scheckeNYK
09-16-06, 12:57 PM
Okay, I am at about my wits end with DirecTV and the local installation office, Halstead. After pumping hundreds of dollars into their newest gear, I still feel like I'm not receiving what I should be and the way these phone reps/technicians have been treating me is unreal! I'm hopeful that some some folks here can help me sort things out. Thanks in advance to those who keep reading and can pitch in...
I am in the NYC DMA. My previous system was SD only with 2 rooms. However, in one room I had 3 receivers so 2 lines were dropped and passed through a splitter. I purchased my HR20 at BestBuy last Friday, 9/8. Since I already had a 3 LNB dish from my SD install (don't ask why they did this) I wanted to hook up the HR20 immediately and at least get some of my HD content, even if it wasn't MPEG4. This worked fine and I happily watched my SuperFan games on Sunday and scheduled a technician for this past Wednesday to install the 5 LNB dish - supposedly to give my MPEG4 locals as well as my RSNs in HD, among other future benefits.
The tech gets here and has another 3 LNB dish. I told him this was wrong, I ordered a 5 LNB dish to go along with the new reciever. "5 LNB doesn't work in Brooklyn or Queens, you're fine with 3 LNB." I knew this was wrong, and even so I wanted the proper install that I ordered for it's future abilities. He called DTV and spoke to a rep, then hung up and left. So I still had a 3 LNB dish with MPEG2 local HD and the $9.99 package coming down A-OK.
Of course I knew the info he gave me was wrong so I called up DTV and coincidentally got the same operator the tech spoke to while at my apartment. She informed me that she instructed him to install the 5 LNB, which he apparently just ignored. They escalated my case both at the regional office and with DTV. I spoke to many people within the last week, but no one really knows what is going on. I was told that a lead technician would be sent out the very next morning (9/14) and to call the regional office to confirm in the morning. When I called the next morning I wound up speaking to an operator from one of their outsourced locations who confirmed that my lead technician would be here between 8-noon to install my 5 LNB dish. 12 o'clock rolls around and of course no one shows up because the lady at the outsourced location had misinformation. But I was able to get an appointment setup for Saturday 9/16 (today) and again this was supposed to be a lead technician.
Today the same guy who half assed my first install shows up (no lead tech as promised) and is still complaining that the job is too hard and he doesn't think it will work. He makes all kinds of excuses to not do the job until we basically forced him to. So now the 5 LNB dish is installed on the roof and 4 lines are dropped. The one D10 SD box in the other room is fine. However, the HR20 is acting buggy and I am not sure how to tell if I'm getting the right signals/channels.
How do I tell the difference between MPEG4 locals, and the ones I had previously? Also, there's no sign of my RSNs in HD. They don't show up in the guide when I filter to HD, and if I navigate to where they should be, it's just unlabeled channels like DTV or HD. Looks like this actually:
96 HD - Upcoming: Yankees @ Blue Jays
97 DTV - To Be Announced
97 HD - Upcoming: Mats @ Pirates
So I guess 96 is the HD version of YES Network and 97 is the HD version of SNY. Strange that they aren't tagged properly, and don't show up in the HD guide filter. I am also not getting signal from all 5 sats, is that proper?
101 - 32 transponders all decent levels
110 - 3 at 95 or 96
119 - 11 ranging from low 60s to low 90s
99 - 6 at zero
103 - 6 ( 0 0 59 52 58 36)
Am I missing anything now from a potential lackluster install, or is everything now up to snuff? I understand (I think) that the 99 isn't active yet, hence the lack of anything on there, but does the rest look right? And how do I check for proper reception of Mpeg-4 locals, are they in the same channel range? Also, any way to eliminate the west coast channels out of my guide?
Sorry this was so long winded, but the only way I can get help is to be descriptive. Thanks again to anyone who contributes.
EDIT: 0xcc installed this morning at 5:12 just for reference.
I am in the NYC DMA. My previous system was SD only with 2 rooms. However, in one room I had 3 receivers so 2 lines were dropped and passed through a splitter. I purchased my HR20 at BestBuy last Friday, 9/8. Since I already had a 3 LNB dish from my SD install (don't ask why they did this) I wanted to hook up the HR20 immediately and at least get some of my HD content, even if it wasn't MPEG4. This worked fine and I happily watched my SuperFan games on Sunday and scheduled a technician for this past Wednesday to install the 5 LNB dish - supposedly to give my MPEG4 locals as well as my RSNs in HD, among other future benefits.
The tech gets here and has another 3 LNB dish. I told him this was wrong, I ordered a 5 LNB dish to go along with the new reciever. "5 LNB doesn't work in Brooklyn or Queens, you're fine with 3 LNB." I knew this was wrong, and even so I wanted the proper install that I ordered for it's future abilities. He called DTV and spoke to a rep, then hung up and left. So I still had a 3 LNB dish with MPEG2 local HD and the $9.99 package coming down A-OK.
Of course I knew the info he gave me was wrong so I called up DTV and coincidentally got the same operator the tech spoke to while at my apartment. She informed me that she instructed him to install the 5 LNB, which he apparently just ignored. They escalated my case both at the regional office and with DTV. I spoke to many people within the last week, but no one really knows what is going on. I was told that a lead technician would be sent out the very next morning (9/14) and to call the regional office to confirm in the morning. When I called the next morning I wound up speaking to an operator from one of their outsourced locations who confirmed that my lead technician would be here between 8-noon to install my 5 LNB dish. 12 o'clock rolls around and of course no one shows up because the lady at the outsourced location had misinformation. But I was able to get an appointment setup for Saturday 9/16 (today) and again this was supposed to be a lead technician.
Today the same guy who half assed my first install shows up (no lead tech as promised) and is still complaining that the job is too hard and he doesn't think it will work. He makes all kinds of excuses to not do the job until we basically forced him to. So now the 5 LNB dish is installed on the roof and 4 lines are dropped. The one D10 SD box in the other room is fine. However, the HR20 is acting buggy and I am not sure how to tell if I'm getting the right signals/channels.
How do I tell the difference between MPEG4 locals, and the ones I had previously? Also, there's no sign of my RSNs in HD. They don't show up in the guide when I filter to HD, and if I navigate to where they should be, it's just unlabeled channels like DTV or HD. Looks like this actually:
96 HD - Upcoming: Yankees @ Blue Jays
97 DTV - To Be Announced
97 HD - Upcoming: Mats @ Pirates
So I guess 96 is the HD version of YES Network and 97 is the HD version of SNY. Strange that they aren't tagged properly, and don't show up in the HD guide filter. I am also not getting signal from all 5 sats, is that proper?
101 - 32 transponders all decent levels
110 - 3 at 95 or 96
119 - 11 ranging from low 60s to low 90s
99 - 6 at zero
103 - 6 ( 0 0 59 52 58 36)
Am I missing anything now from a potential lackluster install, or is everything now up to snuff? I understand (I think) that the 99 isn't active yet, hence the lack of anything on there, but does the rest look right? And how do I check for proper reception of Mpeg-4 locals, are they in the same channel range? Also, any way to eliminate the west coast channels out of my guide?
Sorry this was so long winded, but the only way I can get help is to be descriptive. Thanks again to anyone who contributes.
EDIT: 0xcc installed this morning at 5:12 just for reference.