Should We Extract Our DirecTV Like a Bad Tooth?

It takes ages to download anything with BitTorrent - many more hours of work and waiting around than a basic subscription would cost.

Sourpuss, stop trying to make me cry, man!

MLBTV = $80 for the season. Hmm...

I think if we're going to do this, we better do it before Opening Day, or it's going to be like pulling out a toenail.

Dump the dish and get whatever broadcast shows you need from BitTorrent.

Runaround Central: Can't cancel service via their website. Invoice says "Call the Customer Service Number." No options to cancel service in their voice mail — the only option that gets you to a live human is Tech Support, and you have to wait through their "reboot the receiver" suggestions. Then the tech support person transfers me to a customer service rep. Then the rep tries to talk me out of it, offer smaller packages, offer a $5 reduction for six months, then finally gives in. While he was tapping away, I suddenly remembered another reason, and said, "Oh yeah, and I can't stand Rupert Murdoch. Since News Corp. bought DirecTV, that's another reason to cancel." At the other end of the line, I hear him very quietly say, "Whatever."

OK, I have the bluescreen (with the logo bouncing around) ever since I got home last night. I hit the little red panel button, which has always fixed this before -- but all I get is perpetual "Searching for the satellite signal: 0%." What can I try now?

bitch at landlord or call for help? who owns the dish?

kill everyone.

The George Washington Alumni Association cordially invites you to attend a happy hour for GW alumni in business and technology on Thursday, June 14, 5 pm, at Bobby Vans. Please come to mix and mingle with your colleagues and classmates over a host of appetizers.

Call for help is what I'm trying to forestall, as that assures a week or two w/out baseball. ME WANT FIX NOW, and a new apartment where I can get normal fucking cable.

if the dish is outside your window or somewhere you can check on it you can try to see if a tree or some such shit is fucking w/reception, maybe your neighbors hung a big pirate flag outside to celebrate gore verbinski's latest magnum opus and it's disrupting the waveforms and shit

It's on the roof; I can't see it. It's probably a much more mundane cause, which is why I'm waiting on David R. (or someone else who's gotten the stuttering DOWNLOADING FROM SATELLITE...CAN'T FIND SATELLITE message) to see this.

Usually means that you need to adjust the angle of the satellite - either it has slipped or something is blocking the line of sight.

It might not be dish angle, though. I had problems with crappy coaxial cable and had to replace it with fancy-schmancy cable. (Weak signal over a very long cable.) There might be water in the cable where it connects to the dish -- I had that problem once because I bought coax in bulk and rolled my own.

Have you tried changing transponders? That's probably not it, but it's worth a try. Have you tried unplugging the Directv box for a few minutes to force a hard restart/reacquisition of signal? I don't know nothin' about a red panel button -- my old set needed a hard reboot by unplugging.

yes, I unplugged. Nothin. We had a bad rainstorm here last Monday, maybe it took until Thursday to seep in?

I think I remember a "transponder" in an old Star Trek episode.

Don't think I've been blue-screened before, but if resetting / unplugging / giving a stern verbal reprimand to the receiver doesn't do the trick, playing tonsil hockey w/ the helping friendly DirecTV support dept. (and getting someone beyond the 1st level of Support Hell to help you) is probably what you'll have to do.

Also: THANK YOU DIRECTV FOR GIVING ME YANKEE GAMES IN HI-DEF so I can LOL @ shitty team in crystal clear 1080i.

Has anyone ever lived in a town with a directv support dept. building? EVERYONE IN THE ENTIRE TOWN WORKS THERE. It's like October Sky, but with phone service jobs instead of coal.

SRsly it's right across the street from the middle school: kids get to look outside and dream about the day when they'll be answering service calls just like daddy and stepmommy and grandpa.

OK, why does DirecTV "beat cable in customer satisfaction" when they charge YOU for a service call when THEIR shit breaks down?? Mafia shit, esp when it's $70 for a visit when you don't pay a monthly protection fee. Motherfucking extortionists! Is the Dish Network better on this score?

I dunno man. The washing machine in my rented flat refuses to open its door, si I called the management company and they told me that they'll replace the door at a cost to me of £80. Uh... no.

I took the protection fee - don't wanna deal w/ no nonsense (& given the hassles I had w/ my HD DVR box, I'm glad).

But why do cable companies fix their shit for free? are they HUMANISTS??

Still have Dish Network, still like it.

I'm kind of glad I didn't have DTV when the baseball season started -- I have enough time-wastage without MLB Gameday on top of it.

I believe "Gameday" is a fucking football term, you mean Extra Innings. Which I woulda bought for the rest of the season with the $ I am going to send them for fixing the fucking dish.

You could always try to sweettalk / strongarm them, Morbs.

Extra Innings, Gameday, whatthefuckever.

Thinking about staying with cable for broadband + phone/VOIP and switching back to Directv for tv programming.

not a Directv customer but i find it funny the lengths they go to to make sure customers know it's not their fault when networks get dropped due to contract disputes. they have an overzealous website called Directvpromise.com complete with cherry-picked testimonials from customers!

but nobody really cared last night in Orlando, where people were watching the Sunday Night Football game on cellular phones or illegal web feeds cos the local affiliate of NBC was one of the networks. lolz.