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
Brian_G said:
Most of their better channels are apparently in 1080i now, but no idea how it's stored - I suspect much in 720p to save space, hours-capacity seems to suggest it as well, all their compression efforts alone doesn't explain that good ability - my Explora 1 (2TB HDD) can happily keep about 150 movies based on the averages seen.


Yes, possibly Nativity has an effect but we were told that 720p is better for under 50cm else to use 1080i.
Also, I prefer the 50Hz choices over 60Hz, my eyes believe it anyway.
Click to expand...
Ja as has always been the case, "quality is in the eye of the beholder".
What I thinks is quality is not want the next man thinks is quality.
I can't access CU, so can't check. And I have not bothered with BO, ever either.
 
Brian_G said:
Hope you're right. They appear to know more about it, had been about a week here without loss of pic / recording until last night's incident.

Just noticed my "1A" indicating software (s/w) ready to download. First time it's ever not done it automatically.

Also not going to carry on with the separate update thread, so...
Had L144, now received L146
User Interface (UI) version is now "Zeus3"
The Home screen is no longer a mosaic, now a row of box office and a row of showmax, and nothing for catch up (CU) there but all looks similar to the CU screen.
Click to expand...

My Explora 1 updated automatically this morning (around the time of the maintenance reboot) but earlier today at my parents house they also had a message to advise of an available upgrade. It is possible that theirs might have automatically updated tomorrow morning when the maintenance reboot happened - maybe they received the update later than what I did (after the maintenance reboot) and the updates now only take place at that time.

The new Home Screen brings the look in line with that of the Explora Ultra. Regarding the lack of a dedicated CatchUp section, the Ultra works like this as well. The CU titles are now mixed/included together with Showmax titles in the Trending and the New & Returning sections. The way I understand it, these sections should now also include CU+ titles - even if your Explora is not linked to the Internet, If you choose one of the CU+ titles you should get a message to say you need to connect the Explora to view that specific title. I can't verify that this is working since all my decoders are linked to the Internet.
 
Quite surprised by the poll results so far, I'm guessing those relying mostly on Catch Up see fewer problems...?

Although closer inspection shows about 80% are scoring in the bottom half anyway.
 
I started streaming a few hours back on Nat Geo channel - Ice Road Rescue.
.
Now on same channel, hour or so later, watching solar repairs - overlay still says Ice Road Rescue.

If I leave it on the same channel, I can come back next week and it will still say Ice Road rescue.
 
Geoff.D said:
Today was apparently "stuff-all-the-older-decoders-around-reboot" day
:mad:
Click to expand...

My Explora 1, 2A and Ultra all 3 had error messages when I woke up yesterday saying the channel is not part of my package (all there were on different channels). A simple channel change fixed the problem.
 
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Also had the reboots, and again this morning on my SD PVR. Seems to be further related to the EPG which wouldn't work there, or on any recording schedules, and on my Explora 1 there was no 101 info for most of the day.

Why though? Why don't they ever learn from the past?
 
Every single EPG related Recording setting has FAILED today on ALL the channels we record from!

This is even after the settings were verified today and up until they were due to start the schedule showed they would start. But not one actually did start.
:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:
 
I see MC is busy putting the FTA channel's EPGs through their own brand of meat grinder this morning.
 
More overnight recording failures found!
There has been an incredibly high level of interference with channel identifiers, program schedule identifiers and even the SD/HD quality identifiers! The older decoders are clearly NOT receiving the appropriate sw updates that would allow these changes to be programmatically detected and fixed, hence why the recordings are all failing. The sw cannot detect the changes until the recording starts and then fails because it can't find the program to be recorded!

I watched the above happen today. I happen to catch one of the fiddles just after 13:00 today, and was able to set the one decoder to record the SD channel version and another to record the HD version ( which is supposed to be impossible).

BOTH failed at execution because based on my subscription, I should not have had access to either, yet the EPG allowed me to set up both recordings! It should have not allowed my access to the SD version at all.. It means that for those few minutes while I set up the recording, service authentication had been thrown open and all channels were available to all packages, but by the time the recording was to happen access had been restored only to the channels my package allowed.
 
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The transmission software appears not to have kept up with newer models. Had an Explorer 3 for 10 some days and then replaced it with the 3-year old model

Wife assumed the new one would be better. It was faster but we often select "Sub-titles" to see nothing. Then on Catch-up there are sub-titles. Once changed to a radio channel and upon switch-on, it would always go to the radio channel, instead of last viewed

Mine is behind an inverter, so never reboots

No good phoning for assistance. After 10 mins of their checking your bona-fides to see if you are worthy of a conversation, they tell you they don't know
 
chrisc said:
The transmission software appears not to have kept up with newer models. Had an Explorer 3 for 10 some days and then replaced it with the 3-year old model

Wife assumed the new one would be better. It was faster but we often select "Sub-titles" to see nothing. Then on Catch-up there are sub-titles. Once changed to a radio channel and upon switch-on, it would always go to the radio channel, instead of last viewed

Mine is behind an inverter, so never reboots

No good phoning for assistance. After 10 mins of their checking your bona-fides to see if you are worthy of a conversation, they tell you they don't know
Click to expand...
Spot on. The call centres just do not have the knowledge or the access to anyone who does have the knowledge to assist with anything. They are barely able to assist with service subscription issues, payments disconnections etc, but nothing technical.
Some of them don't even know that there is a difference between satellite BC and streaming services!

And no, there is absolutely zero customer benefit to be gained from the newer model decoders.
The advantages are exclusively directed at MC, not towards their customers.
 
So another night of virtually back to back reboots and the decoders look like they might just work again today.
 
LandyMan said:
What decoders are you using? You seem to have a lot of issues with them
Click to expand...
They mess around more with older decoders... but we have plenty of issues with Exploras etc. as well.
Depends how you use them, if mostly Catch Up you won't see as much.
 
Brian_G said:
They mess around more with older decoders... but we have plenty of issues with Exploras etc. as well.
Depends how you use them, if mostly Catch Up you won't see as much.
Click to expand...
I use an original Explora and a 2a daily for recordings and catch up, with none of the issues experienced mentioned here
 
LandyMan said:
I use an original Explora and a 2a daily for recordings and catch up, with none of the issues experienced mentioned here
Click to expand...
Good to hear. It is that varied, often was on the DStv forum as well though far more complaining than not - perhaps due to visits mostly from those with issues.

What channels you watch will also be a factor.
 
Take this morning for instance - on my Explora model 1, I had a recording set for a movie called Dark Web on Sunday night on ch. 106 - just vanished, EPG reveals they altered the name a bit but somehow they haven't learnt how not to lose things then.......

Daily issues, some of us just can't be bothered to mention them enough. Nobody mentions all of them.
 
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