CBC-HD Missing on Bev

07-31-2010, 02:30 PM

"The channel was down at the source"

Not according to the information provided on this board. I understand your willingness to protect and believe your employer and in this instance, at least, you and Bell are sticking to the same story. Often I'll get two or three different stories but that isn't the worst of it, they don't care if they keep their story straight or not.

07-31-2010, 04:19 PM

Huh? I don't understand.

07-31-2010, 05:45 PM

A technical issue, Yes, but subs were mislead, AND there appears to be some suggestion that the channel was indeed broadcasting as those with FTA units were watching it, so the problem only affected Bev equipment.

For AEV info:
CBC-HD is the only programming on that transponder, so the outage would be minimal, however the IPG data is not broadcast across each transponder as Starchoice does, but on 1 specific transponder per satellite, so a single TP or uplink outage would NOT affect it's appearance in the IPG.

To cause it 'missingness' on the IPG and yet still be broadcast could only be caused by a human screwup with a channel map, plain and simple.

Feel free to research the DVB protocol.

Maybe we are picking on poor Bev a little to much, but I think the outrage is not the outage itself, but how it was handled.

Recall the INTEL CPU fiasco a few years back, could have been a PR disaster, instead, they came clean, addressed the issues head on and looked good for doing so.

Bell has a lot to learn if they want to stay in the game long term.

07-31-2010, 06:28 PM

yea, im not a big soccer fan, but figured i would watch the game, seeing as its in HD
i guess not
i was told it was down at the source too
are other providers down as well???

07-31-2010, 08:21 PM

It's working on Shaw here in BC.

07-31-2010, 08:40 PM

Bell ExpressVu doesn't post disconnects, only net gain/loss. In Q1 they gained 4,000 subscribers (on a 1.8m base). Q2 numbers will be released on Aug 1 or Aug 2 -- I don't think they have formally announced the date.

For Q2 2006, BEV added net 19,000 customers. They've been reasonably aggressive this year so I'd expect something in that range -- 10k to 30k net new customers.

However, the caveat is Bell has started to report higher "churn" in the past few quarters -- customers leaving for another provider. The numbers are relatively small: 1% per month -- but it adds up. At that rate, Bell has to "replace" 54,000 customers every quarter to stay at "0" net new customers. That's a lot of new installs, etc. If churn rises slightly -- 1.1% for example -- suddenly the bar is raised to 60,000 customers added before hitting "0".

Churn doesn't change dramatically from month to month because many customers are on contract, don't perceive themselves to have viable alternatives and, mainly, because of inertia: customers "don't fix what ain't broke".

Change is in the wind, however, since any uncertainty (like a takeover) causes customers to start looking at their bill and looking at what alternatives might be available. Star Choice has also been beefing up its HD offerings and this might bleed some BEV customers over the summer.

Losing CBC HD was a minor inconvenience perhaps; but it does start the conversation and plants the seed of "is it time to look around?".

Something no one has raised in this thread is that Bell is clearly pushing the window on resources/capabilities on Nimiq2 (HD sat at 82

07-31-2010, 08:56 PM

How hard was it for Bell to leave the channel up on the EPG and if you were to tune into it have a splash screen up stating that the problem is with the source? Instead they leave it up to customers to call in to see if it is indeed down or thier reciever/setup acting flakey. Small problem but lack of forethought on Bell's end.

**cap** · 07-31-2010, 09:09 PM

the problem was the channel wasn't down at source for people that pirate BEV.

07-31-2010, 10:11 PM

This is not the issue at all. The issue under discussion now is that BEV loves obfuscation and that AEV reinforces it.

Many major companies are like this, as they don't wish to admit to any imperfections on their part, so even though they are the cause, they use words that place the blame elsewhere.

07-31-2010, 10:42 PM

Why not rephrase in English? Instead of this ridiculous excuse for excuses?

"We are experiencing technical difficulties and apologize for the interruption of service". That's plain spoken English.

There ... wasn't that easy? None of this "slyly blame someone else" language. Just English: "we are pleased to be your provider and regret we are not able to deliver the channel at this time".

But instead Bell -- in both official languages -- fools around with not accepting responsibility directly and then offering best information about restoration.

And THAT'S the real language issue.

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