[mlobitz]

Help me out here...what is the story with the NBA League Pass and "select" HD games. I checked out channel 95 and saw that the Raptors were playing the Nets. So I switched over and got the "Programming is not available in your area" The game was on in SD on channel 755 so I knew the game was being played, but no HD. So I called DTV and talked to two CSRs who in turn talked to their "supervisors"...nothing, no clue. No one has an answer. Seems strange that the first night that NBA League Pass is up and running and there isn't any HD. Yes, ESPN is showing a few games in HD, but that has nothing to do with NBA L.P. Also, channel 601 NBA TV does show a few games in HD, but that's included with the RSN package not exclusively NBA L.P.

Any ideas? Why would I be blacked out on the HD feed and not the SD feed for NBA L.P.

 

[gator5000e]

No answer, but they are doing the same thing with the Center Ice package. The Penquins and the Kings are on Channel 95 right now and I am getting the same message. Why can't we get an out of market HD game if it is shown. Is it cause it is spot beamed to only a certain portion of the country?

 

[mocciat]

No answer, but they are doing the same thing with the Center Ice package. The Penquins and the Kings are on Channel 95 right now and I am getting the same message. Why can't we get an out of market HD game if it is shown. Is it cause it is spot beamed to only a certain portion of the country?

do you subscribe to center ice and/or league pass?

 

[bwaldron]

No answer, but they are doing the same thing with the Center Ice package. The Penquins and the Kings are on Channel 95 right now and I am getting the same message. Why can't we get an out of market HD game if it is shown. Is it cause it is spot beamed to only a certain portion of the country?

Yep, you're right, it's being blacked out. (No, it's not a spot beam).

The NHL game tonight is a screw-up on DirecTV's part, I would think. The NHL games, like the MLB games on 95, are typically available to the "league pass" subscribers (unless you are in the market of one of the teams playing and the broadcast is from the other team's RSN). I certainly hope this is not a sudden change in policy.

The NBA games on 95 last year, on the other hand, were blacked out to those outside the market of the originating RSN--except for those that were NBA-TV HD games. I had hoped that would be different this year, it doesn't look that way, sadly.

 

[bluedogok]

NBA League Pass is free for the first week of the season, I think the free part ends next Tuesday. I had a blank 95 last night.

 

[mlobitz]

What does the free preview have to do with it? No HD games until the free preview is over? If the DTV is going to play games with their HD bandwidth, I shouldn't have to suffer for a product I am paying for. It seems like this is DTVs new M.O. Let the consumer get most of what we promise and then the hell with the rest of it. Let them eat cake...:nono:

 

[bluedogok]

I don't know that it has anything to do with it or not, I was just posting that up so people would know if they ran across a game or a black screen on there if they didn't have League Pass. I figured it might make people look and get a larger response

 

[NVBlue]

That happened with baseball initially. In mid season, they started lifting the blackouts on HD games shown on channel 95. I hope D* corrects this problem soon.

 

[bwaldron]

That happened with baseball initially. In mid season, they started lifting the blackouts on HD games shown on channel 95. I hope D* corrects this problem soon.

Well, there's a game scheduled on 95 tonight, so we shall soon see if the NBA games will be blacked out like last year, or will be available like the NHL/MLB games.

 

[mlobitz]

This kills me...I called DTV..again...and finally found a person with a brain and she told me to do a schedule search for my favorite team and sure enough, up came the latest schedule with HD options available. This is the part that kills me...it shows the Lakers vs. Sonics tonight at 7:30 on channel 95. Cool, I says...so I reconfigure my HR10 to record that channel for the game. Of course, that's 6 hours of HD recording for the block of time, which is totally lame. How about maybe 4 hours...anyway. Then, I noticed that the game is on ESPN-HD tonight as well. WTF, why would I want to watch the game on ch. 95 when it's already on ESPN-HD. It will probably be blacked out. Who does not have ESPN-HD, but has access to channel 95 for HD games. Come on, how lame is that... Oh yeah, the Sonics/Lakers game on Sunday is on ch. 95, so that's the real test. I think...:lol:

 

[gusmahler]

I'm wondering if the situation has changed at all?

We are now in another week of free NBA League Pass (because it's the half season point). I checked it out yesterday, and I get all the games. But none are in HD (except the local game, which I would get on channel 96 anyway).

So is it true that NBA League Pass is all SD?

Looking at www.hdsportsguide.com it seems like a lot of NBA games are in HD, but in regional markets only. It would be a shame if NBA League Pass only gave us the SD feed from those games. It's obviously not a bandwidth issue, because they ARE showing the games in HD, they are just blacked out in most markets.

(To be specific, every game tonight is available in HD in local markets, but it appears that the only HD game I'll see is the one on NBA TV. I'll be able to watch every game, but only in SD, except for the NBA TV game.)

 

[gpg]

There have been a number of NBALP games available in HD on channel 95. Things were messed up when the season started, but they did get them fixed.

 

[wmschultz]

There were 2 games in HD last night that were on channel 95. I was getting them and I don't subscribe to the League Pass. They were RSN's not NBA TV.

 

[garn9173]

There were 2 games in HD last night that were on channel 95. I was getting them and I don't subscribe to the League Pass. They were RSN's not NBA TV.

There's a free preview taking place, it ends the 28th.

 

[bonscott87]

Typically (at least with hockey) the game on 95 is available to you in 2 cases:

1) It's the feed from your RSN
2) If you have Center Ice *and* the feed is one that is being used for Center Ice. Now this may have changed that it doesn't matter what feed is on Center Ice but that's the way it was at the begining of the season.

I believe the NBA games work the same way.

Example: Most Red Wings games that have been on 95 (outside Vs. games) have been from my local RSN, FSN-Detroit. But last week they played the Preds and the feed on 95 was from FSN-South, thus it was blacked out to me.

 

[Bobwhite]

I was unable to watch the Celtics/Spurs game on ch 95 last night as it was blacked out, but it was showing in SD on my RSN. I am never able to watch any celtics games when they are shown on CH 95 as they black it out due to my ability to get it in SD on my RSN. I thought this had to do with me not having league pass, but now they black it out even during the "free preview".

Very dissapointing to say the least.

 

[garn9173]

I was unable to watch the Celtics/Spurs game on ch 95 last night as it was blacked out, but it was showing in SD on my RSN. I am never able to watch any celtics games when they are shown on CH 95 as they black it out due to my ability to get it in SD on my RSN. I thought this had to do with me not having league pass, but now they black it out even during the "free preview".

Very dissapointing to say the least.

Blackouts are and have always been based on location, free preview or no free preview. Blackout rules and restrictions aren't set by D*, but by the respective leagues, in this case, The NBA.

 

[mganga]

Blackouts are and have always been based on location, free preview or no free preview. Blackout rules and restrictions aren't set by D*, but by the respective leagues, in this case, The NBA.

yes, the blackout rules have to do with which feed NBA LP chooses to air. i'm guessing they try to divide these between the two feeds (home and away and its further complicated by contracts they have with the fox rsn's vs. individual contracts with local stations) as evenly as they can, but it is frustrating when you can "see" on the guide the HD feed that's not available. i pray almost daily that we will soon come out of these blackout stone-ages, but i'm not holding my breath.

 

[gusmahler]

There were 2 games in HD last night that were on channel 95. I was getting them and I don't subscribe to the League Pass. They were RSN's not NBA TV.

I had two games in HD yesterday. One was the Nuggets/Grizzlies game, which was advertised to be on NBATV (though the HD signal was from the local FSN). The other was my local HD game (Lakers/Warriors).

I only have one HD game tonight, and it's the one on NBATV (Suns/Wizards). All of the other games are available regionally in HD, but they don't show up in my guide. They all show up in my guide in SD.

If NBA League Pass is SD only, I'm not ordering it.

 

[gusmahler]

Blackouts are and have always been based on location, free preview or no free preview. Blackout rules and restrictions aren't set by D*, but by the respective leagues, in this case, The NBA.

So can you confirm that NBA League Pass is SD only? I don't understand why they would blackout the HD feed, but not the SD feed.