Project Insomnia

Received this response to my email to the station:

Andrew - Than you for your note. We lease a fiber optic line from AT&T to provide DirecTV with the best possible quality HD signal. Unfortunately, AT&T tells us that yesterday someone accidentally cut the fiber line between us and DirecTV. As of this morning they have repaired the damage, but we are also talking with DirecTV to better understand why they did not take advantage of the backup options available to them.

We are not able to show last night's programming again soon, but most of the programs should be rebroadcast over the coming months.

Thank you again for writing,

I suppose I'll watch 30 Rock on Hulu or grab it from bittorrent.

Labels: DirecTV, kntv, nbc11

First new 30 Rock in months, and KNTV-DT picks tonight to have 'technical difficulties'. The SD channel was apparently working, so my SD-TiVo recorded Scrubs. The HD channel was not, so my DirecTV HD-DVR recorded 30 minutes of "We are having technical difficulties, so NO TINA FEY FOR YOU!"

Nobody answers the phone at the NBC station, and DirecTV can only tell me they are "aware of the problem" but don't have any other information. I wonder if there's any chance the station will re-broadcast the shows that were messed up tonight.

SF Chronicle TV critic Tim Goodman told me in email that he had the same problem. I don't know if he has DirecTV or Comcast or DISH, though.

Labels: 30 rock, DirecTV, kntv, nbc11, scrubs, tim goodman

If you:

• Have a hacked DirecTiVo (or hacked standalone TiVo),
• Use TivoWebPlus to manage recordings,
• Have a Season Pass for Countdown with Keith Olbermann, and
• Are annoyed at having to manually delete the rebroadcast showings of Countdown--especially now that there are two rebroadcasts every night--because the rebroadcasts are not properly marked as "repeats",

You can add a filter (called a Blocking Pattern) to the Todo List which will automatically cancel recording the rebroadcasts. Here's how:

• In TivoWebPlus, go to the /todo page and then click the "Title Blocklists and Blocking Patterns" link (/gbl_edit).
• In the right pane, add "Countdown+!17" -- that means "don't record anything named 'Countdown' if it doesn't start at 5:00 pm". Readers in time zones other than Pacific should alter the time accordingly, e.g. "Countdown+!20" for Eastern time.
• Click "Save Changes" and you're done.

I hope this helps someone. I'm very pleased to no longer have to manually delete the rebroadcasts from my Playlist and Todo list.

Labels: countdown, DirecTV, olbermann, tivo, zipper

Updating this post from last year, here is the current network map done on Gliffy.



Two changes at Jennifer's desk:

• Moved the Linksys WAP54G inside to Jennifer's desk area -- better coverage throughout the house.


• Added a Linksys SD208 8-port switch at Jennifer's desk -- needed since there are only two hardwired ports at the desk, and there are now three devices (her computer, the print server and the WAP54G).

We did get the new TV and media stack downstairs as previously mentioned, and much of the equipment is networked or networkable:

• Added the DirecTV HR21-700 HD-DVR -- two built-in Ethernet ports.


• Added a second Philips DSR704 DirecTiVo -- running standalone, no satellite connection, just for MRV (TiVo Multi-Room Viewing) of recorded programs from upstairs.


• Added a Nintendo Wii game console -- built-in WiFi.


• Added a Linksys WGA600N wireless-to-Ethernet bridge and a Linksys USB200M Ethernet-to-USB adapter.

I haven't built the file server in the garage yet, but between the two DirecTiVos and Jennifer's machine we now have 1.5TB of available media storage, and that doesn't count the unexplored internals of the HR21-700 HD-DVR.

Labels: DirecTV, gliffy, network map, Wii

Following up on the DirecTV post from Sunday:

'Absolutely,' she says, 'I'll set up that free installation and the included HD dish for you right now.' Yes! 'I can schedule your installation for Tuesday afternoon between noon and 4, will that work?' Yes! Done and done.

The installer showed up at noon precisely, was extremely competent and professional, not only installed the new HD dish and HD-DVR but stuck around a few minutes to give me the basics on using the new unit, and petted Watson. D* ftw!

Labels: customer service, DirecTV, raves

Today's Unbelievably Bad and Triumphantly Excellent Customer Service posts are combined because they are both from the same company and occured within minutes of each other.

A little background: I've been a very happy DirecTV subscriber for ten years. We currently have a Philips DSR704 DirecTV-TiVo receiver in the upstairs guest room, and we're buying a new TV for the living room. Tonight, I bought a new DirecTV Plus HD-DVR at Best Buy and called DirecTV --right from the Best Buy parking lot--to schedule installation, because I want it done before Thursday (Thanksgiving) so we can watch the National Dog Show in glorious HD.

First, the Unbelievably Bad: I say "schedule installation" to the phone-bot and am connected to Chase or possibly Jason--I can't tell because he mumbled. We establish who I am and my account details and then I tell him why I'm calling: to schedule installation of the HD-DVR I just picked up. He pauses and then goes off into several minutes of telling my why my purchase was a bad idea--buying it at Best Buy instead of ordering directly from him--because now I'll have to pay for installation plus pay for the special HD dish; if I'd ordered from him, he says, installation and the dish would be free. I ask him if this is standard for everyone who buys DirecTV equipment from Best Buy and he says no, it's because I'm an existing DirecTV subscriber. Most people who buy receivers or DVRs are new subscribers and installation is free for new subscribers. I take a minute to process this and then remind him (politely) that I've been a loyal customer for ten years including two moves, and can he waive the installation fee for me? Absolutely not, he says, citing some contractual obligation between DirecTV and Best Buy that I don't care about. Around now he also tells me there's no chance of installation for at least two weeks. I tell him I'll consider what he's told me and call them back, and hang up.

I sat and thought for a few minutes. I was sure Chase/Jason was wrong about having to pay for installation. After all, DirecTV isn't even selling their boxes anymore; the boxes are now on semi-permanent "lease", subject to recall/replacement at any time, and remain DirecTV's property. This means that I'm now paying for a service, like cable TV or DSL, which always have free installation. I was also doubtful about the installation date estimate. So, I tried a little Call Center Roulette, and that's where the Triumphantly Excellent experience happened.

This time I am connected to Brigitte--cheerful and clear-spoken--and we go through the same information about what I bought and that I need to have it installed. "Absolutely," she says, "I'll set up that free installation and the included HD dish for you right now." Yes! "I can schedule your installation for Tuesday afternoon between noon and 4, will that work?" Yes! Done and done. "Anything else I can help you with?" I tell her I'd like to talk to her supervisor to pass on what a great experience this call was. Back when I was doing software tech support over the phone, this happened once in a while, where happy customers wanted to compliment me to my boss. Most times, the only time the supervisor is called in is to hear complaints, so this time I am careful to let her (Shannon) know what a terrific CSR she has in Brigitte and that everything worked out perfectly. I don't mention Chase/Jason because at this point it would only depress me. Shannon says it's a pleasure to hear a compliment once in a while and I tell her it was a pleasure for me to be able to give it.

I think the lesson to be learned here is the importance of Call Center Roulette--if you don't like what the CSR is telling you, and especially if it seems unreasonable or illogical, thank them politely, hang up, and call again hoping for a different CSR. The way the call-forwarding systems work, the person you just talked to should get another call right away, so if you wait a minute or two you should be assured of getting someone else. This time, it worked.

Labels: customer service, DirecTV, rants, raves