Johannesburg - Multichoice SA says it is working hard to solve a glitch in their DStv decoder system which left fuming subscribers without their favourite shows this week. While DStv would not say how many subscribers were affected by the recent problem, they say it is only a “small number” of customers.
A MultiChoice spokesperson on Friday confirmed to the Saturday Star that regular software updates on their DStv Explora and DStv single view HD decoders caused the glitch.
“Some customers who live in a complex or village where the DStv signal is distributed from a central point through a single cable, and who have a specific decoder model, the DStv HD 4U decoder, could experience an E48 error on their decoder. This error means the decoder is searching for a signal,” said the spokesperson.
While many subscribers complained about a lack of assistance by MultiChoice this week, the pay-TV operator said it was doing all it could to help customers who were affected. “We’re assisting customers on a case-by-case basis to clear this error via our contact centre, our service centres and agencies.
“We encourage any of our customers who experience this problem, to get in touch with us – either via phone or by going to their nearest DStv service centre or agency,” the spokesperson said.
Several subscribers took to social media on Friday to express their disgruntlement with MultiChoice following the glitch, with many threatening to cancel their subscriptions. Gregory Esau said: “I am appalled at the utter incompetence of the DStv staff and their leadership. “One would think that with the absorbent prices you charge your service would be great, clearly not.”
Sherry Lee said: “I am number 120 in the queue and expect to wait 15 minutes. It’s crazy. Isn’t there a self-service way to activate my second decoder?” In May MultiChoice admitted it had lost more than 100 000 DStv Premium subscribers in its last financial year from the “unregulated” competition it faced from “over-the-top” (OTT) internet streaming services such as Netflix.