UPC virgin one -channel one change dvr problem

slickstring

Hey guys, I've just had a problem with my upc dvr,

virgin one just changed to "channel one", I dont know what was wrong with virgin one, but whatever...... the thing is that, i have a ton of virgin one programs recorded on my dvr namely star trek voyager and star trek enterprise, i have over 60 episodes so far, but since 12am, I haven't been able to view any of them...this is a huge pain in the ass, because i'm getting into trek again, and it took me ages to record all of those episodes, its not like I can afford the dvd's. when i tried to access them, I received a warning stating that i am no longer subscribed to that channel, and that I must contact the customer call center, so i did.

after a while trying to convince them that I am the actual account holder, and that my account is at this address not some other address they seemed to have pulled out from the air, and that the account is not in someone else' name... they tell me that the screw-up is virgin or channel one's fault so they won't do anything about it....virgin one were apparently supposed to contact them and arrange the change over with them, which sounds like an excuse, because the TV guide menu managed to change the name of the channel.....just not the dvr menu....wtf!?.. they then went on to tell me or brag that sky are having the same problems (I dont know how true this is....)

If they can change the name on the guide, they should be able to do the same on the dvr. there is no difference. and it is weird that the dvr continued to record, and schedule more episodes in the same menu block, despite the channel name change so there will be a mix of episodes that i can watch , and that i can't....I dont mean to bitch, i'm a student living of a shoestring budget, and I dont like it when I get ****ed over.

has anyone else experienced this or similar problems?? could this be counted as a breach of contract? has any one had this problem with sky?
any one know a way around this? (other than downloading )

it seems to me that upc have the worst customer service and don't give a **** about their customers, once they sign you on all they care about is to expand the contract to get more cash outta ya.

Alun

It happens every time a channel changes it's name unfortunately. Also, as I understand it Sky+ has the same problem, but I'm not 100% sure.

It is a PITA though, and I would have thought there could be some way of retaining access to these channels. In any case, seeing as you recorded them while you were actually subscribed to the channel, I don't see what business it is of anybody when you choose to watch them, so why not just simply remove the subscription requirement for recorded shows altogether? That'd be a fairly simple fix to make I'd assume?

watty

Stuff is recorded "as is", (extra disk encryption layer on Sky Box).

Then on playback it physically can only be decoded via CAM. You need card then for CAM to decrypt the recording. If you have downgraded or the channel doesn't exist then there is no decryption key.

No-one is going to make a PayTV PVR that decrypts via cam before recording (which would mean 2 or 3 cams and easy copy of HDD content). The "straight" from tuner recording means no CAM needed to record and different/multiple channels to one watched can be recorded.

So other than the Provider (UPC, Sky, Canal+ whoever) creating a fake EPG entry/channel for a long time and providing keys after the channel has gone or renamed there is no solution. Every set of keys costs considerable money, so they won't do it.

You can see also why you have to be subscribed to play back as the recording is a copy of the original transmissin including encryption.

Runs Cold

For the reasons Watty so eloquently outlined Your re3cordings are not available, there is also no point in blaming the call centre staff for the way the technology is set up these requirements allow us to comply with copyright law.

Alun

OK I understand about the encryption keys, but why would a change of name only mean a new key had to be issued/used? The channel still has the same ID and the same place in the EPG as before, the only thing that's changed is one of it's attributes, i.e. a text string representing it's name. Anyway, whatever the reason, for the end-user it still stinks when this happens.

slickstring

-Thats right it does stink, now I dont blame the call center guys personally, I do blame the company though.
I don't see how a name change has to be so technical. they could have avoided this, but alas. its just ****ty when you're paying a lot of money for a service, which gets screwed with, nothing is even attempted to solve it, and then no apologies, like its my fault for using the dvr!

miccy203

its de same with sky all my recording were gone to, so it dont think its ne thing to do with upc...

Minstrel27

slickstring wrote: »

virgin one just changed to "channel one", I dont know what was wrong with virgin one

Sky bought the channel recently and are not allowed to use the Virgin brand name.

Infoanon

Firstly Thanks Watty - at last someone has explained the issue.

One question - I recall with name changes in the past - particularly Channel 6 to 3e and Paramount to Comedy Central - UPC advised viewers to contact UPC and they where able to resolve the issue ie make the recorded programmes available again.

How was that done ?

slickstring

ah! wait, i thought channel one was supposed to rival sky one?

Minstrel27

slickstring wrote: »

ah! wait, i thought channel one was supposed to rival sky one?

No.

aidannulty

hey my virgin channel has changed to channel one, if its just a name change does it still have the same programs as virgin??

Star Trek on now as I speak.

icdg

aidannulty wrote: »

hey my virgin channel has changed to channel one, if its just a name change does it still have the same programs as virgin??

Star Trek on now as I speak.

Its just a name change. The channel (along with the rest of Virgin Media Television) was sold to BSkyB hence the name change to remove the Virgin brand (which Sky would have to seperately licence from Richard Branson).

Its a legal thing unfortunately, Sky have no right to use the Virgin name so it had to go, Branson is quite protective of his brand.

As for its purpose - it was concieved of as a "showcase" or "best of" channel to utilise a Freeview slot that Flextech had. Flextech's hope was that people would subscribe to its pay TV channels (Bravo, Living, and Challenge and their associated brands) by watching the programmes on FTN. FTN became Virgin 1 when NTL - which acquired Flextech when it bought Telewest - changed its name to Virgin Media after Branson took a minority stake in the business. Now Virgin Media has sold what was Flextech - renamed Virgin Media Television - to Sky which has renamed the business Living TV Group for as long as it continues to run seperately. Which I doubt it will be too long. I imagine all the channels in the group will end up with Sky brand names eventually.

Kristopherus

Excellent clarification, ICDG