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Local Items: Flamingo TV losing lots and lots of channels again
Bonaire Talk: Local Items: Archives: Archives 2007: Archives - 2007-01-01 to 2007-06-30: Flamingo TV losing lots and lots of channels again
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bas Noij (BonaireTalker - Post #79) on Monday, April 30, 2007 - 2:08 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Like many others I am getting quite fed up with Flamingo TV and the constant loss of channels. Right now we have lost 15, 19, 20, 22, 23, 32, 34, 36, 37, 40, 42 and 44.

Thats 12 channels many of which are very popular (like NBC, CBS, BBC, Travel Channel etc).

What can we do to get Flamingo back on track? Or is it too late and time to switch to Telbo for internet and satellite for TV?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech/Bonaire Insider (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6096) on Monday, April 30, 2007 - 2:42 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

That was a real bummer last night as I expected to watch Desperate Housewives which I had recorded on my DVR, and found only a black screen. Have to go watch it on the Slingbox from New Hampshire now instead.

And since it's a holiday today and tomorrow who knows when FTV will get around to fixing things.

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jerry (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #4978) on Monday, April 30, 2007 - 3:06 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Sounds like they are not making the payments on time?

Jake, how is Linda coming along?

(Message edited by bonaire9 on April 30, 2007)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Brigitte Kley - Coco Palm Garden (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #622) on Monday, April 30, 2007 - 5:59 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Its not only the tv channels, quite some hours now that the wireless internet connection is not working .... we have as back-up Telbo, but that is rather often a problem too . The last 2 months we worked more with Flamingo than with Telbo.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By brian mccarley (BonaireTalker - Post #51) on Tuesday, May 1, 2007 - 11:30 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I think it's more along the lines of Flamingo losing loosing the intercept when the providers change the access specs.
Telbo is, in our experience, much more reliable than Flamingo for internet.
Sr Ricardo is most defensive and is not likely to
admit or resolve any short comings so I suspect the options are Telbo and or Dish.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ann Johnson, Massage Hut-Sorobon Beach (BonaireTalker - Post #34) on Wednesday, May 2, 2007 - 11:07 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I noticed last night that NBC is now an Atlanta station????? Also, no ABC last night. So sad!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By brian mccarley (BonaireTalker - Post #52) on Wednesday, May 2, 2007 - 3:50 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I think that supports the theory that Flamingo is pirating feeds..
They continually drop networks just prior to big events /specials and come up with obscure network links, ie: Chicago? Pennsylvania? Denver?
Then they drop sound as well
Also, they always drop the links in blocks - NBC,CBS, ABC or DISC, FOOD, HBO. So I don't think it's a lost satellite signal; more on the line of provider scrambling the signal?
What's up with that?



 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ann Phelan - www.bonairecaribbean.com (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #2689) on Thursday, May 3, 2007 - 10:59 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

So we are paying pirates?? Is that what you suggest Brian..if so, great..just great..and the product stinks..

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By brian mccarley (BonaireTalker - Post #53) on Thursday, May 3, 2007 - 8:19 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Now they just lost TBS.
Two of the providers that I've queried on his don't recognized Flamingo-
Still working with the FCC contact to locate down link providers

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By pat murphy (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1195) on Monday, May 7, 2007 - 2:39 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

a few years ago all they had were NYC channels...that got old....remember the big blackout in the easter US in 2003? if you watched the TV you'd never have found out that more than just NYC was affected.

the ones they've had recently were NBC-Atlanta, ABC-New York, and CBS-Erie PA. at least they are all in the same time zone as bonaire is during the summer...when EDT ends in the fall they'll be off by an hour again.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kevin Wayne Williams (The Great Escape) (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #367) on Monday, May 7, 2007 - 10:48 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I do have to wonder how they carry the US/Canada version of many cable networks when UTS, their rival, carries a special Latin American version. Brian's theory would explain it.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech/Bonaire Insider (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6108) on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 - 8:36 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Technically, U.S. channels are not supposed to be viewed outside the U.S. for copyright and licensing reasons.

That's also why if we want to watch a show on www.abc.com from Bonaire we get denied access because they can tell our IP addresses are outside the U.S.

FTV is probably grabbing some U.S. C-band feeds and rebroadcasting them without a license to do so, which is not proper, but on the flip side, they serve an audience on Bonaire which wants that programming and can't easily get it any other way.

Kevin points out that the terrestrial digital service from Curacao, TDS/UTS, broadcasts the Latin American versions of many cable channels (which is the area we are considered to be in for regional licensing, and IMHO that sucks because I am not a Spanish speaker), and thus is probably properly licensed to carry those. However, many U.S. channels don't have a licensable Latin American counterpart, so you can't get them legally on Bonaire. Illegally (or unlicensed if you prefer that term) is the only way to get some of that content.

Quite a conundrum. Go fully legal and lose a lot of the content, or get the content you want most of the time, but illegally.

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By michael gaynor (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #2587) on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 - 8:44 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

While I am not jumping to the defense of FTV, it is amazing how many folks "know" so much about their business. I also find it a pain to have these outages, but I can remember when we did not have any cable at all. I know it bothers FTV as much as it does their clients to have problems, but one thing it has taken me 22 years to learn here is have patience. Nafl 65 is still a bargain!!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kevin Wayne Williams (The Great Escape) (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #369) on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 - 9:01 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

The Latin American versions usually aren't as bad as all that, Jake. The commercials are in Spanish, but the programming is still in English (except for Cartoon Network, which mixes them). The only one that bugs me is TNT LA, because they show all of their original programming (Closer, Battlestar Galactica) in a block on Saturday afternoons. Who watches TV on Saturday afternoon?

The channels Flamingo gets that UTS doesn't are BET, USA, Spike, and the Weather Channel. The only one of those I miss is USA.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech/Bonaire Insider (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6109) on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 - 9:52 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Another frustration for me of the L.A. channels is that they don't always have the same schedule as the U.S. channels, which renders my PC DVR automated guide (which I have had to heavily tweak for FTV) useless, as no U.S. zip codes carry those channels, so I can't fake the DVR out.

Jake

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By brian mccarley (BonaireTalker - Post #54) on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 - 2:50 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Well shucks, Jake. No wonder ol' Riccardo got so bent out of shape when I suggested he could unscramble the signals.
When you frame it that way, the whole mess makes sense.
So, bottom line, guess we just live with it.
I knew there was some scammin' in the back room someplace. You just don't loose blocks of programing like that.
Only other option is dish or sling box.
We were just out again this morning (though unrelated - this was an amplifier that burnt) it makes about 12 days in the last 15 that something has been fouled up.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kevin Wayne Williams (The Great Escape) (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #370) on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 - 4:00 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Brian,
I think you need to keep in mind that all anybody is making here is an educated guess. No one knows the details of how Flamingo gets its signals except for Flamingo.

You really should look at UTS if you are looking for an alternative. I'm happy with it, and it's readily available. It has far more channels that Flamingo, and is more reliable. The only downside is an external decoder box.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jake Richter - NetTech/Bonaire Insider (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6113) on Tuesday, May 8, 2007 - 6:09 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Kevin,

If you find out what the Zenith TDS decoder box responds to in terms of a more common set-top box's infrared signals let me know. I'd love to shift my DVR over to use the TDS instead of FTV. Would give me much better image quality.

Jake

 


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