the advantages of plasma and advantages of LCD/projection? Is the only advantage of plasma is that it is really thin and you can hang it up but it does not last as long as LCD/projection?

[Scott Greczkowski]

Just remember, we announced this here MONTHS ago. Mark Lamutt and I broke this story a long time ago.

It took until now to get an official release.

Also the channels will go up when we said months ago.

Are we good or what? :D

[Jacob S]

Oh well for the new Rainbow service being the leader in HD, when Dish said they was going to be the leader in HD they meant it.

[DChristmann]

I'm going to make the rash assumption that since DISH is selling planning on selling a SuperDish along with a 6000 receiver in a package with a monitor, that means the SuperDish will be compatible with the 6000.

Right? If so, that's great news for us 6000 owners.

[Jacob S]

It looks like on that team summit picture of the HDTV, Dish, and receiver that the receiver is the 6000.

[Fred]

To banish rainfaid, I currently use 3 separate, 24" dishes pointing at 61.5, 110, 119. I believe the only channels I get on 61.5 are HD (there are some locals on 148, but trees prevent seeing this sat).

SOoo...does the announcement imply I'll be able to simply re-aim my 61.5 dish to 121, then I'm off and running? It seems like that should work.

[Jacob S]

You would have to replace the lnbf from what I understand.

[kstevens]

It would be nice if all I had to do was redirect my 61.5 dish (and upgrade the lnb). anyone know this for certain?

thanks,

ken

[Mark Lamutt]

They'll probably talk about this on the next tech chat. And if not, be sure to call in with the question! If you get on the air, we'll send you a DVD of your choice if you mention DBSTalk! ($30 or less).

[Richard King]

Also, the 40" monitor... I'm assuming it's not a plasma since that would be too expensive, perhaps an LCD or Projection?Probably a direct view CRT, like a regular television.
It would be nice if all I had to do was redirect my 61.5 dish (and upgrade the lnb). anyone know this for certain?You would need to change out LNB's on the dish. I wouldn't be surprised to see them come out with one to fit the regular dish (a "D mount" style LNB).

[ibglowin]

So if the 121 bird doesn't fly until July, its going to be late Summer at best because the have to spend a month moving it into location and testing. Oh well cool my jets. I told my wife last night, "Honey were getting a SuperDish!" She looked at me and said "when will this all end?"

Ha! When I die and have the most toys of course!:lol:

[Mike123abc]

I am betting on them moving HDTV to 110 not 121. They have the capacity for all the HDTV on 110. It is cheaper for them in the long run to have HDTV on 110 because all the existing subs will not have to upgrade to SuperDish. Plus on the technical side 110 has 2x the power of 121, this will allow them to put 3 channels per transponder rather than 2.

So, they have a choice: put 21 HDTV channels on 110 for 7 transponders space (about all they could squeeze on 110) or put 20 on 121 for 10 transponders. Transponders are very valuable, I doubt that they would waste 3 of them.

[Jacob S]

If they put all HDTV on 110 then there would not be enough room there for the HDTV channels like there would be on 121, am I right? Also what about all those locals on 110? Those people would have to get the SuperDish to get what they get now. Either people will have to get the SuperDish to get what they get now if they put all HDTV there or they will have to get it for HDTV.

I seriously doubt they put all HDTV on 110 if any at all unless they launch more satellite(s) there. If Dish gets 61.5 Cablevisions Rainbow satellite then perhaps this would change some things. They could put some of those channels planned for 121 onto 61.5 and save some room on it or provide locals for the east coast there.

[csschrot]

Do we know for sure that Echo IX will be going to 121. I thought Dish also had a 105 slot and or teh 129 slot.

Just making sure it is 121 since everyone thinks the power level would be so low. I would think it would be smarter for a 105 or 129 slot to keep the power level up.

JMO

Shawn

[paulrichjr]

What about the stuff on HDNet that can't be presently shown on DIsh - MLB baseball? Will any of it be scrambled or will all of HDNets programming be available? ALso, what is the expected cost? I already pay out the nose for DiscoveryHD. I will not keep paying $7.99 for each HD channel. I only do this now because I wanted at least 1 good channel to show the system off.

[ibglowin]

Look for an HD package to be announced by Dish in the near future (or at least that's the rumor) it should be amuch better price in a bundle.

[Ken_F]

As has been said elsewhere, an 18" dish won't be sufficient to get a signal on 121 from most locations

[Ken_F]

Mike,I am betting on them moving HDTV to 110 not 121. They have the capacity for all the HDTV on 110. It is cheaper for them in the long run to have HDTV on 110 because all the existing subs will not have to upgrade to SuperDish. Plus on the technical side 110 has 2x the power of 121, this will allow them to put 3 channels per transponder rather than 2.I have received confirmation that customers with the Dish500 will need to replace it with the Superdish for future HDTV.

One benefit of the new 26" super dish is that it will also provide somewhat higher gain for 119 and 110. So in addition to permitting use of 121 for HDTV, it may also help to ensure that 8PSK @ 5/6 FEC is workable at 110. It's not inconcievable that Echostar's testing at 110 showed issues with 8PSK @ 5/6 FEC for some coverage areas with the 21" Dish500, which may not be an issue with the 26" superdish.

Even so, the fact that they are marketing this superdish for HDTV implies to me that they want the option to use 121 for HDTV, even if not initially. It's also possible, albeit not likely, that the integrated LNB on the Superdish could be replaced with a new model to add support for the FSS at 105 degrees in 3Q 2004.

[Ken_F]

Do we know for sure that Echo IX will be going to 121. I thought Dish also had a 105 slot and or teh 129 slot. Yes, we do--Dish has announced it; you can find the press release on their site.

Echostar doesn't own or operate a satellite at the 129 slot. They were leasing capacity there temporarily for some locals. A satellite is scheduled for launch to the 105 slot in 3Q 2004. They don't own the 105 slot either, but they have purchased an exclusive, long-term lease to use the satellite that is being launched there.Just making sure it is 121 since everyone thinks the power level would be so low. I would think it would be smarter for a 105 or 129 slot to keep the power level up.The power level for 121 is not low. It's comparable to the power at 61.5 and 148, and to the 119/110 transponders that are not in double power mode. A bigger dish is not required because of the signal strength, but rather to differentiate the FSS signal at 121 from those at 119 and 123.

[Chris Freeland]

Originally posted by Mike123abc
I am betting on them moving HDTV to 110 not 121. They have the capacity for all the HDTV on 110. It is cheaper for them in the long run to have HDTV on 110 because all the existing subs will not have to upgrade to SuperDish. Plus on the technical side 110 has 2x the power of 121, this will allow them to put 3 channels per transponder rather than 2.

So, they have a choice: put 21 HDTV channels on 110 for 7 transponders space (about all they could squeeze on 110) or put 20 on 121 for 10 transponders. Transponders are very valuable, I doubt that they would waste 3 of them.

I disagree, E* has much more bandwidth on 121 with 32 TP's . From what I have read on these forums these FSS frequencies may have more bandwidth then the DBS frequencies on 110 and 119 which should allow more space on a single TP on 121 for HDTV. Plus, why is the new 121/119/110 dish being marketed as the "SuperDishHDTV? Get my point ;) ? Another reason for placing all future HDTV channels on 121 is that this will leave room for future SDTV channel additions on 110, this way only subs who sub to International, HDTV and or those who's locals are on 121 will need to upgrade from a Dish500 to a SuperDish. I would not be surprised to see all of the current HDTV channels that are now on 61.5 and 148 being simulcast on 121 during a transition period. This way new HDTV subs will be able to receive all of the HDTV channels plus their core SDTV channels with a one dish solution similar to D* but with much more bandwidth then D* has available to add more HDTV channels as they become available in the future.

[cks]

I heard from a buddy at TS in Atlanta an hour ago that the 3rd slot will be 105.

[csschrot]

My boss just called back and he confirmed what cks said. The superdish is for 105,110,119.

They must have a good deal going for the 105 slot if they don't own it.

However, form past experience we will just have to wait and see what actually happens.

[James_F]

I guess these won't be mini dishes for long

[Ken_F]

Chris,

Traditionally, the DBS portion of FSS has referred to the spectrum from 11.7-12.2 Ghz, while actual DBS service in the US uses the 12.2-12.7 GHz band. But the original definition of FSS also includes spectrum well below 11.7GHz. A number of KU-band satellites, like the Anik F1 in Canada, and some of Galaxy satellites, have FSS transponders in the 11.45 to 11.7 GHz band. I'm not sure what current ITU treaty dicates so far as the usable spectrum in each country.

If the Echostar press release actually referred to 11.7-12.2 Ghz for E*IX, then I think these are probably 27MHz transponders, the same size as those at the DBS slots.

[Jeff_R]

I would imagine that they would put the new HDNet channels on the 121 bird just to "encourage" those of us already looking at 110/119/148 to upgrade to the Superdish. I can't see them moving a network that we already receive to a location we can't see. They wouldn't want to lose any existing customers that way. They have never moved existing channels to a new location, only offered new channels or packages to new locations.

[Mike123abc]

I seriously doubt they would put any HDTV on 121. 121 operates at half the power of 110. The lower power means they would have to run 2/3 error correction vs 5/6 on 110. On 110 they would get 3 HDTV channels/transponder on 121 they would get 2 HDTV channels/transponder. Using 110 for HDTV is 50% more efficient. Dish has capacity on 110 right now for about 7 transponders. This could yield at least 21 HDTV stations. It would take 11 transponders on 121.

[RonRN18]

Originally posted by Jacob S
Whats the advantages of plasma and advantages of LCD/projection? Is the only advantage of plasma is that it is really thin and you can hang it up but it does not last as long as LCD/projection?

Yes, the only advantage to plasma is that it is thin and can be hung on a wall.  I've found the plasma to be an inferior picture quality to most every other technology out there... except LCD flat panel.  LCD flat panel has a limited viewing angle and has problems with showing rapid motion.  From the images I've seen, I prefer LCoS technology.  D-ILA is essentially LCoS.  Toshiba came out with a 1080P LCoS rear-projection TV, but basically only those that pre-ordered got them.  I can't currently afford one, but I've been told that they are "Back Ordered".  I've also heard that Toshiba isn't making any more of that first model, but will soon announce a newer model... maybe they will somehow have an input that will accept 1080P.  The original would upconvert all signals to the 1080P internally, but couldn't accept a 1080P signal.  Considering there aren't many sources that can OUTPUT 1080P it isn't that big a deal though.

[Chris Freeland]

Originally posted by Mike123abc
I seriously doubt they would put any HDTV on 121. 121 operates at half the power of 110. The lower power means they would have to run 2/3 error correction vs 5/6 on 110. On 110 they would get 3 HDTV channels/transponder on 121 they would get 2 HDTV channels/transponder. Using 110 for HDTV is 50% more efficient. Dish has capacity on 110 right now for about 7 transponders. This could yield at least 21 HDTV stations. It would take 11 transponders on 121.

You are probably correct on the 2/3 vs 5/6 error correction, and I realize that 121 has less power then the double powered TP's at 110 and 119, however it has more power then the single powered TP's on E1&2 at 148, but E* still has more over all room on 121 to place HDTV channels. I just think E* will save the extra space on 110 for additional SD core channels, this will better serve the majority of E* subs who do not have HDTV and will not likely have it for several more years and for most, with a standard Dish 500.

[JohnnyB40]

One problem I see it that I'm receiving a few local channels over 61.5 MY only hope is that Dish soon comes out with a switch to handle the additional bird? I can't see them repeating all programming at 61.5 on 121 SO i believe I'll still need that dish ..
But My house is starting to look like a Cable Company's site!

I presently have a Dish 500, Dish300, an DTV Elliptical Dish and now a Dish "Superdish" ?when will it be enough ? maybe we are better off with a C-Band system one dish just pointed at the bird we need at the time ?

It would only make sense to develop a switch that I can add to replace my dish 500 and SW64 I have three other receivers that are not HD which I want the additional local channels on ... and is the Superdish Legacy compatible or is it DishPro ? would make that 8PSK adapter mute without the "Superdish" if they are planning on adding the additional HD content at 121

if it 's not legacy that would mean I would have to buy yet an another additional adapter to gain the additional HD channels .....

Unless Dish is going to be offering free adapters to Customers who already purchased these adapters (doubt that) with the promise that it would be needed for additional channels in the future ... I know this is still a long time off but I wonder if they even think of these question before they start something of this nature ?

[Ken_F]

On the AVS Forum, a dealer from Team Summit is saying that the Superdish will receive not only 110, 119, and 121, but 105 as well. However, it will only do 105 or 121 at once, not both. They're also saying that the 50 channel HDTV capacity refers not to 121 (much of which will be used for locals and international channels), but rather to the 105 location that will be used late next year.

Still, that doesn't explain why Dish is saying that the Hdnet channels are for the Superdish, rather than the Dish500. I guess it's possible that the current and a few new HD channels will be going to 110; but if that is so, why didn't they say it would use the Dish500? I agree with the previous poster that Dish Network will want to retain some 110 capacity for future use, rather than filling it up with HDTV in the next few years.

That said, the 50 HDTV channel capacity on 105 would explain how they are able to deliver the 100 international channels, and all these new local markets (without another spot beam satellite at 110), while still having 50 channels of HDTV capacity. For reference, the satellite going to 105 in 3Q 2004 is spec'd to have 24 KU-FSS conus transponders @ 36MHz (the equivalent of 32 transponders @ 27MHz), plus twelve Ka spot beams. Those spot beams could be used to deliver internet service (as expected), or they could also be used to deliver HDTV locals to the top markets.

[Charlie non believer]

Originally posted by csschrot
My boss just called back and he confirmed what cks said. The superdish is for 105,110,119.



That explains why the Superdish looks like a bigger version of the Star Choice elliptical dishes (with a DBS LNBF in the middle slot)

[drjake]

I'm the dealer from team summit. We were told that the superdish (which they did show at tech summit with three LNBs) would see either 105 or 121. 121 was going to be for locals (150 markets by the end of 2004) and 105 would be used for both including up to 50 channels of HD. I can't guarantee that what was said is going to be the final setup but that is wht they said. They also showed DISHPRO PLUS which will support two tuners on one cable as well as 34" tube HDTV and a 40" projection HDTV.

[Jacob S]

If an 18 inch dish would not be big enough to get enough signal in for 121 then what would be the smallest dish to be able to get enough signal in?

Would it get the signal in but just have too much interference to view the channels or is the interference what keeps the signal from coming in until a large enough dish is used?

Is the internet by satellite in which will be launched 2004 be on a different orbital location than where they are launching the satellite this year at?

I thought the internet by satellite and the spot beams for locals were all going to be used on the same orbital location? Didnt Echostar already announce launching to 121 in a news press?

[Jacob S]

I think its great that they will finally have two tuners over one wire offered, this will solve some of the problems that I had expected with so many slots, switches, and wirings.

If they are going to have the other slot for either 105 or 121, then wouldn't they have to have a different tri-lnbf setup for 110/119/121 than with 105/119/121 because of the difference in the spacing of the satellites for the focus point?

Would they be offering a fourth lnbf on the dish so that one could have 105/110/119/121 all at the same time? Some would want their locals and HD at the same time, not either or.

[Chris Freeland]

Originally posted by drjake
I'm the dealer from team summit. We were told that the superdish (which they did show at tech summit with three LNBs) would see either 105 or 121. 121 was going to be for locals (150 markets by the end of 2004) and 105 would be used for both including up to 50 channels of HD. I can't guarantee that what was said is going to be the final setup but that is wht they said. They also showed DISHPRO PLUS which will support two tuners on one cable as well as 34" tube HDTV and a 40" projection HDTV.

This explains why non believers's boss reporting that the new SuperDish was for 105 and the majority here figured it would be for 121, I guess both groups are correct. My only question is will the SuperDish be capable of supporting 4 LNB's for a one dish solution for those few who will need to receive from 105/110/119/121? Will current STB's support 5 or 6 orbital locations, 105/110/119/121 and or 61.5 and or 148?

[Jacob S]

That is another concern that I do have myself about these receivers being able to support so many orbital locations at once, particularly the older receivers. I figure the newer Dishpro ones can but it would suck to have to replace your receiver to get this all to work.

The dish should be able to tune in from all of those orbital locations (105,110,119,121) because of its size. If Dish does not put the adapter on there in which I would think they would, then perhaps people could come up with their own adapter for the dish.

Perhaps another solution would be to have a rotar like the B.U.D.'s have where it would turn slightly to tune in the next orbital location in which would not take much. This would help on the switch situation and fewer lnbf's would be needed. It would not take long for it to move to the next slot. The installation would be harder though. The cost of a rotar may be cheaper than the cost of the switch and extra lnbf particularly for those that would need to look at more than 4 slots such as 61.5 and other slots Dish may have.

[Mike123abc]

Here is an interesting thought... If Dish does go on both 121 and 105 plus 119 and 110, then maybe they will sell 61.5/148 to R/L DBS. Dish could make enough money on the sale to upgrade everyone to super dish and probably also make enough to pay for their part of 121.

[Jacob S]

That is another good point, and then later buy them back off of R/L DBS for a cheaper price too if they would not be able to make it or have some type of contract where they would have to sell/give back to Dish in case they go out of business.

Dish may even be able to lease the space to them and use that money for them to lease satellites themselves to use therefore saving enough money on satellite launches to pay for upgrading dishes or to come out with a newer dish technology such as phased arrays as I had mentioned above.

[tnsprin]

Lots of confussion here. At leat one report has two different configurations of the SuperDish. One to point at 121 for international channels, and for to point at another satellite (105?) for additional HD channels.

[Jacob S]

Since Dish is definitely going to launch the new satellite to 121 to keep the FCC happy I know its 121 that they are going to use for adding these locals that was on the list. They could still use 105 until the new satellite is launched, since they probably would not add too many channels there anyways until the new satellite is launched.

[Scott Greczkowski]

Charlie stated on the Confrence call that the programming on the "Wings" (61.5 and 148) would move to 105 this way people could get all their locals on one Dish plus there is a lot more space for things like HD and new locals.

I believe that eventually ALL international channels will be on 121 and 121 only, thus if you want internationals you will need a seperate Dish to point at 121. (At least these are the hints I heard on the call)

Charlie also said that the upgrade to a superdish may or may not be free for customers, it might be free for those with HDTV's who spend more on programming but then there may be an upgrade charge for those who need a superdish just for the locals.

Things are getting mighty interesting!

[Jacob S]

So they are going to move locals off of 61.5 and 148 just to put more on there? That seems odd unless they are going to have all the locals in each DMA at the same orbital slot. It would make sense to put all the internationals to 121 to have them all at the same location but then this would mean that there would be less room on 121 for locals and more people would still have to get a second dish at 61.5 or 148 to get locals, some in addition to the SuperDish.

[Chris Freeland]

Originally posted by Scott Greczkowski
Charlie stated on the Confrence call that the programming on the "Wings" (61.5 and 148) would move to 105 this way people could get all their locals on one Dish plus there is a lot more space for things like HD and new locals.

I believe that eventually ALL international channels will be on 121 and 121 only, thus if you want internationals you will need a separate Dish to point at 121. (At least these are the hints I heard on the call)

Charlie also said that the upgrade to a superdish may or may not be free for customers, it might be free for those with HDTV's who spend more on programming but then there may be an upgrade charge for those who need a superdish just for the locals.

Things are getting mighty interesting!

Moving locals and HDTV from 61.5 and 148 makes since. I would think E* would move some complete markets from 110 and 119 to 105 or 121, this would free up space on the spotbeams to move many locals from 61.5 and 148 to the spotbeams which would allow everyone with locals to receive them either on a single Dish500 or the SuperDish depending on the market. If E* moved all of the International channels current on 61.5 or 148 to 121, all locals currently on 61.5 or 148 to 105, 110, 119 or 121 and all HDTV from 61.5 and 148 to 121, what would be left on 61.5 and 148? This does not make since, I suspect current International channels will remain on 61.5 and 148 and only some new International channels will go to 121.

[Ken_F]

How many international channels does Dish offer now? I just did a quick count on their web site, and it looks like 40 video channels, plus six music channels. They've announced that they will be adding another 100 international channels. That makes about 140 video total.

The 121 slot (32 FSS transponders) can hold between 320 to 400+ channels at current compression levels. Thus, even with all the internationals, they'd still have space for 200+ local channels.

[Pat A]

Well, I am worried about the possible move of HD to 105. I am not sure that I will be able to pick up a usable signal here in Anchorage. I already have a 1m dish pointed at 110, with an elevation angle of 12 degrees. We would probably have to go to a 1.2 or 1.8m dish to pull in the 105 signal. If that is the case, I'll have to kiss my HD content good bye.

[DoyleS]

Maybe we could have one of the monthly contests determine the arrival dates for the superdish and the elusive 921. The prize of course being one or the other?

Not holding my breath!
..Doyle

[Scott Greczkowski]

I am going to say August 15th. :) (Just a guess)

[rtt2]

Any idea on the date we can expect to see the 522?

[Jacob S]

Thats what I was wondering, what would be at 61.5 and 148 if they took everything off of them?

Also why should Dish have paid all that money for second dishes at 61.5 just to have to pay to have them upgraded again to a SuperDish? I am sure the customers would not be happy having to be upgraded from one dish to another all the time. First a Dish500 then a second dish at 61.5/148 then a SuperDish.

[duggan]

Is it going to be possible to aim the dish currently pointing at 61.5 to 105? For most people who don't care about having 2 dishes, that seems like a solution.

[Scott Greczkowski]

While it is possible that you could use your 61.5 dish you would need a different LNB because of the difference of polarity and frequencies.

I give Charlie ALOT of credit now, he snuck around and secured all kind of spectrum around his DBS slots leaving DirecTV scratching their heads wondering what the hell is going on.

[platinum]

Maybe now he'll use some of his spectrum to give you your locals.

[Jacob S]

Will a Primestar LNBF work?