I set up the "Patriots" keyword so it would record the game every week. Today my box recorded a blank screen on channel 711 becuase according to tech support the game was blacked out.
Tech support said that the patriots was broadcast nationally on CBS but the LA Times and tvguide.com said that it wasn't.
I don't know who to beleive and I certainly don't trust my HR20.
Say it was airing below channel 100. Why isn't the DVR software smart enough to record games that are acutally AIRING!?
I don't even know what to do besides babysit this next saturday to confirm. At least they gave me a $60 credit.
There isn't DVR in the world that can help you. How is it supposed to know the game was blacked out? The blackout issue has been with us for years now. Basically if it's on your local station then it's blacked out on Sunday Ticket. That's the way it is. So simply setup your recording on Friday or Saturday once you know what games are on your locals.
Are you kidding? Are you telling me that I should have to manually program my machine every friday? This is the DVR's job, not mine. I want to set it once and forget about it, not babysit the stupid machine once a week.
The software should be smart enough to recognize blacked out stations and act accordingly. How could it know?
1) My box knows my zip code and presumably had access to guide data, doesn't it? Maybe this is enough to determine which games are blacked out in my area.
2) DirectTV could publish a blackout database to the DVR so it knows explicitly.
3) Or maybe, DirecTV sends a special signal on blacked out games that tells the DVR that you are on a blacked out channel. (For me it's literally just a black).
Once you have blackout data, recording the appropriate game NOT BLACK SCREENS should be a no-brainer.
Anyways, this is a job for engineering not me. They just need to fix it.
I did some more research and now I think that either
a. The game was inadvertently blacked out on channel 711; or
b. My recorder just crashed. (When I tried to view the recording, it was a black screen and would not play – perhaps just a bug?).
The only way to know for sure is if someone can confirm that the Pats game was airing on 711 in Los Angeles.
I did some research and this is what I found out. I think the game was aired on CBS regionally, not nationally:
• I called the sports desk at my local CBS affiliate and they confirmed that the game was not aired in Los Angles. (But they would have been obligated to if it aired nationally on CBS).
• Even though DirectTV tech support said the game aired on CBS nationally, I believe this was wrong
• cbssportline.com said the game aired on CBS – I believe they meant regional
• My sister in Rhode Island who has DirecTV (but not ST) said the game was aired regionally on terrestrial TV. It was not listed on the CBS E or CBS W feed.
So, it should not have been blacked out on my ST, right?
• DirecTV agreed with my assumption that the game was blacked out on 711, but was it the correct assumption? Perhaps it was a recording failure.
So like I said, either the game was inadvertently blacked out on channel 711 or my recorder failed. Unless someone can give me more info re the pats on ST last Sunday then I will never know…
pete
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