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Thread: DirecTV - Can Anyone Help Me?

  1. #1

    DirecTV - Can Anyone Help Me?

    Since day one last year when it was installed, it has not worked right. After four trips from their installers, it now works worse than it did before they replaced boxes and cables.

    Audio glitches, sort of like corrupted digital files, that sound like garbled echoes. It skips to live television when I unpause it many times. It skips in programs I'm watching, sometimes up to two or three minutes ahead for no reason. I set the DVR to record a program, The Talking Dead, first run, and it doesn't record the first run it records it later in the evening and I've set this program up twice, deleting the original setup yet it still records the program at the wrong time.

    If they can't fix it, and there's no settings I can find that would affect anything I'm dealing with, what the hell do I do? I'm tempted, if there's no contract(not sure as it's not my house or my deal) to go back to Dish. At least there the only problems I had were DVR's going out every six months to a year. I never had these kinds of problems just trying to watch tv with Dish.

    Just right now as I'm typing a message came up and said the internet isn't connected, which it is. First time I've ever seen that message come up. I cannot watch On Demand as it cannot connect to the server, which is itself. As far as I know, the server isn't referring to the net or at least that is what one of the tech's told me. That's only for Pandora, Youtube, etc.

    In the front room it is supposed to display the telephone number when the phone rings. It comes up unavailable with 000-000-0000 and it never did that before they replaced the box. All the other problems have gotten worse in the last month since the box and cables were replaced or fixed.

    I used to install these thing so I'm not ignorant of how they work and I can find no settings that will help. A couple of audio settings that do nothing to fix my problems. Nothing else would help with the skipping or the nonexistent phone numbers.

    Anyone got any help? I don't see how getting another tech out here to replace a "brand new" refurbished box will help.
    Carry On My Blood-Ejaculating Son - JKL2000

  2. #2
    Member Brian Griffin's Avatar
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    Hey man

    Very sorry to hear of your issues, sounds frustrating

    I have to think I'm one of the bigger DTV fans here, been with them many years

    I have six DVR's in my house, (3 HR-20's, 2 HR22, and a Genie)

    What box do you have?

    The Genie is the only one that I've had any issues recording wise, and that was only 1 once or twice in the past year

    I don't keep the Genie connected to the internet, as I'd never watch on demand

    Make them keep coming out until you are fixed!

    BG
    "When Yes appeared on stage, it was like, the gods appearing from the heavens, deigning to play in front of the people."

  3. #3
    Member Brian Griffin's Avatar
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    P.S. - that definitely sounds like an issue with the box based on the symptoms, get a replacement ASAP

    I always chatted up the installers, if he's got a brand new one on the truck you can get him to use that one

    Say the dude you set up the appointment with promised you it wouldn't be a refurb!

    BG
    "When Yes appeared on stage, it was like, the gods appearing from the heavens, deigning to play in front of the people."

  4. #4
    Member hippypants's Avatar
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    I'd call DirecTV and complain like crazy. You're paying for it, and it should work properly. Keep complaining until satisfied.

  5. #5
    Member No Pride's Avatar
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    Yeah, they have to fix it for you.

    I'm not crazy about DTV, but I live in a high-rise where they forced everybody to have it. Every time there's a heavy rain or snow storm, it knocks the satellite out and the tv doesn't come back to normal when the storm is over, you have to push the reset button and wait for it to reconfigure. But I don't have the kind of issues you're describing; they have to figure it out and get it working for you.

  6. #6
    Studmuffin Scott Bails's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hippypants View Post
    I'd call DirecTV and complain like crazy. You're paying for it, and it should work properly. Keep complaining until satisfied.
    Exactly. Be the squeaky wheel - be a pain in the ass until they fix it.

    Quote Originally Posted by No Pride View Post
    Yeah, they have to fix it for you.

    I'm not crazy about DTV, but I live in a high-rise where they forced everybody to have it. Every time there's a heavy rain or snow storm, it knocks the satellite out and the tv doesn't come back to normal when the storm is over, you have to push the reset button and wait for it to reconfigure. But I don't have the kind of issues you're describing; they have to figure it out and get it working for you.
    I wouldn't have DTV unless I had to. I think Brian is the only person I know who has it and doesn't hate it. And it seems like they're always battling with networks for programming.
    Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally

  7. #7
    Thanks. I didn't expect technical answers to my problems but I had hoped maybe someone would have a idea, but alas it was not to be.

    I'm so sick of trying to explain this to DTV and their techs, I'm tired of them telling me I'm nuts when I'm not. So now I have to be a real asshole to get this fixed.

    The yelling, screaming, fighting, arguing, it gets old. Seems that's how my life just has to be and I'm frankly fed up with it all.
    Carry On My Blood-Ejaculating Son - JKL2000

  8. #8
    Member Brian Griffin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheLoony View Post
    Thanks. I didn't expect technical answers to my problems but I had hoped maybe someone would have a idea, but alas it was not to be.

    I'm so sick of trying to explain this to DTV and their techs, I'm tired of them telling me I'm nuts when I'm not. So now I have to be a real asshole to get this fixed.

    The yelling, screaming, fighting, arguing, it gets old. Seems that's how my life just has to be and I'm frankly fed up with it all.
    Dude, I know you are dealing with bigger things than this from the other thread, this is not that big a deal honestly

    It is very likely a receiver issue

    You don't need to scream - call them, tell them the refurbished receiver you installed is dead, nada, won't power up at all

    This way you don't have to deal with any questions or over the phone troubleshooting - say it's dead, no lights

    They will send you another you will have in a day or so

    You said you've done installs, so this is what I'd do first before asking for a tech to come out

    Good luck man, feel free to PM if you think I can help

    BG
    "When Yes appeared on stage, it was like, the gods appearing from the heavens, deigning to play in front of the people."

  9. #9
    I've never heard anything good about DTV. Dish is not really the best either but it's not that bad.

  10. #10
    Member Brian Griffin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Bails View Post

    I wouldn't have DTV unless I had to. I think Brian is the only person I know who has it and doesn't hate it.
    I'm exactly the opposite, all I know who have it love it

    What don't you like about it?

    My son and Mom have FIOS, my buds crib has both Xfinity and FIOS hooked up to a 52" 1080 set, so I'm very familiar with the three choices

    Directv has the best picture quality, best interface, best packages, and best hardware IMO

    Up until the past year or so they had in my estimation the best customer service as well, I would call every few months just to get some free programing or credits, I didn't pay anything extra for any of the 6 DVR's they've sent me.

    I got the last one,the Genie, so I would have a whole home set up

    It's not so simple to get free stuff anymore, so I don't bother, I actually did it for fun when a little bored

    Scott, if you were a fan of an out of an out of town baseball team, you'd be less than thrilled with the MLB packages on other carriers vs DTV - they have both teams feeds, always in HD.

    As recently as last year, that was not true of FIOS or XFinity

    Also the only place for Sunday ticket, I don't get the appeal of Red Zone, I want my teams full game

    Negatives?

    Where I live, maybe 2-3 times a year, it will rain or now so hard you lose picture for a few minutes, that's about it as far as issues

    BG
    Last edited by Brian Griffin; 11-27-2014 at 10:29 AM.
    "When Yes appeared on stage, it was like, the gods appearing from the heavens, deigning to play in front of the people."

  11. #11
    DISH certainly has the worst DVR box I have ever encountered, though I gather the Hopper is a huge improvement. We'll probably upgrade soon. I'm sick of cable and satellite really. If they can't start offering channels I want ala carte I'd rather just have Netflix and maybe Hulu and I'll download current shows from bittorrent sites.

  12. #12
    Studmuffin Scott Bails's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Griffin View Post
    I'm exactly the opposite, all I know who have it love it

    What don't you like about it?
    I've never had it, but I have friends who do by necessity - cable/FIOS isn't available - and they hate it. Constant problems and troubleshooting issues.

    I have FIOS, my girlfriend has Comcast, and I find FIOS to be the best among them. Rarely any problems. When there is an issue, they're awful to get on the phone, but once you get through 15 minutes of phone menus, they provide excellent service in my experience.
    Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally

  13. #13
    I tried pulling the card, that did nothing. One thing is that the garbled audio only happens on ESPN channels, as far as I can remember. Haven't had it happen anywhere else at least that I can remember but I may have just forgotten. It hasn't happened in such a while anywhere other than ESPN so my memory might be faulty.

    I don't know what, if anything, that means.

    FIOS, I've never heard of and don't know if it's available here. Centurylink and Cox cable are here so maybe that's worth looking into.

    Mom is reticent to change as it's not doing the telephone thing out in the front room on her tv, maybe I can con her into something other than this crap. She thinks I'm nuts and making it up but she never uses the pause function or the DVR so she hasn't come across any of this. I do know I've never heard garbled audio on anything she's watching, including games on ESPN. Shes not the smartest tool in the shed these days so skipping problems she probably wouldn't notice. Since that part of the house is disgusting I can't go out there and watch that television.

    The other day I was watching some show and it skipped like a broken record. Five minutes it skipped right as I was watching it. Usually it just skips a few seconds.

    I don't know if calling them will solve anything. They haven't been able to do anything so far so why would they now be able to fix it and since I will not be pleasant on the phone they might just tell me to piss off.

    Anyway, thanks for the tips. It's like my friend said a while back - "You know how computers work - they don't". Technology, bah, who needs it?
    Carry On My Blood-Ejaculating Son - JKL2000

  14. #14
    Member davis's Avatar
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    We were considering getting DTV so I researched it and read some consumer reviews. The majority of them were complaints, from this and that not working right & lousy customer service to the price increasing every month. we now have basic cable (to cut costs due to me taking a pay cut), which is 98% local channels, so we're using Roku 3. sorry I can't help with DTV issues.

  15. #15
    ALL ACCESS Gruno's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheLoony View Post
    The other day I was watching some show and it skipped like a broken record. Five minutes it skipped right as I was watching it. Usually it just skips a few seconds.
    Try this:

    Get an extension cord and plug the receiver into the extension cord. Next, plug the extension cord into a bathroom or kitchen outlet with nothing else inserted into that outlet. Then, begin testing the DirecTV unit.

    I have DirecTV and my receiver kept changing channels randomly a couple of years ago. I thought Satan had finally come by to return some favors… Turns out it was a power problem in my outlet. Rerouted the DirecTV power cord to a GFI circuit and it fixed the problem. Try to plug the DirecTV cord into a single outlet (or power strip) that has nothing else plugged into it. See if that helps.

    I have had DirecTV since 2002 -- I love it. My dad switched to Dish and then went back to DirecTV a couple of years later, as he couldn't stand Dish. Customer service has always been good for me. When I had this power problem, the tech who came by a few times even gave me his cell number and worked with me whenever I had a problem. Also, DirecTV is very generous to long time subscribers. Like Brian Griffin, I too have not had to 'dish' out money for new equipment. Every other year they give me NFL Sunday Ticket for free.

    Here's a helpful hint: whenever DirecTV is running a promotion (free Sunday Ticket, for example) for new subscribers, simply call and speak to a customer service manager. Let them know that you think it is unfair for them to give perks to new subscribers, while long time subs (like yourself) lose out; no reward for being a long time subscriber. Every time I have done so, they have gifted me with the current promotion or discounted my service for xx amount of months. Always worth a try!

  16. #16
    Gruno, I will try that when I get around to it. Can't hurt and maybe you are cooking with fire.
    Carry On My Blood-Ejaculating Son - JKL2000

  17. #17
    Well, we are fed up with DISH... shitty DVR, stupid interruptions when the weather is bad, crap channel selection and garbage customs service. Back to Charter it looks like.

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