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View Full Version : Issues with Interactive features on YES RSN in NY DMA


Drew2k
04-07-07, 12:16 PM
I’ve had these problems since 0x145, and really hope DirecTV can fix these soon, but I really don’t know enough about how Interactive works, so any help is appreciated.

No Interactive on HD: Interactive is available on the SD YES channel, but not on the HD YES channel. Why? When will it be available on the HD channel?

There seems to be no way to figure out WHEN interactive will work. When you tune to 622-SD during the game, sometimes the RED and GREEN buttons just give the “DINK” audio cue that the feature is not available. Other times, you get the Interactive Menu (hereafter, the “I-Menu”). Couldn’t DirecTV pop up a simple notification when the interactive feature (“I-Feature”) is available? It could be a very simple message, like “Press (RED) for Interactive”, just like we have a caller-id notification. NOTE: I can’t get interactive to work for today’s game … very frustrating, especially since I wanted to write about it!

Interactive and the Buffer: Activating an I-Feature when you are behind in the live buffer jumps you to “LIVE” immediately, meaning you could lose up to 90 minutes of the Yankee game, and the buffer is flushed. Why?

Use of the LOADING... Message: After you use any I-Feature, you see an-screen hint that RED returns you to the I-Menu, and GREEN clears it. When you then press RED, you get a message that the I-Menu is loading. However, when you’re in the I-Menu and try to go to any I-Feature, you don’t get a “Loading …” message. Why not? You’re going to get users just pounding on the keys thinking the key press wasn’t accepted, and then when the I-Feature finally appears, all those buffered key presses make the I-Menu go crazy.

Interactive features only seem to be available from LIVE TV, so you can’t use them while watching a recording from your Playlist. When you record the game, it records the English and Spanish audio tracks, and you can toggle back and forth. Why can’t interactive content also be recorded so customers can get the most bang for their buck, by using Interactive AND using their DVR to time-shift the game?

This is an intermittent bug: If you accidentally press YELLOW (which turns on SAP on 622-SD) prior to activating the I-Menu, you then won’t be able to use the YELLOW button again to turn off SAP, even when you close the I-Menu. I had to go to Quick Menu > Audio to change the sound back to English.

Drew2k
04-07-07, 05:33 PM
I just remembered another bug with Interactive and the BONUS CAM.

When the BONUS CAM is displayed on screen, the progress bar is messed up, showing incorrect ending times. and there's no indicator showing where you are in the time line. As soon as you turn off the BONUS CAM, the progress bar is properly restored.

tenmidgets
04-07-07, 10:32 PM
I just remembered another bug with Interactive and the BONUS CAM.

When the BONUS CAM is displayed on screen, the progress bar is messed up, showing incorrect ending times. and there's no indicator showing where you are in the time line. As soon as you turn off the BONUS CAM, the progress bar is properly restored.

Hi Drew - I noticed that you also live on the Island and I have been scamming some of your posts in regards to your HR20 experience. I am in a somewhat similar situation as I can no longer receive the Yankees or Mets in HD because I have an HR10 box. Do you think its worth it to upgrade to the HR20 and should I try to negotiate it for free thru programming credits w/ customer retention? I love my HR10, but I don't want to be left behind technology wise and NEED my sports in HD!

Drew2k
04-08-07, 12:40 PM
Hi Drew - I noticed that you also live on the Island and I have been scamming some of your posts in regards to your HR20 experience. I am in a somewhat similar situation as I can no longer receive the Yankees or Mets in HD because I have an HR10 box. Do you think its worth it to upgrade to the HR20 and should I try to negotiate it for free thru programming credits w/ customer retention? I love my HR10, but I don't want to be left behind technology wise and NEED my sports in HD!Hi tenmidgets. :welcome_s to the forum!

Everyone's situation is unique, but I had the space in my entertainment system for an extra DVR box and was willing to pay another $5/month for the new box, and I really wanted to see as many Yankees games in HD as I could. On top of that, DirecTV is rolling out up to 100 new national HD channels later this year: CNN, USA, Bravo, SciFi, etc.

For me, the decision was worth it. I ended up leasing the box for $199 + $19 handling fee, with $299 split into 3 monthly payments. I also got 6 months of $20 credits, an additional 6 months $5 credits, and the first payment of $66.33 was credited back to me due to problems with the order. I think there may have been another credit, but I can't remember what it was. Anyway, I'll end up paying less $49 for it.

You may not get as good a deal as I did, or you may get better, as others have done, but with all of the upcoming HD changes, I considered it well worth it. :)

Drew2k
04-08-07, 12:43 PM
I just remembered another bug with Interactive and the BONUS CAM.

When the BONUS CAM is displayed on screen, the progress bar is messed up, showing incorrect ending times. and there's no indicator showing where you are in the time line. As soon as you turn off the BONUS CAM, the progress bar is properly restored.I just figured out what is happening with the BONUS CAM and why the progress bar changes and why the buffer is lost: Becasue the DVR is actually changing channels from 622-SD to 9990.

I had thought that the bonus-cam was just a tiny PIP window that DirecTV was superimposing, but it's not that simple. (The box just wasn't built to do this.) Instead, the channel actually has to be changed to a stream just like the MIX channels: Channel 9990 is just like 622-SD but the PIP box is part of the stream. You can't get to 9990 directly and can't see it in the guide, but it's there.

gpg
04-08-07, 01:13 PM
Drew. how do you know the channel number for the bonus cam?

Drew2k
04-08-07, 01:23 PM
I had trouble at first figuring it out, because INFO didn't seem to work when the bonus cam was up, but I finally hit GUIDE, and in the PIP window at the top right corner, for a brief moment the channel number displayed as 9990 before reverting back to 622. After I closed the guide, I was able to press INFO and see 9990 in the banner.

n3ntj
04-09-07, 10:12 AM
My issue is.. when will people in central PA get to see YES HD games AND get this Interactive YES feature? ;-)

tenmidgets
04-09-07, 01:12 PM
Hi tenmidgets. :welcome_s to the forum!

Everyone's situation is unique, but I had the space in my entertainment system for an extra DVR box and was willing to pay another $5/month for the new box, and I really wanted to see as many Yankees games in HD as I could. On top of that, DirecTV is rolling out up to 100 new national HD channels later this year: CNN, USA, Bravo, SciFi, etc.

For me, the decision was worth it. I ended up leasing the box for $199 + $19 handling fee, with $299 split into 3 monthly payments. I also got 6 months of $20 credits, an additional 6 months $5 credits, and the first payment of $66.33 was credited back to me due to problems with the order. I think there may have been another credit, but I can't remember what it was. Anyway, I'll end up paying less $49 for it.

You may not get as good a deal as I did, or you may get better, as others have done, but with all of the upcoming HD changes, I considered it well worth it. :)

Thanks for the info Drew! I also consider it worth it to upgrade now and I just got off the phone w/ D* and think I struck a pretty good deal. They are coming to my house Wednesday with an HR20 and an H20 to replace my old HR10s (which I do not have to give back). She said she could do this for me with a one time charge of $99 on my credit card + $19.95 shipping and handling. I asked if she could offset this cost by giving me programming credits and she said "sure". So she credited me back $99 on my account for the two receivers and then gave me an additional 6 month programming credit of $5 off my bill. So for a total cost of $120 on my credit card I am getting $130 in programming credits on my bill so I basically get the receivers for free (after tax) or even come out ahead by a bit! After the tech comes out to do the install, I will put one of my HR10s on eBay and hope to get a couple hundred for it.

-Bill