[FenceMan]

I get the message "program not available in your area" for the Raptors - Nets game tonight on channel 95. I get the game in SD on channel 755 so it cannot be a blackout issue? I subscribe to the NBA LP and HD pack and have the HR10-250, is this MPEG4 related problem? I called to complain and CSR doesnt have explanation but assured me it had nothing to do with MPEG4 (I have my doubts)?

 

[naijai]

well the person is right you can get the SD feed and still bne blacked out from the HD feed depending who is providing the feed channel 95 is the RSN feed for some networks

 

[Sharkie_Fan]

well the person is right you can get the SD feed and still bne blacked out from the HD feed depending who is providing the feed channel 95 is the RSN feed for some networks

It probably depends upon what feed they are picking up for channel 95. If it is not your RSN feed they've picked up, then you would be blacked out.

And, in this instance, the CSR is correct, is has absolutely nothing to do with MPEG4. Channel 95 is an unused MPEG2 channel which they use to pick up random broadcasts - all different sports, all different RSNs.

 

[bwaldron]

I get the message "program not available in your area" for the Raptors - Nets game tonight on channel 95. I get the game in SD on channel 755 so it cannot be a blackout issue? I subscribe to the NBA LP and HD pack and have the HR10-250, is this MPEG4 related problem? I called to complain and CSR doesnt have explanation but assured me it had nothing to do with MPEG4 (I have my doubts)?

Same thing as last year, sadly. While MLB and NHL games are available to league pass subscribers, the NBA games on 95 (except the NBA-TV games) are available only in the area of the originating RSN. I had hoped this would change this season, doesn't look like it has (I didn't check 95 tonight, so I can't confirm that I was blacked out in FL).

 

[gpg]

Well channel 95 wasn't even available in the NY area for which YES is an RSN! In fact, DirecTV also put the YES Nets broadcast on channel 96 in MPEG4 and then blacked out the NY DMA!

Something is wrong with the blackout data that DirecTV is using for the Nets HD games, but no can make the CSRs understand the problem. I wish Earl had as good a connection to the sports blackout people at DirecTV as he does to the development teams so that we could get someone there to check out the problem.

 

[bwaldron]

Well channel 95 wasn't even available in the NY area for which YES is an RSN! In fact, DirecTV also put the YES Nets broadcast on channel 96 in MPEG4 and then blacked out the NY DMA!

Wow. That's really poor.

It seems like this was just a major screw-up all around on 95 tonight. Why they couldn't get it fixed, who knows? I can only imagine some of the creative things that folks were told by CSRs tonight

If it was just a big screwup tonight, maybe there is hope that out-of-market league pass subs will be able to get future games on 95.

D* just screws up one thing after another these days.

 

[paulman182]

I might subscribe to League Pass if a large number of the games would be in HD.

I don't think this is the case, is it?

 

[pyrettablaze]

Same deal tonight. I have the Cavs game in SD on 637 and the HD version on 95 is blackedout. Talking to the CSR, he said that it is blacked out everywhere and that the people I would need to complain to would be the owner of the NY Knicks. He said it costs them more money to send out the HD signal.

With that being said....why even bother to put out the HD version at all? Why put the HD cameras in place? I hate all of these nickle and dime mofos.

In 2009, I bet they will charge you 5 bux for every game you want to watch.

 

[bwaldron]

Same deal tonight. I have the Cavs game in SD on 637 and the HD version on 95 is blackedout. Talking to the CSR, he said that it is blacked out everywhere and that the people I would need to complain to would be the owner of the NY Knicks. He said it costs them more money to send out the HD signal.

With that being said....why even bother to put out the HD version at all? Why put the HD cameras in place? I hate all of these nickle and dime mofos.

In 2009, I bet they will charge you 5 bux for every game you want to watch.

The CSR was incorrect. I am receiving the game here in Florida. I would guess the reason you are not is because you are in Cavs territory, and your local RSN on 637 has exclusive rights for the Cavs region...thus you're stuck with SD tonight.

Yes, it does suck

 

[GoLaLakers]

I live in Los Angeles, and I am getting the HD Feed on Channel 95 of the Knicks/Cavs game. As usual, the Direct TV Customer service people don't know what they are talking about. My understanding is that for the NBA League Pass, they usually use the feed for the home team. So since this is an away game for your CAV's it does make sense that the game is blacked out for you.

However last night the guide data showed the Lakers/Memphis game was on Channel 95, however I got the same error message that it was not available in my area. The game was available on my RSN, which is Fox Sports West, and the NBA league pass was using the same Fox Sports West feed on the NBA League Pass Channel 755. Why I wasn't able to get the game in HD confused me. I was able to watch the Detroit/Laker game on Friday night in HD on channel 95. I called Direct TV and complained to them and they said it was a NBA decision on when to offer HD, so I have an email into them to see if they can give me some kind of answer. I have not had any problems watching the Hockey or College Football games in HD from our RSN.

 

[bwaldron]

I live in Los Angeles, and I am getting the HD Feed on Channel 95 of the Knicks/Cavs game. As usual, the Direct TV Customer service people don't know what they are talking about. My understanding is that for the NBA League Pass, they usually use the feed for the home team. So since this is an away game for your CAV's it does make sense that the game is blacked out for you.

However last night the guide data showed the Lakers/Memphis game was on Channel 95, however I got the same error message that it was not available in my area. The game was available on my RSN, which is Fox Sports West, and the NBA league pass was using the same Fox Sports West feed on the NBA League Pass Channel 755. Why I wasn't able to get the game in HD confused me. I was able to watch the Detroit/Laker game on Friday night in HD on channel 95. I called Direct TV and complained to them and they said it was a NBA decision on when to offer HD, so I have an email into them to see if they can give me some kind of answer. I have not had any problems watching the Hockey or College Football games in HD from our RSN.

Yes, if the FSW feed was used last night for 95 (I didn't watch), I can't imagine why you were blacked out. Seems like a screwup. You are correct in that the NBA games seem to have more issues than the other sports on 95. The odds of getting a useful answer from a CSR are extremely low...they just deal from their scripts and don't have the knowledge of the sports blackout arcanities to be truly helpful.

 

[GoLaLakers]

Yes, if the FSW feed was used last night for 95 (I didn't watch), I can't imagine why you were blacked out. Seems like a screwup. You are correct in that the NBA games seem to have more issues than the other sports on 95. The odds of getting a useful answer from a CSR are extremely low...they just deal from their scripts and don't have the knowledge of the sports blackout arcanities to be truly helpful.

Tonight's game is different. It's seems like this is truly a NBA TV Telecast, with NBA TV Announcers as it's the same feed on Channel 95 and 601. I would imagine that because of this the game is probably Blacked out both in Clevand and in the NY area, but available elsewhere.

 

[wilbur_the_goose]

D* has messed up NHL games on 95 too. Games are nationally available on Versus, and D* uses the Versus HD feed, but the damn HD is blacked out.

Somebody should be fired.

 

[bwaldron]

D* has messed up NHL games on 95 too. Games are nationally available on Versus, and D* uses the Versus HD feed, but the damn HD is blacked out.

Somebody should be fired.

I've been seeing the VS games on 95. I don't know if the games are available to HD Pack subscribers, Center Ice folks, or if they're supposed to be available to everyone.

 

[wilbur_the_goose]

Yeah - once in a while, they black out the versus games here in Philly. They must think that comcast sportsnet - philly has the exclusive rights, but the game isn't even on csn-philly.

 

[bwaldron]

Yeah - once in a while, they black out the versus games here in Philly. They must think that comcast sportsnet - philly has the exclusive rights, but the game isn't even on csn-philly.

That'll happen occasionally...a RSN can hold the rights and cause a blackout, even when not showing the game themselves. I don't think that should happen with VS. games, though--aren't they all national broadcasts?

 

[celticpride]

I'm getting tired trying to figure HD telecast out,last night the clippers played the lakers both teams are from los angeles, the D* guide had the game listed on channel 95 in HD, but the game was blacked out in HD, but shown in sd on channels 652 and 601.

 

[GoLaLakers]

I'm getting tired trying to figure HD telecast out,last night the clippers played the lakers both teams are from los angeles, the D* guide had the game listed on channel 95 in HD, but the game was blacked out in HD, but shown in sd on channels 652 and 601.

I feel your pain. The NBA in HD has been so inconsistent this year. I live in LA, and was able to see the both the Lakers/Bulls and the Lakers/Clippers game in HD this week on 96. My brother, who lives about 300 miles away from me was only able to see the Chicago Bulls game on Channel 95. We both subscribe to NBA League pass, and we both have Fox Sports West as our local RSN. But I am starting to think the only time you will get to see an HD game on the local RSN (FOX SPORTS WEST), is when the same game airs on a competitor Channel in HD.

For instance, the Chicago game this Sunday was also shown in HD on ESPN. Fox Sports West has figured they might loose viewers to ESPN, because the game is on ESPN HD. And they are correct with this assumption, because I would definitely tune in to ESPN HD rather then watch the game on a Standard Def FSW. So naturally they choose to have an HD feed as well, which was available on both channel 95 and 96 this weekend.

Tuesday's game against the Clippers, was available on both Fox Sports West and KTLA Channel 5 in Los Angeles. The Lakers home station for home games is FSN, and the Clipper games are shown of KTLA Channel 5, and they are available in HD. Again, I believe FSN shows these games in HD, because they don't want to loose viewers to KTLA. However, unlike Sunday's game, my brother was not able to watch the HD feed from Fox. I am assuming that FOX has very strict controls on this, since my brother does not get KTLA channel 5 where he lives so FSN is not really concerned of loosing him. Plus most League pass games always use the Home team broadcast so he was going to watch the same FSN feed regardless. I assume this is the same case with you, since you live in Apple Valley which is probably outside the range of KTLA Channel 5.

Well, I hope I did not loose you and this makes sense. Nonetheless, I am disappointed with both Direct TV and FSN. I went out and bought 2 HR20's to watch the Lakers in HD this season, hoping I would get all of the home games. Sad to see that FSN chooses to broadcast games in HD, only when they have competition from other local or national stations. And shame on Direct TV for advertising that local RNS's are available, when it's only partly true and it's really up to FSN. I am sure other's have experienced the same in other areas.