Don't Believe NPS about C band support ending.

[stone1150]

Well my friends...... I received a response to one of the letters I wrote reguarding this NPS fiasco. It seems that the AG of Indiana is taking my complaint to heart. I now have a case file number and a letter from the AG. Believe it or not they are going to order mediation. I will take the time to type it all out tomorrow morning. Time is short at the moment. All I can think about right now is.... "Now I done it!" Have a great day!

 

[trinidex]

Well my friends...... I received a response to one of the letters I wrote reguarding this NPS fiasco. It seems that the AG of Indiana is taking my complaint to heart. I now have a case file number and a letter from the AG. Believe it or not they are going to order mediation. I will take the time to type it all out tomorrow morning. Time is short at the moment. All I can think about right now is.... "Now I done it!" Have a great day!

Well done - keep us posted!

 

[tvropro]

Well my friends...... I received a response to one of the letters I wrote reguarding this NPS fiasco. It seems that the AG of Indiana is taking my complaint to heart. I now have a case file number and a letter from the AG. Believe it or not they are going to order mediation. I will take the time to type it all out tomorrow morning. Time is short at the moment. All I can think about right now is.... "Now I done it!" Have a great day!

:up Way to go!

 

[alightman]

Boy am I glad I ran into this forum! I was about to give up on my big dish after reading NPS propaganda, however, there was no way I'll ever go to dish network. I still remember netlink trying to run c-band into the ground. Quick question though, Skyvision or SRL? Thanks again for saving me from a BIG mistake!

 

[stone1150]

Well I don't know what to say now. The following is what I received.....


Re: File No. 10-CP-53654 ***** ***** vs National Programming Service

Dear Mr.********,
Thank you for contacting the Consumer Protection Division regarding your complaint against National Programming Service,LLC. We rely on responsible consumers like you who assist us in ensuring that Indiana consumer laws are enforced effectivly. A Deputy Attorney General has reviewed your complaint and determined it may be resolved through mediation. I am responsible for attempting to mediate a reasonable resolution to your complaint. A copy of your complaint has been forwarded to National Programming Service, LLC along with a request for their response.

Your complaint is very important to us and each complaint is resolved within a reasonable amount of time. If you have additional information that may be helpful in reaching a resolution or if your complaint is resolved prior to receiving additional correspondence from our office, please contact me via U.S. mail, fax (317)233-4*9* or e-mail at Ernesto.Herrera@atg.in.gov. This will help insure accurate documentation for your file

The Attorney General serves as the attorney for the State of Indiana and this office cannot represent individual consumers in a court action. When it has been determined that a business is involved in a pattern of deceptive practice by the attorney or staff, the case is brought in the name of the State of Indiana. Additional information regarding the jurisdiction of the Office of Attorney General is available on our website at www.indianaconsumer.com.

Thank you again for contacting the Consumer Protection Division. We will make every effort to assist you in resolving your complaint.

Sincerely,
Ernesto Herrera
Complaint Analyst


Well there ya go my friends. All I complained about was NPS not being honest with the consumer about the demise of C-band and trying to decieve people that Dishnetwork was the only way. I also included in my complaint that there are other C-band providers but NPS was claiming that Motorola was shutting support down and the only way was to sub to Dish. I also informed them about how we can pick and choose channels and subscribe accordingly and now we are being forced out of very important news channels because many of us, like me, are on a fixed income making a subscription to Dish or Direct out of our affordability. I stressed that if we as consumers could pick and choose our channels to a degree with a provider like Dish that a lot of us could pick a package that we could afford. But with the service providers costing 75 bucks a month on average, the thousands of C-band customers that can only afford what we have now will be out of luck for news and entertainment unless something is done. That was about the essence of my complaint. I was not saying that they should be forced to stay in business, but I did say that there were other C-band providers out there and NPS had a hold on the satellite that contained the news and others could not touch them. I said that needs to stop if nps wants to go out of business and other providers should be allowed to carry the channels on that satellite. That is basicly what my complaint was about. I closed my complaint with the way we were being lied to by NPS and said that they should at least be honest so we as consumers could make informed decisions. The way that NPS was describing this was shutting down, one would think the end of everything was here and places like Skyvision did not exist for programming. So I complained about that information not being told to us the consumer by NPS and insisted that it be told. That is about it. Any suggestions? Have a great day!

 

[tvropro]

Boy am I glad I ran into this forum! I was about to give up on my big dish after reading NPS propaganda, however, there was no way I'll ever go to dish network. I still remember netlink trying to run c-band into the ground. Quick question though, Skyvision or SRL? Thanks again for saving me from a BIG mistake!

To Satellite Guys

Yes NPS is really putting the heat on with there swap out to dish Dish Network. It's their business decision to get out of C band. Although because of there close ties with Dish Network they are getting some good kickbacks for selling off there subs. Actually when you speak with NPS now you are talking with their conversion department. The C band department was disbanded.

Now to get to your question. SRL or Skyvision, take your pick of what each offer. You can subscribe with both at once with some stuff from SRL and other stuff from Skyvision if you like. Skyvision and SRL are partners.

 

[trinidex]

Well I don't know what to say now. The following is what I received.....


Re: File No. 10-CP-53654 ***** ***** vs National Programming Service

Dear Mr.********,
Thank you for contacting the Consumer Protection Division regarding your complaint against National Programming Service,LLC. We rely on responsible consumers like you who assist us in ensuring that Indiana consumer laws are enforced effectivly. A Deputy Attorney General has reviewed your complaint and determined it may be resolved through mediation. I am responsible for attempting to mediate a reasonable resolution to your complaint. A copy of your complaint has been forwarded to National Programming Service, LLC along with a request for their response.

Your complaint is very important to us and each complaint is resolved within a reasonable amount of time. If you have additional information that may be helpful in reaching a resolution or if your complaint is resolved prior to receiving additional correspondence from our office, please contact me via U.S. mail, fax (317)233-4*9* or e-mail at Ernesto.Herrera@atg.in.gov. This will help insure accurate documentation for your file

The Attorney General serves as the attorney for the State of Indiana and this office cannot represent individual consumers in a court action. When it has been determined that a business is involved in a pattern of deceptive practice by the attorney or staff, the case is brought in the name of the State of Indiana. Additional information regarding the jurisdiction of the Office of Attorney General is available on our website at www.indianaconsumer.com.

Thank you again for contacting the Consumer Protection Division. We will make every effort to assist you in resolving your complaint.

Sincerely,
Ernesto Herrera
Complaint Analyst


Well there ya go my friends. All I complained about was NPS not being honest with the consumer about the demise of C-band and trying to decieve people that Dishnetwork was the only way. I also included in my complaint that there are other C-band providers but NPS was claiming that Motorola was shutting support down and the only way was to sub to Dish. I also informed them about how we can pick and choose channels and subscribe accordingly and now we are being forced out of very important news channels because many of us, like me, are on a fixed income making a subscription to Dish or Direct out of our affordability. I stressed that if we as consumers could pick and choose our channels to a degree with a provider like Dish that a lot of us could pick a package that we could afford. But with the service providers costing 75 bucks a month on average, the thousands of C-band customers that can only afford what we have now will be out of luck for news and entertainment unless something is done. That was about the essence of my complaint. I was not saying that they should be forced to stay in business, but I did say that there were other C-band providers out there and NPS had a hold on the satellite that contained the news and others could not touch them. I said that needs to stop if nps wants to go out of business and other providers should be allowed to carry the channels on that satellite. That is basicly what my complaint was about. I closed my complaint with the way we were being lied to by NPS and said that they should at least be honest so we as consumers could make informed decisions. The way that NPS was describing this was shutting down, one would think the end of everything was here and places like Skyvision did not exist for programming. So I complained about that information not being told to us the consumer by NPS and insisted that it be told. That is about it. Any suggestions? Have a great day!

I just want to say again "thank you" and "well done".

Will anything come of it, I don't know, but at least you were able to get someone to listen.:up

 

[stone1150]

Well people, give me some ideas on what to say in order to "settle" this. Should I demand for example that NPS allow others to uplink the channels since NPS is getting out of the business? I need real suggestions. Thank You and have a great day!

 

[tvropro]

Well people, give me some ideas on what to say in order to "settle" this. Should I demand for example that NPS allow others to uplink the channels since NPS is getting out of the business? I need real suggestions. Thank You and have a great day!

NPS has no control on who can uplink channels. They had no exclusive rights. You and I could do it.

I would tell them that NPS's lies and shady business practices are hurting C band subscriptions to the point that it could totally fail. Let them come down on NPS for deceptive business practices.

 

[longhalkilo]

My hat off to you sir. Well done.

 

[trinidex]

NPS has no control on who can uplink channels. They had no exclusive rights. You and I could do it.

I would tell them that NPS's lies and shady business practices are hurting C band subscriptions to the point that it could totally fail. Let them come down on NPS for deceptive business practices.

Agreed. NPS told lies, used hard sell techniques to get customers to abandon CBand in favour of another product/service NPS sells. That by dropping channels (that they are free to do of course) could be seen as more deception to get customers to shift. Further more, their CSRs outright refused to sell subscriptions that were available through they're resellers, CSRs don't do that off their own back, they have a script.

As for a resolution, well that is a tough one! How about a proper refund to all their customers who have been affected. I don't know what else they can be forced to do, they can't be forced to uplink channels, can they?

 

[TMair]

But I think they can be required to tell the truth, that they are leaving C Band, but there are other provers available, maybe then pitch pizza, and publicly recant there false info about Motorola.
Terry

 

[stone1150]

NPS has no control on who can uplink channels. They had no exclusive rights. You and I could do it.

I would tell them that NPS's lies and shady business practices are hurting C band subscriptions to the point that it could totally fail. Let them come down on NPS for deceptive business practices.

Ok then. On the issue of who can uplink, I find it very strange that nobody else uplinks news channels, A&E, TNT, and others that were done by NPS. SRL even states in bold letters that they do not uplink any G-3 channels. That tells me that someone is in control someplace as having news channels in a lineup rounds it out real nice. Even Skyvision don't resell the news channels so what gives if there are no exclusive rights? Skyvision seems to do it all. All but those. It seems to me that there is a current court case that Comcast is involved in about not allowing certian channels to be seen on anything else other than cable. If that isn't "exclusive" rights, then I am completly missing the boat.

On the honesty issue, That is exactly what I complained about. That's why I am at a loss as to what can be mediated. How can one mediate honesty? We will see what happens. I will watch this thread to see what people think. However, the deceptive angle is what I am going to push for. Have a great day!

 

[trinidex]

Ok then. On the issue of who can uplink, I find it very strange that nobody else uplinks news channels, A&E, TNT, and others that were done by NPS. SRL even states in bold letters that they do not uplink any G-3 channels. That tells me that someone is in control someplace as having news channels in a lineup rounds it out real nice.

That is a very good point - why were/are NPS the only people offering those channels?

I have a thread here questioning what's wrong with 4DTV and this is a point that should be included. 4DTV subs include A LOT of channels, but as your point indicates, there are very specific ones that are not available to us, including news channels.

Didn't SRL once offer FoxNews?

 

[tvropro]

The reason SRL & Skyvision don't uplink the news channels is simply because it costs allot of money. You have to buy transponder time on a satellite pay an uplinker and get equipment such as decoders and encoders to turn around the PowerVu signal to DC-2. This was the downfall of NPS besides greed. They over extended themselves financially. NPS said is one of the chats a couple years ago if everyone spent $50 to 60 dollars a month they could do allot more. The channels we get from SRL & Skyvision are the distro feeds or the HITS turn around channels the the 4DTV can handle. The news channels are on HITS but in combo mode. They choose combo (aka megapipe) over plain DC-2 because it's a more efficient use of bandwidth.

The 4DTV is showing it's age with a old old encryption technology. One of the things that is really against us is that. If we had a newer receiver that at least did combo mode we would have access to everything DC-2 except the newest HD. GI talked about making the 922 do combo in it's planning but stopped short of production. Motorola for years kept on making the old design till they stopped a couple years back.

The only decoders that offer the new technology is the commercial units and the new Starchoice (Shaw) receivers that are coming out. If someone could persuade Motorola to change the firmware in the Starchoice receivers to accept the 4DTV EMM and sell them to us we could be in the drivers seat at least on getting all the HITS satellite feeds if Comcast agreed. Once again though a new receiver to us boils down to money. No one wants to put the upfront costs to get it built. They expect a return on there investment and don't see the market numbers there. To sum everything up in a nutshell money, power and greed control everything up there and what can and cannot be done.

 

[tvropro]

Didn't SRL once offer FoxNews?

SRL offered Fox Business News when it was in the old 4DTV mode on HITS. They moved it to one of the other birds and went combo mode so that was it for the 4DTV.

Which gets me right back to what I said above. To play we need a new receiver. Who at satellite guys has deep pockets and want's to invest in getting that to happen? If there are any true takers you may want to get in contact with Skyvision and get the ball rolling. If you put cold hard cash in front of Motorola on there terms they will build it.

 

[trinidex]

NPS said is one of the chats a couple years ago if everyone spent $50 to 60 dollars a month they could do allot more.

A lot of us were paying that much!

 

[truckracer]

i know i always paid about that much and sometimes more. another thing here is i remember sometime back that john @ nps said that he wanted to be the last standing c band provider.... looks like he has thrown the towel in early..

I understand from a business standpoint that john is no match and probably matters very little to the big programmers. I think john is grasping at straws to hang on to his business by providing an alternative program source...pizza dish - but unfortunately he has dissapointed a lot of us c band people.

i know as far as i can tell you from the future expectations....i will probably never get pizza service, i will be over the air digital and fta only.

 

[TMair]

The only decoders that offer the new technology is the commercial units and the new Starchoice (Shaw) receivers that are coming out. If someone could persuade Motorola to change the firmware in the Starchoice receivers to accept the 4DTV EMM and sell them to us we could be in the drivers seat at least on getting all the HITS satellite feeds if Comcast agreed. Once again though a new receiver to us boils down to money. No one wants to put the upfront costs to get it built. They expect a return on there investment and don't see the market numbers there. To sum everything up in a nutshell money, power and greed control everything up there and what can and cannot be done.

So how expencive could it be to change the firmware?
I realize it needs to be written but once it is, I think most every one with 4Dtv would be interested, and since they are already making them for Shaw cost shouldn't be all that high, I think there is more to it then we know on this issue.
Terry

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

The 4DTV is showing it's age with a old old encryption technology.

Its not the encryption thats the issue, as DCII has never been broken... the issue is the compression which highly outdated and inofficiant. If the 4DTV could do MPEG4 it would rock.