SMATVEE

Want more HD? PDI-SAT offers additional discounts on the LG HCS6000RA DIRECTV HD Transcoder

PDI-SAT is offering a limited time promotion to DIRECTV commercial SMATV accounts on the LG HCS6000RA QAM Transcoder for adding DIRECTV HD channels. Please contact Me or your PDI-SAT sales rep for more information.

Young Broadcasting Stations Coming Back To Dish Network

Well that didn't take long but it's unfortunate for those Dish customers that rely on Dish Network to receive their local Young Broadcast stations. According to Dish Network and WKRN, there has been a retransmission consent agreement and details of the agreement would be released soon.

In addition to Nashville, the Young TV station markets affected by the dispute are in Lansing, Mich.; Lafayette, La.; Albany, N.Y.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Green Bay, Wis.; Richmond, Va.; Davenport, Iowa; San Francisco; Sioux Falls, S.D.; and Rapid City, S.D.

Another Programming Dispute for Dish Network

When will they learn? Dish Network would rather alienate it's customers and programming partners than step up and negotiate a programming contract in a civilized manor. This time it's WLNS TV6, serving the Lansing - Jackson Michigan area, owned Young Broadcasting who understandably wants Dish Network to pay a penny per day per subscriber in the local DMA. 

Here's a statement from the WLNS website: DISH's contract with WLNS TV 6 originally expires on December 10, 2008 . WLNS TV offered a short extension of the contract to alllow more time to reach an agreement with DISH. The extension was not accepted by DISH For the past several months our company has attempted to reach a new agreement with DISH. Unfortunately DISH has elected not to accept our proposal.

I don't think this is too much to ask considering both Dish Network and DIRECTV charge $4.99 for you to receive the local channels over satellite. Yes, the local over the air broadcast channels are free but only if you have an acceptable off-air antenna but many in rural areas cannot receive their local channels unless they subscribe to Cable TV or Satellite TV. Since the satcasters are charging a fee to receive these channels, they should pay the programmer for the redistribution rights and $.30 per month per subscriber is not too much to ask.

Dish Network has been through these battles many times with both over-the-air broadasters as well as other programmers but somehow fails to learn it's lesson. Each time, they lose subscribers because you can bet that many of those who rely on Dish Network to supply the affected channels have already or will be calling DIRECTV or their local cable operator to switch. Oddly enough, how often do you here of these programming fights with DIRECTV?

DIRECTV Launches More HD Public Channels

From Skyreport:

DIRECTV added 10 more markets to its lineup of HD local public television stations on Wednesday, after launching in 14 markets last week. The new stations include WCFE in Burlington, VT-Plattsburgh, NY; WGTE in Toledo, Ohio; WNEO in Youngstown, Ohio; WFUM in Flint-Saginaw-Bay City, Mich.; WFYI in Indianapolis; WKOP in Knoxville, Tenn.; KPBS in San Diego; KQED in San Francisco-Oakland; WGBY in Springfield-Holyoke, Mass.; and WEDU in Tampa-St. Petersburg, Fla.

DIRECTV Suspends Development of the HDPC-20 Tuner for Windows Media Center

Looks like the waiting game is over, rather, DIRECTV's HDPC-20 is over. According to a company spokesperson, "DIRECTV has suspended the development of the HDPC-20 tuner project that was designed to integrate DIRECTV service into Windows Media Center after assessing the impact of missing the August 2008 release of Windows Media Center update and considering timing of the next release. Both DIRECTV and Microsoft understand the desirability of offering consumers an all encompassing DIRECTV programming solution via Windows-based PCs. We are continuing to explore ways to integrate DIRECTV service with Windows-based PCs in the future. The HDPC-20 tuner that appears on the driver list of a pre-Beta build of Windows 7 is an artifact that was listed prior to the decision to suspend the tuner project. As our plans progress toward a Windows Media Center-compatible product, we will make an announcement at the appropriate time.

DTV Misconception Impacting HD Adoption?

From Skyreport 12/9/08:

As the digital TV transition draws near, one misperception may have gained some steam: People actually think they’re gonna get high-def with the DTV changes.

According to recent research from Frank N. Magid Associates, more than 40 percent of U.S. households that have purchased a HDTV in the last year have yet to obtain high-def service from their TV provider. The problem, stated the report, may come down to consumer confusion.

"We believe that many of these HD service rejecters believe they will automatically start receiving their programming in high-definition concurrent with the digital broadcast transition," said Maryann Baldwin, vice president of Magid Media Futures. That, of course, is an incorrect notion.

Beyond the confusion, the study found that 41 percent of HDTV owners don't feel high-def programming service is worth the added cost. Also, 30 percent of survey respondents said they can't afford HD and 18 percent said there are not enough channels available in HD to make the service worthwhile, stated the Magid study.

DIRECTV Tech Tips - Field Customer Affecting Issues (CAI) Week of 11/24/08

STANDARD IRDs

Update on existing Issue:

• D11-100, “Page Down” Function: While in the Guided Set-up screen, the IRD’s “Page Down” function occasionally will not work. This failure will also apply to the “Search” screen when customer is trying to scroll down through the number of expected search results. A reboot will fix this issue. Do not swap IRD. Call Centers are aware of this issue.

Existing Issues:

• D12-100, Audio Chirping: Extremely distorted audio issue/extreme stuttering. Issue will appear on ALL channels and will be poor enough that the audio is unintelligible. Software version x1108 which is now fully deployed in the field has a hidden test to confirm hardware issue(s). Using the front panel buttons, press DOWN and INFO simultaneously. If the light on the front panel blinks steadily, replace the IRD. If you hear the words “they already are looking ahead into the new year” (this will only play once), continue with normal troubleshooting procedures. Note: Although reporting on this problem has decreased, there is a chance that brand new boxes with this issue are still in the pipeline, so continue to follow the steps as outlined above.

• “D” Series, Closed Caption: Closed Caption not working. Closed Captioning (CC) is disabled on channels with Interactive capabilities. If a customer is experiencing lack of CC, then press “EXIT” on the remote and CC should appear. If not, then troubleshoot TV settings as usual.

• “D” Series, Autotune: If IRD is left on “Interactive Channel” (e.g. Ch. 101), IRD is unable to autotune away from that channel (if an autotune program has been selected). Do not swap IRD. Call Centers are aware of this issue.

DVRs

Existing Issues:

• R15-100, -300, -500, Black screen on recording: Programs will show up in “My List”, but upon playback no video or black screen appears. STB Engineering is working on this issue and is still trying to retrieve more samples of these from the field. Do not swap box. Call Centers are aware of this issue.

• R15 & R16, Live TV Recordings: Customers may be unable to record by pressing the record button while on Live TV. This can happen when a customer is on an interactive channel or channel that is interactive only at certain times. The issue can occur with or without an interactive graphic displayed on the screen. Instruct customer to press “RECORD” while in the Guide or press “EXIT” while in Live TV and then press “RECORD.”

HIGH-DEFINITION IRDs

Update on Existing Issue:

• H20-600, Component Replacement: A potential problem has been uncovered with the H20-600, whereby there are some original components of the H20-600 that may shorten the life of the receiver. Some components have been replaced at the repair facility, and the good retrofitted boxes are enoted by an ECO 2.0 label on the bottom of the IRD. Any H20-600 in the field with an ECO 2.0 label should remain in the customer’s home. Stop all proactive swaps in the field. If the IRD is operational, trouble-shoot as normal.

Existing Issues:

• H20-100, H21-100 & -200, CID: Please troubleshoot as normal and contact ISS if you cannot resolve. Include phone company and modem test results. Do not swap box.

• All H20 & H21 Models, Autotune: If IRD is left on “Interactive Channel” (e.g. Ch. 101), IRD is unable to autotune away from that channel (if an autotune program has been selected). (See “D” Series issue under STANDARD IRDs.) Do not swap box. Call Centers are aware of this issue.

• “H” Series, Closed Captioning: Closed Captioning not working. Closed Captioning (CC) is disabled on channels with Interactive capabilities. If the customer is experiencing lack of CC, then press “EXIT” on the remote, and CC should appear. If not then troubleshoot CC settings as normal. STB Engineering is working on this issue now; do not replace IRD. Call Centers are aware of this issue.

• H23, Signal Meter Fluctuations: Reports of “severe” fluctuations in the signal meter as well as the signal strength screens. This is strictly a UI (User Interface) related issue and has no impact on picture/video quality. STB Engineering is aware of this issue.

• H23-600, GameLounge Audio Loss: If customer channels away and returns to GameLounge, audio will return, but may be lost again. STB Engineering is working to resolve this issue now; do not replace IRD. Call Centers are aware of this issue.

HIGH-DEFINITION DVRs

Existing Issues:

• HR2x & R22, Low Audio on HD channels: Customers will need to turn the volume up on their TV. Do not swap box. Call Centers are aware of this issue.

• HR2x & R22, Resolution Setting on Sony TVs: Unable to set 1080p when connected via HDMI to Sony TVs. When setting the resolutions, the IRD gives a prompt to select “INFO” to accept the resolutions. The Sony TV is slow to show the proper resolution, and the IRD clears the “INFO” prompt before the Sony TV is able to display. To set the TV to 1080p, select “1080p”, then press “INFO” immediately (do not wait for the prompt). A future download will resolve this issue by extending the time-out for this prompt.

• HR2x, Playback of Recordings: Playback issues when recording. The title appears in the “playlist”, but when playing, it shows “Delete Y or N” OSD immediately. Do not swap boxes; STB engineering is working on this issue, with no ETR at this time. Call Centers are aware of this issue.

• All HR2x (All HD-DVR series beginning with HR2), Black Screen: Black screen may appear during playback of recorded programming or while viewing/recording simultaneously. STB Engineering is working on this issue now; do not replace IRD. Call Centers are aware of this
  issue.

• HR20-100, Black or Gray Screen: If the last tuned-to channel is an MPEG-4 channel and the IRD is power cycled, the MPEG-4 channels may be black screen or gray screen. Red Button Reset fixes this issue. Do not swap box. Call Centers are aware of this issue.

Miscellaneous notes:

• Single Tuner vs. Dual Tuner: Initial Guided Set-up/Dish Set-up screens have changed slightly. If the switch type is multiswitch, the tuner option is grayed out and the IRD will automatically detect if 1 or 2 satellite feeds are connected. If switch type is SWM, the tuner option is available. This will allow installers and agents/customers to determine if they have enough SWM channels to use the IRD in single or dual tuner mode. For 1080p, the option is only available if HDMI is connected and the TV supports 1080p (24 frames per second).

DIRECTV Launches PBS HD Locals

From Skyreport:

On Wednesday, DIRECTV began launching local public TV stations in high-def format in markets across the country.

The HD launch of local public stations started in 14 markets and will continue to roll out to additional markets through the end of the year and in 2009, ahead of the nation's Feb. 17 digital TV transition, the company said.

 Markets getting the local PBS HD feeds from DIRECTV are: Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Iowa City-Dubuque, Iowa; Chicago; Davenport, Iowa-Rock Island-Moline, Ill.; Detroit; Houston; Los Angeles; Miami-Fort Lauderdale; Minneapolis-St. Paul; New York, Norfolk-Newport News, Va.; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Rochester, N.Y.; and Waco-Temple-Bryan, Texas.

The local public television HD launch follows a deal struck by DIRECTV, the Association of Public Television Stations and PBS. Under the agreement, DIRECTV will offer HD programming from local public stations in markets where it now provides local HD channels to customers.

DIRECTV said it offers local high-def programming in 115 markets, representing more than 87 percent of U.S. TV households.

SMATVEE is live!

Welcome to SMATVEE! I'm betting that most of you will be wondering what the heck SMATVEE is or means. Well, SMATVEE is really an expression for SMATV which means Satellite Master Antenna Television. SMATV is pronounced SMAT-VEE so I thought it was only appropriate to call my new blog SMATVEE!

This blog will serve to support my new position as Regional Sales Manager for PDI-SAT, a DIRECTV Master System Operator and a division of PDI Communications, Inc. based in Boca Raton, FL. I will be posting useful news, articles, product information and any other SMATV/MDU system information. SMATVEE will mainly be geared towards Commercial Satellite Dealers and Installers but hobbyists and other DIY'ers will also find the information to be useful and interesting.

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Whichever method(s) you choose to keep up with SMATVEE is up to you, the only thing I ask in return is for you to please contribute by commenting on posts and asking questions.