New Update Feedback [Constructive]
BoostHungry
Enthusiast - Level 2

When my girlfriend called me and woke me up saying how much I would hate the new guide I was immediately intrigued.  After 2 minutes with the guide I agreed.  It was ugly, there was less information immediately available, my eyes had to adjust every time I paged down, I was not happy. 

I was ready to call in and complain immediately but decided to fully educate myself on the update before doing so.  After 30 minutes with the system I've come to the conclusion that there is good and bad with this update. 

But I do have some feedback that I hope is taken seriously:

  • Firstly, my favorite, the new DVR network.  The ability for us to now watch what is on EITHER DVR in any room is fantastic.  It's a simple process, the menu is useable, and the ability to custom name the DVRs is great.
  • The ability to set a recording from any room on either DVR is also great.  This will make things simpler because our main multi-room DVR is in the basement.

Unfortunately that's about it for the good, now for the bad constructive:

  • The guide is ugly.  Mainly the color scheme is too soft.  In addition to a strange choice of colors, there are too many colors.  Not only do we have different colors for each type of program (which is fine) that color is modified when you hover over it to a very soft version of that color effectively doubling the amount of ugly colors we are forced to look at.
  • Too much empty space.  One of the things that made the old guide so loved was how effectively it used screen resources.  There was no space between channels like there are now.  I understand your trying to make the guide look graphical but by giving each program rounded edges and putting a gap between programs your not using the space we're given to it's full potential.  This also goes back to my previous gripe: too many colors, the gap between each program adds yet more color our brains need to process.
  • PIP on the guide covers the top channel number.  I'm sure your team came to the conclusion that we would be able to figure out what channel that is easily, but why?  This is one more calculation our brains need to make and is just plain frustrating that you would think this was okay.
  • The main piece of information people want access to is the program name.  There is zero need to put info in the center of the screen with the program.  The old guide did it correctly, put all the programs as close together as possible for easy flipping, and have the info on the side near the PIP (which should be back where it was) where we can look if we choose to.
  • HD Guide is 4:3.  I thought you had fixed that?  Why is the new guide incapable of displaying in 16:9?
  • OnDemand featured movies list.  I know this is from a previous update but it's been bothering me.  When browsing the featured new releases OnDemand, it is very hard to tell what every movie is without hovering over it.  The title of the movies is very truncated and we're forced to know what the movie is by the picture.  The old list of featured movies allowed for easy browsing by title and still gave us the image to look at.  Primary focus should be on the title and the image should be an after thought.
  • When browsing through the DVR schedule, the list skips very strangely when you flip to a new date.  I understand that the rows the dates occupy are not selectable and it's centering the first program from the new date you scroll to in the middle, but it's very strange.  It's confusing frustrating when you were looking further down the list just to find the show you were looking at is not where it should be after scrolling one position.

Companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars optimizing the way things look to allow their end users the least frustration and confusion, I don't feel your designers got it right.  In the IT industry a big thing these days is to track what a user hovers over with their mouse in effort to track the path they took to where they actually wanted to go and then optimize the website in order to reduce the amount of time it takes to go one click.  The features you provide us should focus more on productivity not on them being "shiney".  I sincerely hope that the user interface gets another upgrade to improve the look and feel, while making the process as simple as possible.

Please feel free to /sign this thread if you agree with my points.

Re: New Update Feedback [Constructive]
Sonoluma
Enthusiast - Level 3

Apparently you need the latest verizon hardware to fix some of the display issues related to font and maybe colors, but I don't think anything is going to change the awful interface & layout ratios that were chosen for this update.

Overall, i'd have to agree with your opinions after playing around with the new interface for 15 minutes this morning before work. I'm hoping they can either roll the patch back for everyone who doesn't have the new hardware or at least offer to replace the equipment that originally came with the installation with the latest hardware.

Re: New Update Feedback [Constructive]
moebbc
Enthusiast - Level 1

i agree the new guide is bad. it takes up half the screen with unneeded information. my dvr crashed trying to upgrade. i lost every movie and series i has recoreded and was told nothing could be done. they are replacing the drv but that doesnt help restore my lost video. why did they do this upgrade without more testing?

Re: New Update Feedback [Constructive]
rlindabury
Enthusiast - Level 1

As a graphic designer and user interface designer, I'm appalled by the "new" interface.

There are some aspects to it that  are positive but the overall layout, colors, space usage and design make it feel like a step backwards in time, or two steps backward!

The darker interface was much better. It showed more information when you were trying to view what's on your channels.  I only spent around 15 minutes with it but I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  I actaully tried to find a way to go back to the previous version but was unsuccessful.

After I've used it a bit more and have some more time, I'll post my list of plus's and minus's.

Re: New Update Feedback [Constructive]
mgs123456
Enthusiast - Level 1

This guide is the worst thing I have ever seen. Please give us the option to go back. Another huge problem is when you get to the end the guide stops. if you get to 999 it will not roll over to 2 I will be going back to direct tv if this is not fixed.

Re: New Update Feedback [Constructive]
50crv
Enthusiast - Level 1

This feedback provided by contributor 'BoostHungry' on the Upgrade 1.9 of Verizon's HD DVR set top box has hit most of the points that I also immediately noted after receiving the so-called Upgrade.  I agree with all the comments that were captured here.  Thank you for them all.  It seems like the Upgrade contains too much 'change for change sake'.

My chief critiques of the Upgrade are with the layout, the wasteful use of space, the poor contrast, and the information bar taking up so much of the screen space.  But the light blue dominant color of the displays is the first thing I would change, if I could.

We turn on the TV in order to watch a TV program, not to watch the large interfering status displays from Verizon Fios...  When I use the DVR's rewind and replay features, I am constantly using the 'clear' button to force the on-screen displays to go away - they are so annoying.  This was an issue for me with the previous version of user interface, but they have made it worse, not better.  The large display that covers so much of the screen during rewind/fast fwd/play is as bad as if someone walked in front of the screen during an important viewing moment.  I would suggest that Verizon should offer an option that suppresses the large interfering on-screen displays, so that the information that they show (such as the position timer index bar) could be accessed if desired, but only if desired. Otherwise, the standard on-screen display should be minimally intrusive - remembering the reason why the TV set is on - to watch the TV program... Another alternative would be to make the display more or less transparent, so as to not obscure the TV image.

Re: New Update Feedback [Constructive]
areyouserious1
Enthusiast - Level 1

Wow I have the same problem everything on my DVR was wiped clean but I was told it would come back???? But after two days nothing! I guess waiting on hold for a half an hour to speak to a live person who told me they have no idea when the service would be restored was lying I had a lot of programs on my dvr and I'm not to happy about this!!!!!

Re: New Update Feedback [Constructive]
NOVA118
Enthusiast - Level 2

WOW!  A FIOS phone rep lied to you and told you the easiest thing to get you off the phone?  That would be like everytime (10+) I ever tried to call them!  Use email when contacting FIOS, because then at least you have a written record of what was promised.  The phone reps don't know, don't care, and you cannot hold them accountable for anything they say.

Re: New Update Feedback [Constructive]
WkdPanda
Enthusiast - Level 2

All I can say, is listen to your customers here, not some internal marketting people who thought new was better.

PLEASE allow us to revert to the old guide style. 

My brother is VISUALLY CHALLENGED and this change has made it EXTREMELY DIFFICULT for hime to deal with FIOS.

The contrast is bad, the screen fonts are bad.  I came home to find him sitting two feet away from a 40" TV trying to read stuff, and figure out the new menu. 

I like FIOS, but with people making bad decisions to roll out a guide like this, I will have to start looking at other services.