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Messages - Tom Snyder

#1
The post about DIRECTV I hoped I'd never have to write. Long-time members here know what a DTV fanboy I've been. This is so sad.

As a customer since 1999, I couldn't wait to get my Genie/wireless setup back after 3 months of Spectrum in our temporary apartment while we built a new home. With a move-in date of Dec 22nd, I scheduled my install a week ahead just in case we ran into problems with our wooded lot.

Tech guy arrived on time. We walked the lot to determine dish placement, and decided on a pole mount just to right on the front porch so I could brush the snow off the dish. Technician confirmed view of the SW sky, scheduled digger's hotline to make sure the site was clear, and scheduled my install for Thursday. Day before move-in, so everything appearing to work out perfectly.

Thursday, the tech arrived, looked at the site and said there's no way the dish could see the satellite from there. We walked the lot and I showed him all the other locations the previous tech also told me would work. This tech said none of them would work. I showed him a spot that had a clear view of the entire southern sky from east to west. He said he was worried about the length of the cable run, so he requested a "Second Opinion" from a supervisor. He had me confirm that with someone on the phone. Thinking supervisor is on the way, install can still happen on moving day, and we'll be good to go.

3 days, and phone calls that had me talking to at least 10 different ATT/DirecTV CSRs and supervisors later... I'm watching locals with my antenna, and streaming what I can from my phone. Despite two supervisors assuring me they'd take personal responsibility and would call me back within two hours with the plan to resolve it, as of 4 O'clock yesterday I still had no idea when/if I'd be installed.

Every time I called..or was escalated to a supervisor, the person I'd speak to had absolutely no information about my situation. Last night I finally got escalated high enough to talk to someone who had record of everything. He apologized for my frustration, but the best we could do is schedule another install tech for this Thursday, with no assurance that I'll even be able to get DirecTV. He said he'd be emailing the local supervisor to fill him in on my situation. I asked him to have the person receiving that email call me to confirm and discuss. He said he'd request that, but it was unlikely I'd get a call.

They've already taken my payment out of my account, offered me free HBO if I can get installed, made some suggestions that I could qualify for some mysterious cloud-based streaming solutions that may, or may not, have DVR capabilities.

A Facebook post cannot express the comedy/tragedy/customer service fail that occurred with every single touchpoint over the past week. I have never had a more maddening experience with a company/brand in my adult life. It's amazing to me that after 18 years as a customer and advocate, they could not be doing more to lose me if they were trying.

It will be a shame if they give me no choice but to switch to Spectrum, an option that I loathe, especially if, had I made that decision two weeks ago when they came to install my internet, I'd have had my TV/Theatre setup before the move in, rather than sitting in limbo.

To be continued....
#2
General Forum Announcements / Whats Next?
Wednesday Oct 19, 2016, 07:37:27 PM
Yup! Bob came to the rescue! The server the site was on was dying, and so many times my finger was poised over the "Delete this Account" button over the past 2 years. I had one offer from someone to take over the site but it never materialized.

Bob contacted me last week and asked if he could take it over. He and worked to get the site moved over the weekend, and it is now enjoying a second life at a new location with Bob running the show.

I thank all the members who supported this site over the years, and really thank Bob for being willing to take it over.

-Tom
#3
Yard Sale / For Sale: 46" Insignia 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV
Sunday Mar 08, 2015, 01:32:06 PM
TV is only 1 1/2 years old. Wife says I can buy a bigger TV, but I have to sell this one first.

Insignia™ NS-46L780A12 LCD HDTV: With a full 1080p resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate and easy connection to internet streaming services*, this Insignia HDTV is a good choice for your living room or mid-sized entertainment room. Connect a Roku Streaming Stick to this HDTV and get access to more than 700 channels, including Netflix, Hulu Plus and HBO GO.

Specs

Photo

Message or email me if you're interested.
#4
General Forum Announcements / Hack attempts
Saturday Sep 14, 2013, 07:45:13 AM
We're getting reports of bots trying to log in to member accounts loooking for weak passwords overnight. We'll see if we can identify any IP addresses and block them, but this is a reminder to make sure you're not using passwords like "password" or "12345." Try to have passwords that include upper and lower case letters and numbers, and a character or 2.
#5
Ugh... not sure who originally added those smilies, but instead of uploading them to the site here, they linked to another site, which is now down. Looks like I have some housecleaning to do.
#6
Milwaukee HDTV Programming / Time Warner/TM4 carriage dispute
Wednesday Jul 24, 2013, 10:29:20 PM
QuoteJournal isn't going to just allow TWC to carry WTMJ without a contract.

From the comments Wexler posted, it appears that contract technically doesn't end till July 31st and the Journal can sue them after August 1st if they don't come to an agreement.

Midnight tonight was a line in the sand because it's the end of a ratings period. More proof that TMJ4 is the one pulling the plug tonight.
#7
Milwaukee HDTV Programming / Time Warner/TM4 carriage dispute
Wednesday Jul 24, 2013, 04:29:49 PM
You can tell the truth by how he answered the first question, and by the 2 questions they chose NOT to allow to be posted and refused to answer:

https://twitter.com/MilwaukeeHDTV

Q: 1 So if there's no agreement by midnight who really physically takes the TMJ4 signal off the lineup, JBG or TWC?

A: At midnight, without an agreement, they have the option to drop the station from their lineup.

Following two questions were submitted but not allowed to be posted, nor were they answered:

Q: Sure they have the option. But  you know they won't take you off if you're still feeding them the signal at midnight. If 4 is not available, won't it be because you stopped feeding it to them?

Q: If my math is correct, your "pennies per subscriber" extends out to a demand that TWC pay JBG hundreds of thousands of dollars more per year than what they have been paying. Is that close?
#8
Milwaukee HDTV Programming / Time Warner/TM4 carriage dispute
Wednesday Jul 24, 2013, 04:14:03 PM
Live chat with Wexler going on right now.

http://www.jbganswers.com/184042591.html
#9
On/Off Topic Chit-Chat / Where to get rid of old TV's ?
Sunday Mar 03, 2013, 07:36:40 AM
#10
Latest News / World's First 4K TV Channel Goes Live
Monday Jan 14, 2013, 09:56:24 PM
Article from Mashable on the new ultra Hi Def TV channel.

ht.ly/gNKcP
#11
Testing Area / Test
Tuesday Dec 25, 2012, 09:07:12 AM
Software has been having issues. Just testing to see if it's fixed.
#12
On/Off Topic Chit-Chat / DirecTV Multi-room Oddity
Saturday Oct 06, 2012, 03:39:14 PM
Odd. I have 2 Directv receivers in 2 different rooms. Had the same cable news channel channel on both, when a commercial break came on. One receiver aired a commercial for a medical alert bracelet, and the other had a commercial for DirecTV. When the break ended both boxes went back to the same show.
#13
Yup... dark channels this morning:

Seventeen Viacom-owned cable channels went dark on DirecTV on Tuesday just before midnight Eastern as the companies failed to reach a new carriage agreement.

 
The channels yanked from the satellite TV giant's lineup include Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, MTV, BET, VH1, CMT, Logo, Spike, TV Land, MTV2, VH1 Classic, Palladia, Nick Jr., NickToons and TeenNick, in addition to several HD counterparts.

DirecTV has about 20 million subscribers. Including the HD channels, it carries a total of 26 Viacom-owned channels.

A Viacom rep wrote on the company's blog that DirecTV "dropped the channels without giving Viacom advanced warning," adding that the last time the two sides were in contact was at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

"We are deeply disappointed that DirecTV dropped Viacom's channels before our midnight deadline this evening, severing our connection with its nearly 20 million subscribers nationwide," the company said in a statement. "We proposed a fair deal that amounted to an increase of only a couple pennies per day, per subscriber, and we remained willing to negotiate that deal right up to this evening's deadline. However, DirecTV refused to engage in meaningful conversation. We are hopeful that DirecTV will work with us toward a resolution, and stop denying its subscribers access to the networks they watch most."

For its part, DirecTV says Viacom is pushing for a carriage fee increase of more than 30 percent and blames the blackout on Viacom.

"We have been very willing to get a deal done, but Viacom is pushing DirecTV customers to pay more than a 30 percent increase, which equates to an extra $1 billion, despite the fact that the ratings for many of their main networks have plummeted and much of Viacom's programming can be seen for free online," said Derek Chang, DirecTV executive vp content, strategy and development. "Viacom sent us a letter [Monday] night that outlined our obligations to remove the channels by midnight or face legal action just as they were falsely telling viewers DirecTV was responsible. Let's be clear, Viacom took these channels away from DirecTV viewers."

DirecTV said it reached out to Viacom with a "new proposal and a request to keep the channels on while we continued to negotiate, but never heard back, so DirecTV had to comply with their demand to take the channels down or face legal action."

FROM: http://t.co/Bi4HFkBa
#14
DirecTV will be rolling out their new HD Program Guide and Interface. You can download a release candidate early for the following receviers/DVRS:

H21 • H23 • H24 • H25
HR20 • HR21 • HR22 • HR23 • HR24

Just follow these steps

ONLY Between 10 and 1:30am Central, 12/23 and 12/24:

Hit your red restart button
When the first screen appears, hit:
02468
You'll get the new download.

Let it cycle through all the downloads and receiver self checks, and receiving satellite info

When the receiver starts up, if you don't have the guide, hit your menu button and go to Smart Search and do a KEYWORD SEARCH for:

IAMANEDGECUTTER
#15
Somehow the site got blacklisted at a security site. Thought it might be because we're a few versions behind on the forum software. Have an update scheduled and we'll see if that takes care of it.

In the meantime, try accessing it via milwaukeehdtv.com instead.