Go for it. In my personal experience, when I first joined bell tv they wanted to offer standard definition receivers to me because of the equipment I was using, I actually went out of my way and ordered High Definition receivers even though most of my TVs were SD, but I felt it was important for me to future proof.

I am glad I did. They gave me the DPP Twin LNB which is compatible with new receivers including those that are dual tuners. If you want to change your dish go for it, you might even find a sweet deal because people are getting rid of it for next to nothing. my neighbour gave all his equipment away for free because he didn't want it

 

How did you receive the notice? Letter in mail or email? Rental will not be acceptable swap for a purchased receiver for me.

 

Thanks guys. Jdevlin, you're right that was my reaction too. The notice came as a letter via snail mail. Since the 3100 was originally purchased (together with the 2-year contract) I don't see this as a good deal on its own and I'm guessing a call would reveal all sorts of extras (like dish swap + installation) would be, well extra. That said, I'm sure there's the flip-side: to have Bell take back old tech off one's hands. But.

The letter itself was pretty thin on any further detail (call us or go get a portal account for the upgrade).

 

is it a zero rated rental? or are you charged fees? you should be able to call and find out more info about this, no?

 

When I get my letter if there is a fee I will certainly be calling.

 

Receieved the message via email so I'm assuming its a free 6241

Not sure exactly what that means. Does it mean the sourced SD signal will be only available from a HD transponder so we need new receivers?

Dear most loyal customer,
This is to inform you that most of the Bell Satellite TV standard definition (SD) programming will soon only be available in high definition (HD). To ensure you do not lose access to SD TV programming, you will need to replace your active SD receivers with HD receivers, at no additional cost.1

To upgrade your eligible SD receivers in MyBell today, please click the button below

 

To ensure you do not lose access to SD TV programming, you will need to replace your active SD receivers with HD receivers, at no additional cost.1

It looks like there may be a footnote based on that "1" at the end of your quote. Could you post that as well to help clarify everything? Could you also confirm if you own your SD receiver?

So far it looks like people with SD receivers will get a zero-rated (free) rental of the equivalent HD receiver, presumably for as long as they remain a Bell Satellite customer. It has the advantage that if it breaks, Bell will probably replace it, since it's a rental. So Bell is basically giving you a free HD upgrade. The only difference is that if you cancel your satellite service, you have to return the HD receiver to Bell, you can't resell it.

Those people who want to upgrade to a dual-tuner PVR will probably have to pay the regular rental, which is $10-$15/month depending on the number of Bell services you have.

 

It take it to mean the sd versions of the channels will be disappearing.

 

I was wondering that also but we still have several channel's that are not available in HD, (eg.509)

 

The SD channels will likely be upconverted to HD (720P on Bell). Same thing happens on Rogers IgniteTV (1080P).

 

The last time I had Bell Satellite, I remember there being a lot of channels that had both the Standard Definition and High Definition version. There were also from what I remember, some channels which were available ONLY in High definition, and some channels ONLY available in Standard definition.

If everyone has an HD receiver at the very minimum, then bell would not need to carry the SD equivalent channels anymore it could potentially free up transponder space.

I find it very interesting that we live in 2022 and we have content available with superior quality such as 2160p and up, but some broadcasters still choose to broadcast a channel in 480i/p. like wow, eh?

 

Not surprising at all. There's a large group of users out there who have no interest in HD/4K or any of that stuff. They've even got a HD capable TV because that is about all that is available now but they still say SD is good enough for them and subscribe to SD only while continuing to see HD as just a marketing gimmick. They'll tell you that they can see no difference in PQ. How do I know this? I'm "fortunate" enough to have one of these "Luddites" in my family. He's seen my 4K/Ultra HD setup showing movies, TV shows and what-not and still says to me that to him the difference is minor and not worth it. I think Bell Sat. is going to find a fair amount of resistance to this offer.

 

Whatever the case, I get the sinking feeling the swap out involves - for my case - more than just the receiver...it's the dish, LNB, maybe another cable run just to effect the swap and it's time to ask what those costs, pus the 'replacement rental' actually ends up being.

 

I have no intention to swap my 3 receivers and start paying rental fees.

If Bell wants to adjust its transmission or launch a replacement satellite or whatever, they'll have to buy me three new equivalent receivers outright.

 

As of right now the date of such a transition is unspecified. I would recommend holding out for the foreseeable future.

 

Do we know for sure if there are rental charges or is that just a speculation? How about someone who has already spoke to them on the phone can share with us what the swap involves?

 

I don't have the sheet on hand but yes it did. The small print had a monthly rental fee that I don't remember but it was over 10 dollars. Not sure if that's for a PVR capable receiver either. So I'm not itching to pay 3 times 10 or more for my replacements on a perpetual basis.

 

if the letter said "free" receiver swap, it would not be very smart to start introducing monthly fees once they swap it, that would be really bad of bell and attract a lot of negative publicity and unhappy customers.
I certainly hope this is not the case for you. Like Dr.Dave said, can you check what the footnote said?

 

"(1) Any new receiver is provided on a rental basis and therefore must be returned to Bell in the case of service termination to avoid non-return fees. See Bell Terms of Service for details."

 

If you were Targeted this offer, then I'm pretty sure Free means Free as in what Dr.Dave said, Zero Rated Rental. They might have it set up as a Rental on your account, however it should be $0. In all honesty, if your going from a SD box you own that will stop working very soon that will be worth nothing, to a Free HD box that is owned by bell that you can return if you leave.

I'm not tryin to side with bell here but look at the bigger picture, very soon your SD box will be discontinued, stop working and be worthless. If you have a SD TV, you actually CAN use a HD box on it, if they're offering it to you why wouldn't you take it? even if you don't end up owning it, its still sounds better than the situation your in.

 

A few years back a friend got an HDTV and was insisting there was no difference. With an SD receiver there really wasn't much of a difference.

I would get your family members eyes checked, especially if they are driving.

 

What receivers are you getting in place of what old receiver?

 

I will be receiving (free rental) a 9400 HD PVR plus receiver coming from a 5100 receiver.

 

I'll be curious to see if Bell continues to use both orbital locations for their signals. They definitely won't need all 64 transponders post migration. I'm thinking the main stuff will be on 91 and the less watched stuff will be on 82. Are any of Bell's receivers capable of HVEC? Nimiq 4 is getting towards the end of it's expected lifespan. Nimiq 6 still has at least 5 years of expected life which is why I think 91 will be the main location. They may only use a small amount of transponders on Nimiq 4 to extend the life of that satellite.

 

They may only use a small amount of transponders on Nimiq 4 to extend the life of that satellite.

I think that's their plan. I don't know if they can squeeze everything onto Nimiq-6, which has 32 transponders. It might be possible, because Shaw Direct plans to squeeze everything onto 16 transponders on G1 using HEVC.

Nimiq-4 was launched in 2008 and it doesn't look like they plan to replace it. After 15 years, it's on borrowed time.

 

Agreed. I actually think Bell and Shaw Direct long term will cease to exist in its current form. With Starlink and eventually Telesat's fleet of low orbit satellites, television from geosynchronous satellites is going to become obsolete. Bell could potentially lease an old satellite for 82 if they still need that location. They leased 3 old satellites back in the 2000s to divide up the payload at 82 and 91.

 

Have a 3100 and they replaced it with a 6500. Was told will shut down SD at years end but take that with a grain of salt. If you do not deactivate your SD receiver can use it along side your HD receiver till they shut down SD programming. One problem - before had 3100 and old crt tv and 4:3 aspect ratio worked fine. Received HD receiver and unhooked satellite cable from 3100 and attached it to 6500. Powered up 6500 and it went through initial setup and downloaded software updates etc. 6500works fine with 20inch dish with one legacy LNB in slot 91. However no amount of adjustments on either the 6500 nor the 3100 will affect the aspect ratio of appearing as 16:9 on the crt tv. Black bars on the top and bottom using either receiver. Even the 3100 will no longer display 4:3 even though it is adjusted in the menu and stats in the system info it is 4:3. No change in picture size whatsoever with either receiver. Any thoughts? Any questions? Will need a DPP quad LNB to update the dish to receive all the HD channels. Will insist Bell do it for free.

 

Have a 3100 and they replaced it with a 6500. Was told will shut down SD at years end but take that with a grain of salt. If you do not deactivate your SD receiver can use it along side your HD receiver till they shut down SD programming.

Did Bell tell you that you could continue to use your SD receiver? Other wise they might automatically deactivate it after a certain period of time after they send out the replacement receiver.

 

That'smy question as well. So all Bell did is just send you the receiver, no appropriate dish etc? I'm supposing that the installation of a different dish/LNB is an extra cost thing. Will find out this week when I finally get around to contacting them.

 

Called Bell and said have one LNB need dual LNB. B/c long time customer and equipment upgrade service was free. Made appointment, tech came had dual LNB in hand - told him I wanted a quad. No problem. Installed it by unscrewing and screwing the cables and shoving it into the two slots and screwing into place. Couldn’t be simpler. No setup nothing b/c my 91 slot had 100% signal. Dish is mounted on a wooden post.
Now comes the problem. If one looks to the south sky like their dish is pointed the 81 satellite is about 15 feet to the east of the 91 satellite. I have a big tree there. 91 works but 81 only gets 2 transponders of HD programming. I have to move my dish. Bell will cover it but I wanted time to figure out where as I didn’t want it on the roof with holes.
Tech showed me a free app he uses to get an idea of where a dish can go. Super simple. One just has to know the compass direction and vertical angle for sat91 at there location. Toronto is approx 207 and 38. Point your iPhone to the sky at the coordinates of your location and you will see where the satellites are. The app is called SatFinder lite. Enjoy. Another good app is called Dish Align for the coordinates.
Was charged $75 on the work order but said to watch my bill if Bell said they will cover the cost. Not Bell employee but contracted to them. Came in van but not Bell company van but had Bell polo shirt 👕 on.
Any questions? Took one for the team 😉 lol.
Looks like have to relocate dish on other side of the house and run new cables through the ceiling.
One other thing. Quad LNB both 6500 and 3100 work. 6500 program guide lists all subscribed channels including HD channels and tunes into the ones that have over 48 % signal on 82. 3100 guide lists all subscribed channels but does not list any HD channels although both 91 and 82 show as perfect when one runs the check switch.
Hopes this helps.