r5000, dish all hd "HD Absolute", and SD vs. HD

[btrcp2000]

Okay, I am confused...

If I understood correctly, with DIsh's HD Absolute plan, I should be receiving of course the HD channels, but also their SD counterparts. The dish vip211 box's guide appears to reflect this (there is a four digit HD channel and a three digit sd for each given station). The r5000 app reports that the SD's come through as MPEG4 h.264, which means my mvps can't use the dish boxes as tuners. The onyl one I have seen come through as mpeg2 (which I thought all dish sd was) is the home shopping network, which would also mark the first time I had a use for that channel.

Am I doing something wrong here if I want to be able to tune sd and hd channels with the same box (not simultaneously)?

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by btrcp2000

Okay, I am confused...

If I understood correctly, with DIsh's HD Absolute plan, I should be receiving of course the HD channels, but also their SD counterparts.

I thought you only got the HD channels, no SD ones. I don't have HD Absolute, but I've got the HD channels listed twice in my guide, once at the SD channel number and once at the HD channel number. There's a "DishHD" setting somewhere in the VIP's settings that enable/disable this mapping.

[btrcp2000]

This is what raised the question for me:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/dish-net...-question.html

I would assume it's that way so that you can have a second box in your house on an "old-fashioned" TV, or more likely the TV2 on a dual tuner.

I have the same thing, two channels for each, but they all seem to be MPEG4. I didn't post this question over there because I assumed noone there would care what the format is.

[Fuzzy]

Are the 3-digit stations you are seeing HD? Dish Network only broadcasts the HD stations in the 4-digit range, and the SD version are in the 3-digit range. However, the firmware on the box 'maps down' the HD channels and overlaps the SD version with the HD one. As long as HD mapdown is enabled, tuning to 112 will APPEAR to actually tun the box to 112 HGTV, though it is actually tuning to 9461 HGTVHD. This is probably the problem you are seeing. To disable this feature, and allow tuning to the SD HGTV (Assuming your package includes it), using the ViP211's menues, go to:

Menu ->
System Setup (6) ->
Local Channels (8) ->
Chan Display ->
DishHD Channels -> Disable

Not in any way an intuitive spot for this option, but this IS the option that is doing the mapdown. Keep in mind, that after disabling this, to record HD channels with sage, you will have to use the original HD versions (9461 for HGTVHD) (at least, as a physical tuning number). You can of course, map the logical number in the channel lineup to anyhting you want.

[btrcp2000]

That sounds just logical enough to be the answer!

I will certainly check this out tonight when I get home, but the immediate question that comes to mind is what comes from satellite? Does the box downrez the hd stream to sd when I tune an unmapped 3-digit channel, or is it sd all the way from the source? I ask because I assume the r5000 would intercept it before any down-rezzing would occur.

('course, I can answer this myself in a few hours...)

[stanger89]

Originally Posted by Fuzzy

Are the 3-digit stations you are seeing HD? Dish Network only broadcasts the HD stations in the 4-digit range, and the SD version are in the 3-digit range. However, the firmware on the box 'maps down' the HD channels and overlaps the SD version with the HD one. As long as HD mapdown is enabled, tuning to 112 will APPEAR to actually tun the box to 112 HGTV, though it is actually tuning to 9461 HGTVHD. This is probably the problem you are seeing. To disable this feature, and allow tuning to the SD HGTV (Assuming your package includes it), using the ViP211's menues, go to:

Menu ->
System Setup (6) ->
Local Channels (8) ->
Chan Display ->
DishHD Channels -> Disable

Not in any way an intuitive spot for this option, but this IS the option that is doing the mapdown. Keep in mind, that after disabling this, to record HD channels with sage, you will have to use the original HD versions (9461 for HGTVHD) (at least, as a physical tuning number). You can of course, map the logical number in the channel lineup to anyhting you want.

That's what I feebly attempted to explain above .

Another possibility, perhaps even probability is that you could be receiving the "Eastern Arc":
http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=136872

In order to remain competitive in today’s pay-TV market, DISH Network is consistently making improvements to systems and expanding channel selections. As of 8/20/2008, two additional satellite locations will be available for broadcasting in DISH Network’s satellite constellation.

New customers residing in an Eastern Arc DMA who choose to subscribe to HD programming will receive an Eastern Arc installation;

Eastern Arc DMAs
Below is a list of the initial 21 HD DMAs to be classified as “Eastern Arc” markets:
Eastern Arc HD DMAs as of 8/20/2008
Baltimore, MD Green Bay, WI New York, NY
Charlotte, NC Greensboro, NC Philadelphia, PA
Chicago, IL Greenville, SC Providence, RI
Cleveland, OH Hartford, CT Raleigh, NC
Columbia, SC Knoxville, TN Richmond, VA
Dallas, TX Minneapolis, MN Tampa, FL
Detroit, MI Nashville, TN Washington DC

Though since you've got HD Absolute, you obviously signed up before 8/20 so that's probably not the case.

[Fuzzy]

Originally Posted by btrcp2000

That sounds just logical enough to be the answer!

I will certainly check this out tonight when I get home, but the immediate question that comes to mind is what comes from satellite? Does the box downrez the hd stream to sd when I tune an unmapped 3-digit channel, or is it sd all the way from the source? I ask because I assume the r5000 would intercept it before any down-rezzing would occur.

('course, I can answer this myself in a few hours...)

The only Down-rezzing the 211 ever does is when playing an HD channel, and you hve the video mode set to something lower. The TRUE 3-digit channel (i.e., after disabling the DishHD downmapping) is the SD broadcast (MPEG-2) that is sent out to the SD boxes. Again, as mentioned earlier, you may not actually be able to receive this channel, as you have the HD only package.