Re: Ok, it's unanimous that the new guide is terrible, BUT WHY??
LumpyG
Contributor - Level 1

It's not unanimous. I find the new guide to be a definite upgrade over the old one. There are probably a few minor tweaks that could be made, but overall I am very happy with it. I think Justin also is a proponent of the new guide. I guess the folks that like it or are indifferent generally don't feel the need to post here.

Re: Ok, it's unanimous that the new guide is terrible, BUT WHY??
Justin46
Legend

@LumpyG wrote:

It's not unanimous. I find the new guide to be a definite upgrade over the old one. There are probably a few minor tweaks that could be made, but overall I am very happy with it. I think Justin also is a proponent of the new guide. I guess the folks that like it or are indifferent generally don't feel the need to post here.


Yes, I am very much a fan of the new Guide. That is not to say that some changes don't need to be made in some areas, but I view this new 1.9 level to be a big improvement over 1.8.

The focus of discontent seems to mostly be the colors used in the Guide, and the size and display duration of the channel info banner. I know Verizon is well aware of these concerns, and I feel pretty sure that we will see some changes in the future. Unfortunately I have no idea when in the future that might be. There are also a few actual "bugs" that have been reported in some areas, but from what I have seen most are pretty minor.

Another area of complaint is poor speed or inability to make the Guide fill the screen. I am pretty sure this is just an equipment problem. The old 6xxx STBs simply do not have the storage and graphics capability to display the Guide in HD and they are very slow in operation. This is not a problem with the Guide, it is the old hardware. Customers with the old 6xxx hardware should contact Verizon and request new STBs, that will eliminate this problem.

And those who are unhappy appear to be totally overlooking the great new features, such as:

- eSATA external hard drive attachment to increase capacity on all 7xxx DVRs

- Chaptering on recordings

- Improved search function

- Recovery of deleted programs on the DVR

- Multi-hub function if you have multiple DVRs

- Ability to schedule and delete recordings on the DVR from other STBs

- The HD Guide itself. Ignoring the colors (which I happen to like!) it now displays more program data at a time, offers a Channel View option if you want it, skip ahead several hours instead of just a half hour at a time.

Plus lots more....

And yes, human nature being what it is, I believe those who are unhappy about something will almost always post their complaints on the internet, while those who are happy just go about their business and we never hear from them. So just because a few have come here to complain does not mean that the whole customer base is unhappy, especially if they take the time to see all of the other new stuff that is now there.

Edit: Bill Kula just posted something that I found interesting. Here is the link if you are interested in the entire post:

http://forums.verizon.com/t5/Verizon-at-Home/What-a-Difference-1-825-Days-Makes-Progressing-Into-the...

But what I found interesting was this:

"Fast forward to today.  Our subscriber counts for FiOS Internet and FiOS TV have swelled to 4.6 million and 4 million, respectively."

Four million FiOS TV customers! Wow! How manyof them have 1.9? I don't know, but I bet it is somewhere between 2 million and 3 million. And how many have come here to complain? Again, I don't know, but it sure is a miniscule number in comparison. Just a thought....  

__________________________________
Justin
FiOS TV, Internet, and phone user
QIP7232, QIP7100-P2, IMG 1.9A
Keller, TX 76248

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Re: Ok, it's unanimous that the new guide is terrible, BUT WHY??
mdwalters1
Newbie

Just came here to get an upgrade of a box and saw this. I thought this new guide graphic problem was actually due to my progressive lenses in my eyeglasses. I even tried adjusting my angle to the guide to see if it changed the guide. Well it did. Made it worse. I feel so much better now that it is not my glasses because without them I would not be able to read the guide anyway.

I am from the Northeast corner of NJ and I agree with the customer that was disturbed by the fact that we are always ignored as to our location and grouped in with either NYC, NY State or South Jersey. Especially if a storm is on its way. The weather center is based out of Newark and we hardly ever have the same whether results that they do even though they are just an hour away.

Proof - Snowtober this year. I don't think I have to repeat the horrific damage that we had up here due to this storm. However, that Saturday all day while watching the news updates it never singled us out as an area all of its own. The weather casters reported the snow was ending when in fact up or over here it wasn't. This can also cause major accidents when the news stations do not tell us about this area specifically because people think it is ok to go out when it is not.

I never complained about this to any of the news stations because I thought I was the only one who felt this way because I never heard any complaints about it until now. So a big THANK YOU to the other North Jerseyian.

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Re: Ok, it's unanimous that the new guide is terrible, BUT WHY??
oldfashioned
Specialist - Level 2

That was me and you're welcome.  🙂  It's definitely not your eyesight.  If your only problem is with reading the guide because the colors clash and bleed into each other and are hard on your eyes, then it's more than likely because your TV is analog and you need to replace that with an HDTV to get the full benefit of what you are paying for.

You and I know the deal about NJ.  You were reading my initial reaction while trying to sort through this problem and find a solution. 

Glad I was able to help.

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Re: Ok, it's unanimous that the new guide is terrible, BUT WHY??
prisaz
Legend

I like  the 1.9 guide. Much thought and testing went into it, regardless of what others might say. You need 7xxx series boxes for it to look nice,.plain and simple! The worst set I have is a 17" flat panel 4:3 aspect ratio TV in my kitchen. After a few tweeks it 1.9 looks good there. The only issue there is no wide screen, but I am still able to run it at 720 and 4:3. Tube TVs should all be gone for those who have them. I picked up a 36" Vizio LED set for my daughter, at under $300 last December. I do have a 19" tube TV collecting dust, and it just might be interesting to see what people are complaining about.

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Re: Ok, it's unanimous that the new guide is terrible, BUT WHY??
oldfashioned
Specialist - Level 2

priasz, I definitely agree with you that without the right updated equipment, the display isn't going to work so well.  It's a very good guide once all the equipment is in order.  The graphics are pleasing with the colors and the options listed are very user friendly. I wonder myself what the complaints really are about for those who are already up to date with  their TVs and STBs.  I brought my tube TV to the curb.  It was so heavy and bulky to carry and then by the next day, someone grabbed it pretty quickly. 

As far as thought and testing are concerned, I'm sure testing was done but what I criticize is the lack of communication about this.  It was like fishing through the dark trying to understand and figure out what this was about and how to resolve it.  And I just thought it was weird how only South Jersey and not North Jersey was included in the mix of feedback and testing but even putting that aside, all Verizon had to do was send out notification about this to everyone with some troubleshooting tips, letting us know in advance that we need flatscreen TVs and the 7xxx series of the STB/DVR.  I'm sure that kind of advance heads up would have eliminated or at least reduced a lot of the confusion.

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Re: Ok, it's unanimous that the new guide is terrible, BUT WHY??
prisaz
Legend

@questioning wrote:

priasz, I definitely agree with you that without the right updated equipment, the display isn't going to work so well.  It's a very good guide once all the equipment is in order.  The graphics are pleasing with the colors and the options listed are very user friendly. I wonder myself what the complaints really are about for those who are already up to date with  their TVs and STBs.  I brought my tube TV to the curb.  It was so heavy and bulky to carry and then by the next day, someone grabbed it pretty quickly. 

As far as thought and testing are concerned, I'm sure testing was done but what I criticize is the lack of communication about this.  It was like fishing through the dark trying to understand and figure out what this was about and how to resolve it.  And I just thought it was weird how only South Jersey and not North Jersey was included in the mix of feedback and testing but even putting that aside, all Verizon had to do was send out notification about this to everyone with some troubleshooting tips, letting us know in advance that we need flatscreen TVs and the 7xxx series of the STB/DVR.  I'm sure that kind of advance heads up would have eliminated or at least reduced a lot of the confusion.


Yes many have complained about the communications. If not for having access and monitoring the testing phase, I may have had more questions myself.

A new "FiOS is Coming Soon" at the top of the screen was not much of an operators guide to the drastic changes. If you look in the users manuals for the STBs and DVRs, the show cables and wires. An Operators Manual for the new release and explanations for each menu setting prior to sending out the update may have been helpful. I don't think I have ever seen that for any release.

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Re: Ok, it's unanimous that the new guide is terrible, BUT WHY??
oldfashioned
Specialist - Level 2

"Yes many have complained about the communications. If not for having access and monitoring the testing phase, I may have had more questions myself.

A new "FiOS is Coming Soon" at the top of the screen was not much of an operators guide to the drastic changes. If you look in the users manuals for the STBs and DVRs, the chow cables and wires. An Operators Manual for the new release and explanations for each menu setting prior to sending out the update may have been helpful. I don't think I have ever seen that for any release."

Even without any prior notification about this, how come whenever I spoke to a customer service rep about this, I would be dealing with someone who didn't care and basically told me to "just deal with it"?  How are people like that getting hired?  There is a percentage of them who are not doing their jobs and none of these big name corporations care.  I explained to one of these reps that I had a Symphonic analog TV and he told me to take up this graphics matter with the manufacturer instead of just telling me I needed to get a flatscreen; or to just fool with the brightness and contrast settings on my existing analog TV.  Do you know how dumb that is?  And I had another rep who skipped over what I said and told me to just hit the guide button twice to get the more detailed listing with the black print instead of the white.  None of them would listen nor work with me to help me resolve the problem.  I honestly didn't know what to do until I came here and saw Justin's photo of his display from his flatscreen and finally I put 2 and 2 together.     

And if you think about it, how was anybody supposed to know about the STB/DVR issue if it was an older model?  That wasn't an issue for me thankfully but I'm not a mind reader and how would I have known if that had applied to me?  I just can't know everything.

This is the very reason I never wanted cable or Fios to begin with but it wasn't much of a choice in the end once the digital revolution was set forth.  Fios is a good product but from a customer service perspective, there is plenty to be desired and that's putting it politely.  You can't blame people for complaining about that. 

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Re: Ok, it's unanimous that the new guide is terrible, BUT WHY??
prisaz
Legend

Release notes for 1.9. Which are more current than the ones I had seen in the past.

http://forums.verizon.com/t5/Verizon-at-Home/FiOS-TV-Interactive-Media-Guide-1-9-Release-Notes/ba-p/...

Operators Manual for DVRs and STBs. Not an install guide.

Vote here.

http://forums.verizon.com/t5/Share-Your-Ideas-with-Verizon/Operators-Manual-for-DVRs-and-STBs-Not-an...

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Re: Ok, it's unanimous that the new guide is terrible, BUT WHY??
oldfashioned
Specialist - Level 2

That's my first time ever seeing those release notes but mind you, I wasn't involved in these forums back in April because I didn't need to at the time.  What would have been so hard about emailing or snail mailing this to everyone or posting on the message list on people's Fios STBs?  Or would that have been "too expensive"?  At least I'm aware now that I can use the forums here as a resource in the event a similar situation like this arises in the future.

I have yet to really understand why this whole digital TV revolution which really requires a cable provider for decent reception...which we now must pay for...was forced on everyone.  It's educational, being that there is always something to learn from this but I think it's unfortunate and short sighted in many other ways.  Think of who is profiting from all of this in the end.

At least the dialogue here has been helpful. 

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