DSTV by International Standards

C

cronjec

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I was an early DSTV PVR adopter in 2005 and frequently got quite upset about the unreliable EPG and lost recordings in the beginning. After a few months of mouthing off in the then not-so-strictly-moderated MC online forums and after being banned a few times I realised complaining was a lost cause. The "channel provider" was always to fault according to MC and complaining to MC (the company I paid for the honour to have a satellite TV service), I soon realised was a waste of energy.

I was watching a recorded BBC show tonight (“Relocation Relocation”) and found it quite amusing at the level the EPG still (7 years later) manage to get it wrong. The EPG program number on the DSTV i-plate stated Season 6 episode 8. The EPG info actually described Season 6 Episode 15, and to add the cherry on top, the show actually broadcast was Season 7 episode 2...

It took me all of 2 minutes to look that up on the program’s website.

DSTV will remain the dominant force in the SA subscription TV market for years to come and complaining about these EPG and PVR recording issues resolves nothing it seems, but I just wonder sometimes how well DSTV would have fared in the US or UK sat TV markets?

We take what we get because it is all we have... R700 per month for "more spread out content and more channel numbers...wow!" I would pass on the next 10 "new" channels for an accurate EPG.
 
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I totally agree with you there - I was also an early SD-PVR adopter in Nov 2005, and had the exact same issues you describe.

It got to the point that I actually had a meeting with the CEO of Multichoice and their Heads of Programming & Media Liasion in 2008 to discuss this very problem you describe.

After posting numerous complaints on the DSTV forum, I was also banned there, and eventually Multichoice decided to terminate my services rather than address or rectify the ongoing EPG & scheduling problems I had brought to their attention.

So much for 'Customer Service' and 'world-class technology' from Multichoice!

I sympathise with those DSTV subscribers who adopted HD TV by purchasing the software bug-riddled HD-PVR's and all the ongoing issues thay have to deal with as well.
 
appletv (cheaper than HD decoder) + UnoTElly DNS ($3.99 / month) + Netflix Unlimited ($6.99 / month) + Hullu Unlumited ($6.99 / month) + Uncapped ADSL = No DSTV
 
stricken said:
appletv (cheaper than HD decoder) + UnoTElly DNS ($3.99 / month) + Netflix Unlimited ($6.99 / month) + Hullu Unlumited ($6.99 / month) + Uncapped ADSL = No DSTV
Click to expand...

My problem is we have xtraview for the kids, and I suspect I'm going to have bandwidth issues with two channels running at the same time, especially if one is HD.
 
The PVR hardware and software quality is almost as big an insult as some of DSTV's content and EPG info.

I have a 4p PVR. It runs so hot I have to have fans in my cabinet to cool it. All the rest of the equipment in there together puts out less heat than the damned PVR.
It frequently crashes.
It's dog slow to respond to remote keypresses.
It's the 3rd unit now by the way, as I've had two with hard drive failure.

Having lived in the UK and had Sky, Sky+, digital Cable and TiVo, I can honestly say that Multichoice is right up there with pit latrines as the height of consumer service and technology.
 
appletv (cheaper than HD decoder) + UnoTElly DNS ($3.99 / month) + Netflix Unlimited ($6.99 / month) + Hullu Unlumited ($6.99 / month) + Uncapped ADSL = No DSTV
Click to expand...

Whats your BILL each month including ADSL?
 
stricken said:
appletv (cheaper than HD decoder) + UnoTElly DNS ($3.99 / month) + Netflix Unlimited ($6.99 / month) + Hullu Unlumited ($6.99 / month) + Uncapped ADSL = No DSTV
Click to expand...

Please do provide a bit more information if possible, sounds like an interesting and viable alternative.... Do you stream your content or do you download and view... sorry, a noob when it comes to this.

Biggest concern however is my ADSL which I swear is sometimes worse than a dial-up
 
No..

That therefore makes it a non-starter for me.

I only have DSTV for the sport.
 
ToxicBunny said:
No..

That therefore makes it a non-starter for me.

I only have DSTV for the sport.
Click to expand...

But there is sites that stream live games. I watched almost the whole world cup on my colleagues Mac Pro. Not 1080p, but high quality non the less.
But there is some local games that won't get the internet streamig attention.
 
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