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Emergency Alert System (EAS) interrupted my viewing

I was watching a live broadcast of the final Tour de France bicycle race on NBC Sports today. Right at the moment a spectacular presentation was being shown in Paris, an **bleep** warning appeared on my screen about some storm conditions in Riverside, California, which is about 100 miles from where I live.

In addition, earlier in the day, the same obnoxious warning interrupted my recording of the event while I was watching it earlier. I had to restart the recording so no longer have a single recording of the program.

I called Verizon tech support asking how to disable this obnoxious feature. They told me I cannot disable it.

These warnings did NOT appear on normal broadcast TV, just on my FIOS output.

These warnings were about an event that cannot possible affect me.

I have not seen this happen before ever on my normal TV in years of watching TV. Sometimes I hear tests on radio, but not during a prime time broadcast.

I read a post in a FIOS support forum by various people with labels such as "Copper Contributor" and "Plantinum Contributor I" (what is this, kindergarden?). They were all obsequiously defending this lame so-called emergency system and how important it was for me to know about missing children.

I have NO desire to see such EAS messages. about storms or missing children or lost cats. If you want to help the pollice find lost children and animals then listen to police band radio or watch the news where such announcements are appropriate.

There should be a way to turn this feature OFF.

Comments

myscreennameeee

I just re-read my own post to see it was correctly submitted.

My use of the word i d i o t i c was replaced by the term "*bleep*.

Yes, this is kindergarden.

PJL

There are a number of threads on this matter. You might want to review them. In short, Verizon has no control over EAS alerts. The originating agency controls when and how they occur.

Public_Citizen

The response that there is nothing Verizon can do about National Weather service Interuptions might blow off the uneducated but for anyone who actually understands how computerized systems work the answer shows a high Bovine Salutation co-efficient.

Verizon is able to selectively target local advertising down to a single designated service area, areas that can be defined to a finer degree than the zip codes. If advertising can be targeted to this level then National Weather Service warnings can also be similarly defined and targeted. For them not to be so handled is pure sloth on the part of all those involved and demonstrates a complete lack of interest in the provision of quality of service.

There is no reason for a person in the middle of San Bernardino County, the largest geographical county in the contiguous 48 states, to receive warnings for Riverside County or Los Angeles County. These areas are located, with the exception of the Antelope Valley, on the other side of mountain ranges that are passable only at a very few well defined points and the weather in these areas has little or no effect or relation to the vast majority of San Bernardino County.

This past week, between the "mandatory periodic system tests" generated by multiple agencies and the "weather alerts" for areas that are a minimum of 2 hours drive at full interstate speed limit and generated by multiple National Weather Service observation stations, even farther away, the interuptions have become more than a nuisance but are now at the level of having me begin the process of searching for other alternatives.

It would be bad enough if the interuptions were limited to "live" broadcasts but they aren't. I have had recorded programs interupted by these irrelevant and itrusive "tests". If Verizon cares so little about the quality of its services or is so subservient to the insistence of governmental bodies to intrude upon the private time and space of its customers that they force this unwanted and irrelevant bureaucratic overkill on the public the public needs to voice its displeasure and dissatisfaction. If the complaints are not heeded and corrective action taken then the public has many other alternative services available that don't insist on "bundling" government intrusion into their packages.

FacelessUser

Verizon has no control over their own set top boxes on their own network? How convenient. I work a 10 hour day, come home to slam down dinner while watching TV trying to enjoy the few hours I have to myself, only to be interrupted by an obnoxious blaring tone which stops both broadcast as well as pre-recorded shows. I'm held hostage while the screen feeds me "important" information. Then, I'm promised that this interruption will occur every month?

Oh, happiness.

Yes, let us all be subservient to the almighty cable box of which "Verizon has no control."

I look forward to Verizon's new cable boxes which promise to have a video camera in them.

FIOS. What was I thinking when I installed it?

tns2

They have no control of where or when. They do have them targeted to the area each authority covers. Unfortunately the authorities often don't always restrict the area that gets the notice.

However many of us have pointed out that they shouldn't completely interrupt a DVR recording as long as they have another tuner available. Some other DVR's, cable providers, do this.

Kkell1

Same problem here. I live in Malibu CA, about 100 miles away from Riverside, a 2 hour drive. I am constantly getting EAS interruptions, sometimes 2-3 a day (mind you, I don't even watch a lot of TV) - they come in bursts. And when they are active, I get alerts many times a week, like 10 or more. So ridiculous. Time saved while watching a program is lost. I don't mind alerts if they are relevant to the area -lost kids, animals, weather, or accidents. But in Riverside a hundred miles away? Really? At no time have I seen an EAS alert for an area other than Riverside.
GET THIS UNDER CONTROL! It's shear laziness on the part of Verizon.

danivanov

They have control of how their DVR acts during the alert

[Deleted User]

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