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
CaneMan said:
Explora Ultra not recording series.

The software is up to date, I have reformatted the hard drive, re scanned but I still get the problem.

The programs are marked for recording in the “Series Manager”, but don’t show in the “Schedules”. Checking in the “TV Guide” the programs are greyed out and do not record.

I have Explora 3a in XtraView which does not have any such problems.

Any help sorting this out would be appreciated.
Click to expand...
Have exactly the same issues, have set certain series to record, shows the red recording icon, but then doesn't record the episodes and red recording icon has turned black? Then you cancel the recording, set it up again and the same happens. Some series record and others (most) don't, absolutely infuriating. My older decoder never had this issue, not once in 10 odd yrs!
 
jostian said:
Have exactly the same issues, have set certain series to record, shows the red recording icon, but then doesn't record the episodes and red recording icon has turned black? Then you cancel the recording, set it up again and the same happens. Some series record and others (most) don't, absolutely infuriating. My older decoder never had this issue, not once in 10 odd yrs!
Click to expand...
Do a factory reset. Chances are some settings have become corrupted. In my experience a factory reset fixes pretty much every issue and that's what they always tell me to do if I contact them. I do a reset about once or twice a year or so.

If you have unwatched recordings then watch them first because it will delete and reset everything.
 
wbot said:
Do a factory reset. Chances are some settings have become corrupted. In my experience a factory reset fixes pretty much every issue and that's what they always tell me to do if I contact them. I do a reset about once or twice a year or so.

If you have unwatched recordings then watch them first because it will delete and reset everything.
Click to expand...
Thanks, will do, does anyone know what the black recording icon even means?
 
They had the system open for adjustments again late the other night.

Here's what they had on their "future" etc. testing channels;


M-Movies 1
African Magic Showcase
Wild Earth
(not unlocked, but old)
[blank]
eNCA
[fault-interruption message]
? Smart Health channel
Zee Indian channel
M-Net
(not unlocked, but old)
[blank]
[blank]
[blank]
Mibawa TV (Malawi)
Botswana TV News channel

:unsure:
 
Last edited:
Anyone else having a "can't connect" possible-security error on DStv Stream, again? On Compact in this case.
One other guy made a thread so it's not just this setup.
 
Am I the only person trying to stream to Ubuntu? I cannot find a recent thread about this issue. Years ago there was some issue with DRM and I could not use DSTV Now from Ubuntu. Looks like a similar issue has surfaced with this change to "stream". No problem streaming to the Android app or Windows laptop, but to Ubuntu keep getting message: "we're sorry Looks like something went wrong...". Using browser console I see a widevine "getLicense" post fail as 403 forbidden, which I believe is a DRM issue. Trying to convey this info to Multichoice is well nigh impossible, online chat and Facebook just gets some call centre minion with no escalation possible. Happens with all browsers, so it is Linux specific.
 
"Local is lekker"

Quite a few of the African flavour channels have been closing down. (4 Malawian ones on their way out due to MC politics). 165 a while back, then closed in the rest of Africa. 141 was another one. A Zambian one this week. Now 173 Honey is giving notice.

Economics, or is MC's weird plot starting to backfire already?
 
Brian_G said:
"Local is lekker"

Quite a few of the African flavour channels have been closing down. (4 Malawian ones on their way out due to MC politics). 165 a while back, then closed in the rest of Africa. 141 was another one. A Zambian one this week. Now 173 Honey is giving notice.

Economics, or is MC's weird plot starting to backfire already?
Click to expand...
Have you looked at their online tv guide lately? Vuzu 116 may be coming back. I say may because it is a huge mess, online. It doesn't exist via the Explora. Originally they were showing kids shows on the line up and now just place holders. If you weren't paying attention to 115 schedule you might have missed that they just started FBI and FBI international with no warning. FBI has no repeats. FBI International may be repeated, if they feel like it. They start after 16:00 so there is a chance of loadshedding messing them up.
 
Does anyone here know how this new Extra Stream service actually works - I'm getting at least 3 different pieces of info from MC???

One I've seen online and advertised on a channel seems to suggest it's for any package except EasyView, is at a reasonable additional price (think it was under R100 p/m added, maybe just R50) and didn't discuss how many extra stream devices can be involved.

A second (not sure where I saw it) seen a few weeks earlier said it's for Premium only, charges a massive R200(? or similar), and only allows one extra stream device.

The third item of confusion - newer Explora software has a new menu option (for my model found in Help \ General Information \ Home Base) which suggests that additional stream device(s?) must be on your property - determined by forcing one to use a new heartbeat system that only works on your own local Wi-Fi.


Lol, what a mess! :oops:
 
I have had almost nothing to do with DSTV and MC for 2 years now. A neighbour asked me to get his decoder working for him (original Explora) What a mission!. The decoder had been off unused for about 4 years. It took about 7 days to get it up and running.

Then I have been trying to use the supersport.com site for cricket news. Again I was not at all surprised to find that the site was up to MCs usual useless standard, full of stupid errors and problems. I have forgotten how utterly devoid of quality the entire MC system was and still is apparently.

So I am not at all surprised by the mixed messages @Brian is referring to - it is par for the course.

We have resigned ourselves to living with the crumbs we occasionally get thrown via SABC for sport.
 
My last interactions with MC were way back around 2009, when I finally cut the cord and cancelled my DSTV subscription, mainly due to the constant errors & discrepancies with their PVR channel schedules & problems with recordings (especially series recordings).

I sold my dualview PVR to a friend & have just used streaming services since then - I did piggyback off a family member's DSTV subscription by using a DSTV Walka (the original square screen model), until MC eventually pulled the plug & shuttered that DVB-H service.

images


I then used the DSTV Now app on an Android tablet, way back when you could still have 5 users per DSTV Premium account (with two consecutive online streams), but my family member also cancelled his DSTV just after the 'shamdemic' lockdown kicked in during 2020, so I have reverted back to streaming services - I have Netflix & Amazon Prime - and every couple of months I reactivate either my Britbox or Disney+ subscriptions for a month in order to catch up on any new content there.
 
Does anyone have a technical contact at Multichoice with half a brain cell?

I'm trying to get a scrapped decoder removed from my account but I'm being told it's possible then not possible then I must do change of ownership etc

I am about to loose by farking mind dealing with these morons
 
Segg said:
Does anyone have a technical contact at Multichoice with half a brain cell?

I'm trying to get a scrapped decoder removed from my account but I'm being told it's possible then not possible then I must do change of ownership etc

I am about to loose by farking mind dealing with these morons
Click to expand...

I've had 2 dead decoders polluting my account for years, don't waste your time.
But if you succeed pleez let us know.


Talking of change of ownership - the new nicely simplified online-account form for that is a ruse, afterwards they want all the forms filled out etc. anyway.
 
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