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I love Directv, but the Sonic Tap really sucks.

30K views 141 replies 62 participants last post by  ericknolls 
#1 ·
Been listening to Sonic Tap "8-Tracks" for about two weeks now. Whoever is in charge of programming obviously wasn't even alive during the late 60s and early 70s because they only play a fraction all the great songs that were coming out almost daily at the time. They fill in the rest of the time with absolutely horrible 'filler' songs. Filler songs are all the garbage songs that come with the album you had to buy just to get the one or two hit songs that you wanted.

The record company's dirty little secret was that if a group had several really good songs, the companies would spread them out across multiple albums to make more money. Used to piss me off that I had to buy a whole album just to get the one song I liked. Sure, there were some exceptions with super groups where almost all the songs were great, but they were few and far between. At least now with itunes you can buy just the songs you want most of the time, although I found a few that were only available with the album.

But anyway, the 8-Tracks channel plays all the crap songs that the radio stations of the time would never ever play because they would go bankrupt from lack of listeners. It's probably programmed by some minimum wage kid who was told to just fill up the time with whatever was on an album from back then.
 
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#78 ·
242424 said:
I wish they made a receiver/software that worked without all the gadgets. #justtv
This is pretty much how I feel. Stop worrying about Sonic Tap, Pandora, TV Apps, Media Share, etc.

Concentrate on doing what I am paying them for TV service. Give us the channels we want, in HD if available. Give us more VOD, in HD ip possible. Get our receivers running better and quicker. TV Everywhere, better iPad, iPhone, Android, Nomad apps and stuff like that are great too. I'm paying DirecTV for TV channels and shows, primarily on my TV, but now on the other devices is great as well (but they should come second to on my TV). If I want TVApps, Pandora, Media Share etc, I can get them on my TV, Blu-Ray player, AppleTV/Roku etc. Most likely those other devices will even do it better, since that is more in line with what they are meant to do.

All that said, back to the OP. He needs to realize different channels have different premises. He is complaining about 8 tracks following their own premise, which doesn't make sense. My guess is he doesn't realize what the premise of 8 tracks is, and he hasn't bothered to read most of the posts in this thread that point his error out, so he probably still doesn't understand that this is really a problem with his expectations and not DirecTV, Sonic Tap, or 8-Tracks, because he is expecting them to do something outside of what they are there to do. Getting mad 8 tracks/Sonic Tap/DirecTV is like getting mad at Burger King for not selling you a Big Mac. If he wants the hits of the 60's & 70's he needs to look at the other Sonic Tap channels aimed at playing the hits from those eras.

Now if he complained about them not having a long enough playlist, or the bandwidth being too narrow so the sound quality was bad, etc. then I would understand that more and say it may be a valid complaint.
 
#79 ·
Beerstalker said:
This is pretty much how I feel. Stop worrying about Sonic Tap, Pandora, TV Apps, Media Share, etc.

Concentrate on doing what I am paying them for TV service. Give us the channels we want, in HD if available. Give us more VOD, in HD ip possible. Get our receivers running better and quicker. TV Everywhere, better iPad, iPhone, Android, Nomad apps and stuff like that are great too. I'm paying DirecTV for TV channels and shows, primarily on my TV, but now on the other devices is great as well (but they should come second to on my TV). If I want TVApps, Pandora, Media Share etc, I can get them on my TV, Blu-Ray player, AppleTV/Roku etc. Most likely those other devices will even do it better, since that is more in line with what they are meant to do.
Bless you lol
 
#80 ·
242424 said:
Bless you lol
Thanks, ha ha.

The problem is the probably have marketing people telling them that this is what people want, so that is what they keep trying to do. The problem is, in my experience as an engineer, marketing ends up talking to idiots :lol:.
 
#81 ·
Beerstalker said:
Thanks, ha ha.

The problem is the probably have marketing people telling them that this is what people want, so that is what they keep trying to do. The problem is, in my experience as an engineer, marketing ends up talking to idiots :lol:.
:lol: I agree!
 
#82 ·
I have lots of streaming options. Still, we really like having the SonicTap channels available, and we use them often. They're just simple to use - dial in channel, hear unterrupted music of the selected genre.

I know LOTS of people that use the music channels on their TV service. Just because you don't want them, doesn't mean that they need to be taken away from everyone else who does. I'd rather have SonicTap than ESPN, but I bet I pay more for ESPN monthly.

As for "freeing up bandwidth", they don't take up much. They're 32khz (I've analyzed the output), so they're probably 80kbps streams. You could fit 100 music channels in the space of one HD channel. They're so small they likely fit into "dead space".
 
#83 ·
What is Sonictap music channels? Just kidding, I don't even have it in my favorites.
 
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#85 ·
I love the Sonic Tap, oops, I mean DMX, oops, I mean MOOD MEDIA channels!! :lol:

Since Mood Media bought DMX (and Muzak for that matter) last year they have been paying much more attention to the channels freshening them up with new selections all the time. I think the quality on DirecTV is just fine now after they ironed out all the bugs and terrible audio quality it had when it first appeared. I have XM in my car and the audio quality is awful not to mention the irritating blabby DJ's that never seem to say anything worth listening to.

I have listened to the "8-tracks" channel and I don't think it's that bad. It's a refreshing change from the "classic rock" stations that play the same Queen, Eagles, Pink Floyd etc. songs over and over and over.
 
#90 ·
Dont know if anyone from Directv ever reads this stuff but I have a suggestion. Can we get a couple of the music channels changed to things like ocean or rain sounds for sleep ? We have a couple of cds that are sleep aids . Would be cool if could just flip over to a sonic tap station and play something to help relax and fall asleep.
I see 884 tranquility on the online guide but it says channle not available on my box. Its listed uner ultimate package which I have .Is 884 up ?
 
#93 ·
harsh said:
If you're a premier subscriber there are somewhere between 23 and 30 Sonic Tap channels you aren't getting if you have an SL3.
do you have a list to back that claim?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#94 ·
It's 17 channels:
Rat Pack
Holidays & Happenings (outside of Christmas)
Groove Lounge
Jazz
Metro Blend
Great Standards
PUMP!
Piano
Fiesta Tropical
Regional Mexican
Mariachi
Carnaval Brasileiro
Familiar Favorites
Italian Bistro Blend
Italian Contemporary
Irish
Tranquility

Outside of the Latino ones, the rest of these are former commercial subscriber only channels that became available to residential subscribers a few years ago. All you need to do is call and they'll arrange for a LNB swap if you can get LOS to 119.
 
#96 ·
My beef with DirecTV's music channels was that they carried the stations in tiers. These are low-bandwidth channels that could be provided to all customers easily.

I've got FiOS TV now and all 49 Music Choice channels are available in all tiers. We like classical music and typically listen to KUSC, an all-classical station in LA. However when KUSC is having a pledge drive we switch to one of the two classical channels available with Music Choice.

And, yes, we do support KUSC with a donation each year.
 
#97 ·
billsharpe said:
My beef with DirecTV's music channels was that they carried the stations in tiers. These are low-bandwidth channels that could be provided to all customers easily.

I've got FiOS TV now and all 49 Music Choice channels are available in all tiers. We like classical music and typically listen to KUSC, an all-classical station in LA. However when KUSC is having a pledge drive we switch to one of the two classical channels available with Music Choice.

And, yes, we do support KUSC with a donation each year.
It may not require much bandwidth, but the licensing for the music isn't free. Directv probably puts it in a tier to allow the bottom package to be cheaper, especially since these days most people prefer options where they have their own music playlist instead of listening to someone else's.
 
#98 ·
slice1900 said:
It may not require much bandwidth, but the licensing for the music isn't free. Directv probably puts it in a tier to allow the bottom package to be cheaper, especially since these days most people prefer options where they have their own music playlist instead of listening to someone else's.
Not me. I'm sick to death of my own playlists. I have started to listen to the music channels more, not less, now. Helps broaden my horizons, musically. On the other hand, it's not so important as to generate a post like Mr. Piano man's :rotfl:
 
#99 ·
JeffBowser said:
Not me. I'm sick to death of my own playlists. I have started to listen to the music channels more, not less, now. Helps broaden my horizons, musically. On the other hand, it's not so important as to generate a post like Mr. Piano man's :rotfl:
Billy Joel??

Anyhow, doesn't Pandora, Spotify, Last.fm, Apple Radio fill the bill on showing you new music if prompted? With higher bitrates, likely, too.
 
#100 ·
KyL416 said:
It's 17 channels:
That is a lot different than 30 channels that some one claimed!
 
#101 ·
harsh said:
If you're a premier subscriber there are somewhere between 23 and 30 Sonic Tap channels you aren't getting if you have an SL3.
If you have 1000.4 you are not getting the exact same line up as 1000.2 either.
Why don't you give me that RSN line up. :righton:
Only difference , a simple phone call will add what ever you need with Directv
 
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