DBSTalk Forum banner

How did this happen? Locals appear with out asking..

3K views 30 replies 14 participants last post by  crodrules 
#1 ·
Okay kids.. 14 years with Directv.. many highs and a couple of lows.. but today is the shocker.. My dvr in the kitchen stopped showing a picture.. it showed the channels and the banners at the top.. but no photo.. and last night in the middle of the night. I had a freeze up in an HBO movie.. ( never had that happen before) so I call. and later was just asking nicely if I could get Showtime for a couple of months.. The CSR that I spoke to.. immediately gave me a discount on HBO and Stars and then said her cpu was running slow.. Finally she says yes my supervisor gave you the showtime.. No biggie..
but whenever I call I always make sure that my Distants are still there. and they were.. but for WHAT EVER REASON IN THE WORLD.. I checked my locals.. WWWWHHHHAAAAAAATTT!!!! they were on.. didn't ask. didn't mention.. didn't imply, hint , discuss , or even ask about the weather in my local area.. Now what? after 14 years I should be Shreva Grandfathered.. but .. the picture quality was just what I expected.. NO LOCAL HD..( CBS LOCAL NO HD). no stereo.. I do not want to give up my distants.. No flippn' way.. I suppose the best thing to do is to sit and wait.. but right now I am shocked.. ( Claude Rains , Casablanca, 1942 102 min)
 
#27 ·
inkahauts said:
If someday Directv ever gets all markets launched, I would not be one bit surprised if they just end having DNS feeds all together... While bandwidth isn't an issue, that would free up another 8 hd and sd channels nationally...
What about RVs? Unless they provided an automated way (i.e. geolocation) to switch your locals, calling Directv every day after you drive to a new spot would be kind of a pain.

Also, aren't there some small DMAs that don't have affiliates for every network? Aren't they supplemented with DNS channels if they are missing i.e. a CBS affiliate?
 
#28 ·
slice1900 said:
What about RVs? Unless they provided an automated way (i.e. geolocation) to switch your locals, calling Directv every day after you drive to a new spot would be kind of a pain.

Also, aren't there some small DMAs that don't have affiliates for every network? Aren't they supplemented with DNS channels if they are missing i.e. a CBS affiliate?
The other company (DISH) does not offer nationwide distants and allows their mobile customers to call in as they move. A pain? It could be if you are a very mobile person (and not one spending a week in one location then moving on, etc).

DISH distants are delivered via spotbeams ... so for a short market (such as Lafayette Indiana which only has a CBS affiliate for the big four) DISH chooses nearby affiliates on a spotbeam that covers the market as their distants. DISH has used channels from Indianapolis, South Bend and Illinois markets to cover Lafayette. The stations are delivered under the distants or "signifiantly viewed" law, whichever applies.

A national set of channels is more convenient, but it is not the only way.
 
#30 ·
wow no responses all week.. is this site slowing down? I did call D* and was told that I was given the locals for 6 months for free.. I also got a message saying that if I wanted my locals I would have to CHANGE MY PACKAGE.. ah.. wrong.. I am grandfathered in at Classic choice plus.. still the best package out there.. and I have my distant networks.. should not have to change a package to add locals. and I guess that I thought that I would have generated some responses , hopefully from Joshjr.. or some other local/ distant experts..
 
#31 ·
wow no responses all week.. is this site slowing down? I did call D* and was told that I was given the locals for 6 months for free..
The same thing happened to me way back when I still had distants from Directv. I had been grandfathered to get both distants and locals, but Directv still gave the option to drop locals from the base package at that time, so I dropped the locals to save money, and kept the distants. Shortly after that, they gave me a six-month preview of the local package, so I kept getting the same channels for less money. :) In my case, they sent me a postcard at the beginning of the preview to explain what they were doing. I think they even called me when the preview was almost over, asking me if I wanted to keep the locals. It is strange that they did not inform you until after you lost the locals and called them to ask about it.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top