Upgrade to 4K programming farce

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srmotor978

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Aug 29, 2016
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Winchester, Tn
On August 9th I had my system upgraded to the 4K system. A new DVR and "mini" box. This was in response to the Directv ads for the Olympic 4K programming. I now experience stoppage periods during viewing live and recorded shows. The pausing causes the audio to go out of sync. LIke watching an old Japanese dubbed movie. This is continual.
I contacted Directv and was told they are aware of the problem but no fix in site. Its called CADI: current active daily issue. I asked for them to return and install the original model Genie and get rid of the "mini" connection. They have flatly refused to do so. Unless I pay for the old unit. If I leave Directv they hit me with a cancellation fee. So, they were aware of the problem but went ahead and installed the 4K units. And now I'm out of luck.

This familiar to anyone?
 
While I'm not familiar with that exact setup, I can certainly share in this thread what's actually going on and why you cannot back out.

Having friends in the broadcasting industry, 4K is a format that has not hit broadcasters in any meaningful way at this point -- meaning that any material you get that is in 4K format is likely coming from a device that is in a closed system (like the Olympics, where the 4K camera goes to segregated infrastructure that is only going to be mixed/sent via one source -- not via standard broadcast infrastructure, because that is not possible now, or like a 4K-based disc, where cinematographers and post-production facilities simply take the material and press it to disc; there is no actual broadcasting going on).

Why is this so? Because both hardware and signaling/protocol standards have not been finalized for 4K, at least not in the US. For one thing, even a high-def, 720p shop would have to use 4 cables to simply handle the bandwidth of 4K (12Gbps -- for a single feed -- is my understanding) between camera, viewfinder, CCU, switcher, and wherever else you're sending the feed. Then there's the protocol side, both baseband as well as transport for getting the signal from one place to another. Both of these issues are currently going through a "VHS vs. Beta" mode at the moment, and it probably won't be until a few years down the road before broadcasting 4K will become a reality.

Understand that your local broadcaster has already sunk a few million just to get 720p/1080i based on FCC requirements for digital broadcasts. Notice I didn't even say 1080p, which is something that no broadcaster can currently achieve (else they'd be doing it by now). For 4K, they'd have to rip up a lot of that sunk cost, go pour in even more money, and hope that whomever's receiving their signals similarly has the capability of doing so.

Frankly, what DirecTV is doing to get anyone 4K even on less than a handful of channels is really, really posh duct taping the situation. Seriously; it's not that it's bad, it's just that the infrastructure and capability of handling dozens of 4K channels, always-on, to your set is just a tad bit out of reach at the moment (granted, this setup will probably be one of the first to hit, because it's a lot easier to simply OTA your 4K feed than trying to push data across landlines!), and we're not even talking about the added space required for the exponential increase in data, even if compressed.

Perhaps now you can see why DirecTV is loathe to get you out of your contract (aside from the fact that you did sign up for a contract, per se). You're essentially a guinea pig with this tech, and they want the sunk costs they've invested back. Then again, I'd probably be in your shoes if I didn't know what the back-end state of the tech is at this point. It's just not far enough along for our family to make such an investment.

Well, that was a novel! I hope this helps!
 
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While I'm not familiar with that exact setup, I can certainly share in this thread what's actually going on and why you cannot back out.

Having friends in the broadcasting industry, 4K is a format that has not hit broadcasters in any meaningful way at this point -- meaning that any material you get that is in 4K format is likely coming from a device that is in a closed system (like the Olympics, where the 4K camera goes to segregated infrastructure that is only going to be mixed/sent via one source -- not via standard broadcast infrastructure, because that is not possible now, or like a 4K-based disc, where cinematographers and post-production facilities simply take the material and press it to disc; there is no actual broadcasting going on).

Why is this so? Because both hardware and signaling/protocol standards have not been finalized for 4K, at least not in the US. For one thing, even a high-def, 720p shop would have to use 4 cables to simply handle the bandwidth of 4K (12Gbps -- for a single feed -- is my understanding) between camera, viewfinder, CCU, switcher, and wherever else you're sending the feed. Then there's the protocol side, both baseband as well as transport for getting the signal from one place to another. Both of these issues are currently going through a "VHS vs. Beta" mode at the moment, and it probably won't be until a few years down the road before broadcasting 4K will become a reality.

Understand that your local broadcaster has already sunk a few million just to get 720p/1080i based on FCC requirements for digital broadcasts. Notice I didn't even say 1080p, which is something that no broadcaster can currently achieve (else they'd be doing it by now). For 4K, they'd have to rip up a lot of that sunk cost, go pour in even more money, and hope that whomever's receiving their signals similarly has the capability of doing so.

Frankly, what DirecTV is doing to get anyone 4K even on less than a handful of channels is really, really posh duct taping the situation. Seriously; it's not that it's bad, it's just that the infrastructure and capability of handling dozens of 4K channels, always-on, to your set is just a tad bit out of reach at the moment (granted, this setup will probably be one of the first to hit, because it's a lot easier to simply OTA your 4K feed than trying to push data across landlines!), and we're not even talking about the added space required for the exponential increase in data, even if compressed.

Perhaps now you can see why DirecTV is loathe to get you out of your contract (aside from the fact that you did sign up for a contract, per se). You're essentially a guinea pig with this tech, and they want the sunk costs they've invested back. Then again, I'd probably be in your shoes if I didn't know what the back-end state of the tech is at this point. It's just not far enough along for our family to make such an investment.

Well, that was a novel! I hope this helps!
Thanks for all this. ...

And like you, in addition to cost, is why I have also chosen not to invest in 4K at this time.

DIRECTV hurried to scoop the competition to be first with linear 4K broadcasting, but much for the reasons you list the technology is just not ready for prime time.

Sent from my SGH-M819N using Tapatalk
 
On August 9th I had my system upgraded to the 4K system. A new DVR and "mini" box. This was in response to the Directv ads for the Olympic 4K programming. I now experience stoppage periods during viewing live and recorded shows. The pausing causes the audio to go out of sync. LIke watching an old Japanese dubbed movie. This is continual.
I contacted Directv and was told they are aware of the problem but no fix in site. Its called CADI: current active daily issue. I asked for them to return and install the original model Genie and get rid of the "mini" connection. They have flatly refused to do so. Unless I pay for the old unit. If I leave Directv they hit me with a cancellation fee. So, they were aware of the problem but went ahead and installed the 4K units. And now I'm out of luck.

This familiar to anyone?
I have been thinking on upgrading....It freezes on SD and HD also?
 
I know I've read that DirecTV is having a few issues with software on C61k units, but nothing quite like you described. I would request a tech come back out and troubleshoot.
Odds are there is something wrong with the HR54 (like hard drive) or the network setup (like a bad splitter, poorly done connector, crimped wire, etc).

I would forget asking for the old hardware back, the phone rep can't make that happen. What they can do is get a service call setup to have someone come figure it out.

Good luck with a tough issue to diagnose.
 
I have had zero big issues with my 4K upgrade. The only hiccup I've encountered is the known audio drop bug with the C61K client.


Sent from my iPhone using SatelliteGuys mobile app
 
No issues here with my setup either other than it doesnt display a picture sometimes when swapping from a 4k channel back to an HD or SD channel. The fix for it is to channel up again on the remote and when it goes to the next channel it begins displaying picture again. This is a known bug and should be fixed with the next release. Aside from that have you tried swapping out HDMI cables between the TV and the box. The cable must be a high speed HDMI cable otherwise your going to have issues. What he is describing sounds like HDMI handshake issues. I am unsure of the model of the TV the OP has but the OP may need to enable UHD color or 4:4:4 passthrough . Also, the OP needs to make sure that it's connected to a port that supports HDCP 2.2. Usually, the best ports to plug into are the MHL HDMI port or the ARC port's are the ports that supports it. Again, without knowing the specifics of his/her setup I have no way of knowing.
 
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Thanks for all this. ...

And like you, in addition to cost, is why I have also chosen not to invest in 4K at this time.

DIRECTV hurried to scoop the competition to be first with linear 4K broadcasting, but much for the reasons you list the technology is just not ready for prime time.

Sent from my SGH-M819N using Tapatalk

Actually, it's very ready for prime time. What that user is experiencing is not normal by all means.
 
I have had no real issues with my HR54/C61k setup. Certainly no audio sync issues.
 
It's the only post I've seen about an audio sync issue. And I am sure it's not a "Current Active daily Issue". CSR "creativity" I think.
 
Any set up that requires a receiver AND a client on a TV to get something is not ready for prime time!
Hence why I made the relatively tongue-in-cheek remark, "really, really posh duct tape" regarding getting the signal down to the receiver.

But, to be fair, that's probably not entirely accurate. Getting the signal to the receiver isn't the hard part for DirecTV; getting to a compatible TV end-point is.

Hence, the duct tape analogy.
 
Any set up that requires a receiver AND a client on a TV to get something is not ready for prime time!
DirecTV's solution is more of a Server / Client, while the Server doubles as a receiver, that's what it is a server. You better get used to it as I dont see DirecTV changing it any time soon. Also, the solution they have developed works. There is no written rule that you have to have a receiver for every TV. You can do the server client method just as well.
 
Hence why I made the relatively tongue-in-cheek remark, "really, really posh duct tape" regarding getting the signal down to the receiver.

But, to be fair, that's probably not entirely accurate. Getting the signal to the receiver isn't the hard part for DirecTV; getting to a compatible TV end-point is.

Hence, the duct tape analogy.

It's not really ducktape when you think about it. They are doing it now sorta like how Netflix does. Streaming it from a server in your home to a client. Netflix streams 4k from their servers over the internet to TV's and clients. How is that any different. I don't see you complaining about how they deliver video. 99 percent of the customer base can care less how the video is delivered as at the end of they day, what they care about is if they see moving pictures on their TV in the appropriate resolutions.
 
DirecTV's solution is more of a Server / Client, while the Server doubles as a receiver, that's what it is a server. You better get used to it as I dont see DirecTV changing it any time soon. Also, the solution they have developed works. There is no written rule that you have to have a receiver for every TV. You can do the server client method just as well.

I will not get used to having a receiver AND a client on the same TV!!! That's just the stupidest thing ever, especially if you only have 1 TV.
 
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I will not get used to having a receiver AND a client on the same TV!!! That's just the stupidest thing ever, especially if you only have 1 TV.
You have a receiver and a client on one tv ONLY if you have one tv, not especially.
 
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Tonights Cubs vs Pirates game is the first 4K I've watched more than a few minutes and it was solid and smooth, no issues.

The picture was spectacular and even high motion scenes like runners sliding into a base were clear and smooth, it was an excellent production and looked great on DirecTV.
The Genie recorded it and I watched it a few hours later and the DVR performance (skipping commercials) was just like any other program.

4K will be a big win for sports coverage.
 
I will not get used to having a receiver AND a client on the same TV!!! That's just the stupidest thing ever, especially if you only have 1 TV.

Not only that but he technically doesn't have to have it on the same TV. He could of had the installer install it in a closet somewhere with a small 32 inch for installation verification. Just because you have an HR54 doesn't mean you have to use it.
 
at this point, i think ejb has pretty much expressed his disdain for the server/4k client setup. either D* doesnt care and will continue down this path, or they have a stand alone 4k receiver in the works. neither scenario has been revealed to us yet, so to continue to hammer the point home is useless, because their path is already set. FWIW, D* has 4k when no other paid cable service does. take it or leave it.
 
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