# New GUI for DirecTV?



## Fluthy (Feb 9, 2008)

If I recall correctly I was thinking that DirecTV was planning on pushing out a new User Interface (HD interface) this year (from the spring meeting??). Anyone heard anything new on this? I would think we would be seeing this in the near future.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I would not expect it in the "near future" but I would expect it.


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## scrybigtv (Jan 25, 2008)

NickFluth said:


> If I recall correctly I was thinking that DirecTV was planning on pushing out a new User Interface (HD interface) this year (from the spring meeting??). Anyone heard anything new on this? I would think we would be seeing this in the near future.


Could you explain, please, for a nontech-savy guy like me?


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

scrybigtv said:


> Could you explain, please, for a nontech-savy guy like me?


GUI = Graphical User Interface.

What he means is a new guide/setup/options screen to take full advantage of the HD box. Right now it's in SD and isn't optimized for HD. I would also like to see this happen sooner rather than later. 6 lines in the guide is a little small, especially on these larger TV screens. It's a wishlist item, as well.


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## Draconis (Mar 16, 2007)

tcusta00 said:


> GUI = Graphical User Interface.
> 
> What he means is a new guide/setup/options screen to take full advantage of the HD box. Right now it's in SD and isn't optimized for HD. I would also like to see this happen sooner rather than later. 6 lines in the guide is a little small, especially on these larger TV screens. It's a wishlist item, as well.


Good clarification *tcusta00*

Stuart - I do not remember if this one was in the Dictionary but I think that it should be included.


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## scrybigtv (Jan 25, 2008)

tcusta00 said:


> GUI = Graphical User Interface.
> 
> What he means is a new guide/setup/options screen to take full advantage of the HD box. Right now it's in SD and isn't optimized for HD. I would also like to see this happen sooner rather than later. 6 lines in the guide is a little small, especially on these larger TV screens. It's a wishlist item, as well.


That's cool. Thanks.


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## Radio Enginerd (Oct 5, 2006)

Stuart Sweet said:


> I would not expect it in the "near future" but I would expect it.


That leaves it pretty wide open egh? Not anytime soon but sometime in the future for sure.


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## Steve Robertson (Jun 7, 2005)

There is that word soon popping up again


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

My best recollection is that this is a 2009 initiative.


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## dcowboy7 (May 23, 2008)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> My best recollection is that this is a 2009 initiative.


....once the "channels i get" option is fixed.


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## beakor (May 29, 2007)

dcowboy7 said:


> ....once the "channels i get" option is fixed.


while your at it add the new hd channel logos from last year


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## syphix (Jun 23, 2004)

Since DirecTV bought ReplayTV, maybe it'll look like this:


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

I just wish the GUI was HD if you have an HD television.


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

NickFluth said:


> If I recall correctly I was thinking that DirecTV was planning on pushing out a new User Interface (HD interface) this year (from the spring meeting??). Anyone heard anything new on this? I would think we would be seeing this in the near future.


It was originally supposed to be this year, but a Webcast from earlier this year states that a NEW GUI will be coming in 2009.

Hopefully, it will be EARLY to MID 2009.

~Alan


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## merchione (Apr 28, 2008)

That would be very nice if we could change the colors of the interface also an HD version would be cool.


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

syphix said:


> Since DirecTV bought ReplayTV, maybe it'll look like this:


You mean it's gonna get worse?? :eek2:

:lol:


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

What it needs to look like.....


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

syphix said:


> Since DirecTV bought ReplayTV, maybe it'll look like this:


Thast not the guide I had I my replay... More times, and more channels on mine.... and it was in sd...


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## evan_s (Mar 4, 2008)

AirRocker said:


> What it needs to look like.....


Yeah I'm still waiting to hear of any cable co actually rolling that guide out on tru2way compatible boxes. It sure looked pretty and had all the features you could want but at this point it's as much vapor ware as DirecTVs new interface =)


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## merchione (Apr 28, 2008)

AirRocker said:


> What it needs to look like.....


Whats that from cable?


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

AirRocker said:


> You mean it's gonna get worse?? :eek2:
> 
> :lol:





AirRocker said:


> What it needs to look like.....


Will we get a free box of crayons or a copy of "DVRs for Dummies" with that?  :lol:

Sorry A/R ...but those primative looks don't do it for me. :eek2:

I'd like to think we've evolved past the stone age of DVR screen design.


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## krock918316 (Mar 5, 2007)

AirRocker said:


> What it needs to look like.....
> :gott: :gott: :gott: :gott: :gott:


WOW!

What is that from?


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

krock918316 said:


> WOW!
> 
> What is that from?


Sesame Street? :lol:


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## Radio Enginerd (Oct 5, 2006)

AirRocker said:


> What it needs to look like.....


Yeah baby. me likey!


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Sorry A/R ...but those primative looks don't do it for me. :eek2:
> 
> I'd like to think we've evolved past the stone age of DVR screen design.


If DirecTV wants to offer the new GUI to older/current receivers, I don't know if they can get too fancy?

Personally, I prefer the looks of the Cable GUI shown on this thread a lot better than DirecTV's current one (though DirecTV has improved it some since the HR2x series came out).

Personally, I miss the channel logos on the sides of the guide (ala my old Sony DirecTV receiver) and the channel logos in the Playlist (ala my TiVos)... and hope DirecTV brings this back.

~Alan


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## fluffybear (Jun 19, 2004)

Radio Enginerd said:


> Yeah baby. me likey!


+1


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## Radio Enginerd (Oct 5, 2006)

Alan Gordon said:


> If DirecTV wants to offer the new GUI to older/current receivers, I don't know if they can get too fancy?
> 
> Personally, I prefer the looks of the Cable GUI shown on this thread a lot better than DirecTV's current one (though DirecTV has improved it some since the HR2x series came out).
> 
> ...


The channel logos might even look good in HD. If done right it could look pretty sweet.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Alan Gordon said:


> If DirecTV wants to offer the new GUI to older/current receivers, I don't know if they can get too fancy?


They can get pretty fancy. The HD receivers and DVRs all have fairly powerful processors, they'll have no trouble with an HD GUI.


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## Sirshagg (Dec 30, 2006)

syphix said:


> Since DirecTV bought ReplayTV, maybe it'll look like this:


Please NO.


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## curt8403 (Dec 27, 2007)

syphix said:


> Since DirecTV bought ReplayTV, maybe it'll look like this:





AirRocker said:


> You mean it's gonna get worse?? :eek2:
> 
> :lol:





Sirshagg said:


> Please NO.


Yuch


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## bgottschalk (Aug 30, 2007)

dcowboy7 said:


> ....once the "channels i get" option is fixed.


I'm thinking that may be getting very close. I noticed a couple grayed out channels in my favorites list - ones I didn't get. So...I went back to the channels view and I couldn't find any channels that I didn't get that weren't grayed out. Of course I have Premier with the HD extra pack so I get most channels...but that is the best I've ever seen it.

I'm curious what others are seeing...


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## Mike Bertelson (Jan 24, 2007)

tcusta00 said:


> GUI = Graphical User Interface.
> 
> What he means is a new guide/setup/options screen to take full advantage of the HD box. Right now it's in SD and isn't optimized for HD. I would also like to see this happen sooner rather than later. 6 lines in the guide is a little small, especially on these larger TV screens. It's a wishlist item, as well.


I would like to see the number of lines be user selectable.

Everyone has a different size TV; different visual acuity; etc.

Although, I'm not sure how Directv would handle a HD guide for SD channels. Would it switch resolutions for the guide and back again for live TV?

:scratchin

Mike


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## MikeW (May 16, 2002)

bgottschalk said:


> I'm thinking that may be getting very close. I noticed a couple grayed out channels in my favorites list - ones I didn't get. So...I went back to the channels view and I couldn't find any channels that I didn't get that weren't grayed out. Of course I have Premier with the HD extra pack so I get most channels...but that is the best I've ever seen it.
> 
> I'm curious what others are seeing...


TLCN and CINE in the Spanish channel range are still showing up as Channels I Get.


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## bgottschalk (Aug 30, 2007)

MikeW said:


> TLCN and CINE in the Spanish channel range are still showing up as Channels I Get.


It definitely has improved since the last time I looked though.


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## kevinwmsn (Aug 19, 2006)

That cable one looked nice... being able to see that far in the guide(2 1/2 hrs) would be nice.


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

AirRocker said:


> What it needs to look like.....


FYI - I'm pretty sure this is Verizon FIOS' GUI


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## DarinC (Aug 31, 2004)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> AirRocker said:
> 
> 
> > What it needs to look like.....
> ...


You think that looks primitive compared to what we have now? :scratch:


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## celticpride (Sep 6, 2006)

I thought someone hinted at a new gui coming very soon a few days ago on one of these theads? my guess is maybe september. (no inside info or anything just a guess.)


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## syphix (Jun 23, 2004)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> FYI - I'm pretty sure this is Verizon FIOS' GUI


Isn't this Verizon's FIOS gui?










Here's Digeo's Moxi, too. A friend of mine had this with Charter, and it was pretty sweet _looking_, just seemed complicated to move around in:


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> FYI - I'm pretty sure this is Verizon FIOS' GUI


Nope, it's just a new version of TV Guide's GUI for digital cable.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

syphix said:


> Isn't this Verizon's FIOS gui?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Please... No No NO... I want more channels and more time slots... Not less!!!!


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## Sirshagg (Dec 30, 2006)

inkahauts said:


> Please... No No NO... I want more channels and more time slots... Not less!!!!


reach:


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## webby_s (Jan 11, 2008)

[/


DarinC said:


> You think that looks primitive compared to what we have now? :scratch:


Exactly what I thought. I have had Moxi and now D* DVR GUI and this is FAR superior to what we have. Do they have some CE that we don't have, seriously shut up and back your thread up before bashing a better GUI when we know what you have. I think you guys are awesome on this board, don't get me wrong but when people talk this kinda talk when we all know what they get is just bogus.


syphix said:


> Here's Digeo's Moxi, too. A friend of mine had this with Charter, and it was pretty sweet _looking_, just seemed complicated to move around in:


I really miss my Moxi GUI but the HD channels are a trade off. More HD over better GUI, period. Now lets get a better GUI. It has been said in this thread that we need better then this MOXI GUI but try it and you'll like it. IT HAS LOGO FOR EACH CHANNEL. Imagine that! The better half would not b*tch so much about the guide then!


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

webby_s said:


> Exactly what I thought. I have had Moxi and now D* DVR GUI and this is FAR superior to what we have. Do they have some CE that we don't have, seriously shut up and back your thread up before bashing a better GUI when we know what you have. I think you guys are awesome on this board, don't get me wrong but when people talk this kinda talk when we all know what they get is just bogus.


I'm pretty sure he quoted the wrong post. If you look at the post immediately following the one where he bashes that GUI, he praises it.


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## justlgi (Apr 11, 2008)

Jeremy W said:


> I'm pretty sure he quoted the wrong post. If you look at the post immediately following the one where he bashes that GUI, he praises it.


Circle the wagons!

*webby_s* There are some mighty big DIRECTV apologist around. You'll learn who they are pretty quick.

Watch out for the passive aggressive ending every post with the ' '


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## cb7214 (Jan 25, 2007)

AirRocker said:


> What it needs to look like.....


the heck with the guide i will take the TV its on


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## bgottschalk (Aug 30, 2007)

> I really miss my Moxi GUI but the HD channels are a trade off. More HD over better GUI, period. Now lets get a better GUI. It has been said in this thread that we need better then this MOXI GUI but try it and you'll like it. IT HAS LOGO FOR EACH CHANNEL. Imagine that! The better half would not b*tch so much about the guide then!


I guess it's really hard to make a judgement on 1 screen - not having ever seen or used Moxi before.

But from the screenshot it looks like you have to highlight each channel to see what's on it. I really wouldn't like that at all. Again - haven't ever used it, so if I'm wrong then I stand corrected.


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## cadet502 (Jun 17, 2005)

I've never understood the desire for Logos, in the guide or in the playlist. I'm looking for clean lines and order, and logos take away from that. 

I would like more channels per screen, along with more time blocks per screen.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Jeremy W said:


> They can get pretty fancy. The HD receivers and DVRs all have fairly powerful processors, they'll have no trouble with an HD GUI.


Yup. Expect more, and you may get more.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

DarinC said:


> You think that looks primitive compared to what we have now? :scratch:


A bunch of colored blocks....yes.

It looks like a glorified Excel spreadsheet. :eek2:


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## DarinC (Aug 31, 2004)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> A bunch of colored blocks....yes.
> 
> It looks like a glorified Excel spreadsheet. :eek2:


That is much easier to read than our guide, AND gives you more information. What more could you want? And what's wrong with color coding? It's one of the best ways to allow you to quickly add more information without making it harder to read. Why do you think people put color into spreadsheets? Of course, DirecTV went down this silly path of color coded buttons, so now perhaps they are afraid to use color to categorize programs in fear that it may get confused with the functions of the mulit-function buttons. Shapes would have been more effective for multi-function buttons, a la the Playstation.


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## ktk0117 (Nov 27, 2006)

krock918316 said:


> WOW!
> 
> What is that from?


Is that from Time Warner?


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## mortimer (Nov 6, 2007)

AirRocker said:


> What it needs to look like.....


A Becker marathon on USA? What day is that????

:lol:


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

AirRocker said:


> What it needs to look like.....


I like it better than what we have now. At least it's in HD.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

That looks like the prototype from CES. I don't know if it's actually been implemented anywhere.


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> It looks like a glorified Excel spreadsheet. :eek2:


... and yet you think the MS DOS look of the DirecTV GUI looks good?

OK, DirecTV has improved it since the early days (back then, the design looked exactly like an old MS-DOS program I had) and it now looks like it might have come out of the 90s.

~Alan


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## davidord (Aug 16, 2006)

I definately want the guide in HD. Hopefully, the HR20/21 has enough horsepower to power the guide without slowing it down any further.


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## DarinC (Aug 31, 2004)

davidord said:


> Hopefully, the HR20/21 has enough horsepower to power the guide without slowing it down any further.


It already slows down if it's just rendered in HD resolution. Switch to 480 ouput and scroll through the guide, then switch to 1080 and see how it compares.


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## lucky13 (Nov 27, 2006)

kevinwmsn said:


> That cable one looked nice... being able to see that far in the guide(2 1/2 hrs) would be nice.


More time blocks on the screen would be great. I'd like to see 3 hours--a full prime-time line-up at once.


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## alanz (May 14, 2008)

ATARI said:


> I like it better than what we have now. At least it's in HD.


It looks a lot like Windows Media Center:










The color scheme used in the grid is very similar, plus media center is highly customizable with plugins etc.


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## tcusta00 (Dec 31, 2007)

lucky13 said:


> More time blocks on the screen would be great. I'd like to see 3 hours--a full prime-time line-up at once.


Yes - or at least two full hours!


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## BattleScott (Aug 29, 2006)

Looks like the Time Warner guide that we have here, only nicer. I know the TIme Warner stuff here uses the shape buttons and looks very much like this one.


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## thebeev (Aug 4, 2008)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> I just wish the GUI was HD if you have an HD television.


that would be interesting


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## ATARI (May 10, 2007)

I see the lower left corner of the pic that AirRocker posted says "Digital Cable TV GUIDE"


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## GutBomb (Jun 17, 2004)

ATARI said:


> I see the lower left corner of the pic that AirRocker posted says "Digital Cable TV GUIDE"


and the channels (names and numbers) match up with Comcast in Denver.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Alan Gordon said:


> .OK, DirecTV has improved it since the early days (back then, the design looked exactly like an old MS-DOS program I had) and it now looks like it might have come out of the 90s.


....oh you mean like the old Tivo look? :eek2:

As I stated previously....the User Interface is a subjective and personal preference aspect of the DVR experience. Tastes vary. There are no right or wrong choices, just different ones.

I see a wide range of User Interface products in my job. You might just be surprised to know just how many software products still use a "90s" interface, right or wrong.

In many cases, users get used to and then embrace (long term) a "look and feel". That principal is why the Tivo UI is still a preference by some folks.

Personally, there is no reason why a graphical icon-based interface with photo or video image inserts isn't very feasible. So are voice-actuated commands. The challenge is the code beneath the surface, as well as finding programmers who have skills in using the toolkits to develop the interface.

The whole changeover is also not cheap. We currently have an ongoing UI retool going on that will cost 7 figures for a redesign alone for a single software application. There has to be a compelling ROI reason to make that kind of committment.

Can the DVR UI be better. Sure. Are there other ways to go. Sure.

Will it happen....sure....the question is when and how.


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> As I stated previously....the User Interface is a subjective and personal preference aspect of the DVR experience. Tastes vary. There are no right or wrong choices, just different ones.


I used to have a DirecTV receiver in which you could customize the look of it. Change the color schemes, fonts (if I remember correctly), turn OFF PIG, and turn ON and OFF channel logos, and customize how much of the guide is shown on the TV. It's still probably my favorite DirecTV GUI (second goes to TiVo and HR20, which are tied due to some things I like about one, and other things about the other).



hdtvfan0001 said:


> I see a wide range of User Interface products in my job. You might just be surprised to know just how many software products still use a "90s" interface, right or wrong.


I doubt it as there's nothing particularly wrong about a "90s" interface (or even an "80s" interface), but it doesn't have the "showy" aspect that some people like. I personally find the XMB menu on my PS3 to be VERY sharp, practical and easy to use, and certainly modern looking, but I know there are people out there who dislike the XMB menu... and would probably prefer a DESKMATE GUI to the XMB.



hdtvfan0001 said:


> In many cases, users get used to and then embrace (long term) a "look and feel". That principal is why the Tivo UI is still a preference by some folks.


True, but then there are people out there who find TiVo a preference due to features unavailable on the HR20.  I applaud DirecTV for the GREAT job they've done with the HR2x HD DVRs, and I continue to applaud them for continuing to improve it, which is why I see no reason to belittle TiVo's accomplishment or features.



hdtvfan0001 said:


> Can the DVR UI be better. Sure. Are there other ways to go. Sure.
> 
> Will it happen....sure....the question is when and how.


2009! 

~Alan


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## gulfwarvet (Mar 7, 2007)

all i can say is, whatever DIRECTV has as the next guide. i sure hope it is a lot faster than the one we have now.

but that brings up a question? if they do make it HD would that make it even slower or stay the same?


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## Alan Gordon (Jun 7, 2004)

gulfwarvet said:


> all i can say is, whatever DIRECTV has as the next guide. i sure hope it is a lot faster than the one we have now.
> 
> but that brings up a question? if they do make it HD would that make it even slower or stay the same?


Just because a GUI is HD does not mean it would HAVE to be slower (or at least not noticably slower).

I would think a lot of the speed would be dependent on how much code was needed along with the skills of the programmers... but I'm not an expert...

~Alan


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## mhayes70 (Mar 21, 2006)

gulfwarvet said:


> all i can say is, whatever DIRECTV has as the next guide. i sure hope it is a lot faster than the one we have now.
> 
> but that brings up a question? if they do make it HD would that make it even slower or stay the same?


That is a very good question. I am wondering the samething.


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## gulfwarvet (Mar 7, 2007)

mhayes70 said:


> That is a very good question. I am wondering the samething.


Whew, I'm glad i wasn't the only one wondering if it would or not. :lol:


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## jdspencer (Nov 8, 2003)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> ....oh you mean like the old Tivo look? :eek2: ...


Yup, the TiVo style guide would be nice. Two panes: left pane with about 8 channels listed and the right pane with about 6 hours of shows on the highlighted channel in the left pane. Both panes scrollable.


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Will we get a free box of crayons or a copy of "DVRs for Dummies" with that?  :lol:
> 
> Sorry A/R ...but those primative looks don't do it for me. :eek2:
> 
> I'd like to think we've evolved past the stone age of DVR screen design.


I'm thinking you may have gotten your posts crossed ...

The Replay Guide is the suck, the Tru2Way guide is the bomb! No crayons involved making that Tru2way guide!


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## bruinfever (Jul 19, 2007)

A new GUI is long overdue...What's taking so long? They should outsource the work to Steve Jobs and the people at Apple. They'd have a new GUI every six months and people waiting in line for six hours to buy an Apple DirecTV DVR! $199 with a two year commitment. Fully operational on an iPhone. Now _that's _something to get excited about...


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## drx792 (Feb 28, 2007)

bruinfever said:


> A new GUI is long overdue...What's taking so long? They should outsource the work to Steve Jobs and the people at Apple. They'd have a new GUI every six months and people waiting in line for six hours to buy an Apple DirecTV DVR! $199 with a two year commitment. Fully operational on an iPhone. Now _that's _something to get excited about...


not if you dont like Apple...


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

jdspencer said:


> Yup, the TiVo style guide would be nice. Two panes: left pane with about 8 channels listed and the right pane with about 6 hours of shows on the highlighted channel in the left pane. Both panes scrollable.


I hate that guide... I like Directvs version of it far better... although again, more programs would be nicer...


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Drew2k said:


> I'm thinking you may have gotten your posts crossed ...
> 
> The Replay Guide is the suck, the Tru2Way guide is the bomb! No crayons involved making that Tru2way guide!


Actually, I haven't seen that paticular Replay guide that has been posted here... The ones I have seen have as much info as the Tru2Way guide... and is more 3d....


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Drew2k said:


> I'm thinking you may have gotten your posts crossed ...
> 
> The Replay Guide is the suck, the Tru2Way guide is the bomb! No crayons involved making that Tru2way guide!


Nope.

I don't care for any of the examples shown to this point. But that's a matter of taste. I look at UI design every day for multiple software products, and see just what can be done with a selection process among lists of choices.

There is just waaaaay too much screen real estate wasted on a guide grid, and the format of blocks is dated....perhaps something with the lower half being a grid and the upper half being station logo, video window, and other graphical orientation might make it more enlighted to the eyes....the Windows Media Center version has a good use of color, but still is lacking in important information.

If they're gonna spend tons of money doing a change, it might as well be more appealing, with navigation condusive to speed and functional status data for the end user. Most folks have no idea just how complex a UI design really is, and what it takes to make it effective to an end user.....lots of field testing and studies for feedback.

As I stated earlier...the UI is a personal thing...I guess I've just seen too many examples of how a UI can be all the better, and feel the current UI takes several steps backwards in comparison. I've seen about 6-7 other DVR UI's as well, and perhaps the FIOS one has the best use of screen real estate....but even that one does a poor job of presenting recording status and other key information without additional navigational keystrokes.

Personal taste....no more, no less.


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## kimi (Mar 12, 2008)

I actually really like the current guide gui. However, I think I like the one posted by airrocker better


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## Richierich (Jan 10, 2008)

I would even prefer to have the GUI Guide from my HR10-250 rather than the one I have with my HR21-700s.


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## DarinC (Aug 31, 2004)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> As I stated previously....the User Interface is a subjective and personal preference aspect of the DVR experience. Tastes vary. There are no right or wrong choices, just different ones.


I don't completely agree with this. Sure, personal preference does play a role, but there are definitely designs that are better than others... designs that are much more effective, intuitive, and easy to read/navigate for the vast majority of people. I design user interfaces all the time for a database application my company uses, and it is not _completely_ subjective. The challenges are generally fairly consistent: providing as much info as possible (so the user doesn't have to change screens often to get all the pertinent data), without making it hard to read, and without making it too slow. That's why I'm baffled about your response to the guide that virtually _everyone_ else in the thread seems impressed with: it gives more data than we have now, while at the same time appearing more clean and legible. Is the complaint that you simply don't like color coding? Depending on the colors used, and how it's applied, you can go overboard with that (changing it from more legible, to less), but that screen doesn't seem psychedelic at all. Obviously, something like that would preferably be customizable if there's people out there who don't like color. I understand your points that perhaps things could be done to make it even better, but I don't understand how you can say it's inferior to the current HR screen.

Continuing with Alan Gordon's post... I remember my first DirecTV receivers I had in '95 (I think). They were Sonys, and had really good guides. You could change the colors, transparency, and you could configure the number of lines shown at one time. It was fast, legible, and showed you as much info as you wanted. It's kind of surprising things haven't gotten much better in 13 years.


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## grape (Jul 23, 2008)

DarinC said:


> It already slows down if it's just rendered in HD resolution. Switch to 480 ouput and scroll through the guide, then switch to 1080 and see how it compares.


Thanks. I didn't realize I had disabled the 480 resolutions. Enabling them drastically improved the GUI speed. Doh.


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## DarinC (Aug 31, 2004)

grape said:


> Thanks. I didn't realize I had disabled the 480 resolutions. Enabling them drastically improved the GUI speed. Doh.


Of course the flip side of that is: you don't want to have to watch everything in SD just to get a faster guide.


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## grape (Jul 23, 2008)

DarinC said:


> Of course the flip side of that is: you don't want to have to watch everything in SD just to get a faster guide.


Definitely. I still have my high def resolutions enabled.


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## RandCfilm (Aug 17, 2006)

bruinfever said:


> A new GUI is long overdue...What's taking so long? They should outsource the work to Steve Jobs and the people at Apple. They'd have a new GUI every six months and people waiting in line for six hours to buy an Apple DirecTV DVR! $199 with a two year commitment. Fully operational on an iPhone. Now _that's _something to get excited about...


An for those of us that don't have and iPhone, how could we watch TV with all the finger prints from using the touch screen to control the DVR.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

DarinC said:


> I don't completely agree with this. Sure, personal preference does play a role, but there are definitely designs that are better than others... designs that are much more effective, intuitive, and easy to read/navigate for the vast majority of people.


Acceptance, approval, likes/dislikes, and preferences are *all *subjective, regardless of what is adopted.

The investment in $$$ and time is substantial, so there are risks in adopting any design.


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## cebbigh (Feb 27, 2005)

Would they need to redo the GUI in order to add more content description or star ratings for movies or permit true blocking of unwanted/unsubscribed channels? Does it take a new GUI to allow users free rein in constructing their own favorites lists from the bottom up?


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## gregjones (Sep 20, 2007)

cebbigh said:


> Would they need to redo the GUI in order to add more content description or star ratings for movies or permit true blocking of unwanted/unsubscribed channels? Does it take a new GUI to allow users free rein in constructing their own favorites lists from the bottom up?


Let's see:

They just added considerably more info under the More Info button
Many find star ratings far too subjective to be of any value
You can block adult channels now on an HR2x
Users have free rein in constructing favorite lists, including and excluding any channels

Are you, instead, asking for an unlimited number of favorite lists? When you ask for star ratings, do you expect to be able to filter based on them (for example, 2.5 stars and up)? If so that has a lot more to do with the search feature.


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## mlb (Jul 31, 2008)

I'd like a GUI that is faster, personally.


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## Drew2k (Aug 16, 2006)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Nope.
> 
> I don't care for any of the examples shown to this point. But that's a matter of taste. I look at UI design every day for multiple software products, and see just what can be done with a selection process among lists of choices.
> 
> ...


What really threw me was that earlier you posted that the current DVR+ guide is better than the Tru2Way guide ... I'm very surprised, especially after reading your post above!



hdtvfan0001 said:


> DarinC said:
> 
> 
> > You think that looks primitive compared to what we have now?
> ...


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## cebbigh (Feb 27, 2005)

gregjones said:


> Let's see:
> 
> They just added considerably more info under the More Info button
> Many find star ratings far too subjective to be of any value
> ...


There are two favorites lists. No, I don't want an unlimited number. More than two would be an improvement. If that isn't feasible and we are stuck with the list of subcategories that the HR 20/21 presents I would at least like to have the ability to tweak what populates. For instance, I think 299 (nick hd) should go under family and kids.

No, I don't expect (or want) an automated filter to search by star ratings. But if I am making a decision between two movies to record and can't tell by the one or two sentence description that one was viewed by someone as a four star and the other a one star, it would be a factor when I make my decision on which one to record.

I happen to subscribe to Premier. But say, for instance, someone subscribed to Choice Extra and Starz .... shouldn't they be able to do a search excluding HBO, Cinemax and Showtime? I always use a boolean when I do a search. For example: AALL HDTV CCHAN 200 599 NNOT PPV PAY (movies all). But it would just be much simpler if blocking channels removed them from searches altogether.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

Drew2k said:


> What really threw me was that earlier you posted that the current DVR+ guide is better than the Tru2Way guide ... I'm very surprised, especially after reading your post above!


There are pros and cons of each format...and different people will like different aspects of those 2 examples for comparison.

Given the choice....I don't see anything out there (yet) that justifies the effort, expense, and end user disruption to change what we have. When its there....I'll be in the front of the line...but so far....I just don't see anything that has enough "better" in it to warrant that migration.


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