Is the Dish CSR lying to me? (RE: OTA Program Guide info)

[shantyman]

I have posted in a few other threads my local HD EPG issues with the 722- the dreaded "Digital Service" and nothing else. I live in the Cincinnati DMA, but only get local OTA HD from Dayton because of my location. It's Fairfield which is somewhere in between the 2 cities, albeit slightly closer to Cincinnati. I pay for the Cincinnati locals as you might guess.

I spent 10 minutes telling a CSR that I have read of people on forums who get guide info for any locals they pick up, regardless of market, including someone I know personally (one of my best friends). He lives even closer to Cincinnati than I do and he gets program guide info for the Dayton channels OTA. He kept telling me that the local OTA channels have to match up with the locals I am paying for. Shockingly, when I asked him to escalate the call he repeated his mantra of "I'm sorry sir, it does not work that way."

Also, I was amused that earlier in the call he said he had to look up info on the 722 menus and then said later "I'm a senior technical CSR, I know how our receivers work."

Any suggestions as to how I should proceed? If this is not resolved soon (it has been going on 2 weeks now) it will be a dealbreaker for me.

 

[kstuart]

The CSR is right and the so-called "people on forums" are wrong.

On Dish Network, you must subscribe to the locals to get the OTA Guide Info (and you also must receive a signal for that channel to get the Guide Info to display).

PS IIRC, OTA signals can include guide information, and it is possible to get that information on a TV's OTA tuner. Possibly the people on forums are referring to that guide data.

PPS Perhaps your friend has an "illegal" setup ??

 

[Bagman]

I have posted in a few other threads my local HD EPG issues with the 722- the dreaded "Digital Service" and nothing else. I live in the Cincinnati DMA, but only get local OTA HD from Dayton because of my location. It's Fairfield which is somewhere in between the 2 cities, albeit slightly closer to Cincinnati. I pay for the Cincinnati locals as you might guess.

I spent 10 minutes telling a CSR that I have read of people on forums who get guide info for any locals they pick up, regardless of market, including someone I know personally (one of my best friends). He lives even closer to Cincinnati than I do and he gets program guide info for the Dayton channels OTA. He kept telling me that the local OTA channels have to match up with the locals I am paying for. Shockingly, when I asked him to escalate the call he repeated his mantra of "I'm sorry sir, it does not work that way."

Also, I was amused that earlier in the call he said he had to look up info on the 722 menus and then said later "I'm a senior technical CSR, I know how our receivers work."

Any suggestions as to how I should proceed? If this is not resolved soon (it has been going on 2 weeks now) it will be a dealbreaker for me.

I'm thinking your friends are 'lying" to you (but not intentionally) . Dish only displays guide info for OTA stations that they carry. For example, here in Atlanta I do not get the guide info for the ION stations as they are not carried by Dish; but I do get the info for any station that they carry in my DMA. If you go on the Dish web site you can determine the stations that they carry for your address, and therefore should have the guide info for.

 

[wtb955]

The CSR is right and the so-called "people on forums" are wrong.

On Dish Network, you must subscribe to the locals to get the Guide Info.

No the CSR is not. I live in one DMA and subsubscribe to locals from another DMA. I get the OTA locals EPG information for the DMA for which I do not subscribe. But one must subscribe through Dish.

 

[Bagman]

No the CSR is not. I live in one DMA and subsubscribe to locals from another DMA. I get the OTA locals EPG information for the DMA for which I do not subscribe. But one must subscribe through Dish.

Do you get the guide info for both DMAs?

 

[VinceT3]

as long as you GET locals you should get the guide data.. I get two areas with my ota and get guide data for both..

 

[garys]

I live in NY dma and receive from Scranton dma via OTA. I get guide info for the Scranton ota except for the ION and it's subchannels.

 

[shantyman]

I'm not sure some of you read what I wrote- I AM paying for Cincinnati locals through Dish. My friend is too and gets program guide info for Dayton. I've seen it with my own eyes.

 

[Hall]

shantyman: Don't worry, it does work for a LOT of people who live in areas where they receive one market's channels from Dish but are also able to get another market's channels via OTA. TNGTony from this site has the same "problem" as you. He pays for Cincy, gets Dayton (and Cincy) via OTA, but doesn't get data for the Dayton channels.

I believe there are also some in Dayton, who get Dayton and Cincy OTA, and do get Cincy guide data for the OTA channels.

I'm sure this isn't "supported" or maybe even intended by Dish but it does work. When it doesn't for some, that's when you're screwed.

 

[srdbaugh]

I just played with this today. My dish locals are on 110. My OTA locals are on the 148 bird for dish. When my switch has that sat and its corresponding channels out of its configuration, I get no guide data. At the sat back to the switch and my guide data appears. I can even unplug the dish at that time for 148 and get the data until i run a check switch and delete the dish. So if you are like me and your OTA locals come from a sat that you don't have setup, you won't get the local info. In my case I have left the 148 dish up to just get the guide data. I would take it down, but then I would have to set it up again just to ge the data back if a check switch ever has to be run again.

 

[mlb]

I live in the Dayton, Ohio DMA and get guide info for both Cincinnati and Dayton.

 

[8bitbytes]

I just played with this today. My dish locals are on 110. My OTA locals are on the 148 bird for dish. When my switch has that sat and its corresponding channels out of its configuration, I get no guide data. At the sat back to the switch and my guide data appears. I can even unplug the dish at that time for 148 and get the data until i run a check switch and delete the dish. So if you are like me and your OTA locals come from a sat that you don't have setup, you won't get the local info. In my case I have left the 148 dish up to just get the guide data. I would take it down, but then I would have to set it up again just to ge the data back if a check switch ever has to be run again.

I think you have hit on the key here. If you subscribe to locals and get OTA channels from a different DMA, you must have the Dish that the OTA DMA is broadcast on in order to get the Guide Info for those OTA channels. Some DMAs are on the same Dish, some are not.

 

[Hall]

My OTA locals are on the 148 bird for dish.

Maybe it's just me, but that doesn't make sense.

 

[GNASH]

I think you have hit on the key here. If you subscribe to locals and get OTA channels from a different DMA, you must have the Dish that the OTA DMA is broadcast on in order to get the Guide Info for those OTA channels. Some DMAs are on the same Dish, some are not.

So if I understand this correctly (since we have 110, 119, and 129), I will be able to get OTA EPG Info for everything except Ch. 64 (which is on 61.5) and Ch. 43 (this is ION, which is available OTA but not on a satellite)?


WZZM TV 13 (ABC) WZZM 8710 12s13 110° E*10
WWMT TV 3 (CBS) Kalamazoo
WWMT 8711 12s13 110° E*10
WOOD TV 8 (NBC) WOOD 8712 12s13 110° E*10
WXMI TV 17 (Fox) WXMI 8713 12s13 110° E*10
WXSP CA 15 (MyTV) (14) WXSP 8 148° E*2
WGVU TV 35 (PBS) WGVU 8716 12s13 110° E*10
WLLA TV 64 (FamilyNet) Kalamazoo (1) WLLA 8717 22 61.5° E*3
WTLJ TV 54 (TCT) Muskegon WTLJ 8720 12s13 110° E*10
WOTV TV 41 (ABC) Battle Creek/Kalamazoo WOTV 8721 12s13 110° E*10

Thanks,
Geoff

 

[8bitbytes]

So if I understand this correctly (since we have 110, 119, and 129), I will be able to get OTA EPG Info for everything except Ch. 64 (which is on 61.5) and Ch. 43 (this is ION, which is available OTA but not on a satellite)?


WZZM TV 13 (ABC) WZZM 8710 12s13 110° E*10
WWMT TV 3 (CBS) Kalamazoo
WWMT 8711 12s13 110° E*10
WOOD TV 8 (NBC) WOOD 8712 12s13 110° E*10
WXMI TV 17 (Fox) WXMI 8713 12s13 110° E*10
WXSP CA 15 (MyTV) (14) WXSP 8 148° E*2
WGVU TV 35 (PBS) WGVU 8716 12s13 110° E*10
WLLA TV 64 (FamilyNet) Kalamazoo (1) WLLA 8717 22 61.5° E*3
WTLJ TV 54 (TCT) Muskegon WTLJ 8720 12s13 110° E*10
WOTV TV 41 (ABC) Battle Creek/Kalamazoo WOTV 8721 12s13 110° E*10

Thanks,
Geoff

Your channel 15 says sat 148.

 

[8bitbytes]

Maybe it's just me, but that doesn't make sense.

his OTA locals are from a different DMA. I can get two DMAs and my bro-in-law can get 4 DMAs on his OTA.

 

[GNASH]

Your channel 15 says sat 148.

Didn't include that in my list because I don't get it OTA (though I do get WXSP as two of our subchannels for other stations).

In addition, we get all the subchannels on the EPG, even though we do not get any of them on the Dish.

Geoff

 

[Hall]

Ah, got it. I didn't think any locals were on 148'. Odd that only one of them is but *all* of his guide data for the locals comes off it.

 

[GNASH]

Ah, got it. I didn't think any locals were on 148'. Odd that only one of them is but *all* of his guide data for the locals comes off it.

Close, if I am understanding it correct, since only the one channel for me comes off of 148, that guide info will also come off of 148. The channel that comes off 61.5 will be on 61.5 only. So in order to pick up EPG info, you need to be able to see that Sat via dish.

Geoff

 

[Hall]

Ignore me... you snuck into this thread and I missed one of your posts (the one that brought up the fact that one of your locals is on the 'odd' satellite).