richNjoisy Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 I attended last Sunday's game and tivoed the game. Since it was a national broadcast, I tivoed it off the local feed and not off a directv NFL ticket channel (such as 314 etc). An article at the NY times http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09...#comment-147107 says that the writer (KC) did not get the games since his directv unit owned by him is MPEG 2. Directv spokesperson ("Byron") said this was an issue for HD receivers and that letters went out offering free receiver upgrades. KC replied he was receiving SD not HD and had the problem he described. I am not receiving HD and I received no such letter. Did anyone have problems - this question is for SD directv people only - receiving Sunday Ticket games last Sunday? Thanks for the feedback!! -RichNJoisy CNJBBB
Fezmid Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 I attended last Sunday's game and tivoed the game. Since it was a national broadcast, I tivoed it off the local feed and not off a directv NFL ticket channel (such as 314 etc). An article at the NY times http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09...#comment-147107 says that the writer (KC) did not get the games since his directv unit owned by him is MPEG 2. Directv spokesperson ("Byron") said this was an issue for HD receivers and that letters went out offering free receiver upgrades. KC replied he was receiving SD not HD and had the problem he described. I am not receiving HD and I received no such letter. Did anyone have problems - this question is for SD directv people only - receiving Sunday Ticket games last Sunday? Thanks for the feedback!! -RichNJoisy CNJBBB The MPEG-4 conversion is related to HD broadcasts only. If you don't have HD, that's why you didn't receive the letter. MPEG-4 uses less bandwidth, so in order for DirecTV to offer all of these HD channels, especially all of the locals, they needed to switch. That's why the HD-DirecTiVo is pretty much obsolete, since none of the HD channels can be recorded. No idea what the author's issue was -- but since I was able to see games on my SD series 2 DirecTiVo, I doubt it was a global issue like he says. Most of the calls/complaints are related to the game being "blacked out" on the Sunday Ticket channels if the game is being broadcast locally (which is a stupid rule, but it's something the NFL has mandated because local channels want you to see their commercials).
richNjoisy Posted September 22, 2009 Author Posted September 22, 2009 The MPEG-4 conversion is related to HD broadcasts only. If you don't have HD, that's why you didn't receive the letter. MPEG-4 uses less bandwidth, so in order for DirecTV to offer all of these HD channels, especially all of the locals, they needed to switch. That's why the HD-DirecTiVo is pretty much obsolete, since none of the HD channels can be recorded. No idea what the author's issue was -- but since I was able to see games on my SD series 2 DirecTiVo, I doubt it was a global issue like he says. Most of the calls/complaints are related to the game being "blacked out" on the Sunday Ticket channels if the game is being broadcast locally (which is a stupid rule, but it's something the NFL has mandated because local channels want you to see their commercials). Thanks for the reassurance Fez!!! I would HATE for my group to find itself looking at a blank screen next Sunday From what I can tell, this is NOT a Fox Doubleheader Sunday so I am not expecting the Bills to be a National game in the NJ area (Giants at Tampa at 1 pm the only locally shown Fox game).
bills_fan_in_raleigh Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 The MPEG-4 conversion is related to HD broadcasts only. If you don't have HD, that's why you didn't receive the letter. MPEG-4 uses less bandwidth, so in order for DirecTV to offer all of these HD channels, especially all of the locals, they needed to switch. That's why the HD-DirecTiVo is pretty much obsolete, since none of the HD channels can be recorded. No idea what the author's issue was -- but since I was able to see games on my SD series 2 DirecTiVo, I doubt it was a global issue like he says. Most of the calls/complaints are related to the game being "blacked out" on the Sunday Ticket channels if the game is being broadcast locally (which is a stupid rule, but it's something the NFL has mandated because local channels want you to see their commercials). There were issues reported on Directv forums about folks not getting the feeds. It appears many ignored the email telling them that their old receivers would not work starting week number 2. I think the issue was with HD not SD receivers. I do not understand the stupid NFL rule on locals who watches the commercials anyways its time for a body break, refill the food/drinks, flip around to other games etc.
plenzmd1 Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Thanks for the reassurance Fez!!! I would HATE for my group to find itself looking at a blank screen next SundayFrom what I can tell, this is NOT a Fox Doubleheader Sunday so I am not expecting the Bills to be a National game in the NJ area (Giants at Tampa at 1 pm the only locally shown Fox game). Rich, seems I have read about this a few times..think I would call D* and make sure before the games next week. I personally have no clue, all my recievers about 1 yr old and MPEG-4 so haven't been keeping track. BTW Fez, did you see the dual buffers is now live
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 I have SD, and have an old receiver (and no HD). I had no problems watching the game on SD last weekend.
richNjoisy Posted September 22, 2009 Author Posted September 22, 2009 I have SD, and have an old receiver (and no HD). I had no problems watching the game on SD last weekend. Thanks JR - again, I appreciate the reassurance! I may, at some point, upgrade to HD but it will be on my terms once I am convinced the Directv units are worth it (I am still hearing some horror stories) and when I am convinced the cost of the unit, the cost of the monthlyl lease, the cost of the monthly HD feed and the upgrade to my 42" monitor all worth the benefit of HD and the various new "toys" that come with it. So far, I am content with SD and my 42" panasonic monitor and my older receiver that I OWN (no monthly lease fee).
GG Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 There was a long discussion about this on Sun. DTV messed up big time. It's not just an HD issue.
richNjoisy Posted September 22, 2009 Author Posted September 22, 2009 There was a long discussion about this on Sun. DTV messed up big time. It's not just an HD issue. So does this mean SOME people had legitimate issues with their SD reception while others had no problems? This suggests that some receivers are too old while others are not? If this is the case, how can one tell ahead of time? Does anyone know if Directv is going to respond to this?
bills_fan_in_raleigh Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 So does this mean SOME people had legitimate issues with their SD reception while others had no problems? This suggests that some receivers are too old while others are not? If this is the case, how can one tell ahead of time? Does anyone know if Directv is going to respond to this? I suggest you look at a DTV forum dbstalk is a good starting point. From what I gathered is folks were notified that the receiver needed to be upgraded but failed to pay attention than the stuff hit the fan when they tried to watch games on sunday. So if you recorded the game and can watch it you do not seem to be affected.
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Thanks JR - again, I appreciate the reassurance! I may, at some point, upgrade to HD but it will be on my terms once I am convinced the Directv units are worth it (I am still hearing some horror stories) and when I am convinced the cost of the unit, the cost of the monthlyl lease, the cost of the monthly HD feed and the upgrade to my 42" monitor all worth the benefit of HD and the various new "toys" that come with it. So far, I am content with SD and my 42" panasonic monitor and my older receiver that I OWN (no monthly lease fee). Sounds like we're in exactly the same boat (only I have a 33 inch old-school TV ). I was panicking on Sunday when I read the horror-story threads on here about Sunday Ticket, but rest assured, it worked fine for me and those of us in our shoes.
eball Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 BTW Fez, did you see the dual buffers is now live I'm not Fez, but I saw it, and it's about time! Finally one of the best features of TiVo comes to the DTV box.
GG Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 So does this mean SOME people had legitimate issues with their SD reception while others had no problems? This suggests that some receivers are too old while others are not? If this is the case, how can one tell ahead of time? Does anyone know if Directv is going to respond to this? As I understand, if you have an old DTV box (like mine) you couldn't get ST on Sunday. They did not notify people of the issue before hand, and the lines were too swamped on Sunday to figure out what was happening.
richNjoisy Posted September 22, 2009 Author Posted September 22, 2009 Sounds like we're in exactly the same boat (only I have a 33 inch old-school TV ). I was panicking on Sunday when I read the horror-story threads on here about Sunday Ticket, but rest assured, it worked fine for me and those of us in our shoes. JR - what kind of receiver do you have? GG is reporting he had problems. You are not. mine is a MPEG 2 GXCEB0T ...hughes I think
richNjoisy Posted September 22, 2009 Author Posted September 22, 2009 http://www.tvpredictions.com/dfumble092209.htm I just found this: " But on Sunday, DIRECTV only sent the 1 p.m. ET games in high-def in MPEG 4. Consequently, the MPEG 2 receivers displayed a blank screen and an error code. "This may sound like a minor issue, but in reality it may have affected tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of NFL. fans," the Times writes today. After being bombarded with phone calls, DIRECTV issued an alert on its Twitter page saying the problem would be resolved for "the next set of games," meaning the games that began at 4 p.m. The Sunday Ticket is a pay package that allows DIRECTV viewers to watch every Sunday afternoon game during the NFL regular season. The package costs from $279 to $299, depending upon when you order it. If you want to watch the games in high-def, the satcaster charges viewers an extra $99 for its 'Super Fan' package. Presumably, DIRECTV will send this week's games in high-def in both MPEG 2 and MPEG 4." I need to find this "twitter page" to verify this
Fezmid Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 BTW Fez, did you see the dual buffers is now live It's only live on one of my HD DVRs -- the other doesn't seem to have received the software update yet.
Fezmid Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 Thanks JR - again, I appreciate the reassurance! I may, at some point, upgrade to HD but it will be on my terms once I am convinced the Directv units are worth it (I am still hearing some horror stories) and when I am convinced the cost of the unit, the cost of the monthlyl lease, the cost of the monthly HD feed and the upgrade to my 42" monitor all worth the benefit of HD and the various new "toys" that come with it. So far, I am content with SD and my 42" panasonic monitor and my older receiver that I OWN (no monthly lease fee). The HD boxes work fine now. They're not as nice as the TiVo units, but they're still functional and have some cool features that aren't available on the older ones (ie: I can setup recordings from the web when I'm at work). Also, if you only have one receiver in the house, you don't pay a monthly fee. the "lease" vs "own" thing is overblown -- it's just a bookkeeping thing on DirecTV's side. First receiver is free, others are $5/month, same price as in the "owning" days. Stickign with SD has its advantages though -- namely, you don't cringe when you see SD.
plenzmd1 Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 It's only live on one of my HD DVRs -- the other doesn't seem to have received the software update yet. Hate to admit I have 4 of these things in my house, but I do and all are upgraded( i think, haven't checked the one in the attic yet). And E, finally is right!!!
WellDressed Posted September 22, 2009 Posted September 22, 2009 I'm not Fez, but I saw it, and it's about time! Finally one of the best features of TiVo comes to the DTV box. The only problem is if you pause the fist tuner and jump to the other and then back to the first, that tuner goes live.
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