LITTLEBLACKDOG.COM

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 2:14 pm Post subject: OTA Digital...and DirecTV

Well, some may know I setup a nice UHF antenna in my garage and can receive some of the local Denver stations over the air in digital.

I found out that DirecTV has the HR10-250 that integrates the OTA into the TiVo menus...cool. So I got one. Emailed DirecTV, twice, and got confirmation I can hook up the 10-250 and *not* activate their HD content (mpeg-2 receiver, so it doesn't get most of the HD channels anyways as they've switched to mpeg-2 and in-house receivers.)

This works well, I can watch all my DirecTV shows, and the Digital broadcasts I do get integrate into the menu and can even be TiVo'd. Sweet. soon they'll have the new antenna at Lookout Mountain online and I'll get CBS, ABC, & NBC digital broadcasts.

The only thing I loose is my former ability to MRV the DirecTiVo's I had with the old hacks. The 10-250 just doesn't have the code to make that possible.... maybe in the future someone will figure that out and I can mod up the 10-250, too.

/begin rant

Called today as I swapped around a HD into the upstairs DirecTiVo, call to disconnect the old SD-DVR40 and activate the 10-250. Run around begins.
They cannot activate it because I need a new access card. That's not true, they've done it before...and he "tries" and wala, it activates. Transfered to Access Card support as the equipment is listed as Leased and is owned, so they have to update that.

Now the fun begins...they can't remove the HD content, it's an HD reciever. I ask about the emails I have stating it's not a problem. The person says it's possible but they won't do it. So I re-iterate how it can be done, I have in writing it will be done, but he's not willing to do it...so transfer me to your boss - he doesn't want to transfer me. We go around and around for a bit as I'm trying to get him to tell me who is not telling me the truth, the two people who emailed me, or him. (It's good to have stuff in writing.) He's mad because I specifically got him to admit it is possible to do it, but he won't do it. *ha ha* I suggest I need to talk to either his immediate boss, or customer retention because someone is telling me a lie about the service. I finally get to the supervisor person.

30 minutes later HD programming is turned off and everything is squared away. The floor supervisor apologizes for the other reps refusal to just connect the service in this manner.

Honestly...some of the customer service reps in this world need a lesson in the "Customer is Always Right". Especially when they have it writing already from two others.

/end rant

Leg Humper Joined: 11 Oct 2003 Posts: 5997

6/10

Guide Dog Joined: 08 Nov 2003 Posts: 8377 Location: MN

30 minutes on the phone to get your TV setup and your complaining???!?!?!?!?

Hell if I can get a live person with in 30 minutes of being on the phone with comcast I'm lucky...

Took me 3 calls to get them to hook me up with a cable box that has an IEEE 1394 port (fire wire) which they are FEDERALLY MANDATED BY THE FCC to do. I quoted the law to them on the first 2 calls and they promptly told me that it doesn't effect how the system works and I couldn't get one because I either already had that port on the box because they all come with it, or because none of them come with that port and thus comcast couldn't get me one.
The first two calls ended with either them hanging up on me, or my phone dieing, and several requests from me to talk to their next tier of support/manager...
AFTER all of that I finally get a guy to tell me where to go to get the new box and return the old one, and the place tells me that those boxes don't come with the port on it, and had to convince him that they in fact do, and if he looks in the back room he'd find at least one.

Television system changes should take a matter of hours in todays regulated monopolies of television service...

I'd ask when we are going to get the bandwidth to get television streamed to us through the internet and avoid these yahoos, but unfortunately comcast is also unable to setup my internet in any less then 2 phone calls (one from me saying the lines are fine and the config files they are pushing are broken, and one more from the line tech they have to send out who says the lines are find and the config files are foobar'd.)

Posted: Sun Feb 10, 2008 8:27 pm Post subject:

I guess that's the good thing about DirecTV...I at least have the phone tree mastered to get to live people (in the us) quickly.

I'd probably switch to DirecTV's HD offerigns and get new receivers...but...that entails installing a new dish, and getting two new HD DVR's out of them.

I haven't had cable service since I graduated college in 2000... (and that was provided free from Colorado State!) I suppose they'd be just as much fun to deal with as anyone else.