OTA Grid Issues

[Timr]

Yeah, I'm starting to get the feeling they are not going to fix my problem either with WSBT2. Hall is right about what is going on.

What annoys me is they do display guide data already for the channel, its even up to date data. They have it linked to the wrong station, they just need to remap the data to 22-2. Sounds simple enough? This started on October 1st when the uplink showed they renamed the call letters.

Fox actually moved to WSBT 22-2 at the end of July. I had working guide data for 22-2 for the first two months that it was Fox until someone renamed it in the uplink in October, that is when the info moved to the wrong channel.

 

[xwiseguyx]

Hahaha ! They bullsh***ed you with that one ! We've heard that for years. Think about it: Guide data is just plain text. Further, it can be compressed for sending and uncompressed at the receiver. The amount of 'data' involved is miniscule.

They aren't investing resources in OTA guide data because it has no monetary benefit to them.

Yes, I agree with you that I was BS'd but believe the person was regurgitating what she was told (and she was not technical). To the person complaining about the wrong data showing they would fix that. IF you want to shoot her a note, she would pass on any fixes to existing channels displaying wrong data... xxxxxxxxx@dish.com.

Admin Note: Email Address removed from public view.

 

[xwiseguyx]

Oddly enough, she is sticking to her story...

"DISH contracts our engineering services out to EchoStar. While they may have some of the technical details, they do not have the complete information. We do have capacity issues that prevent us from putting all OTA information into our Electronic Program Guide at this time. As we discussed, we are working on upgrading our systems, but that will not happen in the near future"


I apologize that you were given misinformation.

No, Dish uses the TSID. The presumption of how it works is this:

1) Dish has a "list" of OTA stations from the 2008-2011 timeframe
2) That "list" includes each station's unique TSID
3) Dish matches the TSID read by the OTA adapter to their "list", matches that to the guide data they receive from (insert guide provider here)
4) Dish displays the guide data

The problems:

1) No one at Dish maintains this list anymore*
2) Stations add channels on occasion
3) Stations change their TSID on occasion
4) ?
5) ?

* That's only partly true, I'll admit. They (almost always) seem to fix an issue when it's related to the primary channel (the -1) as it's almost always the network affiliate that they carry on satellite.

What happens when a station adds a channel or changes the TSID of an existing channel is there's no match in Dish's list, so they just display the station's call letters, "Digital Service", etc (it varies by receiver).

Years ago, you could post details when a channel was added or a glitch like the station changed the TSID and it would get fixed. In the case of the TSID changing, sometimes you could contact the station and they'd realize they inadvertently changed it, they change it back, and the guide data returns.

In the case of an existing channel that changes from MeTV to "?", as long as it existed before 2011 or so, nothing had to be done. The guide data would show up. There could sometimes be a delay but this would be the fault of the station (for not providing the new data to the guide providers) or the guide providers (for not updating their systems.

 

[Hall]

I love this quote:

"we are working on upgrading our systems, but that will not happen in the near future"

 

[navychop]

They must be using those fat electrons that take up so much space.

 

[xwiseguyx]

So I ended up "moving" to Los Angeles. They have tons more to offer there and I no longer need the stations that were missing since they carry them in LA (such as CW in HD and MeTV plus many independents...) and still can get the Palm Springs locals needed via the antenna. Best of both worlds now.