Why does channel 674 and channel 674a have the same channel lineup - not the same channel.

Hey @n1nhs, we want to help clear this out.

Sergio, DIRECTV Community Specialist

How do you record a channel vs a game?

I have the same issue that only the off air logo gets recorded when selecting the astros. Even if I set both displayed channels to record.

I will try recording the team vs the game. However, previously whe I recorded the game on both available channels, all I got was the off air logo in both of them. And looking at the info, they both said ATTSWa. So they both look like they recorded the alternate instead of the primary. Also, if I hit recorded while watching the game (that I already missed half of) it DOES actually record correctly. Seems like a clud programming issue.

Using direct stream home device that started as ATT TV NOW device. Also Happens if I set to record from PC  app. It did not do this last season. Has not happened on any other channels.

Were you able to resolve this problem? I have had the same issue and nothing lets me set up a record of Astros in advance.
Whether i choose "record team" or "record game" it records ATTSWa (the alt channel with nothing but the logo)
I even look ahead at "Upcoming recordings" and sometimes it will say that it is going to record ATTSW (the correct channel), but then ends up recording ATTSWa.
THEN, if I go to Guide, choose the game at the day and time on ATTSW, it will show that it plans to record correctly, but again records ATTSWa,
FINALLY, last night thru the Guide, I set up to record this afternoon's game (Wed 4/20) as well as Friday and Saturday's. I checked "Upcoming recordings" before going to bed and all 3 said "ATTSW."
However, I have just checked again and they have magically changed to ATTSWa.
The only way I've been able to record is to start it manually when the game starts, which kinda defeats the purpose. 

Please help!!

I recently was contacted by DirectStream support. We thought we had the issue resolved when they reset my Stream account (?), and I scheduled the Astros and saw ATTSW as the channel being recorded. We verified by my logging out, then back in and it still showed ATTSW. But, then I logged in 2 hours later, and it changed to ATTSWa. I haven't heard back from support yet, though she said she would contact me during the game to see if it recorded correctly.

I did find a work around if you have a DirectStream home device (not sure what else to call it).

1) Set both channels to record separately. (Unable to do this through the PC app).

2) Once they have both started (or completed), you DELETE the ATTSWa recording.

3) Now you can watch the ATTSW recording.

4) If you don't delete the ATTSWa reording, that is the one that will be displayed when you try to watch either recording.

Unfortunately, I cannot do this via the APP, as once you set the astros to record, it shows both channels as "Set to record".

Hope this helps. If I get a call back from support, and we get this resolved, I will post my solution here.

Thanks for responding Smhtv.
I am all about finding workarounds and tried a few myself.
If i attempt to record both channels thru the box (6" x 6" x 1/2" grey device) once I go to guide and record one channel,  I go to the other and hit "record options" and it tells me "Already recording this game."
I'm hoping support will get back with you/us soon. 

Hi again,
new workaround idea (unless you've tried it).
I've deleted my 5:30p recording for today. Tonight, when I'm at my daughter's softball game, I'm going to try to start a record thru the app on my phone once the game has started.
If that works, at least i'll know i can start a record when away from home, which is a little better than current situation till they figure it out.

The root cause of the problem seems to be that the guide does not distinguish between channel 674 and 674a - this could be simply because some programmer thought the channel identifiers namely 674 and 674a were numeric and used some character string coversion like strtol to convert the strings - this would treat both 674 and 674a the same since the conversion would stop when the 'a' character was encountered - a rookie mistake made by a programmer that does not understand the problem space they are working in - much like treating social security numbers or phone numbers as numeric values - thus any social security number starting with a '0' zero winds up with too few digits or worse leading spaces. 

In the case of the program guide, the trailing "a" to distingush alternate disappears and the guide gets loaded with the wrong data. Just a thought as to what may be causing this problem. The DirecTv Genie does not have this problem (had one for several years and no issues) and clearly shows the channels as 674 and 674a with their own guides. 

What is also especially disturbing the behaviour that is you have explicitly selected a program to record on channel 674 it magically changes to record 674a. This should never occur - the behaviour is just wrong. 

Having built a set-top box for a streaming service in 2000, we had to deal with these issues - having a first line provider like DirecTv (or even the former ATT) with these problems should be an embarrasment - apparently there is no one to be embarased in the company.

Attached are photographs of the program guide and a video that shows what happens when you select 674 for a program to be recorded - it clearly shows that it recorded 674a (which for this game provides 3 hours of ATT SportsNet SW Alternate stand-by logo) There is also video of the program guide that shows entries having different titles, but the exact same chanel id (number) in the guide.

It sounds like the real problem is that more better programmers are needed. That assumes the root cause of someone caring enought to fix the problem is solved.

Yes dougieieie.

Looks like a programming bug on their part. I think this could get fixed if they would just get the accurate program listing for the alternate channel. It should say OFF AIR 99% of the time. ATT Sportsnet only shows a game on the overflow channel when the Rockets and Astros play at the same time. 

Not sure why my workaround works for me. I just highlight the game in the guide (on my box) and click the Record button. Then go to the next line and do the same. I never set the record from an options menu. It worked for me last night.

Apparently the image upload feature will not allow uploading of the photos I had planned to attach...