The Dish Network User's Resource
The Dish Network User's Resource
Some HDTV channels are available at 110° with the rest mirrored on 61.5° and 129°. Most users will need the Dish 1000 except for the areas outside the 129° satellite's footprint which will instead use a Dish 500 plus a separate dish pointed at 61.5°. The other determining factor is the location of your HD Locals and RSN.
Similarly, if you have a Dish 1000 and your locals get added to one of the Eastern Arc slots of 61.5°, 72.7° or 77°, you can add a separate dish to get those channels.
| Satellites | Dish(es) | LNBs/Switch | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 110°, 119°, 61.5° | Dish 500 and Dish 300 | DPP Twin, DP Dual | 2 receivers |
| 110°, 119°, 129° | Dish 1000 | DPP Twin, DP Dual | 2 receivers |
| Dish 1000.2 | 3-LNB head with integrated DPP switch | 3 receivers | |
| Dish 500 and Dish 300 | DPP Twin, DP Dual | Larger separate dish for the Pacific NW | |
| 61.5°, 72.7°, 77° | Dish 1000.4 | 3-LNB head with integrated DPP switch | 3 receivers |
| 110°, 119°, 118.75° | Plus Dish | DP34 or future DPP33 or DPP44 | 500+ |
| 110°, 119°, 118.75°, 129° | Plus Dish | Add-on DP Dual, DPP44 | 1000+ |
| 110°, 119°, 118.75°, 61.5° | Plus Dish and Dish 300 | DPP44 | Can have 129° on the separate dish |
These paragraphs included for historical purposes:
All HDTV channels are available only from 61.5°W. According to the October 2000 Technical Forum, there are no plans to change this for at least a year, after the spot-beam satellites are in service. Another possibility mentioned is mirroring HDTV channels at 148°W, after a satellite is moved there, to better serve the west coast. As announced on the December 2000 Charlie Chat, this second possibility should become reality in early January 2001. Per the February 2001 Charlie Chat, HDTV will not be mirrored at 148° until more programming is available.
All HDTV channels are available from 61.5°W, with all but the Demo channel mirrored at 148°W (as of Apr 13, 2001). There are no foreseeable plans to make HDTV available from the core 110/119 slots seen by a Dish500 since HDTV channels take about 6x the bandwidth of a regular channel.
The VOOM Original Pack added May 1, 2005 comes from 61.5°. Per a Facts Blast sent to dealers, as of September 27, 2005 VOOM is also available from 129°. Many CSRs seem unaware of this even when told, so just explain that you have a dish in place and can see the channels in the guide and would like them added to your subscription.
The CSRs now often insist that you have a Dish 1000 even if you have a dish pointed at 61.5°. The same advice applies. See Adding 61.5° dish and Switch Selector for the details of what you may need.
SuperDISH is NOT needed for HDTV, and has been phased out for subscriber use. Dish had started migrating HD channels to leased space at 105° which would require SuperDISH but the old AMC-2 satellite didn't quite have a full CONUS footprint so the plan was dropped.
While it is possible to connect both 61.5° and 129°, there does not seem to be a reliable way to lock the receiver to one or the other, or even to predict which will be chosen.
Dual tuner models may be connected using a single run of RG6 if you have a DishPro Plus Twin, a DPP44, or Dish 1000.2/1000.4.
If you have a DishPro Twin you would add a DP34 or DP21(s).
Also see DishPro Technology for an explanation of DishPro and DP Plus.
You'll need another Dish with a Dual LNB, and an SW64. It is possible to add another dish to simultaneously receive 61.5° and 129° on the 6000 by selecting the 129° satellite on the dish pointing screen and cascading SW64 and SW21 switches. Receiver software has been updated to handle the duplicate channels.
If you have a Twin or Quad LNB or SW44, you can use an SW21 in place of the SW64. Requires 1 for each receiver, up to 2.
See: What are switches, and why do I need them? for legacy.
Edited by BobaBird. Submissions & corrections welcome!
