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Greensboro, NC - HDTV - Page 330

post #9871 of 10652
2/10/12 at 7:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ejb1980 View Post

The problem I am seeing is that the people who respond to emails don't even know what an AM21 is!

Agreed. I guess I was hoping against hope that providing some specifics would prevent an automatic form reply. I had even thought we might be able to add something along the lines of... "according to an engineering contact at the local station, the problem is the x thingamabob needs to be recalibrated for the y hoozit."

May also be helpful to add "I've corresponded with several other people in my area and none of us can get this channel, so it's not a matter of rebooting our receiver, checking our antenna, etc." In fact, in my case, I can get OTA reception with the same antenna, just not with the AM21.
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post #9872 of 10652
2/10/12 at 7:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LCollett View Post

I have sent email's to D* in the past concerning this matter.

I meant to ask... do the e-mail replies include a tracking number? Just wondering in case it was possible to ask to bump the request up the ladder and have someone review the thread without starting from scratch.
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post #9873 of 10652
2/10/12 at 10:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by difuse View Post

My solution has been to use solicitations to provde me with service as kindling, if paper. If solicited in person, I try to affect a look that I might use the solicitor as kindling. I cannot see myself paying for the previlege of watching commercials. Cable and dish can't give me what I want, anyway. I hope you fellows come to a solution, but I have mine. If I want Antenna TV, ME TV. Retro TV, or THIS, I punch in a number on a remote, and there it is. And I don't worry that a local program director might not care for me to see a network offering. I have duplicates of all the broadcast nets. Dish and cable want to tell me what I want.

Well, it's all a matter of personal preferences. I am an OTA enthusiast and always will be. And I strongly support all local broadcasters for many reasons. But I do think it is a matter of choice too. I like some of the national/paid feeds such as the History Channel, Nat Geo, AMC, Animal Planet, etc, just to name a few. But, IMO, there are FAR too many filler channels that are inevitably part of the paid package.

As for Dish and cable, I think we can ALL agree that they have their shortcomings; and this issue with D* and 8.2 Antenna TV is yet another case in point. It seems these people who accept customer inquires are only trained to give scripted replies in a lot of instances with no technical background whatsoever.

But as for Dish or Cable telling you what you want with locals, that is another topic and is generally mandated by federal policies versus those of cable or satellite. For example, it is the government who has created (and sometimes changes) designated market areas across the country (all counties mandated to be in one market versus another). And in these cases, access to local networks truly stops at the county lines. In the so called information age that we live, I am not aware of any other types of media that is so tightly regulated in this way.
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post #9874 of 10652
2/11/12 at 5:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by evan237 View Post

Well, it's all a matter of personal preferences. I am an OTA enthusiast and always will be. And I strongly support all local broadcasters for many reasons. But I do think it is a matter of choice too. I like some of the national/paid feeds such as the History Channel, Nat Geo, AMC, Animal Planet, etc, just to name a few. But, IMO, there are FAR too many filler channels that are inevitably part of the paid package.

As for Dish and cable, I think we can ALL agree that they have their shortcomings; and this issue with D* and 8.2 Antenna TV is yet another case in point. It seems these people who accept customer inquires are only trained to give scripted replies in a lot of instances with no technical background whatsoever.

But as for Dish or Cable telling you what you want with locals, that is another topic and is generally mandated by federal policies versus those of cable or satellite. For example, it is the government who has created (and sometimes changes) designated market areas across the country (all counties mandated to be in one market versus another). And in these cases, access to local networks truly stops at the county lines. In the so called information age that we live, I am not aware of any other types of media that is so tightly regulated in this way.

This is one of the reasons I love the idea of the AM21. It allows me to combine my interest in receiving channels OTA and mix it into Directv. I have always seen it as Directv trying to fix flaws in the DMA system by giving the consumer more local choices. (At least I'll pretend that's the reason, I guess it was made for people to integrate HD locals into their guide before their DMA was available in HD on Directv.) The AM21 is far from perfect (as we've been discussing) but at least they try. It should just scan and take OTA guide info. To me, that would be SO MUCH easier for them to deal with. The missing channels are so annoying!!
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post #9875 of 10652
2/11/12 at 5:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by evan237 View Post

Well, it's all a matter of personal preferences. I am an OTA enthusiast and always will be. And I strongly support all local broadcasters for many reasons. But I do think it is a matter of choice too. I like some of the national/paid feeds such as the History Channel, Nat Geo, AMC, Animal Planet, etc, just to name a few. But, IMO, there are FAR too many filler channels that are inevitably part of the paid package.

As for Dish and cable, I think we can ALL agree that they have their shortcomings; and this issue with D* and 8.2 Antenna TV is yet another case in point. It seems these people who accept customer inquires are only trained to give scripted replies in a lot of instances with no technical background whatsoever.

But as for Dish or Cable telling you what you want with locals, that is another topic and is generally mandated by federal policies versus those of cable or satellite. For example, it is the government who has created (and sometimes changes) designated market areas across the country (all counties mandated to be in one market versus another). And in these cases, access to local networks truly stops at the county lines. In the so called information age that we live, I am not aware of any other types of media that is so tightly regulated in this way.

I agree. My bottom line is that dish and or cable can not be a problem for me so long as I try to pretend they do not exist. If enough viewers determined not to pay for additional aggravation in their lives, things might improve. The market will correct. Of course, so lomg as government is involved, market reailty will be distorted . I cannot see a point where I will deal with temperamental technology so I may pay a monthly fee. Life is litterally "outside the box". With the exception of the rare times TV lives up to its original promise of allowing a general public to see significant events from far away, TV is just entertainment. That's unavoidable. But I do not care to encourage the current fact that the box and associated remote control is the most widely used drug in the USA. I'm not a fan of turning History into contrived melodrama, or Geography into political sophistry. When I turn the box on, I want no pretense. I'm in front of it to be entertained.
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post #9876 of 10652
2/11/12 at 1:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by difuse View Post

I agree. My bottom line is that dish and or cable can not be a problem for me so long as I try to pretend they do not exist. If enough viewers determined not to pay for additional aggravation in their lives, things might improve. The market will correct. Of course, so lomg as government is involved, market reailty will be distorted . I cannot see a point where I will deal with temperamental technology so I may pay a monthly fee. Life is litterally "outside the box". With the exception of the rare times TV lives up to its original promise of allowing a general public to see significant events from far away, TV is just entertainment. That's unavoidable. But I do not care to encourage the current fact that the box and associated remote control is the most widely used drug in the USA. I'm not a fan of turning History into contrived melodrama, or Geography into political sophistry. When I turn the box on, I want no pretense. I'm in front of it to be entertained.

IMO, OTA only is not bad at all for people who don't watch a lot of TV. The PQ is usually better than digital cable or satellite. And while the channels are limited, it's really not bad at all, especially when supplemented with a movie service for $8 bucks a month. Add your own DVR to that (if a person wants), and OTA becomes even better!!

At this time, I have OTA and cable. But I only agreed to accept TWC back b/c they gave me a new customer rate; and I do like it for a few of the speciality networks.

If/when TWC wants to increase my rate, I'll cut them right back off. And they know I'll do this b/c we've gone through this before; and I've done just fine without cable. I only watch the cable for the specialty network. On general principle, I stick with OTA viewing for all locals.
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post #9877 of 10652
2/11/12 at 1:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ejb1980 View Post

This is one of the reasons I love the idea of the AM21. It allows me to combine my interest in receiving channels OTA and mix it into Directv. I have always seen it as Directv trying to fix flaws in the DMA system by giving the consumer more local choices. (At least I'll pretend that's the reason, I guess it was made for people to integrate HD locals into their guide before their DMA was available in HD on Directv.) The AM21 is far from perfect (as we've been discussing) but at least they try. It should just scan and take OTA guide info. To me, that would be SO MUCH easier for them to deal with. The missing channels are so annoying!!

I've got a TiVo and it works in a similar manner as far as combining OTA and paid/subscription channels into a single guide lineup. This is MUCH better versus using an A/B switch or changing inputs on the remote everytime a viewer wants to go back and forth between OTA and paid TV.

I have no experience with the AM21. But I can say the TiVo is a great product in terms of being very intuitive, a nice interface, and complete guide information on all channels. And if ever guide information is missing on any channel, it's easy to contact TiVo and report the issue, knowing that it will be fixed.

But as far as the AM21, I think it is amazing that D* cannot get their butts in gear and resolve the issue of Antenna TV 8.2. I would gladly join you on the e-mail campaign (or call them myself) if I had the AM21. That type of service is unacceptable; and I hope it is fixed for you and the others soon.
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post #9878 of 10652
2/15/12 at 8:35am
For those who are interested in mobile TV...

I saw this story today and thought of the discussion here a week or so ago:

Granite Broadcasting Venture Will Send Shows to Mobile Devices Over Its Airwaves
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post #9879 of 10652
2/15/12 at 2:48pm
I e-mailed customer service and got a reply back today. I was told that they couldn't help me via e-mail, and that I would need to call tech support. I just did and the guy I got told me that the technicians in the broadcast center were aware of the issue and that it was being worked on.

At first, I thought it was a brush off since I hadn't mentioned the station by name or number. I asked about that and was told that, when he looked it up, the local market was one of the ones listed - he mentioned Ft. Wayne as another one - as having issues with broadcast station reception. He said there was nothing further he and I could do at this time.

I still retain some optimism that something might be able to be done. I replied to the e-mail with the above details and added the following:

"From talking to local people, I know that this problem has been reported to DirecTV many times in recent months, with no progress. I was hoping that there was some way for me to add my name to the list of people reporting this problem so that someone, somewhere, at DirecTV would realize the inconvenience this is to many customers. I'm also assuming that, if I've talked to 6 or 8 people who've complained about this, there are dozens more who haven't connected with others to see if anything can be done.

Is there any way to be in touch with a technician (or supervisor in the technical area) who has experience with this type of issue to explain what we believe the problem to be?"

**Update to my update:

We'll see what happens, but I got a response within 15 minutes. In said, in part:

"Thanks for writing us back. Upon review of your previous email, I am sorry to hear what you have experienced with your AM21 and with the previous communication you had with our technical support agent. I would like to personally assure you that your feedback about this is very important to us.

I just wanted to let you know that I received your email, and I have escalated your email to a specialist who will personally research your issue and reply to you.

By escalating your issue, we can resolve this concern without further inconvenience. We respect your time and want to reassure you that we are working diligently to get back to you as soon as we can. While this may take some time, our specialists generally respond within 24 hours.

Thanks again for writing. We appreciate your patience while we work to resolve this issue for you."
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post #9880 of 10652
2/15/12 at 9:36pm
Folks,

Just thought I would share a couple of technical details and advancements in our operation at WGSR. The first, and most obvious, is that we have improved our internet stream to display the maximum signal we can do on our somewhat limited bandwidth. The picture is now 14x9, and when internet congestion is at a minimum we actually put a 720p picture on the UStream page. You can see the results at http://www.wgsr47.com .

Also, we have two tower cameras set up to give us aerial pictures of Reidsville and Brown's Summit. The cameras are HD, 1280x720, and look sharp! Watch WGSR's morning and evening newscasts to see what we do with them.

We are in a dialog with the marketing people at Time-Warner Cable about getting market-wide signal carriage, and things look promising. If any of you would like to see our signal light up in Greensboro, Asheboro, Burlington, Kernersville, Winston-Salem, Thomasville and Lexington, please contact Time-Warner and put in a word for us. Any help will definitely be appreciated, and if TWC identifies any one person as being majorly responsible for their deciding to add us, I'll personally buy that person a steak dinner.

Technical improvements are slowing down until the economy improves, but we're looking to add HD to WMDV in Danville in the next two years, and attempt to get that station on as many Comcast and other cable outlets in Virginia. We've also begun to push DirecTV to add us to the Greensboro local channels. That effort is going slowly though. The decision-makers in DirecTV wish to remain annonymous...even from their customers.

Well, that's what's going on in our world. I'll let you know as things progress.

Matt Smith, Station Manager
WGSR-LD, Reidsville, NC
WMDV-LD, Danville, VA
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post #9881 of 10652
2/16/12 at 8:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Smith-WGSR View Post

Folks,

Just thought I would share a couple of technical details and advancements in our operation at WGSR. The first, and most obvious, is that we have improved our internet stream to display the maximum signal we can do on our somewhat limited bandwidth. The picture is now 14x9, and when internet congestion is at a minimum we actually put a 720p picture on the UStream page. You can see the results at http://www.wgsr47.com .

Also, we have two tower cameras set up to give us aerial pictures of Reidsville and Brown's Summit. The cameras are HD, 1280x720, and look sharp! Watch WGSR's morning and evening newscasts to see what we do with them.

We are in a dialog with the marketing people at Time-Warner Cable about getting market-wide signal carriage, and things look promising. If any of you would like to see our signal light up in Greensboro, Asheboro, Burlington, Kernersville, Winston-Salem, Thomasville and Lexington, please contact Time-Warner and put in a word for us. Any help will definitely be appreciated, and if TWC identifies any one person as being majorly responsible for their deciding to add us, I'll personally buy that person a steak dinner.

Technical improvements are slowing down until the economy improves, but we're looking to add HD to WMDV in Danville in the next two years, and attempt to get that station on as many Comcast and other cable outlets in Virginia. We've also begun to push DirecTV to add us to the Greensboro local channels. That effort is going slowly though. The decision-makers in DirecTV wish to remain annonymous...even from their customers.

Well, that's what's going on in our world. I'll let you know as things progress.

Matt Smith, Station Manager
WGSR-LD, Reidsville, NC
WMDV-LD, Danville, VA

Obviously, I don't have access to your station in Winston-Salem via cable nor antenna. And so I've got no experience watching WGSR. However, I would be happy to make a call to TWC for you as a viewer in this market.

With all the filler channels that cable companies provide, I believe they should be required to carry ALL stations in a given market, whether it's a full power station or low power. They should be forced to retransmit, particularly when the local requests it. Afterall, it's not like we are not subject to all these other crazy rules with paid/subscription TV.

This is just my opinion. But I have no problem putting in a word about WGSR with TWC. BTW, I understand WGSR is a VERY local station. But, I would assume that would most likely change if the station got access to all of the Piedmont Triad.
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post #9882 of 10652
2/16/12 at 8:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SVTarHeel View Post

For those who are interested in mobile TV...

I saw this story today and thought of the discussion here a week or so ago:

Granite Broadcasting Venture Will Send Shows to Mobile Devices Over Its Airwaves

Thanks for sharing that article. I'd like to see LOTS more articles like this. IMO, mobile devices using the airwaves would help make the broadcast spectrum more relevant.

I understand South Korea and Japan are WAY ahead of the US in this area. And their populations seem quite happy with mobile media using the airwaves.
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post #9883 of 10652
2/17/12 at 12:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt Smith-WGSR View Post

Folks,

Just thought I would share a couple of technical details and advancements in our operation at WGSR. The first, and most obvious, is that we have improved our internet stream to display the maximum signal we can do on our somewhat limited bandwidth. The picture is now 14x9, and when internet congestion is at a minimum we actually put a 720p picture on the UStream page. You can see the results at http://www.wgsr47.com .

Also, we have two tower cameras set up to give us aerial pictures of Reidsville and Brown's Summit. The cameras are HD, 1280x720, and look sharp! Watch WGSR's morning and evening newscasts to see what we do with them.

We are in a dialog with the marketing people at Time-Warner Cable about getting market-wide signal carriage, and things look promising. If any of you would like to see our signal light up in Greensboro, Asheboro, Burlington, Kernersville, Winston-Salem, Thomasville and Lexington, please contact Time-Warner and put in a word for us. Any help will definitely be appreciated, and if TWC identifies any one person as being majorly responsible for their deciding to add us, I'll personally buy that person a steak dinner.

Technical improvements are slowing down until the economy improves, but we're looking to add HD to WMDV in Danville in the next two years, and attempt to get that station on as many Comcast and other cable outlets in Virginia. We've also begun to push DirecTV to add us to the Greensboro local channels. That effort is going slowly though. The decision-makers in DirecTV wish to remain annonymous...even from their customers.

Well, that's what's going on in our world. I'll let you know as things progress.

Matt Smith, Station Manager
WGSR-LD, Reidsville, NC
WMDV-LD, Danville, VA

You can also thank Directv for screwing something up with the AM21 which allows us to watch WGSR on Directv if you add a Raleigh zip code and watch WRPX 47-1! The guide info is incorrect, obviously, but we can still watch WGSR.

And, speaking of screwed up AM21s, SVTarheel, I have received that same message nearly verbatim in regards to WGHP-2. Twice
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post #9884 of 10652
2/17/12 at 5:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ejb1980 View Post

And, speaking of screwed up AM21s, SVTarheel, I have received that same message nearly verbatim in regards to WGHP-2. Twice

Well, I was hopeful. It took 48 hours or so, but I did get a more detailed response this afternoon, to which I replied with even more info. If anyone would care to see the contents of either - or both - emails, I can send them to you or post them here.
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post #9885 of 10652
2/17/12 at 5:26pm
I am curious. Post away!
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post #9886 of 10652
2/18/12 at 7:15am
Here's the main portion of what I received Friday:

Thank you for contacting us. I will be happy to address your concern with getting channel 8.2 through the AM21.

First, I wanted to let you know that your feedback is of great value to DIRECTV and the services we offer. I want to assure you that the information you have provided has been forwarded to the appropriate department to review and handle accordingly. While this may not have an immediate impact, it will provide us with critical information to make the AM21 device more effective. Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention.

As you may know, that AM21 is only compatible with ATSC stations. In some cities, you may get more channels if you run the antenna cable directly to the TV. This is most common in small cities, like Palm Springs, CA, where there may be a lot of low-power analog stations (NTSC).

At this point, I would suggest trying to re-scan for all of the ATSC digital sub-channels. Once the scan is complete, all of the available channels should appear in your on-screen guide. You can periodically repeat these steps to check for new digital sub-channels. If this still doesn't work, you can also run your antenna cable directly to the TV and disconnect the AM21. This may allow you to see that channel, but of course you won't be able to record to your DVR.

Here's most of my response: (As I mention below, I apologize for my ignorance of the the technological terms, specifics, etc. - please feel free to offer corrections)

Thanks for your response. Let me see if I can clarify the situation...

When using the AM21, channel 8.2 scans and appears in the program guide just as it should. The problem is that there is no picture reception. I've corresponded with a half dozen or so people in the local area, all of whom have the same problem, either using the AM21 or a receiver with built-in ATSC tuner. (As I mentioned earlier, I'm guessing that, if there are 6-8 people communicating online, there are dozens that have the same problem are are unconnected to us.)

As best we can tell, the problem is on DirecTV's end. Pardon my potentially poor understanding of the terminology in the following explanation, but the main suspicion has to do with WGHP changing frequencies. For decades, WGHP was analog channel 8. As I understand it, it also started out as digital channel 8 but later switched to digital channel 35. They kept the '8' for marketing purposes but the frequency isn't attached to the one for channel 8 at all. Our thinking is that DirecTV still has something in the system pointing 8.2 to the frequency for digital channel 8 and, since there's nothing to find there, the picture is blank even though the correct program guide is filled in (from a different source).

I can appreciate the generic customer service responses, but several of us have been writing in for months and the solution is not to rescan the local channels, reboot the system, etc. NO ONE has been able to receive 8.2 via DirecTV, including one of the engineers from a local station. As I mentioned, using the same antenna, I can receive the station crystal clear via my TV's tuner. I'm about 25 miles from the tower, and the others are spread all over the area, so the idea of it being a tuner sensitivity issue seems unlikely as well.

I hope this added information is helpful. On the one hand, I'm sure that the inability for a group of subscribers to view a digital subchannel is likely a low priority repair. But, considering the number of times I know that it's been reported, it's increasingly frustrating. As I mentioned, I got the AM21 for the express purpose of adding the local subchannels to my DVR-able stations. Having 8.2 unavailable gives me only 50% of the stations for which I bought the unit in the first place. We had cable for 30+ years until a year ago. As a relatively new subscriber, the inability to have this satisfactorily addressed is worrisome as well.

Thanks again for your attention to this. My hope is to not be a nuisance but to apply the adage of the squeaky wheel getting the grease. In my ignorance, this would seem to be a simple fix - just a matter of the right person becoming aware of the problem so that a switch can be flipped or a line of code can be fixed. I'm hoping that I - and maybe the others - can squeak enough to have this box checked as completed by someone on the technical side of things.

I just checked and have a reply from a couple of hours ago. I'll post it separately. It appears that I got someone who knows even less than I do. If that's not the case, I can declare my optimism to be severely diminished...
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post #9887 of 10652
2/18/12 at 7:21am
My latest (confusing) missive from DirecTV:

You've been a customer with us for a little more than a year now, so I'm not sure if you're aware that all sub channels are not available through DIRECTV. Our satellite capacity doesn't allow it at this time. While we are unable to provide you with a detailed listing of all sub channels available in your area, please be advised that scanning, as you may have previously done, will pull in all available channels.

If the channel isn't coming through, as in your case, the only resolution is to run your antenna cable directly to the TV and disconnect the AM 21. This will allow you to get all available stations. Keep in mind that some might be analog and standard-definition only. You can also record them on your DVR, but they will not appear in the guide.

The only way to receive additional local channels/sub-channels that are not carried by DIRECTV is if you have an off air antenna and can receive a signal from the local station providing it. If disconnecting the antenna from the back of your DIRECTV receiver and running it directly into the back of your television set doesn't pull the channel in for you, then the channel cannot be obtained. As this method bypasses DIRECTV satellites and it is pulling from all available local channel signals in your area.

My response:

Thank you for your response, but I'm afraid I don't understand it. Why would satellite capacity have any bearing on the ability for an antenna to receive a signal and route it through an AM21 tuner?

I'm also confused by the statement about bypassing the AM21 - right now the station DOES show up in the guide but there's no visible picture. I don't see how I can record to my DVR since taking the AM21 out of the loop results in no connection from the antenna to the DVR itself. In fact, one of the earlier replies to my question included the following: "If this still doesn't work, you can also run your antenna cable directly to the TV and disconnect the AM21. This may allow you to see that channel, but of course you won't be able to record to your DVR."

Reading my original inquiry will show that my whole purpose for getting the AM21 was to add the local subchannels to my DVR-capable options.

My previous exchanges encouraged me, since it seemed like I was getting increased understanding from the reps as to the nature of the problem. I'm hoping today's response will prove to be the glitch it appears to be...
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post #9888 of 10652
2/18/12 at 8:47am
FYI, I have just got off the phone with ANOTHER DirecTV division on this .2 issue. I explained what has been happening including the latest CSR emails. He also believes that either/or a combination of the STA 8/35 or pointing the receiver to the wrong channel is the culprit. He has asked me to send him some information and I about to do that now. Lets hope this gets it fixed.

I think we are closer now than we have been in the past. Keep your fingers crossed.
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post #9889 of 10652
2/18/12 at 9:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by foxeng View Post

I think we are closer now than we have been in the past. Keep your fingers crossed.

My fingers have been crossed that my e-mails weren't confusing the issue and delaying things further
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post #9890 of 10652
2/18/12 at 9:52am
I don't know how long it will take them to fix it, but I suspect, the fix will be downloaded on the daily program guide update so it will be at least 24 hours. I suspect longer though.
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post #9891 of 10652
2/18/12 at 10:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by foxeng View Post

I don't know how long it will take them to fix it, but I suspect, the fix will be downloaded on the daily program guide update so it will be at least 24 hours.

Since the guide data is already present, would you expect there to be a need for action on our part - rescan, re-enter primary zip, reboot, etc? Or, if/when they get it fixed, should 8.2 automagically be viewable?
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post #9892 of 10652
2/18/12 at 10:34am
I don't think the viewer needs to do anything. It will just work one day. That is why they do it so you don't have to re-scan. I would rather be able to scan though. Just me.
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post #9893 of 10652
2/18/12 at 11:33am
When I correspond with them, I am always sure to mention that I am able to receive the 8-1 WGHP signal with the AM21. This is a snippet of what I sent them:

When all channels are shown on my guide, from Directv and from the AM21, this is what's there:

8 WGHP HD (via Directv - picture/sound is there)
8 WGHP SD (via Directv - picture/sound is there)
8-1 WGHPDT (via AM21 - picture/sound IS THERE)
8-2 WGHPDT2 (via AM21 - no picture/no sound. Only the "Searching for signal from the off-air tuner.) This is because the AM21 doesn't know to look for 8-2 on RF 35!

I do not understand why the AM21 can't scan for channels like it supposedly does when hooked to a HR34 receiver. Do any of you have an HR34 receiver with an AM21 to test it?

I just re-did my AM21 for fun and WGHPSTA did not show up... is that a good sign?
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post #9894 of 10652
2/18/12 at 11:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ejb1980 View Post

I just re-did my AM21 for fun and WGHPSTA did not show up... is that a good sign?

I think it is too early.
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post #9895 of 10652
2/18/12 at 6:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by foxeng View Post

I don't think the viewer needs to do anything. It will just work one day.

I hope your efforts pay off. My latest response seems to reflect the end of the road:

I understand that you want to add the local subchannels to your DVR-capable options. Please note that we can't guarantee any signals receives on these channels. We offer the equipment as an attempt to help, but as DIRECTV is a satellite service company, we cannot assume responsibility for an off-air signal coming from another company.

I'd like you to know that you've provided valuable feedback for us regarding your technical concerns, and so I have forwarded your email to DIRECTV's Management Team for an internal review. Such useful information may be disseminated to our Broadcast and Engineering Departments for handling, as well. Although you won't be directly contacted, they review every suggestion, inquiry and complaint for trends from our most important customers to determine what changes should be considered.

We're glad to have been of service, and if you have further questions or concerns please contact us

I was really struck by the past tense of "glad to have been of service." I'll ignore asking by what possible definition that could be remotely true. I did respond with the following clarification:

> I understand that you want to add the local subchannels to your DVR-capable options.

That is incorrect. I can receive a couple of dozen channels with the AM21. There's ONE channel that NO ONE in our area can get - with either the AM21 or a receiver with built-in tuner - but we can ALL receive it OTA. I'm trying to get someone at DirecTV to acknowledge that the problem is on your end and figure out who to route the problem ticket to so it can be fixed for all of us.

Since they have a message from me, I'm guessing I'll get some kind of response, if for no other reason that to close the loop.
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post #9896 of 10652
2/19/12 at 6:04am
I am leery about how much technical info really gets to where it needs to go from these CSR's. The technical stuff happens at Castle Rock, Colo. The CSR's are all over the place and few if any I bet are in Castle Rock.
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post #9897 of 10652
2/19/12 at 6:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by foxeng View Post

I am leery about how much technical info really gets to where it needs to go from these CSR's.

That's my feeling too..I certainly know that is true with TWC...On the first day of CSR School they teach: "repeat after me class: The problem is the Tv station not us"
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post #9898 of 10652
2/19/12 at 8:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bdfox18doe View Post

That's my feeling too..I certainly know that is true with TWC...On the first day of CSR School they teach: "repeat after me class: The problem is the Tv station not us"

Related, I will offer my opinion that both WCCB and WGHP are technically in good shape. I frequently watch both, and with no issues.
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post #9899 of 10652
2/19/12 at 9:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by difuse View Post

Related, I will offer my opinion that both WCCB and WGHP are technically in good shape. I frequently watch both, and with no issues.

Thanks.. we try hard to make sure we have a quality product..which makes it very frustrating when CSR's give customers bad information as they are here.
I deal with TWC doing it all the time..
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post #9900 of 10652
2/19/12 at 10:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SVTarHeel View Post

I'm guessing I'll get some kind of response, if for no other reason that to close the loop.

No e-mail but just got a phone call. (Someone tried to call yesterday, but I missed it, so he e-mailed.) The guy today suggested that the tuners in TVs might be better/stronger/more sensitive to pick up a low power station. I didn't think WGHP's 8.2 was low power, but I honestly didn't know and I told him so.

I asked if he had read the earlier messages about the frequency changeover, many people in the same boat, etc. - he had, but again suggested that those of us in different areas might still be able to get 8.2 OTA and not via D* if it was a low power station.

Regardless, he said he would escalate this to engineering (which I suspect some of you have heard before) but he was very profuse in his thanks for the additional information I had tried to explain to him.

I also told him that we knew that the station itself had tried for months to have D* look into the issue with no resolution so far. We shall see...

One area of ignorance my conversation with him brought up - I don't know if 8.2 was live before all the frequency issues, if it was EVER viewable via D* tuners, etc.
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