Have you been told...? (By CSR OTA mapping not possible because FCC...)

[Sean Mota]

by a csr that your local channel cannot be added to your current mapping because the government has dictated that you are restricted to your local digital area? Or something similar.

This is completly wrong and VOOM should know who is doing this because it is greating more bad than good. I wonder how many people have been told this.

 

[vurbano]

seems like CSR's are incorrectly applying the rules for delivery of locals on satellite to the reception of OTA signals. I can see how they could get it confused. They need to be educated.

 

[aarton]

no, we were just first told that a local we don't have mapped isn't digital so we can't get it (we've gotten it for months with out old STB and it is digital) and then they have absolutely no way to map them.

 

[Pete In Plano]

It is funny that Wilt has said that the next rev will be able to manual tune, it is in Beta now.

 

[oddwunn]

seems like CSR's are incorrectly applying the rules for delivery of locals on satellite to the reception of OTA signals.

Vurbano is correct, and in my case Wilt and Peter had to intervene in order to remap my locals to Boston instead of Providence.

 

[JWK]

no, we were just first told that a local we don't have mapped isn't digital so we can't get it (we've gotten it for months with out old STB and it is digital) and then they have absolutely no way to map them.

Similar thing here, and I'm really getting pissed off about it.

Locally, the ABC channel broadcasts 2 digital channels. One is the ABC HD feed, the other is a weather radar thing. The Voom STB lists only one (the ABC HD feed), and the one that actually comes in there is the other one (the weather radar thing).

I've called Voom numerous times, and been told:

1) The local ABC affiliate isn't broadcasting anything other than the weather feed.

2) My antenna is the wrong sort, and I need a better/different one.

3) Voom doesn't map the channels, they merely pick up whatever they've been told is being broadcast by the stations.

Here's the thing about each of those:

1) The local ABC affiliate ABSOLUTELY is broadcasting both channels. Hell, I even got the dagblasted station engineer to call Voom!

2) My antenna is NOT the wrong kind -- I still have the giant directional antenna which I'd been using for HD OTA reception before I got Voom, and it was picking up the ABC channels just fine with my previous HD OTA box -- I use it with Voom, and that ABC channel is not showing up.

3) Well of COURSE they map the channels -- it's one of the primary sources for complaint from Voom customers. And, duh, I had the station engineer call to tell 'em what they're broadcasting. When he did, that's when whichever tech he talked to came up with the nonsense about me needing another antenna.

It's really frustrating, particularly since so many of the CSRs I talk to seem to not even be aware of the channel mapping thing -- let alone willing or able to assist by getting the mapping thing fixed. When they say that they'll "take care of it", what ends up happening is they refer the problem to the local installer.

Which doesn't help one tiny bit. The guy who ran the friggin' cables sure as hell can't change what channels Voom has mapped.

I don't mind the bleeding edge technology thing so much -- what I mind is getting the runaround about what should be one of the first things a CSR is trained to handle for Voom. I mean, this is an incredibly common problem, and one which Voom should be desperate to fix whenever someone reports it -- because goodness knows a lot of customers don't even realize they're missing any channels if they haven't been getting HD OTA signals before they sign up for Voom.

Well, feels good to vent, anyhow.

 

[GadgetRick]

Yuppers...

This is EXACTLY what I was told after my installation. I wasn't able to receive the program guide info or channel info so I called. They gave me the same bs about the FCC not allowing them to map channels because I wasn't in a certain area. I thought it was strange since I'm 10 miles from NYC and these were the channels I was having problems with! There isn't anywhere else around here to get locals from!

The Rickster

 

[VewDew]

Similar thing here, and I'm really getting pissed off about it.

Locally, the ABC channel broadcasts 2 digital channels. One is the ABC HD feed, the other is a weather radar thing. The Voom STB lists only one (the ABC HD feed), and the one that actually comes in there is the other one (the weather radar thing).

Are you in the Sacramento area? I have the same thing here but I have both channels mapped.

 

[JWK]

Are you in the Sacramento area? I have the same thing here but I have both channels mapped.

Sorry about that -- I should've included my locality information in my post. I'm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana -- 70806 zip code. The affiliate in question is WBRZ.

Hope that channel scanning feature comes out right away -- and hope they include manual channel addition with it (so we can use directional antennas and rotation to tune in hard to get signals).

 

[astrossuperfan]

They need to be educated.

Yes, they DO need to be educated:

:dev

 

[timnchi]

I know that's right... I was told that too. Jenny was her name. She also said that the new software that allows for manual/automatic tuning would not be released unless the FCC let them. I argued with her for several minutes. I told her if I bought a tuner at CC that I could get anything no matter how far away it was. If my antenna is able to pick them up. She was determined to tell me that the OTA was regulated by the DMA by the FCC. Total, ignorance, Hugh, doink :shocked

 

[Tobar]

I'm in the Sacramento area and both of channels for ABC are mapped. I'm 25 miles from the towers in Walnut Grove. The problems I have are channels 58 and 31. 58 is mapped but is black. 31 Doesn't show up at all. I have the Stealth antenna. Everything else is fine.

 

[TheForce]

While the VOOM OTA tuner (8VSB) is better than my 921 OTA tuner the information supplied is incorrect here in Jacksonville too. They have a channel listed in the guide that has been off the air since 2002. I can understand that the station's programming dept may still be sending information out on that channel. With these guys locally, nothing surprises me but none the less, it is incorrect. I believe that if VOOM get's their guide info correct, the OTA tuner will work quite well.
More specifically, VOOM, in Jacksonville, FL is listing digital channels that do not exist along with programming and are not showing a channel that does exist and is quite strong here on other tuners. It must be that they are getting their information from some independent and unreliable source to be so wrong in so many places.

Having said all that, I must add that I didn't get VOOM for locals, I got it for the obvious reasons, HDTV variety. If all the VOOM OTA channels were gone tomorrow, it wouldn't matter to me.

 

[PBHDinSD]

they told me the same

 

[Leet63]

same thing here

They told me that if they were not in my Program guide I could not get them. Unbelievable! I know there are 4 more I can get. Told me my antenna probably was not good enough...Ha! I can pickup at least a 100 ml. radius. They said they can't map them. Acted as if I didnt know what I was talking about and argued that the cahnnels I am missing probably were not digital. Like talking to a wall! Come on VOOOOOM! get it right!

LT

 

[bryan27]

I had VOOM installed today and when the installer asked me what channels I received I showed him on my Zenith OTA HDTV STB. He said I would receive the wrong channel map.

During the activation call he told them what local map I needed and VOOM told him that it was an FCC problem, but they would send the "order in" and the map should change during the software update overnight.

Even the installer knew there was no FCC problem and rolled his eyes during the call. He did tell me if the map didn't change tomorrow to call him.

Even just having a screen and picking the receivable channel numbers and call-signs would be an improvement over what they are currently doing.

The zipcode dependant VOOM on-line guide channel guide shows the correct OTA channels I receive.

I did notice while playing around with the installation menus that the channel map # is the same as your local DMA. I wonder if there is a "hidden" menu where that number can be changed?

 

[Lobstah]

My install is scheduled for 6/28. I was hoping they'd have the scanning function out by then, but I guess not.

I remember reading a thread here where someone was questioning the value of an internal tuner on the TV, and how it was a waste of money.

I'm sure glad I have one

Lob

 

[Sean Mota]

I had VOOM installed today and when the installer asked me what channels I received I showed him on my Zenith OTA HDTV STB. He said I would receive the wrong channel map.

During the activation call he told them what local map I needed and VOOM told him that it was an FCC problem, but they would send the "order in" and the map should change during the software update overnight.

Even the installer knew there was no FCC problem and rolled his eyes during the call. He did tell me if the map didn't change tomorrow to call him.

Even just having a screen and picking the receivable channel numbers and call-signs would be an improvement over what they are currently doing.

The zipcode dependant VOOM on-line guide channel guide shows the correct OTA channels I receive.

I did notice while playing around with the installation menus that the channel map # is the same as your local DMA. I wonder if there is a "hidden" menu where that number can be changed?

Bryan,

there is no hidden menu that will change the map. The map is encoded in the PG data that is downloaded overnight. If you do not get it right, please send me an email to Sean_Mota@satelliteguys.us and I will also put the request for you.

 

[luke637]

More OTA/CSR issues...

I live in the Oklahoma City area and have had V* for almost a month. I received an upgraded Winegard antenna (S2000) when I was installed which did a good job of bringing in my locals (44 miles away). The local ABC affiliate is bradcasting on low power, so I requested to be upgraded again. The V* CSR took care of that on the first call and I had my new antenna (Winegard Prostar 7000) installed four days later. I also talked to the CSR about the mapping issues. We have two local stations that are multicasting (weather maps) but only the main feed is mapped. I have a PBS station that is over 100 miles away mapped in my channel guide that I clearly cannot get. There is also a PAX affiliate that I know I can get that is not mapped. Here is how it breaks down:

KFOR-DT 4.1 NBC (UHF 27) 43 miles 352kW - mapped, excellent reception
KFOR-DT 4.2 weather 43 miles 352kW - not mapped, should get
KOCO-DT 5.1 ABC (VHF 7) 44 miles 47kW - mapped, good reception
KOCO-DT 5.2 weather 44 miles 47kW - not mapped, should get
KWTV-DT 9.1 CBS (UHF 39) 43 miles 270kW - mapped, very good reception
KWET-DT 12.1-4 PBS - mapped, over 100 miles away! why?
KETA-DT 13.1-4 PBS (UHF 32) 41 miles 500kW - mapped, excellent reception
KTBO-DT 14.1 TBN (UHF 15) 42 miles 7.9kW - mapped, no reception until full power
KOKH-DT 25.1 FOX (UHF 24) 44 miles 2.2kW - mapped, no reception until full power
KOCB-DT 34.1 WB (UHF 33) 43 miles 3kW - mapped, no reception until full power
KSBI-DT 52.1-2 IND (UHF 51) 43 miles 360.9kW - mapped, excellent reception, program guide has the listings backwards
KOPX-DT 62.1 PAX (UHF 50) 43 miles 200kW - not mapped, should get

The CSR said she would see what she could do. She also encouraged me to send the above in an email to the questions and answers section on the v* website, which I did. I never heard back from the CSR (1 week) and I received this email from V* today:

Discussion Thread

---------------------------------------------------------------

Response (VOOM Customer Care) - 06/12/2004 07:09 PM Thank you for contacting VOOM.

The mapping information that we use is given to us by the FCC. We do not have the authority to edit any of this information. If you are mapped incorrectly altogether than we can certainly look into this for you. The stealth off-air antenna is a directional antenna, which means if you have local channels that are broadcast from a variety of stations, you may have trouble receiving all of the local channels in your area. If you have any further questions please give us a call at 1-800-438-VOOM and once again thank you for contacting VOOM - HDTV Delivered!

Tyler Lucas

VOOM Email Support

We all know that this is not true. The FCC wouldn't map the PBS channel that is not in my DMA. I don't like being lied to. All of the stations that I want are on the same tower as stations I currently receive. Am I stuck waiting for the firmware upgrade? If that is the case, V* should be telling people that instead of the 'garbage' I received above. If I don't have to wait, how do I get it fixed?

 

[vurbano]

I live in the Oklahoma City area and have had V* for almost a month. I received an upgraded Winegard antenna (S2000) when I was installed which did a good job of bringing in my locals (44 miles away). The local ABC affiliate is bradcasting on low power, so I requested a to be upgraded again. The V* CSR took care of that on the first call and I had my new antenna (Wingard Prostar 7000) installed four days later. I also talked to the CSR about the mapping issues. We have two local stations that are multicasting (weather maps) but only the main feed is mapped. I have a PBS station that is over 100 miles away mapped in my channel guide that I clearly cannot get. There is also a PAX affiliate that I know I can get that is not mapped. Here is how it breaks down:

KFOR-DT 4.1 NBC (UHF 27) 43 miles 352kW - mapped, excellent reception
KFOR-DT 4.2 weather 43 miles 352kW - not mapped, should get
KOCO-DT 5.1 ABC (VHF 7) 44 miles 47kW - mapped, good reception
KOCO-DT 5.2 weather 44 miles 47kW - not mapped, should get
KWTV-DT 9.1 CBS (UHF 39) 43 miles 270kW - mapped, very good reception
KWET-DT 12.1-4 PBS - mapped, over 100 miles away! why?
KETA-DT 13.1-4 PBS (UHF 32) 41 miles 500kW - mapped, excellent reception
KTBO-DT 14.1 TBN (UHF 15) 42 miles 7.9kW - mapped, no reception until full power
KOKH-DT 25.1 FOX (UHF 24) 44 miles 2.2kW - mapped, no reception until full power
KOCB-DT 34.1 WB (UHF 33) 43 miles 3kW - mapped, no reception until full power
KSBI-DT 52.1-2 IND (UHF 51) 43 miles 360.9kW - mapped, excellent reception, program guide has the listings backwards
KOPX-DT 62.1 PAX (UHF 50) 43 miles 200kW - not mapped, should get

The CSR said she would see what she could do. She also encouraged me to send the above in an email to the questions and answers section on the v* website, which I did. I never heard back from the CSR (1 week) and I received this email from V* today:

Discussion Thread

---------------------------------------------------------------

Response (VOOM Customer Care) - 06/12/2004 07:09 PM Thank you for contacting VOOM.

The mapping information that we use is given to us by the FCC. We do not have the authority to edit any of this information. If you are mapped incorrectly altogether than we can certainly look into this for you. The stealth off-air antenna is a directional antenna, which means if you have local channels that are broadcast from a variety of stations, you may have trouble receiving all of the local channels in your area. If you have any further questions please give us a call at 1-800-438-VOOM and once again thank you for contacting VOOM - HDTV Delivered!

Tyler Lucas

VOOM Email Support

We all know that this is not true. The FCC wouldn't map the PBS channel that is not in my DMA. I don't like being lied to. All of the stations that I want are on the same tower as stations I currently receive. Am I stuck waiting for the firmware upgrade? If that is the case, V* should be telling people that instead of the 'garbage' I received above. If I don't have to wait, how do I get it fixed?

yes its garbage, yes you have to wait for the update or buy a D* or E* reciever at the store.