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PJB
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PJB

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[TV] The Crappy DTA50 or the Crappy Signal?

I have the one-up from basic Rogers TV package and am saddled with using the rinky dink Cisco DTA50 digital converter. Lately channels sometimes freeze and/or become unavailable, especially the CNN signal. Today, the whole system is a mess; some functioning channels work and then freeze; for others the DTA will not change to the channel -- the picture freezes on the last channel viewed with no audio; other times it is a blank screen. I have recycled the DTA a few times to no avail. Is this a failure of the DTA to unscramble the signal, a problem with the broadcast, or a problem with the crappy DTA. Any thoughts on solutions?

elitefx
join:2011-02-14
London, ON

elitefx

Member

Yea, just do what any intelligent self respecting person would do. Disconnect the damn thing, put it back in it's box and fire it into the closet, trash or maybe bury it in the backyard.

The DTA50 is a totally useless POS that serves no functional purpose period except in Rogers demented imagination.

It will however give you unlimited fits of rage every time Rogers decides to f*ck with their digital cable network while causing their customers to react like trained monkeys in the hope of trying to reauthorize that @#$%!! box.
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RogersHelps
join:2014-01-27
Canada

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Re: [TV] The Crappy DTA50 or the Crappy Signal?

Morning, we did have a cable hick up this morning not sure if it was in relation to that. Some of our customers have indicated that the service has resumed now, following a reboot to the box. If it's not in relation to this I would probably recommend possibly swinging by a Rogers Plus store to see if you can swap it for another one. Thanks Rogers Ravi
cepnot4me
join:2013-10-29
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If the wiring and connectors and splitters are all Rogers supplied and less than 5 years old... it's the DA.

If your cabling is old, splitters are store bought and a tech hasn't been there in 10 years. .. that will be the cable.
Videl
Premium Member
join:2002-07-23
Scarborough, ON

Videl to PJB

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You are not alone on this. In my area (McCowan/Finch) CP24 and SNO craps out starting around 2 weeks ago. Works fine when going back to analog.
yyzlhr
join:2012-09-03
Scarborough, ON

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The DTA is just garbage. My Nextbox never has issues receiving channels but my DTA is very hit or miss. Thankfully the DTA is connected to a TV that is rarely ever used.

To put things in perspective, Rogers charges $40 if you lose or damage their DTA. Rogers is known for marking up their equipment pricing as well so the DTA is probably worth far less than $40 so the device is probably not well engineered.
Hooter
join:2009-08-17
Scarborough, ON

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Hooter

Member

I agree about the engineering. There does not seem to be much these days provided by Rogers that is not well engineered. NB3 has been an unmitigated disaster and the wifi modems are not far behind. However, most surprisingly, my mother, who just moved into a nursing home could get no more than about 25 channels on analogue. With the DTA50, she has more than doubled her output of channels and it is surpassing all expectations. So why does this $40 box (or less) out perform the $500 piece of garbage box from Rogers. Your guess is as good as mine!
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elitefx
join:2011-02-14
London, ON

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Re: [TV] The Crappy DTA50 or the Crappy Signal?

Recent TRUE event:

Got a good one for everybody. Family friend. Little ole lady 94 years old. Has a CRT tv over 40 years old. Barely works. Nitwits at Rogers insists she needs a DTA50 for her analog cable. Thing runs for 4 or 5 days and quits. She doesn't know what happened or how to fix it.

She calls Rogers. GUESS WHAT? They tell her to go to her nearest Rogers store and exchange it. Closest store is 5 miles from her location. Otherwise she's on her own. Nothing they can do.

94 years old, has had a heart attack and is barely mobile. Pays Rogers sky rocketing bill every month. Been doing so since Rogers took over the cable 40 years ago. And this is what she gets. Does Rogers care if she drops in her tracks trying to disconnect their POS box (even if she could) and lug it back to a store? Did Rogers offer any meaningful help?

Of course not. Rogers don't give a rat's ass about anything other than Rogers. Customers needs are meaningless and trivial. Rogers only wants your cash. Nothing more, nothing less.

AND THIS is a prime example.
Hooter
join:2009-08-17
Scarborough, ON

1 recommendation

Hooter

Member

While I can certainly empathise with you over your feelings about Rogers (as I share many of them myself), surely your 94 year old family friend must have someone who can help her out. My mother, whom I referred to above is 91. She too is not very mobile. Without a DTA, she would have less than half the stations she is now getting. More and more stations are being lost all the time.

So........the solution was simple. My wife and I went to a Rogers store, picked up a DTA for her, and hooked it up. Every time I visit, I check it out. It continues to work just fine. She gets more than double the stations she did when she first moved in and was on analogue. Is it the best piece of equipment in the world? Certainly not, but it does serve a purpose. If she has issues with it, we will deal with them, but in the meantime, she is quite happy with both the DTA and her TV.

BTW, if the family friend has a 40 year old CRT TV, why does someone in her family not get her a new one? There are not many things you can buy for a 90 year old but a new flat screen TV was certainly one of things we got our mother to replace her older CRT TV!
dtchmshkyan
join:2013-08-12
Ottawa, ON

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Since when CNN is included in basic package?

elitefx
join:2011-02-14
London, ON

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said by Hooter:

While I can certainly empathise with you over your feelings about Rogers .......

I hear ya Brother and your assessment is right on the money. Thing is, this is Rogers problem to fix and make right.. Not the senior's. Not the family's. Not the friends. ROGERS.

The last thing Seniors want is to be a burden. They value their independence. Being forced to rely on others is humiliating. Rogers complete and total failure to be socially responsible robs society's most vulnerable of their self respect.

'Don't call us, it's not our problem'. Rogers hides behind their TOS like bandits.

Would you buy a car that needs to be exchanged for another one every 10 days?, I think not. If that same car broke down on the highway and you had to have it towed to exchange it for another twice a month, would you call that acceptable?

Rogers collects Thousands of dollars per customer over the years for what basically is garbage.

If Rogers can't deliver solid reliable products and services it's time for the Feds to step in and shut them down.

AND it's definitely time for Rogers to stop victimizing our Seniors.
Hooter
join:2009-08-17
Scarborough, ON

Hooter

Member

I agree wholeheartedly with you. Rogers is now providing garbage equipment both in terms of their "wifi" modems and their cable boxes. Customers are now being told, left, right and centre, that if there is a problem with your equipment, you can bring it in and swap it out. Why? Because the useless CSRs do not know what else to say - but hey........they at least have a script. LOL!

However, I am not sure what you expect from Rogers here. Yes, I am sure that Rogers could come out and replace the DTA and make damn sure it is working. In my case, it was simply easier for my wife and I to visit a Rogers store, pick up the DTA, and then hook it up. It took about an hour. I would hope in your case as well that there is someone who is willing to step up to the plate! It may not be the perfect solution and I agree with you that Rogers could do more.
cepnot4me
join:2013-10-29
L0C 1K0

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No one is told "You're on your own" if you can't go to a Rogers store, That's a load of crap.
I get a ton of service orders that say "DTA black screen, elderly customer pls assist."
Houses, nursing homes, seniors centre's.

She can have a tech come out and look, She just needs to agree to the potential charge for a service order.

(The charge covers customer tampering, hooking up the box incorrectly, or other non Rogers caused problems.)

If the DTA is toast, we roll, we replace it. We check everything out signal wise. No charge.
grand total
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Mississauga
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grand total

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said by cepnot4me:

She just needs to agree to the potential charge for a service order.

And therein lies the problem. Not arguing right or wrong, just that that is where the problem is.

elitefx
join:2011-02-14
London, ON

1 edit

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elitefx

Member

Yea, the other part of the problem is the running back and forth to the Rogers store constantly swapping hardware. On what planet does a retailer sell or rent a device and have a customer do this?

Why can't Rogers issue a 'set it and forget it' DTA50 that will automatically reauthorize itself should a power failure/network reboot occur. I know of 3 neighbors who were issued a DTA50 and not one of them still uses it. Like mine, they are all back in the box and sitting in the closet. In London, the thing only gives us 3 extra channels on the basic plus combo package anyway (not that anybody watches them).

This is 2014. Rogers solutions to these ongoing problems are ludicrous.

elwoodblues
Elwood Blues
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join:2006-08-30
Somewhere in

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I bought my Mom one a few years back
elwoodblues

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Then the script monkey on the phone is an ass
elwoodblues

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Had a similar issue with Bell, one of my locations moved and I moved their DSL line with them.

Kept going down(I had already swapped out the router for a Cisco 881), called and got a new modem . Still kept going down , called Bell , they saw errors but not enough to.disconnect. I told them EVERYTHING has been replaced and got the " there may be a charge bs" from them.
cepnot4me
join:2013-10-29
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Rogers can't book a truck without the customers consent to the charge. We bill customers 10% of the time. (The tech is the person to determine if the service order meets the billable criteria).

The reason the charge is at the call center level is for safety.

Originally the tech had to say "OK, THIS is the problem, you installed your own splittera/cables. If I fix this, you will be charged $50."

In multiple situations, customers took to violence against the techs. In my case, I was pushed I was threatened and one customer actually punched me in the face. All because I was the bearer of bad news.

So rather than create that situation ALL customers are told about the charge, but most never get billed.

In most seniors homes the cabling hasn't changed in 50 years. The splitters are Rogers, but they are 4-5 standards old. They need to be upgraded.
DTAs are simple, basic. They don't try to compensate for signal disruptions, noise etc like a HD box or PVR. Therefore they don't stand a chance if the wiring is old, connectors are not snap and seal or cable is low grade RG59.
Most seniors just need us to come update the hardware for then. This is free.
We use to charge nothing for service orders. This became something that was abused, people would book them for ridiculous wastes of techs time.

I've been called out for.
Help carry TV from truck into house
Hookup home theatre system.
Install new Hard drive in PC.
Wall mount TV.
Verify that the FBI isn't watching the customer through his digital box.
Thinks neighbor is stealing cable from him.
Replace power outlet.
BABYSIT. (She literally wanted to leave her two kids with me for 30 minutes while she went to get her boyfriend).
And so on.
Stuff that is not our job, but people figured "It's free" so why not?

The reps can't say "It won't be chargeable..." cause they can't truly determine that. So even if they know it's the box without a doubt, they still need to say that there could be a charge.

The "always free" option, is the Rogers store. But if you do that twice and it's a no go the 2nd time, they are supposed to strongly encourage a technician.
cepnot4me

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The boxes will automatically reauthorize. Every 24 hours the system zaps all digital equipment. If the cable is good, splitters are good. Signal is in spec.. the box reaurhorizes without issue. If anything in the house is less than spec. The box may not receive the zap and then will lock itself up.

Keeping the boxes in the closet is fine until they turn off Analog. At that point it's the only way you get cable on those TV'S without extra charges.

If you lose one, paying for it will drive you right mad.

The end is nigh for analog.