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Automatic Recording of NFL Games is Broken

2K views 22 replies 10 participants last post by  bonscott87 
#1 ·
This problem is driving me nuts.

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.

pete
 
#2 ·
It was blacked out on Sunday ticket because it was on your local station. The only exception to this I have found is that they don't black out the Hi-Def games on Superfan. You will just have to watch your local channels, and if it is there, it won't be on Sunday ticket for you, you will have to watch it on your local.
 
#3 ·
pmauro said:
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!?
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.
 
#4 ·
bonscott87 said:
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.

pete
 
#5 ·
Sorry, it's just not that easy. Tivo can't help you here either.
Your local station could change their game an hour before kickoff. Local non-sellout can effect blackout and be lifted at the last minute. I could go on.

There just isn't a way to "change" your recording to another station. There would be more problems with that with people complaining it's changing their recordings without their consent.

Thus is life with live sports and DVRs. You'll just have to get used to it.
 
#6 ·
This is just the way it is. MY UTVs and TIVOs have had the same problems with picking up games. and not just NFLST, but also with ESPN Game plan. you have to make sure the game is going to record. I've even seen my UTV try and pick the game up off the national CBSE feed (channel in the 380s).
 
#8 ·
Speaking of black outs...my team (Ravens) are playing MNF tonight on ESPN and obviously, in HD. I noticed that my local channel is also broadcasting the game (as they have in the past when the game is on a cable channel). However, this local channel has NEVER broadcasted a game in HD and tonight is no exception.

I suppose the local channel determines if the game will be blacked-out on ESPN? I seriously do not want watch MNF in SD because my local team is playing. That's the time HD is the most essential! :)
 
#9 ·
DJConan said:
Speaking of black outs...my team (Ravens) are playing MNF tonight on ESPN and obviously, in HD. I noticed that my local channel is also broadcasting the game (as they have in the past when the game is on a cable channel). However, this local channel has NEVER broadcasted a game in HD and tonight is no exception.

I suppose the local channel determines if the game will be blacked-out on ESPN? I seriously do not want watch MNF in SD because my local team is playing. That's the time HD is the most essential! :)
No, you should not be blacked out tonight. ESPN is not a local channel. What local channel is carrying it? ESPN owns the rights to Monday Night Football now. No other network can carry the game. That would cause all kinds of problems between ESPN and their advertisers if another network were carrying the game. Are you referring to ESPN on your local cable provider, or ESPN on D* in SD?
 
#10 ·
DJConan said:
Speaking of black outs...my team (Ravens) are playing MNF tonight on ESPN and obviously, in HD. I noticed that my local channel is also broadcasting the game (as they have in the past when the game is on a cable channel). However, this local channel has NEVER broadcasted a game in HD and tonight is no exception.

I suppose the local channel determines if the game will be blacked-out on ESPN? I seriously do not want watch MNF in SD because my local team is playing. That's the time HD is the most essential! :)
It won't be blacked on on ESPN. It's simply provided OTA in the home markets of the teams involved for those that don't have cable/sat and thus don't have ESPN. Same thing happened in the past with the Sunday Night games ESPN did. The game would also be broadcast in the local market OTA for those without ESPN.
 
#12 ·
tommyb said:
Ah probably ABC. They are in bed together I believe. i guess that makes sense.
"Usually" the two teams involved in the ESPN evening games for the NFL, are carried on their local ABC affiliate. But it is not guaranteed to be in HD.
 
#13 ·
Earl Bonovich said:
"Usually" the two teams involved in the ESPN evening games for the NFL, are carried on their local ABC affiliate. But it is not guaranteed to be in HD.
In Atlanta, is broadcast in HD on local ABC affiliate as well as on and ESPN
HD...
 
#14 ·
pmauro said:
This problem is driving me nuts.

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.
If I read your note correctly, you are in the LA market, and subscribe to Sunday Ticket. You expected to get the Patriots game on ch 711, and instead got a black screen. Correct?

Assuming the above is correct, you do have a legitimate gripe, which is probably why you were issued the $60 credit. This isn't a dvr issue, it's a blackout issue, and the Pats' game should not have been blacked out in LA over ST.

pmauro said:
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.
Again, assuming that I correctly read your situation above, the game was not available on the lower channels, only on 711. So the dvr would not have picked it up there. However, if a future game IS broadcast on a local channel, any dvr should indeed be able to select the local channel rather than the ST channel, although it doesn't hurt to double check your todo list just to make sure. Again, that's not a blackout issue. It's a matter of the guide data accurately reflecting which game is on which channel.
 
#16 ·
bonscott87 said:
It won't be blacked on on ESPN. It's simply provided OTA in the home markets of the teams involved for those that don't have cable/sat and thus don't have ESPN. Same thing happened in the past with the Sunday Night games ESPN did. The game would also be broadcast in the local market OTA for those without ESPN.
Yeah, same thing that happened with Sunday Night games, but I don't remember if they were blacked out or not; that's why I thought I would ask him. CBS does most of the Ravens games and it's the local CBS that is broadcasting the game tonight as they usually do when it's on a cable network. I just forgot if it gets blacked out on ESPN. Since my local CBS station has never broadcasted a Ravens game in HD, there's no way I wanted to be forced to watch their station. That baffles me as well...primetime TV is broadcasted in HD by the local CBS, but never the football game.
 
#17 ·
ad301 said:
This isn't a dvr issue, it's a blackout issue, and the Pats' game should not have been blacked out in LA over ST.
True, it's not a DVR issue.

But you are incorrect on the blackout. ANY game on a local station is blacked out on Sunday Ticket. Period. So if the Pats are on your local CBS station, no matter where you are in the country, CBS wants to make you watch your local CBS station and thus impose a blackout on Sunday Ticket. Been this way about 3 years now. So yes, if the Pats were on his local LA station then definately it would be blacked out on ST. It becomes more tricky if the local station decides to change the game they carry locally at the last minute. Thus why a DVR can't keep up with it.
 
#18 ·
Ben_jd said:
I have not found this to be the case; if it's broadcast locally (in SD or HD), the Superfan HD channel will not come in.
Actually so far this year many markets are *not* getting the HD Superfan game blacked out. SD game is blacked out as usual however. Wasn't that way in the past. So either something has changed this year or they just haven't gotten around to blacking out all markets in HD yet. I have yet to have the HD feeds of ST blacked out (which is good because my OTA CBS sucks). Our HD locals are not up on the sat yet.
 
#20 ·
bonscott87 said:
True, it's not a DVR issue.

But you are incorrect on the blackout. ANY game on a local station is blacked out on Sunday Ticket. Period. So if the Pats are on your local CBS station, no matter where you are in the country, CBS wants to make you watch your local CBS station and thus impose a blackout on Sunday Ticket. Been this way about 3 years now. So yes, if the Pats were on his local LA station then definately it would be blacked out on ST. It becomes more tricky if the local station decides to change the game they carry locally at the last minute. Thus why a DVR can't keep up with it.
The OP said that the game in question was NOT on his local channel. It therefore should have been available to him on ST. So, what are you talking about?
 
#21 ·
ad301 said:
The OP said that the game in question was NOT on his local channel. It therefore should have been available to him on ST. So, what are you talking about?
All he said is that 711 was blacked out. Thus the local station carried the game. He never said he actually checked the local station, only the TV guide which had a different game. Most likely the local station changed what game they would show at the last minute. Nothing you can do other then to be aware of it. Happens in LA all the time since they have no "local" team.

In either case, nothing the DVR can do.
 
#22 ·
Thanks to everyone for throwing in their $0.02.

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
 
#23 ·
It could have been an inadvertent blackout if DirecTV thought your local station was going to have the Pats game but they actually didn't. When that does happen you can call and they will usually unblock the ST channel for you. Doesn't help you much if it was recording though and you are gone.

BUT, there would have been gnashing of teeth in the NFL threads on AVS if there was this mistake were the case and I don't remember seeing anything about it. So it really could have been a failed recording. Basically if someone else in LA can tell you what game was on CBS yesterday you'll know one way or the other.
 
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