MeTV National Feed on DirecTV?

[MontanaGuy]

Any chance of a MeTV national feed coming to DirecTV in the near future? Dish Network started carrying a national MeTV SD feed this afternoon on channel 247.

My hope is since DirecTV recently added SD channels such as FETV that MeTV is a possibility. However, Dish Network has carried Get TV (another SD channel) for quite some time and DirecTV hasn't picked it up as yet.

 

[edisonprime]

Any chance of a MeTV national feed coming to DirecTV in the near future? Dish Network started carrying a national MeTV SD feed this afternoon on channel 247.

My hope is since DirecTV recently added SD channels such as FETV that MeTV is a possibility. However, Dish Network has carried Get TV (another SD channel) for quite some time and DirecTV hasn't picked it up as yet.

If MeTV is in your market just get an antenna.

 

[HoTat2]

For DIRECTV?

Nah ... not as a national feed.

On DIRECTV apparently you receive networks like MeTV, which are normally broadcast as OTA diginets, only if a local station with "must-carry" status in your market happens to carry the network on its primary "-1" OTA channel.

Like here in the LA market where DIRECTV broadcast local KAZA 54-1 which is MeTV.

Yet confusingly other providers like Dish and U-verse carry some of these types of networks like they are national pay channels.

Again, a very confusing situation ....

 

[jdspencer]

I'd like DirecTV to add my local sub channels to the database for my AM21.

 

[raoul5788]

I'd like DirecTV to add my local sub channels to the database for my AM21.

It's not likely to ever happen. They haven't added anything to the database in years.

 

[jdspencer]

Sadly that's true. Just thought I'd throw that thought out!

 

[HoTat2]

It's not likely to ever happen. They haven't added anything to the database in years.

Nor can they ...

Since the way DIRECTV originally designed their OTA system limits the TMS ID entries in the database to a maximum of 65,535, which has long been exceeded with all the new diginets created since then.

 

[whitewolf8214]

We can hope but don’t believe that’s never going to happen imo

 

[zeebre12]

Is H&I available as a national feed on U Verse (like ME TV on Dish) or how does it work? Or does it depend on your location etc. Or can some people not receive it?

 

[Jimbo]

Is H&I available as a national feed on U Verse (like ME TV on Dish) or how does it work? Or does it depend on your location etc. Or can some people not receive it?

Scroll down to your location ...

Heroes and Icons | Where to Watch H&I

 

[slice1900]

It's not likely to ever happen. They haven't added anything to the database in years.

They don't control the database and never have, it was formerly operated by Tribune Media and is now owned by Nielsen and stuff gets added to it and changed all the time. Unfortunately limitations in the way they deliver guide data to the receivers mean that new additions aren't made available to Directv receivers. All the updates for stations with IDs < 65536 still happen, but there are 2x as many IDs as that now because new subchannels are added somewhere every day.

Changing their guide data format to handle more IDs would require firmware updates for everything receiving that guide data - and they currently support a lot of hardware which hasn't had a firmware update in many years so that's not as easy to do as it may sound. After they drop all the MPEG2 gear sometime next year they will be down to only one receiver - the H20 - that no longer receives firmware updates (last one was Sept 2013) so the problem may be more manageable.

 

[Jimbo]

They don't control the database and never have, it was formerly operated by Tribune Media and is now owned by Nielsen and stuff gets added to it and changed all the time. Unfortunately limitations in the way they deliver guide data to the receivers mean that new additions aren't made available to Directv receivers. All the updates for stations with IDs < 65536 still happen, but there are 2x as many IDs as that now because new subchannels are added somewhere every day.

Changing their guide data format to handle more IDs would require firmware updates for everything receiving that guide data - and they currently support a lot of hardware which hasn't had a firmware update in many years so that's not as easy to do as it may sound. After they drop all the MPEG2 gear sometime next year they will be down to only one receiver - the H20 - that no longer receives firmware updates (last one was Sept 2013) so the problem may be more manageable.

So, are the newer recvrs able to get the info higher than 65536 ?
Which would allow newer recvrs to get these other channels ?

 

[slice1900]

So, are the newer recvrs able to get the info higher than 65536 ?
Which would allow newer recvrs to get these other channels ?

New or old doesn't matter it is just a software limitation. Changing the software doesn't do any good unless they also change the data stream, so yes if they changed first the firmware and then the data stream then you could get those other channels. Unfortunately to do this will require that EVERYTHING which receives the data stream understand the new data stream format. That's not possible today because there's no way they could deliver firmware updates to all the different hardware out there now - some of which is not even Directv branded so they don't have ownership of the software.

That's why I suggested making such a change could only be possible after the MPEG2 shutdown in 2019, when all that old stuff goes away, and there is only one model of receiver that no longer gets firmware updates. Either they could release one more update for the H20, or decide to drop support for it (which I can tell you seems unlikely since I have activated H20s on my account as recently as two days ago) and of course deliver updates for all other H2x, HR2x, HRx4 and HS17 to understand the altered guide data stream.

Given how little love they've given OTA the last few years, the chance of them going to all this trouble to change the guide data format just to support the "missing" subchannels seems pretty remote. I could only see it happening if that wasn't the only thing they wanted to change.

One advantage of the H20's lack of firmware updates over the last few years is that they never completely removed its ability to scan for channels like they did with the AM21. If you do the initial OTA setup on it, it will find only the channels for which there is guide data, just like the AM21. However, if you select the "scan again" menu option it will find all those other stations. You don't get the program info for them since there's no guide data, but at least you can watch them which is all I care about - a lot of the Cubs games are broadcast locally on a subchannel with an ID > 65535...

 

[edisonprime]

I'd like DirecTV to add my local sub channels to the database for my AM21.

There’s two reasons why that wouldn’t help me anymore. 1: I have a Genie 2 now. 2: I sold my AM21 on eBay. Have you thought about getting one of the TiVo models for DVR service? I have the TiVo Bolt (plus I recently bought the Vox remote and also have the Slide Pro remote) and I love it.

 

[HoTat2]

There’s two reasons why that wouldn’t help me anymore. 1: I have a Genie 2 now. 2: I sold my AM21 on eBay. Have you thought about getting one of the TiVo models for DVR service? I have the TiVo Bolt (plus I recently bought the Vox remote and also have the Slide Pro remote) and I love it.

Planning on upgrading to the TIVO Bolt myself from my Roamio OTA as my off-air solution. AM21 is presently sitting here on the floor collecting dust.

Located in a strong signal area here in So. LA and in spite of the Roamio's agc circuits, its sensitive ATSC tuners still become overloaded by some stations causing intermittent pix and sound breakup on them.

Hoping the Bolt's tuners and agc handle my strong signal situation here better without the need of a current melange of fixed and variable attenuators hanging off the rear of the Roamio.

Also, don't like the fact that the Roamio OTA (based on the Roamio Basic) has no internal MoCA or streaming transcoder, requiring additional cost and clutter for this functionality from external uints purchased separately.

 

[Jimbo]

Planning on upgrading to the TIVO Bolt myself from my Roamio OTA as my off-air solution. AM21 is presently sitting here on the floor collecting dust.

Located in a strong signal area here in So. LA and in spite of the Roamio's agc circuits, its sensitive ATSC tuners still become overloaded by some stations causing intermittent pix and sound breakup on them.

Hoping the Bolt's tuners and agc handle my strong signal situation here better without the need of a current melange of fixed and variable attenuators hanging off the rear of the Roamio.

Also, don't like the fact that the Roamio OTA (based on the Roamio Basic) has no internal MoCA or streaming transcoder, requiring additional cost and clutter for this functionality from external uints purchased separately.

I have a question for you TIVO users ...
The TIVOs your refering are OTA only, correct ?
So your changing inputs in order to watch them vs the D* or cable or whatever in your area.
You cannot record any of the D* signal on them, right ?

IF you had a Lifetime sub to them (I know they did that at one time) does the Lifetime Sub transfer to the newer units as they come ?

 

[edisonprime]

I have a question for you TIVO users ...
The TIVOs your refering are OTA only, correct ?
So your changing inputs in order to watch them vs the D* or cable or whatever in your area.
You cannot record any of the D* signal on them, right ?

IF you had a Lifetime sub to them (I know they did that at one time) does the Lifetime Sub transfer to the newer units as they come ?

No, you can’t record DirecTV on a TiVo unit, unless you’re talking about a THR22. The term “lifetime” means the lifetime of the unit, hence you cannot transfer it. And yes they still offer “lifetime”, but now they call it “all-in”. But I’ll say this, I’ve never seen a better DVR than the TiVo DVRs.

 

[HoTat2]

I have a question for you TIVO users ...
The TIVOs your refering are OTA only, correct? ...

Specifically for the "Roamio OTA" I currently have. As the name indicates it's OTA only (the cable card slot mechanism has been removed). For 2 of the 3 newest TiVo "Bolt" series models, they're OTA or Cable capable. The 3rd Bolt model is for cable only.

...So your changing inputs in order to watch them vs the D* or cable or whatever in your area?

Correct, admittedly the only real disadvantage to this option. No integration of the program guide with DIRECTV's like the AM21. But well-worth the tradeoff given the problems with DIRECTV's crummy and obsolete OTA solution.

...You cannot record any of the D* signal on them, right?

Correct, these units are not to be confused with the DIRECTV THR22 powered by TiVo software.

... IF you had a Lifetime sub to them (I know they did that at one time) does the Lifetime Sub transfer to the newer units as they come ?

No, as edisonprime says ...

 

[MitchDeerfield]

Is H&I available as a national feed on U Verse (like ME TV on Dish) or how does it work? Or does it depend on your location etc. Or can some people not receive it?

All Uverse subscribers get H & I. It was added about 2 or 3 years ago.

 

[slice1900]

If you are buying a Tivo to record OTA for the subchannels you can't normally get through Directv you probably don't have any reason to buy a new one - it will cost a lot between the price of the unit and either the price of the monthly/yearly fee or the all-in to pay those fees upfront for life.

I'd recommend looking on eBay for a used Premiere with lifetime. Probably even a two tuner model would be fine - you'd have to watch a lot of subchannels to want to record three things at once! You can pick one of those up for about $150 - pretty much the same price you'd pay for a used AM21 off eBay these days.