Unusual NFL Network Problem

[meyecul]

I am in LA and have had my HR20 for about a week. For the most part all is working fine with one exception. I have discovered a very unusual problem on the NFL Network. Its quite strange and I am wondering if anyone else has encountered it.

When I attempt to watch any of the "HD" re-broadcasted NFL Preseason games I get a blank screen on my TV, nada, nothing, zip!. Non HD preseason games and all other NFL network programming work just fine....the screen is blank only when trying to watch the games listed as HD on the program guide. After seeing this problem several times, the next time an HD game was on, I went and turned on two other TVs (both with standard SD DirecTV Receivers) and low and behold the game showed up there fine.

Now, I recall reading somewhere that the NFL network "preseason" games will not actually air in HD (even though that was the original format), but what makes no sense is why my HR20 will not even show the game in 480. (no black outs here either...I am in LA)

Okay...if your still with me, it gets even stranger. Back to my HDTV and the HR20.

I did a little test and tried turning the NFL network on a "few minutes before" an HD preseason game this evening to see if the screen would go blank when the game came on (and program guide changed). I expected it would go blank, but the game showed up just fine (as expected not in HD but in 480). I turned the channel a few up and then went back to the NFL Network...yup, you guessed it, blank screen again. I of course have tried flipping through all the "formats" and resetting the receiver etc. etc., nothing helps. I also called DirecTV Tech Dept. and seemed to have stumped them pretty good (though I guess thats to be expected with such a new piece of equipment).

So if anyone wants to give it a test on their own HR20, it would be interesting to see if you get the same result. Remember it must be an HD game on your program guide (as I recall there may not be one again till begining of Sept.) and if you turn to the NFL Network prior to the start of the game and it comes on fine, turn the channel and try to come back to it after the game has started.

I actually really do not care about getting the preseason games, the whole problem seems so odd, its now just more of curiosity (though I do not want to have a problem seeing the HD games on the NFL Network when they start to air mid-season). Thanks so much in advance for any assistance.

[Jeremy W]

That's definitely a strange problem! Swapping out your HR20 is probably the only solution.

[wilbur_the_goose]

I've seen this several times, and it has nothing to do with your DVR. The guide shows that a game will be broadcast, but there's nothing on but black video and silent audio.

I wouldn't worry about it.

D* wasn't very good with the NFL Network HD content last year (they were great 2 years ago).

[dan8379]

What channel were you on? 212?

[meyecul]

Thanks for the replies....

dan8379 - Yup, Channel 212....NFL Network.

wilbur_the_goose - What is odd to me is that the guide shows there is a game and all my other non HD receivers / tvs actually are showing that game in SD with the audio being fine etc. It's only my HR20 that has the blank screen / audio. I would think if it were a programming error, none of of my receivers would be showing the game.....any other thoughts??

Thanks again!!!!

[VeniceDre]

I wonder if it's trying to remap the HD feed that is maybe isn't there... I notice when I tune into the Yes network sometimes the screen widens automatically when I'm watching a Yankee replay even though it's in standard definition.

[Jeremy W]

I wonder if it's trying to remap the HD feed that is maybe isn't there
That is a possibility. But I haven't experienced the issue on the H20, which is also capable of remapping.

[eengert]

I am in LA and have had my HR20 for about a week. For the most part all is working fine with one exception. I have discovered a very unusual problem on the NFL Network. Its quite strange and I am wondering if anyone else has encountered it.

When I attempt to watch any of the "HD" re-broadcasted NFL Preseason games I get a blank screen on my TV, nada, nothing, zip!. Non HD preseason games and all other NFL network programming work just fine....the screen is blank only when trying to watch the games listed as HD on the program guide. After seeing this problem several times, the next time an HD game was on, I went and turned on two other TVs (both with standard SD DirecTV Receivers) and low and behold the game showed up there fine.

Now, I recall reading somewhere that the NFL network "preseason" games will not actually air in HD (even though that was the original format), but what makes no sense is why my HR20 will not even show the game in 480. (no black outs here either...I am in LA)

Okay...if your still with me, it gets even stranger. Back to my HDTV and the HR20.

I did a little test and tried turning the NFL network on a "few minutes before" an HD preseason game this evening to see if the screen would go blank when the game came on (and program guide changed). I expected it would go blank, but the game showed up just fine (as expected not in HD but in 480). I turned the channel a few up and then went back to the NFL Network...yup, you guessed it, blank screen again. I of course have tried flipping through all the "formats" and resetting the receiver etc. etc., nothing helps. I also called DirecTV Tech Dept. and seemed to have stumped them pretty good (though I guess thats to be expected with such a new piece of equipment).

So if anyone wants to give it a test on their own HR20, it would be interesting to see if you get the same result. Remember it must be an HD game on your program guide (as I recall there may not be one again till begining of Sept.) and if you turn to the NFL Network prior to the start of the game and it comes on fine, turn the channel and try to come back to it after the game has started.

I actually really do not care about getting the preseason games, the whole problem seems so odd, its now just more of curiosity (though I do not want to have a problem seeing the HD games on the NFL Network when they start to air mid-season). Thanks so much in advance for any assistance.

I don't have an HR20, but that's irrelevant to the content of my following comment. I have an HR10-250 and this will be the same for any HD receiver. Maybe you already know this, but your post made me think you might not. Channel 212 is the NFL Network SD channel and is in capable of broadcasting in HD. This doesn't explain your black screen problem. I merely point this out so that when the regular season starts you aren't expecting to see games on 212 in HD. If you tune to 212, you'll see the games in SD. However, D* is supposedly broadcasting the NFL Network games in HD on channel 95. I have occassionally seen NFL Network HD content on channel 95, so I know this works. Just so you know, channel 95 is what you want during the reg. season.

[meyecul]

Thanks for the replies...

VeniceDre - Yes...I was wondering the same. Seems almost as if there is some bug keeping the HR20 from remapping the broadcast. Its still odd how I could get the game to show up when turning the channel on a few minutes before the game and just leaving it, yet I lose the game the moment I change channels and come back (which is the same as if I just turned the game on after it started....both ways...blank screen / no audio).

eengert - Thanks for the info. Yes..I know about channel 95 and I have checked it a number of times, but so far no content on that channel. It is hopefully good news though as I am assuming once the NFL network starts broadcasing live games midseason on 95, I will not have the issue since channel 212 is no longer a part of the equation and that seems to be the only channel I have seen this problem on.

Will be interesting to see if anyone else can duplicate the problem.

Thank you again!

[VeniceDre]

I don't have an HR20, but that's irrelevant to the content of my following comment. I have an HR10-250 and this will be the same for any HD receiver. Maybe you already know this, but your post made me think you might not. Channel 212 is the NFL Network SD channel and is in capable of broadcasting in HD. This doesn't explain your black screen problem. I merely point this out so that when the regular season starts you aren't expecting to see games on 212 in HD. If you tune to 212, you'll see the games in SD. However, D* is supposedly broadcasting the NFL Network games in HD on channel 95. I have occassionally seen NFL Network HD content on channel 95, so I know this works. Just so you know, channel 95 is what you want during the reg. season.

Maybe it's not the same for all HD receivers. If the HD signal is MPEG4 the HR20 can remap it to the SD channel. My locals are remapped to the SD slots. Some report seeing local HD RSNS at the same channel slots in the 600s.

Since this is happening with the YES network sometimes (the machine thinks it's getting a HD feed) maybe it's doing it with the NFL network also. I live 3000 miles away from NYC and I'm not getting the spotbeam, so why is it locking into widescreen? I definately see a regular pillar boxed 4:3 briefly before it goes widescreen. Is it the YES Mpeg2 HD on ch 95? I don't know. This machine definately does things differently.

[Doug Brott]

It sounds like some HD flag is set in the guide data indicating that the broadcast is in High Definition. However, the NFL Network (or DirecTV) has chosen to show the re-broadcasted games in ONLY Standard Definition. The HR20 must use the HD flag as an indicator on whether to show the HD version or the SD version of the broadcast.

This brings up a couple of points:

(1) When the HD flag is set, but the HD content is not provided, the screen is blank. There really should be a way to either show the SD version through manual selection or automatically detect the content flow somehow and show the SD stream if the HD stream is not flowing.

(2) When viewing the channel at the cross-over point when the program starts, the SD portion of the video continues to play as normal. While is is "good" in this particular situation, would this be good if actual HD content started flowing? Wouldn't most people want it to automatically switch to the HD stream to get the better picture quality?

It does appear that there is some issue with proper channel mapping of the HD vs. SD streams. The box is apparently not smart enough to choose the right stream under EVERY situation. This, to me, certainly seems like a bug that will occasionally make someone unhappy. So, unless the automatic SD -> HD switch really does occur properly I think DirecTV should start to look at this issue as bug in the software.