What would you like to see from your FiOS TV?
CharlesH
Specialist - Level 1

This thread I'm doing out of pure personal interest...besides fixing the bugs with equipment, opening ports for ethernet and bigger hard drives, and even CallerID on your TV...What new features would you add to your TV service next year or so if you were head of the FiOS TV dept?

For example, you can search for receipes on the HD STB or you can Twitter on your DVR. 

What would you really like to see? Please don't say "FIX THE BROKEN STUFF FIRST" or anything like that since this isn't constructive...This is purely a creative thread for some of you dreamers.

I personally wouldn't mind social networking intergrated on my STB, naturally with the ability to turn it off if it gets too annoying. Why not at a WebTV since you already are paying for FiOS internet? RSS feeds and email notifications? I'm pretty sure everyone would love to sync their recordings with their PC and manage their media...but why not share it with friends and family? (I know the LEGAL problems with that but hey why not?)

Those are some of my ideas.

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Re: What would you like to see from your FiOS TV?
KenAF
Specialist - Level 2

@CharlesH wrote:

I personally wouldn't mind social networking intergrated on my STB, naturally with the ability to turn it off if it gets too annoying. Why not at a WebTV since you already are paying for FiOS internet? RSS feeds and email notifications? I'm pretty sure everyone would love to sync their recordings with their PC and manage their media...but why not share it with friends and family? (I know the LEGAL problems with that but hey why not?)

Those are some of my ideas.


I would like to see Verizon focus on the functionality of the DVR.  There are still a number of popular DVR functions that are not yet supported by the FiOS DVRs:

 

  1. the ability to autorecord based on search input (ex: record all new programs matching "MLB" in the title and "Washington Nationals" in the description);
  2. more options to extend / pad series recordings without creating a manual recording; and
  3. overlap protection (i.e. ability to autoclip lowest priority programs) to prevent missed programs when 3+ programs overlap by 5 minutes or less.

 

As for non-DVR features, the main one I'd be focused on would be DLNA client compatibility.  Media Manager isn't the right direction to pursue for the QIP7216 and future devices, as it is proprietary.  DLNA support would allow the device to access music, videos, and photos on all sorts of other devices in the home without the need for any extra software.

 

Ultimately, it would be great to see DLNA server compatibility, so the Verizon DVR could stream its recordings to other boxes that support the required encryption.  [Yes, the standards already exist to securely view content on a device that mitigates copyright concerns.]

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Re: What would you like to see from your FiOS TV?
CSimpson
Contributor - Level 1

Totally agree with KenAF.  DLNA/UPnP support would be awesome.  Put an end to Media Manager as there is no need to reinvent the wheel.

Edit:  sorry... font size was all messed up.

Message Edited by CSimpson on 04-14-2009 12:16 PM
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Re: What would you like to see from your FiOS TV?
SteveP2
Contributor - Level 2

I would personally like to see the ability to get information via the web displayed on my screen. Things like the local weather report. I dont like the widgets, as they dont display enough information. Maybe the middle ground is keep the widgets, but be able to hit a key and expand the widget into the full screen and then do a more comprehensive search.

DLNA would be great, as I have a Buffalo Technologies TerraStation and have tons of movies I would love to watch on my nice new LCD HDTV. I would also like to take recordings off the DVR and play them on my PC.

Steve

Message Edited by SteveP on 04-14-2009 12:28 PM
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Re: What would you like to see from your FiOS TV?
CapnTrips
Contributor - Level 3
Going even further on the Internet thing, dump Media Manager (and its currently-in-Beta streaming video with its proprietary function and YouTube-only streaming) and turn the HM DVR into a TRUE Internet Media Appliance.  All that has been said previously, as well the ability to surf the web from the comfort of your living-room couch!  Then not only YouTube, but also Hulu, Netwrok websites and others will be available to view in glorious HD on your HT TV.
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Re: What would you like to see from your FiOS TV?
CharlesH
Specialist - Level 1
I'd have to agree.  It would be great to sync all of your media back and forth between devices and such. How about streaming radio (mp3/ogg/wma)?
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Re: What would you like to see from your FiOS TV?
KenAF
Specialist - Level 2

@CapnTrips wrote:
Going even further on the Internet thing, dump Media Manager (and its currently-in-Beta streaming video with its proprietary function and YouTube-only streaming) and turn the HM DVR into a TRUE Internet Media Appliance.  All that has been said previously, as well the ability to surf the web from the comfort of your living-room couch!  Then not only YouTube, but also Hulu, Netwrok websites and others will be available to view in glorious HD on your HT TV.

Media Manager was created in part to address the limitations of the QIP6416 hardware.  The QIP6416 is very limited in the audio and video formats that it supports.  It cannot support Youtube, Hulu, and other Internet A/V formats without a computer running specialized software to convert those to compatible formats.

 

I understand Verizon's desire to add that functionality to older boxes which they cannot really afford to replace in the near future.  But there's no getting around the fact that the QIP6416 hardware was never designed or intended to support what Verizon wants to do.

Rather than spending a lot of time and resources to make the QIP6416 do something that it was never meant to do (by way of PC transcoding, which few customers are likely to use), it should focus embedding that functionality in the QIP7216 and its next-generation DVR platform, both of which directly support more of the formats used on the Internet.  That -- embedding new functionality like DLNA in new hardware -- is what others like Comcast and TWC are doing, and if Verizon does not do the same, their hardware and software will not be competitive a year or two down the road.

Message Edited by KenAF on 04-14-2009 05:36 PM
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Re: What would you like to see from your FiOS TV?
Jim785
Contributor - Level 1

How about one that will just read my mind and record the shows I want it to record regardless of it I forget to program it, and one that I can put my remote into it and will automatically program it for all my devices rather than searching for the code!!! (I know there are some that can be programmed by hooking up usb to pc, but I just want to put it in the dvr and it auto sense's all devices in area and programs lol)

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Re: What would you like to see from your FiOS TV?
DzWR
Contributor - Level 1
If it could do my laundry for me, I'd be extremely happy.
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Re: What would you like to see from your FiOS TV?
zooky
Contributor - Level 1

@CharlesH wrote:

This thread I'm doing out of pure personal interest...besides fixing the bugs with equipment, opening ports for ethernet and bigger hard drives, and even CallerID on your TV...What new features would you add to your TV service next year or so if you were head of the FiOS TV dept?

Ability to set Reminders on a cyclic basis.  e.g.- daily, weekly
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