Denver, CO - Satellite - Page 8

I wouldn't call it a conspiracy (DirecTV taking my order and scheduling an install even though they don't have equipment) - I'd just call it a calculated, but poor, business policy. What do they have to lose? A few people (like my friend and I) get disgusted and cancel our orders, while most people will accept the delay.

or you can try working with them. There are many approaches one can take in life as I tried to point out. I have my HR-20
Am I lucky or did my approach work?

I live in Denver Colorado and The Altitude website states the following on their website to get the HD sporting events:

DirecTV ch. 97 in Denver, CO and various surrounding communities (contact DirecTV at 1-800-DIRECTV or visit the DirecTV HD Sports page for availability and equipment requirements)

well when I turn my tivo HR10-250 receiver to that channel I don't get a thing, except no programming on this channel, and the Altitude website says that the Denver Nuggets game is on HD on that channel.

Anyone know why I am not receiving this?

yeah, you need an mpeg4 reciever

and an 5 LNB dish.

Ok Thanks for the info, not the answer I wanted to hear since I just bought the HR10-250 about 4 months ago.

If you spend some time with customer retention, you should be able to trade it for a new MPEG-4 box for as litttle as nothing -- or as much as $199. Keep shopping until you get the free one.

(And in most cases the "trade" is in name only -- DirecTV usually lets people keep the HD TiVos -- at least in my experience.)

I called D* and they actually told me that I was going to have to buy the basketball package to get the Nuggets in HD (even though the site says it is available) but after a couple of minutes of hold they said I needed to upgrade and they transferred me to sales. I was able to get a new dish and HD DVR for 99 installed, so that I think is reasonable considering the DVR is 299 at Best Buy-- the only negative, they cannot install it until March 2nd, and did not have anything sooner

just know you're giving them 99 dollars to lease their property, you don't own the equipment they're giving you

It seems the install dates are pretty far out there. Feb 27, Mar 2, if there are others reading this thread out there who are waiting on HR20 installations, are you also getting dates this far out? My dad has Comcast but will be switching to DirecTV so he can continue his Extra Innings subscription and for the greater HD capacity in the second half of the year. If these far out dates are consistent across the board, I guess he better schedule his install somewhat soon so he can have it before the season starts.

Wow that is disapointing. I'm moving into a new apartment on February 3rd and if that holds true, looks like I will be w/o TV for a month+. Time to splurge on an OTA power antenna I suppose.

Appreciate the chatter on the HD DVR lease v. purchase above. Was assuming the 299.00 from Best Buy was the only way to go. Shame they have to roll the install trucks in my case (the building provides pre mounted dishes). Should be able toplace my order within the next day or two and will report back on lease pricing & install date timing.

Was able to get an install date in a reasonable amount of time... though I've had a few bumps in the road in getting fully set up. I live in an apartment complex (MDU) and because of the shared dishes, must go through Qwest to get to Direct TV.

Snafu #1 was that Qwest scheduled DirectTV to come and do the install last Thursday. Unfortunately this was a mistake... since MDU (multiple dwelling unit) locations require Qwest's installers to do the work. So in the end I waited a half day at home for nothing. Called Qwest and was informed that they just made a mistake ("as we all do") and were sorry But hey, I was in for some finacial accomadation for the inconveinience and a speedy resolution, right? Wrong. The next normally available install appointment and an apology was the best they could offer.

So yesterday the Qwest tech showed up and i was ready to go. Unfortunately the DirectTV CSR systems were "freezing" and I was told that they could put in an offline work order and that it would be processed within 72 hours... or try calling back in 20 min. I opted for the later, but the installer had to go (after assuring me everything would be fine). This was almost accurate as a quick call 20 min later had me up-and-running.

Snafu #2 was last night when I realized that wasn't getting HD locals. Spent some time troubleshooting with Qwest and DirectTV last night, but they had to roll a truck to resolve the issue. So here I sit, for the 3rd day out of the last 7.

Couple of q's for subscribers in the area... I should be expecting local HD (i.e., Lost on ABC) if we have a 5 lnb dish, right? I think the Nuggets played at home last night but didn't notice the game in HD. I have total choice extra + the NBA League Pass... should I expect home Nuggets games in HD?

The Nuggets HD games are on channel 97, not the regular 644 Altitude channel which is only SD. 97 is only on the air during HD telecasts. The 5 LNB set up should get you there if the installers configured it correctly.

Appreciate the info JM. I'll check and see if I get Ch 97 during the next Nuggets home game (I get the NBA League Pass but not the Sports Pack).

As for my issue, it turns out that Qwest has just installed 3 LNB dishes (January of this year) at my complex. So my situation is as it should be... no network HD access. DirectTV has submitted a waiver request to get to get me CBS, NBC, FOX and ABC HD West, but has informed me to fully expect being rejected, after the 45 day waiting period. The bottom line is that if HD locals are available in your area... you can't get the east and west networks.

At the end of the day it turns out to be buyer beware. I did my due diligence in confirming HD was available at this property before signing a lease, but I did not go deep enough to understand that CBS, NBC, FOX and ABC are hardware contingent. With Comcast unavailable and terraces that face NW, I'm stuck with SD network channels for next 12 months.

Edit to add: Looks like I have the MPEG-4 Compatible Ka/Ku Band
Satellite Dish according to http://www.solidsignal.com/satellite...enna_types.asp).

The Nuggets games are on the same Ka sat as the Denver locals, so if you can't get the locals you likely won't see channel 97 on your list of channels either. Sorry for the bad news.

Hmmm disapointing. I'm wondering if I'm getting accurate information from Qwest though, and would hate to drop the issue, if it is possible.

The pictures below show the dish on my building. I was under the impression that it was a newer MPEG-4 Compatible Ka/Ku Band dish, based on initial googling. Does it look to be "Ka capable" to you? Or does the distinction go beyond visual inspection?

http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/.../of=50,590,442

http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/.../of=50,590,442

http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/.../of=50,590,442

Without going out to check in the dark it looks the same as mine. I "think" that is the 5 LNB version, but I won't swear to it. I can't remember what my previous setup looked like. I would say there is a high probability you will be OK if they have the switch network to your place configured right.

Reggie, comment??????

That absolutely is an AT-9 5LNB dish. The only other question would be if they have the right multiswitches or if they are using other technology to distribute to the apartments.

Brilliant! Thanks for the advice guys. I did notice in an earlier google search something about switches... and it made me remember that one of the steps in the reciever setup identified a '4x4 switch' (just ran the setup wizard again to confirm this is the switch "recognized").

I wonder if the WB-68 Wide-Band Ku/Ka 6x8 Multi-Switch (http://www.hometech.com/video/dssmulti.html) is the same type of part... and if that could provide a solution?

I can't possibly imagine that Qwest would go through the trouble of upgrading dishes, advertise on their web site that you get local HD channels before signup and roll troublshooting technicians all because of the design oversight of forgetting to upgrade a 129.00 part [switch].

Perhaps I'm overlooking something obvious though? For example, if one of the apartments in the building doesn't use HD, the upgraded switch won't work for their SD setup? Appreciate all of this help as this homework will allow me to present an informed case to the mgmt. co. & Qwest.

You do need the wide band switch to get the signals you want. Other apartments getting only SD can still use the WB switch so that is not an issue. The 4x4 bothers me as there are only 4 wideband switches on the market and they have 8, 12 or 16 outputs. Also, how big is the building you are in? When you have a large building they sometimes use other types of distribution which may not be compatible with HD. If it is a modern style complex with a bunch of freestanding buildings and each building only has 8 to 12 apartments then multiswitching will work just fine.

I do live in a modern (2004ish) complex which is comprised of approximately 15 freestanding buildings (each with their own dish). Unfortunately there are 18 apartments in my building. Perhaps the weak link in my chain is the fact that we exceed the maximum outputs, currently available in switches? I take it that only one switch per dish can be run?

I can confirm that I am getting certain HD channels (Discovery, ESPN/2, HBO, TNT, etc.) just not the networks (Locals display "searching for signal", and East/West indicate non-subscription).

Hmmm. What type/model of receiver do you have? Also, the 'Searching For Signal' is interesting. It looks as if you are only receiving Ku & not Ka band signals. Maybe the dish is not pointed correctly?
....jc

I have an H20 (picture link below in case I am mistaken due to being a new customer). I'm starting to wonder (comments on this board and another) if there is a wildcard in my setup due to being in an apartment. If that it is the case it may be more difficult (even impossible) to deliver a solution suggestion to my mgmt co./Qwest.

http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/.../of=50,590,442

One other dumb question I have is about that little doo-dad that sits above the box. The installer told me it was a filter that allows me to recieve local channels. As far as I'm concerned locals in SD need not exist... so is it fair to say that I could remove it from my setup? Or would it's removal = no access to any CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC at all? Just curious to see if it's removal would sacrifice network locals but "force" the box into delivering network's HD East/West channels into coming in.

Is it a little tube saying 'b-band convertor'? If so you dont need it yet but taking it out wont help. You cant get the distants, before they had HD locals on D* you could get cbs and Fox west but I dont think they grant that anymore.

The national HD channels are on the Ku sats so those are no problem, all that is on Ka is the HD locals and the HD RSN (Altitude HD) I am not experienced in that level of MDU distribution but I would think you could parallel a 8 and a 16 port multiswitch which would give you 24 outputs.

edit: I just looked at your pic and that box is NOT the b-band convertor, I dont know what it is

Can you inspect the 'doo-dad' and get a manufacturer and model number from it?
....jc

Looks like it is a SCD-4P52W Dual Subscriber Unit... haven't been able to dig up much info via google. Bit of an eyesore and wouldn't mind getting rid of it if unneccessary. Two pics below in case anyone was curious:

http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/.../of=50,590,442

http://render2.snapfish.com/render2/.../of=50,590,442

Got some info on another forum that seems to agree with your and JM's suspicions... Qwest may have neglected to upgrade switch when upgrading to an HDTV dish. I'm posting the link here in case any area apartment dwellers are in the same boat.

If it is poor form to post links to another forum, I am happy to delete. Wouldn't ever want to do anything to disrespect AVS.

http://www.highdefforum.com/showthread.php?t=38068

Appreciate all of the tips and advice here. I think I can start researching and presenting an informed case to the landlord and Qwest. I think if the change can be made for a reasonable expense, both will have an interest in making it (as it increases the value add for both Qwest's service and the landlord's property).

For the first time in a long time I watched 59 (since they had the original Stargate movie) and noticed the D* feed was shifted an hour earlier Is D* not carrying the local channel but instead placing the national feed of Ion in the local channels slot? Fortunately I can receive it OTA so I watched that.

For those of you in Denver with an HR20 I have a couple of questions:

1. Do you have trickplay induced pixelation and audio dropouts for the sat MPEG4 local channels? Like the OTA problems described here: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.ph...404#post832404


2. Which sat and transponder are the denver mpeg4 channels on? What are your signal strengths?


Thanks!

Well after submitting a detailed email to Qwest (inc. switch info/part #'s and links)... the word is it can't be fixed.

The response completely side-stepped the switch issue and instead said that "DirectTV has not made the 'MFH3' (?) technology available to Qwest. They would be realeasing this technology in Q3 or Q4." Haven't been able to find any info at all on MFH3 today but will try and dig up some.

Have to assume at this point that there is something unique about the distribution of the signal in my apt building or they don't want to deal with it. If Qwest is correct/accuarte and D* doesn't have the technology in place... I think that should shape the waiver request for east/west networks. Assuming my first request gets shot down, I wonder if there is any way to submit the [more detailed] request myself?