[bluedrongo]

@Free Market,

Not sure which package CTV Sci-Fi is in but it is a flex channel, so providing you don't subscribe to the basic no flex channel option, you can swap it for a channel you don't want.
Flex options start with the Ignite Flex 5 option which is one step up from the basic subscription.
I think Flex 5 is only a few dollars more than the basic.

 

[whitbyterry]

SciFi is only in the top level package. I have the one below (Popular) and I don't get it. I would have to pay $7 for it or upgrade to the next package (about $15).


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[bluedrongo]

I have Flex 5 in an ignite bundle, I can add CTV Sci-Fi as one of my flex channels by dropping one of my 5.
My tv bundle is only 5$ more than the absolute basic which has no flex channels. ( I assume it is the skinny starter)
If you go to the ignite bundles and look at the flex channels you will find there are more than 100 flex channels to choose from and you can swap them over once a month after the first month.
I think the first month you can swap as often as you like.
The flex options are great.

 

[nfitz]

Not sure which package CTV Sci-Fi is in but it is a flex channel, so providing you don't subscribe to the basic no flex channel option, you can swap it for a channel you don't want.

Is the basic Ignite package not letting you add channels still?

I was surprised going through the website recently for the $25 basic non-Ignite package, that it now let you add individual channels (and packs) with the same pricing as those with bigger plans.

 

[ExDilbert]

I think that's always been available. The issue is that individual channels are so expensive that it's not worth getting basic and adding them. That's also true for some of the theme packs such as those for sports. It would be nice if Rogers offered add-on flex packages with 5, 10 or 20 channels for a reasonable price like some other BDUs. Flex 5 and Flex 10 are a good start but why not a Flex 15 or Flex 20. Also, why does the Popular package have so few flex channels? Adding missing channels quickly inflates the price to Premium pricing so it's not worth getting. Popular has fewer flex channels than Flex 5 and Flex 10. That doesn't make sense. There is a big gaping hole in reasonable offerings between Flex 10 and Premium.

 

[Free Market]

Interesting info. What about the sports channels - Sportsnet and TSN...are they available as flex in every package also? The rogers site makes it look like only the top two tiers have these.

 

[bluedrongo]

@Free Market,

These are not flex channels but theme packs.
I signed up for TSN yesterday and also included Sportsnet for 15$ a month for 1 year.
I only want it until the Oz Open is finished then I will cancel.
Have not been able to figure out how to record matches, it confirms recording but then shows a red circle with a slash.

 

[57]

From my may bill:

We are currently in negotiations with the broadcaster of the Golf Channel, MSNBC and CNBC. We are hopeful that no changes will be made to your service. However, if we are unable to reach a fair agreement, these channels will no longer be available as part of your TV or theme package starting July 1, 2020. Please visit www.rogers.com/discontinued-channel for details and updates on the status of these channels. If these channels are no longer available as of July 1, 2020 and if you pay a separate monthly service fee for any of them, you will no longer see this charge on your bill as of this date. In the event these channels are no longer available, the rest of your Rogers TV package would remain the same, and this change would be made in accordance with the CRTC Television Service Provider Code. If you have any questions or wish to change or cancel your TV services, check out the Contact Us section of this bill.

 

[alebowgm]

Maybe that explains why MSNBC was pulled from Rogers Anyplace TV. Although CNBC is still there.

 

[Nighthawk1]

I received a notification with my bill that Rogers will be dropping MSNBC, CNBC and GOLF CHANNEL as of July 1st if they cannot negotiate a deal with them. Does anybody have any further information about this and how likely it is that these channels will be dropped by Rogers.

Edit - moved to existing thread.

 

[57]

@Nighthawk1 : This was mentioned in the previous post 308, click link below:

Rogers Digital Cable Channel Discussion Thread

@Free Market, Not sure which package CTV Sci-Fi is in but it is a flex channel, so providing you don't subscribe to the basic no flex channel option, you can swap it for a channel you don't want. Flex options start with the Ignite Flex 5 option which is one step up from the basic subscription...

www.digitalhome.ca

There is no way to tell what will happen until the negotiations fail or succeed.

 

[ericball]

This morning my wife (a NASCAR fan) discovered we no longer received Fox Sports Racing (nee SpeedTV). A quick perusal of MyRogers showed I could either subscribe to it for $7/month or as part of the "Adventure" theme pack for $10/month. This was confirmed via chat with an agent.

However, although this apparently was decided back in January, I wasn't notified of this change via email or through my e-bill. So I was able to use this to bully my way into a 1 month credit in lieu of the 30 day notification as per the Television Provider Service Code.

Edit by 57 - I believe this also applies to Ignite. It was discussed over on Rogers' Forums - link below. I believe some people (with Ignite?) did get some notice. I didn't see anything regarding FoxSR on my 2020 bills (I'm on Digital Cable and just checked all my 2020 bills)...

Re: Changes to Ignite TV Channels in Packages and Theme Packs

I had a call from Rogers about the removal of Fox Sports Racing channel today. They offered to restore it for me if I would pay an additional $7 a month. So the stuff that has been posted here that it is no longer available or there is some negotiating issue with Fox is just a lie. I didn't h...

communityforums.rogers.com

 

[ExDilbert]

I've noticed that a change in channel branding is being used as an excuse to remove it from legacy packages more often these days. Bell pioneered ways to screw customers over when new channels are added or old ones rebranded. Now other BDUs are following suit. There could have been some negotiation issues if it involved a price increase or other stipulations for continued carriage. In any event, charging $7 for a channel that probably wholesales for less than a dollar and failing to notify or compensate customers for channel removals is inexcusable.

The state of broadcast TV is going downhill by the day as programming production shutdowns continue. Broadcasters and BDUs should be adding more channels and free previews to maintain product value, not removing channels from legacy packages.

 

[coghlan]

I've noticed that a change in channel branding is being used as an excuse to remove it from legacy packages more often these days. Bell pioneered ways to screw customers over when new channels are added or old ones rebranded. Now other BDUs are following suit. There could have been some negotiation issues if it involved a price increase or other stipulations for continued carriage. In any event, charging $7 for a channel that probably wholesales for less than a dollar and failing to notify or compensate customers for channel removals is inexcusable.

The state of broadcast TV is going downhill by the day as programming production shutdowns continue. Broadcasters and BDUs should be adding more channels and free previews to maintain product value, not removing channels from legacy packages.

When you think of it, we're paying for content which also has commercial advertising.

And they wonder why streaming services are taking off.

 

[ExDilbert]

Advertising is becoming more pervasive and intrusive every year. Annual prices increases for TV from BDUs are in the double digits while new programming quality and quantity is going down by as much. Broadcasters make record profits every year. It's time to remove protection from competition for Canadian broadcasters and reduce the concentration of ownership in the industry.

 

[HiHoSilver]

A couple of years ago, my Rogers HD (traditional digital cable, not Ignite) downgraded the audio on Global Toronto from Dolby Digital 5.1 to DD2.0. I posted at the time (a couple of pages up from this post) about the banging-head-against-brick-wall process of trying to get support from Rogers on this. Eventually they said I would have to take it up with Global because they said Global was only sending them 2.0. Apparently it's the customer's job to negotiate technical issues between Rogers and their suppliers. I never got around to it as I doubt it would be anything but a complete waste of time; heck, I'm not even sure Global's switchboard would even put some random caller through to their network operations gurus in the first place.

Well, in recent months, TSN1 HD's audio coming from my PVR has been downgraded from DD5.1 to PCM2.0 (that's what the PVR is outputting; the diagnostic screen on the PVR shows that it's receiving this one as AAC). The other TSN HD channels, along with every other channel I watch that is normally DD5.1, still work properly (and the diagnostic screen says they're coming in as DD). I first noticed this in late December, watching the World Juniors; I hadn't watched TSN much for a while before that as there hasn't been much sports due to the pandemic.

On my first try, Rogers closed the ticket, and when I asked what the resolution was, it was that it's my fault somehow that this problem happens. I had sent photos of the diagnostic screens to their Twitter @RogersHelps account but they said they couldn't pass them along to tech support. So I had them open another ticket and asked them to transcribe the key information from the diagnostic screens. Predictably, that ticket didn't work either; after about a week and a half of silence, they reported they were unable to identify the problem.

In a live chat discussion about it, first they said customer needs to resolve on their end. Then they said they had checked and TSN is only sending them 2.0 on this channel. When I asked how they expect me to resolve that on my end when it's a problem between them and TSN, they said it's because I'm listening to the channel with my own equipment. When I pointed out that there is nothing on my end that can resolve the problem of TSN sending them the wrong audio, they said it's not a problem. Again, like banging my head against a brick wall. So I told them fine, I'll remember this when my discounts expire and I'm shopping around.

Just thought I'd post in case anyone else watches the various TSN HD channels, on the traditional (not Ignite) service, using a surround sound system that can display what audio format it's receiving. If that's you, what's your audio on these channels these days, and if you know how to navigate through the PVR's diagnostic screens, do you see any difference between TSN1 HD's audio and any of the others?

 

[57]

I'm with you on this and I've stopped banging my head against this wall. Here are my findings.

Global, Channel 3, DD2.0 is the audio on my AVR, Diagnostics shows Dolby AC3 as Audio Type and AC3 as the Audio Format.

TSN1, Channel 494, PCM2.0 is the audio on my AVR, Diagnostics shows AAC as Audio Type and LPCM as Audio Format.

TSN2, Channel 495, DD5.1 is the audio on my AVR, Diagnostics shows Dolby AC3 as audio type, AC3 as Audio Format.

Under diagnostics (Hold exit until power light flashes then down, down, 2)

Manufacturer's Diagnostics - Platform Status - Audio Channel Info - Audio Type, and Audio Format.

For TSN programming I always record on TSN2-5 when available, not TSN1. I noticed this on an F1 programme that I recorded last year on TSN1. Luckily I also had it available on say TSN5.

For Global, I usually watch the American channel when available (like say Colbert) which has DD5.1 available instead of the DD2.0 on Global. For Global News at 11PM, unfortunately, that option is not available but I rarely watch that any more.

 

[ExDilbert]

It is against CRTC policy for the BDU to downgrade video or audio quality for HD channels. If, for example, Global's Toronto OTA is DD5.1 but the BDU signal ts DD2.0 then a complaint to correct the issue could be filed with the CRTC. In addition, a complaint could be issues to revoke Global's simsub rights if audio or video are degraded compared to the US signal that it is being substituted. (It's happened before.) Global and/or Rogers may be operating against CRTC regulations and hoping nobody will notice.

 

[57]

@ExDilbert : The simsubs are not degraded, it's only the Global channel. This could be something to do with Global having issues (incompatibility? whatever?) sending appropriate DD5.1 to Rogers, while still broadcasting DD5.1 OTA. (Conjecture)

Some channels (CBC & affiliates, PBS in some cases) will send a DD5.1 signal full time, however, if the original programme was "stereo", the DD5.1 signal is improperly encoded with only the LF & RF channels present. If the original programme was/is DD5.1, then proper DD5.1 is sent. Some people "hate" the improperly encoded signal and many people don't notice when surround sound is created by DPLII from a DD2.0 signal, so Global's method may actually be preferable to some people. This is done because some equipment causes clicks/pops, other issues when switching between DD2.0 and DD5.1.

An additional FYI - Rogers IgniteTV recorded programming is sent as improperly encoded DD5.1, which is awful. People need to set their boxes to "stereo" in order go get surround sound for their recordings using DPLII on their AVRs. OD and live programming is sent "properly" either as DD5.1 or DD2.0 depending on the channel/programme.

Personal comment: For most programming using DPLII on a DD2.0 signal does not severely impact the surround sound experience. It takes a really good DD5.1 programme with lots of discrete LR & RR content for me to notice any difference between the two and I have tested this many times.

 

[ExDilbert]

I was referring to, "For Global, I usually watch the American channel when available (like say Colbert) which has DD5.1 available instead of the DD2.0 on Global." It is against CRTC policy for a station to be simsubbed with a signal that has inferior video and audio quality. We went though this years ago and successfully lobbied the CRTC to revoke Global's simsub rights until they corrected their audio. Most people would not notice but enough did to make a difference.

It's also against CRTC policy for a BDU like Rogers to degrade the video and audio of a broadcast station. (The CRTC seems to ignore excessive signal compression and limits itself to addressing changes in video or audio format.) Rogers appears to have been doing this for years as well, though it's difficult to prove that a station that cannot be received in Ontario is being degraded. For example, if the US station was broadcasting in DD5.1, it's against policy to downgrade the audio to DD2.0 on that signal, though it appears to have been happening with CBS west for most of the past 15 years.

I am well aware of the pros and cons of switching and converting DD audio formats. It's still against CRTC policy for a BDU like Rogers to alter the audio format in any way that may degrade it. I've seen it done on many occasions though. The worst culprit appears to be Shaw and I've seen similar issues on Rogers' west coast feeds that are likely provided by Shaw.

I can't wait to be able to ditch Canadian BDUs with their fast and loose interpretation and ignorance of CRTC regulations about signal quality. I'd rather watch most programming by streaming it and enjoying the improved video and audio it offers, especially from US streaming services.