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Jul - Computers and Technology - ITT we appraise digital television EPG's New poll - New thread - New reply
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Lirodon

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Posted on 09-13-10 01:00:22 AM (last edited by Lirodon at 09-12-10 10:51 PM) Link | Quote

Seeing that retro Prevue hacking thread in the other forum gave me an idea.

You'd think SaskTel IPTV is only just beginning to roll out Mediaroom (the U-Verse software), so right now I have to live through this:

The firmware uses Windows CE and doesn't try to hide it, especially when you're in its internal WebTV-like mode. That, and some of the (somewhat nicer but still ugly and poorly made) menus, I presume to be rendered in Internet Explorer. It doesn't even look good in HD!

But it can load shakesoda's forum without much trouble, noting how light and non-JS oriented it is.



The Video On Demand and PVR interfaces are a nightmare too. Back where I used to live (in Ontario), we used the one Comcast uses, and I actually liked it.

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paulguy

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Posted on 09-13-10 09:14:34 AM (last edited by paulguy at 09-13-10 06:19 AM) Link | Quote
Paulguy's Post configuration
<object width="640" height="385"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fbFCD5yc9O8?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

There's the guide on my DirecTV box. Sorry about the aspect problems, nothing I can do about that, Cartoon Network stretches some shows to 16:9.

Not much to say about it. The guide is a bit sluggish, even worse with animated scrolling on (Pretty much useless, in that case.). Aesthetically, it's alright. Mostly neutral and generic. Not especially ugly or anything but way too blue, and lacks any options for themes or at least coloring, which makes sense, since directv's branding color is blue.

My long, rambling review on it and the box and DirecTV in general

EDIT: There is one noticeable bug that is in this software. The HD1080P logo will show up in the corner of the guide, where the date is, when it's displayed onscreen in any of the listings, until that part is redrawn.

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Lirodon

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Posted on 09-13-10 01:11:57 PM Link | Quote

Hmm, interesting

Mine actually has the "channels I get" function as a sort mode. That black "All channels" tab can be flipped between showing every channel, only subscribed channels (unsubscribed channels show up in a tacky grey background in the menus), favorites lists, and only HD channels.

I kinda liked that, the one I used to have (which I presume is the one you mentioned in the review with the color schemes) didn't do that, at all. It quickly got aggravating.

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Liliana
"A horrible person". That's what it says. "A horrible person."

We weren't even testing for that.


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Posted on 09-13-10 01:19:19 PM Link | Quote
I prefer good old teletext.

It's as simple as pressing the teletext button and typing in the number 300. No fiddling with stupid interfaces or painfully long loading times.

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paulguy

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Posted on 09-13-10 04:41:56 PM (last edited by paulguy at 09-13-10 01:56 PM) Link | Quote
Paulguy's Post configuration
You have TTY based scrolling listings? That's even more primitive than EPG Jr.

EDIT: Also, when I first had it I went through and removed all the pay per view and some random channels that I technically "get", but don't get, because I have to call the number because it's retarded, and made it a favorites list. But then I had problems with lineups changing and channels disappearing.

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Posted on 09-13-10 08:03:05 PM Link | Quote
I remember first seeing Prevue Guide in the early 90s, but I don't remember the pre-1993 black list layout, unfortunately =/

And I do have to admit, that new TWC Navigator is slow and a bit clunky, like Windows 7 on a Pentium III. As much as I liked SARA (used from the late-90s to 2010), I didn't like the fact that the font used on that was that ugly pixelated one x/

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Lirodon

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Posted on 09-13-10 09:12:14 PM (last edited by Lirodon at 09-13-10 09:15 PM) Link | Quote

Apparently Rogers Cable (well, in their Scientific Atlanta-based Ontario systems, their Atlantic ones use Motorola boxes and Passport/Passport Echo) and Videotron in Quebec still use SARA here, though my old Cogeco box used iGuide (the Comcast one, which curiously had a Prevue logo in it). Even worse, Rogers tries to polish the turd with their fancy quick start menu.

Though both have plans for the future, the two have different stances on the infamous Tru2Way platform; Videotron will be utilizing it for their next generation service, but Rogers doesn't think its standards are open enough, and are developing a new web-based platform.

Hmm, web-based; I could easily see widgets and UI menus programmed as web apps, in fact most of the UI on my current SaskTel Max system is rendered as web pages (complete with an IE 5.5 throbber); using stuff like JS and a more advanced rendering engine (IE for Windows CE, what) could seriously make it quite wicked.

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Liliana
"A horrible person". That's what it says. "A horrible person."

We weren't even testing for that.


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Posted on 09-14-10 07:14:07 PM Link | Quote
Originally posted by paulguy
You have TTY based scrolling listings? That's even more primitive than EPG Jr.

Yes. It's the only way to get any sort of information for people who still watch analog TV (around 50%), and even in the advent of digital TV it is still popular because it provides lots of useful information, despite its MS-DOSy appearance.

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Bagel

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Posted on 09-14-10 08:43:03 PM (last edited by Bagel at 09-14-10 05:43 PM) Link | Quote
Whatever the TiVo series3 boxes have, the hardware is too slow to run it, so there's a noticeable delay between a keypress and something actually happening, and the remote's been flaky from day 1 (pressing up sometimes registers as down, down sometimes registers as right, the select key sometimes registers as the "thumbs down" key etc). Plus the system software isn't stored separately from anything else; if the internal storage on the box fails, so does the TiVo software, and suddenly not only have you lost your recordings, you've now got a big TiVo-branded doorstop that doesn't even work as a cable box anymore. Recently the TiVo has taken to randomly freezing up when trying to rewind a recording (or live TV) after showing a garbled, pixelated mess, and then reboots itself (booting up takes from 5 to 10 minutes.)

Bah.

When the guide works, half the listings are wrong. It's just ... basic.

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Lirodon

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Posted on 09-14-10 09:05:35 PM Link | Quote

Originally posted by Bagel
Whatever the TiVo series3 boxes have, the hardware is too slow to run it, so there's a noticeable delay between a keypress and something actually happening, and the remote's been flaky from day 1 (pressing up sometimes registers as down, down sometimes registers as right, the select key sometimes registers as the "thumbs down" key etc). Plus the system software isn't stored separately from anything else; if the internal storage on the box fails, so does the TiVo software, and suddenly not only have you lost your recordings, you've now got a big TiVo-branded doorstop that doesn't even work as a cable box anymore. Recently the TiVo has taken to randomly freezing up when trying to rewind a recording (or live TV) after showing a garbled, pixelated mess, and then reboots itself (booting up takes from 5 to 10 minutes.)

Bah.

When the guide works, half the listings are wrong. It's just ... basic.


I've seen worse. Look for a video of the old StarChoice one, it is absolutely awful, slow, etc.


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paulguy

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Posted on 09-15-10 12:12:38 AM Link | Quote
Paulguy's Post configuration
Originally posted by Bagel
the hardware is too slow to run it


I call this "kiosk lag". Pretty much any custom box or computer (ATMs, information kiosks) all have way too heavy interfaces for the awful hardware they put them on. From weak custom chips running overly skinned menus to 15 year old computers running windows XP and IE6 with some badly programmed web interface.

I'm fine with them using cheap stuff, I guess, since more isn't exactly necessary and it's good that this stuff is low power, but I really wish the menus were lighter on pretty much everything. I hate when I'm scrolling in menus and things just take forever to respond, or I select an option and there's a few seconds of loading the next screen. ugh. 386s and below could really do useful menus just fine, no reason this stuff can't.


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Lirodon

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Posted on 09-15-10 02:43:39 AM Link | Quote

Originally posted by paulguy
15 year old computers running windows XP and IE6 with some badly programmed web interface.

Our IPTV boxes zigzag around that, they run Windows CE and a mainly IE-rendered UI


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Lirodon

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Posted on 09-18-10 08:23:22 PM Link | Quote

Bump time, I discovered that a Cincinatti fiberoptic TV service uses SARA. But, this guy here is showing off an updated version that looks ... suprisingly better. See for yourself, yay no more monospaced pixel fonts!

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Lirodon

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Posted on 01-11-11 02:14:54 AM (last edited by Lirodon at 01-10-11 11:25 PM) Link | Quote

And 4 months after I say we'd be getting it soon, it finally looks like we'll be getting the new SaskTel firmware update this week or next. We got the package warning us about this update today. Well, actually it was a rather impressive one, a yellow packing envelope containing hot new U-Verse SaskTel Max Advanced Series MXv3 remote controls, a poster-sized pamphlet explaining what's going on, and a new user guide for the system.

I managed to get the new remotes to work on 3 out of 4 TV's out of trial and positioning error (one TV has something up with its remote control port, and on the one in my room I had issues using the learning mode since I was pointing the old remote at the wrong end! Why Liro, why didn't you realize this was in the instructions? But hey, any way to make it work on my obscure not-so-name-brand TV is a good thing) They're smaller than the awkwardly mapped Atlas remotes we currently use, and have a little more concise functionality too, which may be a good thing. And more than just the device buttons are backlit! Yay!

So soon, I'll update you with how it actually goes. Please hope the box actually remembers what channel you were on instead of throwing you to the home screen every single flipping time you turn it on! :X

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Spliced
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Posted on 01-11-11 04:16:41 AM (last edited by Spliced at 01-11-11 01:26 AM) Link | Quote
AcmlmBoard

A fatal exception has occurred in Thread.php at offset 0xA1B2C3D4 because of the following post contents:
I've been using SageTV on my htpc for a while and I love it! its been good to me for many months now...

the guide on the SageTV v6 theme looks very similar to Dish Network's SageTV v7's is... dunno how to describe it

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plushifoxed

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Posted on 01-11-11 04:22:55 AM Link | Quote
Supakitsune
I... never really realized that there was such a following for set-top box firmwares of all things.
Kinda neat, I guess.

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Lirodon

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Posted on 01-28-11 12:22:30 AM Link | Quote

We got the update this morning, yay.

Notes:

  • It's nice to have back/exit buttons again. That drove me mad.

  • New interface is well, let's just say that it'll be familiar to users of a certain AT&T television service. In fact, it's the same software, but in a royal blue recolour with yellow accents

  • I managed to crash a box within the first 5 minutes, after setting it to HD mode and hitting Guide. I don't know why it did this.

  • There's a limited genre search hidden in the guide display, but there isn't a search option for said function in the search, unfortunately. You can also search by actors too.

  • The Interactive dock is a little rough around the edges, but beats a stupid home screen any day.

  • The interface effects seem to lag a bit on the HDTV, but not on the other TV's oddly enough.



With the magnitude of this change, compare it to going from Windows 98 to Windows Vista

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