Dear DStv - technical faults thread

How do you rate the DStv service *technically* ?

  • 10 (Best)

    Votes: 4 1.6%

  • 9

    Votes: 6 2.4%

  • 8

    Votes: 6 2.4%

  • 7

    Votes: 8 3.2%

  • 6

    Votes: 10 4.0%

  • 5

    Votes: 15 6.0%

  • 4

    Votes: 18 7.2%

  • 3

    Votes: 32 12.9%

  • 2

    Votes: 17 6.8%

  • 1 (Worst)

    Votes: 133 53.4%
  • Total voters
    249
Luke7777 said:
The 4K matches are only on the streaming side (DSTV Now) ..
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Yeah, should have added that. And 4K on satellite is fiction for Africa, can't see it ever being economical.

Luke7777 said:
and I don't care too much about soccer anyway :) I still like my 2As, just getting playback issues every now and then on recordings or pausing live TV.
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I've got a few endless bugs with my Explora 1 (some similar to those you mentioned) but still think living with them is better than the upgrade gamble. I suppose it depends on their severity.

Luke7777 said:
Getting equipment replaced is also becoming a bit of an issue.
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Yep.
Then again, I'm still occasionally buying a spare SD PVR ;)


@Nemesys , interested to hear your thoughts since you've had later models.

Anyone else?
 
Luke7777 said:
The 4K matches are only on the streaming side (DSTV Now) .. and I don't care too much about
Click to expand...

No guys - it's not just streaming. There is a satellite channel as well for the 4K soccer - channel 216 - and the quality is GREAT. All world cup matches are being shown in 4K. The channel is only visible on the Ultra and will downscale to HD if your setup doesn't support 4K. There will be a 2nd 4K channel on 217 in a week or two once 2 games are being played at the same time at the world cup.
 
Luke7777 said:
I'm thinking of replacing my 2As. Any reason (apart from 4K) to get the Ultra rather than the 3B ? I currently don't have a 4K tv, and when I do, I'd probably stream directly from media boxes. Don't see DSTV going 4K soon. Takealot current have the 3B for 899 and the Ultra for 1699
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I find my Ultra much more stable and responsive than the 2A - lately my 2A is constantly freezing or responding very slowly (like pressing stop while watching Catchup) and I'm getting all kinds of strange things happening.

The Netflix and Prime Video streaming on the Ultra works great - 4K as well as Dolby Atmos sound but yes - you will get that from an Android box and many TVs as well so not a reason to upgrade. The Disney+ streaming on the Ultra currently only goes up to 720p so I don't touch it. Showmax is the proper full app like on your phone or Android box - for example you can continue watching from where you stopped - so much better than the 2A version. With the Youtube app you can also cast Youtube from your phone but again you can do that on Youtube TV and Android apps as well.

I think there is a chance that at least one of the 4K channels might be kept - even if only for occasional sport broadcasts. During testing they also showed Premier League football in 4K. We might even end up with a 4K version of M-Net like we had M-Net and M-Net HD ages ago when HD broadcasting started - who knows. And Multichoice recently upgraded a Randburg studio with Dolby Atmos sound equipment for future productions. So if sound & video quality is a thing for you - even if only maybe some time in the future - I would rather get the Ultra. And off course it has built-in WiFi

Also search on the DSTV website - if you don't mind signing a 2-year contract.... I got a deal for my dad with a free ultra including a brand new dish, smart lnb and installation and monthly subscription fixed for 2 years - at R100 less per month than he was paying before with his Explora 1 - plus he will miss the next price increase.
 
krugie said:
No guys - it's not just streaming. There is a satellite channel as well for the 4K soccer - channel 216 - and the quality is GREAT. All world cup matches are being shown in 4K. The channel is only visible on the Ultra and will downscale to HD if your setup doesn't support 4K. There will be a 2nd 4K channel on 217 in a week or two once 2 games are being played at the same time at the world cup.
Click to expand...
Sorry, was referring to the 4K testing on ch 198.
 
krugie said:
I find my Ultra much more stable and responsive than the 2A - lately my 2A is constantly freezing or responding very slowly (like pressing stop while watching Catchup) and I'm getting all kinds of strange things happening.

The Netflix and Prime Video streaming on the Ultra works great - 4K as well as Dolby Atmos sound but yes - you will get that from an Android box and many TVs as well so not a reason to upgrade. The Disney+ streaming on the Ultra currently only goes up to 720p so I don't touch it. Showmax is the proper full app like on your phone or Android box - for example you can continue watching from where you stopped - so much better than the 2A version. With the Youtube app you can also cast Youtube from your phone but again you can do that on Youtube TV and Android apps as well.

I think there is a chance that at least one of the 4K channels might be kept - even if only for occasional sport broadcasts. During testing they also showed Premier League football in 4K. We might even end up with a 4K version of M-Net like we had M-Net and M-Net HD ages ago when HD broadcasting started - who knows. And Multichoice recently upgraded a Randburg studio with Dolby Atmos sound equipment for future productions. So if sound & video quality is a thing for you - even if only maybe some time in the future - I would rather get the Ultra. And off course it has built-in WiFi

Also search on the DSTV website - if you don't mind signing a 2-year contract.... I got a deal for my dad with a free ultra including a brand new dish, smart lnb and installation and monthly subscription fixed for 2 years - at R100 less per month than he was paying before with his Explora 1 - plus he will miss the next price increase.
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Thanks Krugie. Also have that slow response on Catch Up. Not too fussed about sound quality.. using a R2.5k sound bar on my current TV :laugh: Just getting tired of all these little things...

I see they have this currently
1669205743114.png

That's what I currently pay in any case, with Xtraview. Then they can sommer double check the whole installation as well. Signal quality has been around 70 lately... past 2 years or so :D Don't you miss the LED display ?
 
Luke7777 said:
Thanks Krugie. Also have that slow response on Catch Up. Not too fussed about sound quality.. using a R2.5k sound bar on my current TV :laugh: Just getting tired of all these little things...

I see they have this currently
View attachment 1427731

That's what I currently pay in any case, with Xtraview. Then they can sommer double check the whole installation as well. Signal quality has been around 70 lately... past 2 years or so :D Don't you miss the LED display ?
Click to expand...
That's exactly the deal I got for my dad yes - not bad at all.if you don't mind comitting for 2 years. My dad's existing dish was still very new so they just left the new one in his garage and said he can sell it.

I do miss the display somewhat but I have pretty much now gotten used to it. I never put the decoder in standby so it's only really for the channel number and I know what channel I am watching (almost all the time.. haha!) thanks to their generous channel logos. :)
 
Luke7777 said:
krugie seems happy, which is good enough for me :laugh: Will see if the new equipment resolves any of the little niggles. If it doesn't , at least I know it's not my decoders :)
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And I get a brand new installation for "free" . Dish is about 20 years old, LNB and current wiring was done when I got my 2As... about 4 years ago. Signal on tuner 1 around 70 or so.
 
Luke7777 said:
And I get a brand new installation for "free" . Dish is about 20 years old, LNB and current wiring was done when I got my 2As... about 4 years ago. Signal on tuner 1 around 70 or so.
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Reminds me, must replace my wiring.. working surprisingly well though.
 
Anyone's "Programs you're watching" tab vanished overnight ? This is on Ultra. Reboot or watching an episode doesn't help.

/Update - Somehow it came back. Will have another look tomorrow after reboot
 
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Luke7777 said:
Anyone's "Programs you're watching" tab vanished overnight ? This is on Ultra. Reboot or watching an episode doesn't help.

/Update - Somehow it came back. Will have another look tomorrow after reboot
Click to expand...
I have seen this happen a few times but not limited to the Ultra - also on my 2A. A few times it returned automatically but once or twice only a few or even no shows returned. Recently (on my 2A) all the show's banners were there but all showed that they had zero episodes.
 
krugie said:
I have seen this happen a few times but not limited to the Ultra - also on my 2A. A few times it returned automatically but once or twice only a few or even no shows returned. Recently (on my 2A) all the show's banners were there but all showed that they had zero episodes.
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Never happened on my 1 2A. Only on the recently replaced one. Now on both Ultras .... it's so ********* annoying :mad::mad:
 
Luke7777 said:
Anyone's "Programs you're watching" tab vanished overnight ? This is on Ultra. Reboot or watching an episode doesn't help.

/Update - Somehow it came back. Will have another look tomorrow after reboot
Click to expand...
That has been a problem on both
Luke7777 said:
Just a question... would this be hardware or software related ?
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Personally, I would say both. They have increased the number catch up assets. It used to be around 600 now it is in excess of 800 with the addition of the soccer world cup. This could be the partition size or bad programming.
 
Nemesys said:
Personally, I would say both. They have increased the number catch up assets. It used to be around 600 now it is in excess of 800 with the addition of the soccer world cup. This could be the partition size or bad programming.
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I hear you... but I previously had 2 2As in Xtraview. Neither had the problem, until i had one replaced under DCC on the 7th of Nov. Since then that one had the problem, the other was still fine
 
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