Ptv Cable Service, Don't Bother...

[penzman]

I ve had this cable service for quite a while now and can only say bad things about it... They're using XSAT. How do I know? There are quite a few stations now showing, again, "No or bad signal" with the XSAT logo in the background. They only charge 350 baht a month but, believe me, it's not worth the frustration,

Here's what you should expect if you subscribe to this cable service, owned by a judge in the Chonburi province.

- The techs will reprogram their satellite receiver about once a month, letting you enjoy all the features from their receiver menu showing up on your tv set while you were enjoying a program. You can actually see live how well the tech can scroll through the menus and will try and try again a feature that is not available on their system according to the error message displayed after each of their attempts.

- Their receiver menu will stay on screen for a day while the tech has gone home to bed.

- TV stations that you've enjoyed for a few months will suddenly disappear, getting replaced by entertaining programming such as Japanese professional wrestlers, white christian mission tv channels from Africa, Bloomberg, etc. ,.

-Now gone are ABC Australia Pacific, TV5, Voice of America, Euronews (latest victim) and more. ABC Australia was actually warning viewers onscreen , a month before switching their broadcast method, how to get the broadcast back after their changes. The chanel is still showing No signal 2 months later

- They actually broadcast movies from their tech room but use cheap quality players that will freeze during most movies. The tech simply solves the problem and let's you see that he fast forwards the movie by 30 minutes. Maybe it's a problem with the movie itself? I guess you could actually call the 1-800 number showing on top of the screen for the whole movie " This copy is property of Columbia pictures and is not for public viewing"

Any delays in their movie schedule is fixed by fast forwarding the movie until it matches the schedule which they call "Sound Track"

Movies (VCD) are often shown starting with Disc 2 first and disc 1 afterwards.

They offer CNN, FOX, BBC and other american and euro chanels in Sri Racha but when I call them and ask why they don t broadcast those same chanels in Chonburi, their answer is " Those are paid services" when they charge the same rate elsewhere...

A technician will be sent here this afternoon after we've called them this morning and complained about all this. Explaining that our TV sets have nothing to do with all of this and that a technician coming here was useless...

More to come after the technician visits today.

[tuky]

Keep us up to date mate, I too have been very disappointed with PTV recently. The movie channel is annoying isn't it? especially when they go through a phase of showing movies in weird languages with thai subtitles, may as well not have it at all. As you say the movies always freeze, if fast forward doesn't fix it they start a new movie.

Let us know how you get on with UBC?

[sriracha john]

I ve had this cable service for quite a while now and can only say bad things about it... They're using XSAT. How do I know? There are quite a few stations now showing, again, "No or bad signal" with the XSAT logo in the background. They only charge 350 baht a month but, believe me, it's not worth the frustration,

Hmmm.. in Sriracha we pay only 300 baht

Here's what you should expect if you subscribe to this cable service, owned by a judge in the Chonburi province.

- The techs will reprogram their satellite receiver about once a month, letting you enjoy all the features from their receiver menu showing up on your tv set while you were enjoying a program. You can actually see live how well the tech can scroll through the menus and will try and try again a feature that is not available on their system according to the error message displayed after each of their attempts.

hahahaha... I find it funny to watch them bounce from menu item to menu item and back again...

- Their receiver menu will stay on screen for a day while the tech has gone home to bed.

- TV stations that you've enjoyed for a few months will suddenly disappear, getting replaced by entertaining programming such as Japanese professional wrestlers, white christian mission tv channels from Africa, Bloomberg, etc.  ,.

.... it's always pot luck whatever they end up with... again, that's funny to me.... LOL@"Z Channel" non-stop 24 hour a day Japanese professional wrestling...

-Now gone are ABC Australia Pacific, TV5, Voice of America, Euronews (latest victim) and more. ABC Australia was actually warning viewers onscreen , a month before switching their broadcast method, how to get the broadcast back after their changes. The chanel is still showing No signal 2 months later 

Hmm.. in Sriracha, we have ABC and TV5... Euronews only lasted about 2 days I think, but BBC is back now after a long absence.

- They actually broadcast movies from their tech room but use cheap quality players that will freeze during most movies. The tech simply solves the problem and let's you see that he fast forwards the movie by 30 minutes. Maybe it's a problem with the movie itself? I guess you could actually call the 1-800 number showing on top of the screen for the whole movie " This copy is property of Columbia pictures and is not for public viewing" 

... hit or miss with the movies, but they seem to have improved of late with more DVD's and fewer VCD's. Actually, have watched several very good movies over the past 3 days. It's also possible to see movies on cable TV before they're even released in the cinema  (saw Spiderman II that way).

Any delays in their movie schedule is fixed by fast forwarding the  movie until it matches the schedule which they call "Sound Track"

Movies (VCD) are often shown starting with Disc 2 first and disc 1 afterwards.  

hahaha... that IS true... especially late night, many times they'll restart Disc 1 after it's run and takes them 15 minutes to catch on to the fact. Other times, when it starts skipping or whatnot, they'll cank it and just start in with another movie... which normally means starting with Disc 2. 

They offer CNN, FOX, BBC and other american and euro chanels in Sri Racha but when I call them and ask why they don t broadcast those same chanels in Chonburi, their answer is  " Those are paid services" when they charge the same rate elsewhere...

see above... actually our fees are lower, apparently... and for more channels?? 

LOL @ "paid services".... PTV doesn't pay anyone for any of their services I presumed...

A technician will be sent here this afternoon after we've called them this morning and complained about all this.  Explaining that our TV sets have nothing to do with all of this and that a technician coming here was useless...

More to come after the technician visits today.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry your experiences have been unpleasant ones. It certainly can be challenging and daunting task to simply relax and watch something, but hadn't realized there was much difference between the Chonburi and Sriracha versions of PTV. How many channels do you actually receive there? We get 51 in Sriracha.

Let us know how things go with the technician.

[tuky]

It is a shame they do not look at poking the internet down the cable.

[meadish_sweetball]

Aint that the truth. I miss my Cable Modem connection. ADSL is bs in comparison.

[sriracha john]

It is a shame they do not look at poking the internet down the cable.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That would be provide very welcome relief...

[penzman]

The cable tech showed up as promised. The channels were tossed around once more before he got here He flicked fom channel 1 through 62 , I think he's mute or had no knowledge of what happens in theire control room.

My wife said something like " Get the pet monkey out of your control room" and then asked them to move the bedroom cable to the other corner to make their visit worthwhile.

I 'm asking Santa for a satellite dish.

[jsat]

I 'm asking Santa for a satellite dish.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

And santa JSAT.tv Clause is listening ...

[sriracha john]

One thing PTV does provide is local news... sometimes nice, sometimes not so nice such as the report just now of a triple murder/suicide in Sriracha last night INSIDE Phyathai hospital. A woman was admitted to the hospital with her bf in attendance. The woman's ex-husband came into the hospital, entered the hospital room she was in and shot and killed her, her bf, and then, himself.

Not the Sriracha I USED to know and enjoy so much more than now...