Nancy has been enjoying the Christmas programming on ION TV.
It's nice to have this OTA channel for her to watch with their seasonal programming.
The programming is much the same as the cable "LIFETIME" channel.
http://www.iontelevision.com/
I have been enjoying CREATE TV for the travel programming which is much like the cable "TRAVEL" channel.
http://www.createtv.com/
It's been over a year since we dropped Comcast and switched to all OTA (Over The Air) programming. I figure we've saved well over $1500 which will go toward our 2012 vacation to Hawaii :)
With the economy still bad I think more and more people should consider dumping expensive cable or satellite and use their resources for better purposes.
#noregrets
P.S. When I do a spell check on Comcast, Blogger wants to replace it with Compost. LOL
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Kudos to Verizon
We had the first glitch in our Verizon High Speed internet service today after having it about 12 months. It kept dropping the connection so after multiple re-booting of the modem/wireless router a call to Verizon was in order.
They were very polite and after going through a complete check-list and a concurrent chat with one of their higher up techs they appeared to resolved the problem in about 20 minutes.
A couple of hours later I received an email from them that read "Dear Verizon High Speed Internet customer, I hope I was able to answer your questions about your High Speed Internet service today. As a follow up to our conversation, here is some additional information to assist you with your service."
The rest of the e-mail outlined some things we could try ourselves if it ever happened again.
Easy to deal with and nothing like the multiple nightmare phone calls I had with Comcast.
Kudos Verizon!
As a sidebar, I just noticed one of my neighbors access points is called COMCASTSTINKS. I suppose they must have had similar comcastic experiences. lol
They were very polite and after going through a complete check-list and a concurrent chat with one of their higher up techs they appeared to resolved the problem in about 20 minutes.
A couple of hours later I received an email from them that read "Dear Verizon High Speed Internet customer, I hope I was able to answer your questions about your High Speed Internet service today. As a follow up to our conversation, here is some additional information to assist you with your service."
The rest of the e-mail outlined some things we could try ourselves if it ever happened again.
Easy to deal with and nothing like the multiple nightmare phone calls I had with Comcast.
Kudos Verizon!
As a sidebar, I just noticed one of my neighbors access points is called COMCASTSTINKS. I suppose they must have had similar comcastic experiences. lol
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Channel List Update
Forgot to update our Over-The-Air Channel list that changed about a month ago.
It's good to see more and more stations are expanding their digital line-ups with more promised.
The main difference to us is that RTV moved to 59-3 and 11-2 became MeTV.
Also 9.1 & 9.2 in Steubenville, Ohio can now be picked up probably due to a transmitter upgrade.
North Hills Pittsburgh O.T.A. (over the air) Channel Line-up
2.1 ~ KDKA (CBS affiliate)
4.1 ~ WTAE (ABC affiliate)
4.2 ~ WTAE (THIS TV Network) reruns of vintage movies and TV programs
9.1 ~ WTOV Steubenville, Ohio (NBC Network affiliate)
9.2 ~ WTOV (Retro Television Network) somewhat different programming as 59-3
11.1 ~ WPXI (NBC Network affiliate)
11.2 ~ WPXI (MeTV - "Memorable Entertainment" TV) classics from the 1950s through the 1980s
13.1 ~ WQED (main WQED programming / PBS)
13.2 ~ WQED (WQED-DT2 programming / Create Channel)
13.3 ~ WQED (WQED-DT3 programming / Neighborhood Channel)
13.4 ~ WQED (WQED-DT4 programming / Additional Neighborhood Channel)
16.1 ~ WINP-TV - Shopping channel owned by ION
16.2 ~ (ION TV) national television network featuring general entertainment
16.3 ~ (qubo TV) Childrens TV programming
16.4 ~ (IONLife TV) dedicated to lifestyle programming - mostly 80's, 90's & 00's movies.
19.1 ~ WPCW (CW network) Formally UPN & WB. Various original & rerun programming.
22.1 ~ WPMY (myTV network) mostly syndicated programming - http://www.mypittsburghtv.com/
22.2 ~ The COOL TV ~ all music video lineup
40.1 ~ WPCB (Cornerstone TV) Christian television station
40.2 ~ BDC (Cornerstone TV) Christian television station
40.3~ BDC (Cornerstone TV) Christian television station
53.1 ~ (FOX affiliate)
53.2 ~ (CMT) Country Music Network - music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies
59.1 WBGN (Independent Station) variety of programming - first run syndicated shows
59.2 HSN - Home Shopping Network
59.3 RTV - (Retro Television Network) reruns of vintage movies and TV programs
59.4 ~ Universal Sports Network - various Olympic style sports programming
It's good to see more and more stations are expanding their digital line-ups with more promised.
The main difference to us is that RTV moved to 59-3 and 11-2 became MeTV.
Also 9.1 & 9.2 in Steubenville, Ohio can now be picked up probably due to a transmitter upgrade.
North Hills Pittsburgh O.T.A. (over the air) Channel Line-up
2.1 ~ KDKA (CBS affiliate)
4.1 ~ WTAE (ABC affiliate)
4.2 ~ WTAE (THIS TV Network) reruns of vintage movies and TV programs
9.1 ~ WTOV Steubenville, Ohio (NBC Network affiliate)
9.2 ~ WTOV (Retro Television Network) somewhat different programming as 59-3
11.1 ~ WPXI (NBC Network affiliate)
11.2 ~ WPXI (MeTV - "Memorable Entertainment" TV) classics from the 1950s through the 1980s
13.1 ~ WQED (main WQED programming / PBS)
13.2 ~ WQED (WQED-DT2 programming / Create Channel)
13.3 ~ WQED (WQED-DT3 programming / Neighborhood Channel)
13.4 ~ WQED (WQED-DT4 programming / Additional Neighborhood Channel)
16.1 ~ WINP-TV - Shopping channel owned by ION
16.2 ~ (ION TV) national television network featuring general entertainment
16.3 ~ (qubo TV) Childrens TV programming
16.4 ~ (IONLife TV) dedicated to lifestyle programming - mostly 80's, 90's & 00's movies.
19.1 ~ WPCW (CW network) Formally UPN & WB. Various original & rerun programming.
22.1 ~ WPMY (myTV network) mostly syndicated programming - http://www.mypittsburghtv.com/
22.2 ~ The COOL TV ~ all music video lineup
40.1 ~ WPCB (Cornerstone TV) Christian television station
40.2 ~ BDC (Cornerstone TV) Christian television station
40.3~ BDC (Cornerstone TV) Christian television station
53.1 ~ (FOX affiliate)
53.2 ~ (CMT) Country Music Network - music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies
59.1 WBGN (Independent Station) variety of programming - first run syndicated shows
59.2 HSN - Home Shopping Network
59.3 RTV - (Retro Television Network) reruns of vintage movies and TV programs
59.4 ~ Universal Sports Network - various Olympic style sports programming
Update: Comcast Strikes Again!
Just a quick update to the in-laws Comcast problems.
They finally got the last item straitened out last week.
Since August they have had no access to their Comcast e-mail account.
Turns out one of their techs deleted their e-mail account during the switch-over to the condo so any saved e-mails and information was lost. They had to start all over and set up a new account. Why it took 4 weeks to resolve this problem we have no idea. Half a dozen different Comcast reps could not help after many hours on the phone. Each one just "kicked the problem down the road" and said someone would call back in a few days. Eventually one did figure it out (kind of) and he set up the new account.
We're inclined to set up a g-mail account for them so that it does not happen again.
Here's another story from a friend on the trials and tribulations of this inept company...
http://plkrat.blogspot.com/2011/09/comcast-and-charter-are-in-race-to.html
They finally got the last item straitened out last week.
Since August they have had no access to their Comcast e-mail account.
Turns out one of their techs deleted their e-mail account during the switch-over to the condo so any saved e-mails and information was lost. They had to start all over and set up a new account. Why it took 4 weeks to resolve this problem we have no idea. Half a dozen different Comcast reps could not help after many hours on the phone. Each one just "kicked the problem down the road" and said someone would call back in a few days. Eventually one did figure it out (kind of) and he set up the new account.
We're inclined to set up a g-mail account for them so that it does not happen again.
Here's another story from a friend on the trials and tribulations of this inept company...
http://plkrat.blogspot.com/2011/09/comcast-and-charter-are-in-race-to.html
Monday, September 12, 2011
Budget-Friendly Alternatives to Cable TV
Interesting and informative article on Budget-Friendly Alternatives to Cable TV.
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/113459/cable-tv-budget-friendly-alternatives-kiplinger
http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/113459/cable-tv-budget-friendly-alternatives-kiplinger
Monday, September 5, 2011
Comcast Strikes Again!
My in-laws recently moved from their house of 50 years into a nice single level condominium. Nancy has been handling most of the moving issues for her parents including switching over their TV & internet service. Never guess who they have for their service? Yep, that old pain-in-the-ass Comcast, although they try to call themselves "XFINITY" now.
Nancy was able to have the TV service switched over successfully but she has had difficulty switching over the internet service. She has called them multiple times with no success and just a few minutes ago was finally talking to someone that seemed to know what they were doing but the phone call was abruptly disconnected!
Just now her and Sean called back and are arguing with a different "tech" person (about the 6th one so far) over the correct log-in and password which the tech person says is wrong but it has been the same since the service was started a few years ago. It appears that Comcast has inadvertently deleted all of their stored emails while trying to create a new account. They were supposed to just do a switch-over to the new address. Good job! Total incompetence on the Comcast end. Might as well be called "Peggy" from the TV ads.
45 minute phone call last Saturday to no avail and over one hour phone calls today.
The Comcast tech could not figure out how to get their Comcast e-mail switched over and finally said he can only take out a “ticket” and someone else will call Nancy in the evening in the next 48-72 hours and they will try to resolve it then and hopefully restore the service. What's the chance they call back?
So, for over 2 hours on the phone with various Comcast techs and no service since August 23rd it comes down to “someone will call you back next week” ???
This company has got to go down!
Stay tuned...
Friday, June 3, 2011
ION TV arrives!
I just noticed that ION TV, qubo & IONLife have joined our OTA channel lineup. Cool!
Our lineup looks like this now...
North Hills Pittsburgh O.T.A. (over the air) Channel Line-up
2.1 ~ KDKA (CBS affiliate)
4.1 ~ WTAE (ABC affiliate)
4.2 ~ WTAE (THIS TV Network) reruns of vintage movies and TV programs
11.1 ~ WPXI (NBC Network affiliate)
11.2 ~ WPXI (RTV - Retro Television Network) reruns of vintage movies and TV programs
13.1 ~ WQED (main WQED programming / PBS)
13.2 ~ WQED (WQED-DT2 programming / Create Channel)
13.3 ~ WQED (WQED-DT3 programming / Neighborhood Channel)
16.1 ~ (ShopNBC) A home shopping network
16.2 ~ (ION TV) national television network featuring general entertainment
16.3 ~ (qubo TV) Childrens TV shows
16.4 ~ (IONLife TV) dedicated to lifestyle programming
19.1 ~ WPCW (CW network) Formally UPN & WB. Various original & rerun programming.
22.1 ~ WPMY (myTV network) mostly syndicated programming
22.2 ~ The COOL TV ~ all music video lineup
40.1 ~ WPCB (Cornerstone TV) Christian television station
40.2 ~ BDC (Cornerstone TV) Christian television station
40.3~ BDC (Cornerstone TV) Christian television station
53.1 ~ (FOX affiliate)
53.2 ~ (CMT) Country Music Network - music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies
59.1 WBGN (Independent Station) variety of programming - first run syndicated shows
59.2 HSN - Home Shopping Network
59.3 Info-TV - Infomercials
59.4 ~ Universal Sports Network - various Olympic style sports programming
Our lineup looks like this now...
North Hills Pittsburgh O.T.A. (over the air) Channel Line-up
2.1 ~ KDKA (CBS affiliate)
4.1 ~ WTAE (ABC affiliate)
4.2 ~ WTAE (THIS TV Network) reruns of vintage movies and TV programs
11.1 ~ WPXI (NBC Network affiliate)
11.2 ~ WPXI (RTV - Retro Television Network) reruns of vintage movies and TV programs
13.1 ~ WQED (main WQED programming / PBS)
13.2 ~ WQED (WQED-DT2 programming / Create Channel)
13.3 ~ WQED (WQED-DT3 programming / Neighborhood Channel)
16.1 ~ (ShopNBC) A home shopping network
16.2 ~ (ION TV) national television network featuring general entertainment
16.3 ~ (qubo TV) Childrens TV shows
16.4 ~ (IONLife TV) dedicated to lifestyle programming
19.1 ~ WPCW (CW network) Formally UPN & WB. Various original & rerun programming.
22.1 ~ WPMY (myTV network) mostly syndicated programming
22.2 ~ The COOL TV ~ all music video lineup
40.1 ~ WPCB (Cornerstone TV) Christian television station
40.2 ~ BDC (Cornerstone TV) Christian television station
40.3~ BDC (Cornerstone TV) Christian television station
53.1 ~ (FOX affiliate)
53.2 ~ (CMT) Country Music Network - music videos, taped concerts, movies, biographies
59.1 WBGN (Independent Station) variety of programming - first run syndicated shows
59.2 HSN - Home Shopping Network
59.3 Info-TV - Infomercials
59.4 ~ Universal Sports Network - various Olympic style sports programming
Friday, February 11, 2011
DTVPal Remote
I had a really odd thing happen with the DVR this week.
I set the DVR to record Glee after the Superbowl and when we went to watch it on Monday, the Remote Control would not work. It has buttons that light up when you press them and nothing was lighting up. I changed the batteries and still the same. The remote was dead. It's been dropped on the hardwood floor a few times so I just figured that something inside must have broken.
I figured out how to open it up (not easy...Thanks Dad for the watchmaking equipment) and looked inside but everything looked OK. I closed it back up and proceeded to buy a used one on Ebay since our 90 day warranty ran out about a week ago.
When I got home on Tuesday I picked the broken remote up and gave it a try again and the DVR came on. Cool! It repaired itself. I turned on Glee that it had automatically recorded on Monday night and we watched the whole program without touching the remote. I was afraid it would break again which of course it did. I could not turn off the DVR after Glee was over so I just left it on overnight. In the morning I noticed the DVR had turned itself off. It must have a timer in it that shuts down after so many hours with no input.
The remote still did not work on Wednesday when I tried it.
When I got home on Thursday the used remote was in the mail. It had a different number on it but looked the same except for a couple of buttons that were different. It turns out that this remote is for a Dish Satellite Receiver and not a Dish DVR. It did not work on my DVR but the buttons on it did light up. It's number is 5.3 IR 148784. My DVR remote number is 5.3 IR 163959
Oh well. I only paid $8 for it.
I tried the broken remote again and guess what? It was working again. It worked all Thursday night and is still working on Friday.
In the meantime, I had done some research on Dish remotes and found out that you could change the remote code on any Dish Satellite Receiver remote so that they can be used on a Dish DVR.
Here is the procedure...
I set the DVR to record Glee after the Superbowl and when we went to watch it on Monday, the Remote Control would not work. It has buttons that light up when you press them and nothing was lighting up. I changed the batteries and still the same. The remote was dead. It's been dropped on the hardwood floor a few times so I just figured that something inside must have broken.
I figured out how to open it up (not easy...Thanks Dad for the watchmaking equipment) and looked inside but everything looked OK. I closed it back up and proceeded to buy a used one on Ebay since our 90 day warranty ran out about a week ago.
When I got home on Tuesday I picked the broken remote up and gave it a try again and the DVR came on. Cool! It repaired itself. I turned on Glee that it had automatically recorded on Monday night and we watched the whole program without touching the remote. I was afraid it would break again which of course it did. I could not turn off the DVR after Glee was over so I just left it on overnight. In the morning I noticed the DVR had turned itself off. It must have a timer in it that shuts down after so many hours with no input.
The remote still did not work on Wednesday when I tried it.
When I got home on Thursday the used remote was in the mail. It had a different number on it but looked the same except for a couple of buttons that were different. It turns out that this remote is for a Dish Satellite Receiver and not a Dish DVR. It did not work on my DVR but the buttons on it did light up. It's number is 5.3 IR 148784. My DVR remote number is 5.3 IR 163959
Oh well. I only paid $8 for it.
I tried the broken remote again and guess what? It was working again. It worked all Thursday night and is still working on Friday.
In the meantime, I had done some research on Dish remotes and found out that you could change the remote code on any Dish Satellite Receiver remote so that they can be used on a Dish DVR.
Here is the procedure...
Open the DTVPal DVR's System Information screen by pressing the 'Sys Info' button on the DVR Remote.
Press and hold the PAL button until all the function lights flash.
Enter a two-digit number for the new address (02-15) and then press the '#' button. [Be sure you use 02 or higher.]
With the System Information screen on, press the 'Record' button.
The PAL button will blink three times, and you should see the new remote address at the bottom of the system information screen.
Next...
On the Dish Satellite remote press and hold the AUX button until all 4 mode buttons blink.
Press 3.
Enter the same remote address you did for the DVR remote above 02-15.
Press the # button.
Press the AUX button and it now controls the DVR.
Both remotes are now synched with the same code.
Thanks to bfdtv at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1099071 for the great deal of information on the DTVPal DVR
Both remotes are working now so I guess I have a spare one.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)