dish network beta household research program

[sca]

anyone else been invited into this program? the data they wish to collect is VERY detailed, with no explanation what it will be used for. i was asked to confirm broadband connectivity. map the tvs in my house and provide names/ages of household members watching them...after this is verified i will be invited into the market research survey and get free ppv's as reward.
i was also one of the very first to beta test the other programs, like dish online, so im not suprised i was invited into this. what bothers me is the lack of information dish provided me while asking for my very personal information. it's obviously a nielson-type research project, but i would have appreciated it if dish just said so up front.
so...who else joined this beta program?

 

[sethwell]

i received an invite, and before joining i came here to see if anyone else decided to join. not sure i want to give all that info out just yet until i hear more about it.

edit: Well nevermind, it doesn't like people who have Vista on their pc's. lol

 

[old corps]

I received the invite as well and wanted to participate but was told I couldn't because my 'puter didn't meet their specs.I think it was because I have Vista and it says you need XP or Windows 7. Jeeze, sounds like the wanted a lot of personal information.........

Ed

 

[sca]

really? what does the computer have to even do with it? thats what i mean, id like to know what the program actually IS.
well, i did join, just for fun, i can undo the stuff if i like, except for the family info, so ill keep everyone posted.

 

[KAB]

I tried to register, but it kept telling me my account number was invalid.

 

[sca]

odd...yes, the registration is very 'bulky' and poorly guided, i did manage to fully register finally, but my tvs are not 'verified'...says this step can take two weeks.

 

[Jim S.]

What. The. Hell.

Can anyone think of a legitimate reason they need such detailed information?

I mean, TV's "verified"?

 

[mike123abc]

What they do is get all the info. Then your receivers report back to Dish what was watched when and where. Even things like if you jumpped over commercials. Neilson gets the info and uses it for TV ratings. If you have ever done the Neilson ratings you should be familiar with the type of information they want. They want to be able to tell programming providers what ages, income, race, sex, zipcode, etc. are watching their shows and how they are watching it (i.e. DVR or Live).

They probably want to know what type of TVs too so they can guess HD demand. They also want to know the age group of various TV's usual watchers.

 

[sca]

and thats all logical...they should just say so up front.

 

[mike123abc]

I have done the Nielson thing in the past, I guess the Nielson explanations that accompanied the questionnaire are better than the Dish one.

 

[sonic2000]

I was invited also, but Norton questioned the software savyinstallerexe that is require to participate. Any issues from anybody else?

 

[sca]

sure, my antivirus questioned it too, i just ignored the warning.

 

[sca]

so...tv's still listed as inactive. and, my computer has been acting like absolute crap since i installed this thing. coincidence? anyone else?

 

[cditty]

Sounds like a lot of trouble for some PPV coupons.

 

[Frank7004]

Anyone connected to bb or a phone line is a beta tester. Dish is always collecting info

Having the ability to order online content is a perk.

I'm also one of these people who think the govt is watching damn near everything we do

 

[gasman882001]

Sounds like a lot of trouble for some PPV coupons.

My thoughts exactly!

 

[mike123abc]

Sounds like a lot of trouble for some PPV coupons.

The real advantage is that the shows you watch will get higher ratings, making them more likely to be renewed. I alway take part in these things just because of that reason.

 

[Bob Haller]

no doubt they are selling the info for big bucks

tivo collects some info too. remember the wardrobe malfunction?

 

[mike123abc]

Both TiVo and Dish send in the DVR info. But, without the detailed information it is really just household count. Nielson likes to have the age/sex/income/etc breakdown information too. A TV show can stay on the air even with low overall viewership if it hits certain demographics.

 

[Mark A Sparks]

I also received the invite and reluctantly signed up. I had no problem mapping my main tv (which is still inactive after 4 days).
I am having a bit of trouble mapping the other tv's in other rooms, they don't have the "Dish Panel" option when going to the "service menu" on channel 100.