# Verizon FiOS Debuts New HD GUI



## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Check out the new guide software that Verizon will be rolling out before the end of this year: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/18/verizon-fios-set-top-boxes-getting-a-new-hd-guide-external-stor/

It's not perfect, but it definitely shows just how far behind DirecTV is in the GUI department. The GUI we have today is still substantially the same as it was in 2004 when it was first introduced. It's still SD, and it's still natively 4:3. It's starting to get ridiculous.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Nice and sleek...and good colors.


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## Renard (Jun 21, 2007)

Yep, they need to do something about their GUI. I wonder why they still didn't implemant it on their boxes, hardware limitations?


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Renard said:


> I wonder why they still didn't implemant it on their boxes, hardware limitations?


The processors in the H2x/HR2x receivers are supposed to be capable of rendering an HD GUI, according to the spec sheets from the manufacturers.


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## Hoosier205 (Sep 3, 2007)

It was mentioned during the Q2 call that changes are coming.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

Hoosier205 said:


> It was mentioned during the Q2 call that changes are coming.


Were they any more specific than that?


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## Renard (Jun 21, 2007)

Yeah what kind of changes? GSN is now on channel 233 :lol:


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## TITAN_53 (Jul 23, 2007)

That "Channel Guide" is pretty cool


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## TheRatPatrol (Oct 1, 2003)

Renard said:


> Yeah what kind of changes? GSN is now on channel 233 :lol:


And will be in HD soon.


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## Renard (Jun 21, 2007)

Yeah GSN in HD, now I can watch these crappy commercials in HD, thanks GSN (-:


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## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

I think MOST important, since it was a sticking point for many, is the box will support external devices up to 1TB.



> New updates include support for external storage (up to 1TB eSATA per DVR), automatic DVD-style chaptering on recordings, and an undelete button to bring back mistakenly removed recordings.


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## JoeTheDragon (Jul 21, 2008)

Jeremy W said:


> Check out the new guide software that Verizon will be rolling out before the end of this year: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/18/verizon-fios-set-top-boxes-getting-a-new-hd-guide-external-stor/
> 
> It's not perfect, but it definitely shows just how far behind DirecTV is in the GUI department. The GUI we have today is still substantially the same as it was in 2004 when it was first introduced. It's still SD, and it's still natively 4:3. It's starting to get ridiculous.


But fios only has 20 hours HD for the build in HDD.
and they want $10 per hd box, $16 per HD DVR, Home Media DVR $20 per box same 20 hours only 2 tuners as well.

at least the D* guide is better then the comcast one that does not scale to 16:9 and has add's on each page.


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## Hoosier205 (Sep 3, 2007)

Jeremy W said:


> Were they any more specific than that?


I can't remember the details now, but the question was about updating the GUI specifically. They said that they have some exciting changes being worked on now. I can't imagine a GUI overhaul not including something to take advantage of modern television screen dimensions. They may have given a time-line, but I cannot remember for sure.

It certainly didn't sound like they were talking about minor changes, but rather something entirely new.


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## Hutchinshouse (Sep 28, 2006)

First the AMCHD news, now HDGUI. Earth to Directv, hello.... Anyone there?


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## Justin85 (Jun 16, 2010)

That is a great UI. Looking at that, then pressing guide on my remote almost makes me feel like I am back with Comcast. Its time for an update! Updating to an HD GUI that is smooth, with good use of channel logos like the new FiOS guide would be great!


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## gphvid (Jun 19, 2007)

Jeremy W said:


> Check out the new guide software that Verizon will be rolling out before the end of this year: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/18/verizon-fios-set-top-boxes-getting-a-new-hd-guide-external-stor/
> 
> It's not perfect, but it definitely shows just how far behind DirecTV is in the GUI department. The GUI we have today is still substantially the same as it was in 2004 when it was first introduced. It's still SD, and it's still natively 4:3. It's starting to get ridiculous.


Starting to? It's way beyond that now...


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## RACJ2 (Aug 2, 2008)

This is great news for someone that has FiOS. I think the ability to add an external for greater storage is bigger news and will make them an even better competitor. Also like the undelete feature they added.

Definitely like the look of the FiOS HD guide, but I only spend a small percentage of my viewing time on menus. PQ and sports programming are more important to me. So I would welcome the change to the GUI, but not high on my list.

And having a larger hard drive built in is more important to me then the ability to add an external drive. Don't really like having to spend an extra $100, just to get the storage that I need.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

I spend 99.9% of my time watching HD programming...not HD guides....

Otherwise I'd have to change my name to HD GUI Fan.


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## n3ntj (Dec 18, 2006)

Jeremy W said:


> Check out the new guide software that Verizon will be rolling out before the end of this year: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/18/verizon-fios-set-top-boxes-getting-a-new-hd-guide-external-stor/
> 
> It's not perfect, but it definitely shows just how far behind DirecTV is in the GUI department. The GUI we have today is still substantially the same as it was in 2004 when it was first introduced. It's still SD, and it's still natively 4:3. It's starting to get ridiculous.


The new FiOS HD GUI looks really nice. I hope D* is working on a new HD GUI.


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## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

RACJ2 said:


> And having a larger hard drive built in is more important to me then the ability to add an external drive. Don't really like having to spend an extra $100, just to get the storage that I need.


 You can be sure they would charge a premium for a box with a larger INTERNAL drive if they had one so you'd pay out that $100 you didn't want to spend in probably less than a year .... and keep on paying.... and paying .....


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## TBlazer07 (Feb 5, 2009)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> I spend 99.9% of my time watching HD programming...not HD guides....
> 
> Otherwise I'd have to change my name to HD GUI Fan.


 That was good :lol:. Yea, I've always wondered what the major big deal is about an HD GUI. Sure it would be pretty but the added functionality would be minimal. MAYBE you'd see another hour or so ahead in the guide but that wouldn't even be a sure thing.


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## George_T (Sep 19, 2002)

Having a wife that's visually impaired and who has trouble reading black type on a bright white background, that's not a good look for her particular situation. It would be nice if FIOS, D* and others would have multiple color display schemes that could be changed. I know my old RCA D* boxes from the mid to late '90's had multiple color schemes that could be set as the default. Would be nice if D* and others would offer this once again.


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## DogLover (Mar 19, 2007)

TBlazer07 said:


> That was good :lol:. Yea, I've always wondered what the major big deal is about an HD GUI. Sure it would be pretty but the added functionality would be minimal. MAYBE you'd see another hour or so ahead in the guide but that wouldn't even be a sure thing.


Well, another hour in the guide would be a good thing. The Fios layout had 2.5 hours, which is good. Of course it looks like they only have 5 lines of channels. That's not as good as we have now. I don't really like that they have the program description inline with the rest of the guide.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

I think this is a big jump up for verizon; they've needed it since their GUI is, in my opinion, worse in most areas than ours.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

TBlazer07 said:


> That was good :lol:. Yea, I've always wondered what the major big deal is about an HD GUI. Sure it would be pretty but the added functionality would be minimal. MAYBE you'd see another hour or so ahead in the guide but that wouldn't even be a sure thing.


Just to be clear....any improvement to the User Interface is not a bad thing.

I just don't see them as mission-critical as others. They are also entitled to their alternative views on this topic. (Yes that was a pun )


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## jefbal99 (Sep 7, 2007)

I thought the Chipsets would support a 16x9 SD GUI, but not an HD GUI...

Maybe the newer HR23/24 have a chipset capable of HD GUI, but I don't think the H20/21/22 chipset will handle an HD GUI


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## jpl (Jul 9, 2006)

JoeTheDragon said:


> But fios only has 20 hours HD for the build in HDD.
> and they want $10 per hd box, $16 per HD DVR, Home Media DVR $20 per box same 20 hours only 2 tuners as well.
> 
> at least the D* guide is better then the comcast one that does not scale to 16:9 and has add's on each page.


Dave Zatz had a bit more info in his write-up of the new s/w. One glitch in Verizon's home media (multi-room) DVR is that currently you can only share from the one DVR that's specified as the home-media DVR to stand-alone STBs. There's no DVR to DVR sharing, nor can you specify more than one DVR as your home media DVR. It sounds like that's changing with this release. Not only will you have external storage activated (something they've needed to do for a LONG TIME), but they've enhanced that multi-room functionality.

Apparently you'll no only be able to share DVR to DVR (if I read it right), but also grab from the external storage on any box in the house. So if I put expandable storage on, say, my DVR in the family room, I can access those recordings from my STB in the living room. No, it's not quite as good as having a biger harddrive, but it's a step in the right direction (until the newer boxes come out later this year).


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## Hutchinshouse (Sep 28, 2006)

An HDGUI has got to be my number one most wanted feature from DIRECTV. Same with the active channel and the game channel. I’d actually use those channels if they were in HD.

Count me in on any HDGUI testing.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

Stuart Sweet said:


> I think this is a big jump up for verizon; they've needed it since their GUI is, in my opinion, worse in most areas than ours.


It's certainly different than ours, so if you're a veteran HR user just trying it out, I can see why you'd feel that way. I'm over at my mom's and son's houses a lot, tho, and now that I'm used to their GUI, I like it a lot. I find it very intuitive


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## BAHitman (Oct 24, 2007)

George_T said:


> Having a wife that's visually impaired and who has trouble reading black type on a bright white background, that's not a good look for her particular situation. It would be nice if FIOS, D* and others would have multiple color display schemes that could be changed. I know my old RCA D* boxes from the mid to late '90's had multiple color schemes that could be set as the default. Would be nice if D* and others would offer this once again.


+1. she would be happy with wihte text on a black background (or dark blue). personally, so would I...


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## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

Steve said:


> It's certainly different than ours, so if you're a veteran HR user just trying it out, I can see why you'd feel that way. I'm over at my mom's and son's houses a lot, tho, and now that I'm used to their GUI, I like it a lot. I find it very intuitive


I use it every day. It is not. Menu selections and other selections vary from clicking OK to using the right arrow randomly. I always find myself clicking the wrong one because you have to look to see if you should right arrow or click OK rather than just do it.

It is alright but it is not better than the DirecTV GUI. Some people fall for flash. I find the current Fios GUI to be pretty bad.

One thing I do like is that they have an option for showing a telephone pad picture for the search function. Makes it easier to remember what keys to push when using that type of search. Also can push it on the screen.

As for the new GUI. It just looks like a wide screen different color version of what they already have. (BTW, Fios had a widescreen GUI and had to drop it; don't think it was HD...their current one is 4:3 unstretched.)


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

tonyd79 said:


> I use it every day. It is not. Menu selections and other selections vary from clicking OK to using the right arrow randomly. I always find myself clicking the wrong one because you have to look to see if you should right arrow or click OK rather than just do it [...]


I guess I think like their GUI programmers, then.  Generally, don't they use click to select a menu subject area, and then right arrow to drill down to that menu's options? Once I understood that, it seemed natural to me.

It's not unlike the HR's Setup menu, navigating through the tabbed headers under certain menu selections, e.g.


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## jpl (Jul 9, 2006)

tonyd79 said:


> As for the new GUI. It just looks like a wide screen different color version of what they already have. (BTW, Fios had a widescreen GUI and had to drop it; don't think it was HD...their current one is 4:3 unstretched.)


That's not correct. They never officially released a wide guide... not intentionally anyway. Here's what happened - on one series of their HD boxes (the moto QIP-7xxx series) all of a sudden folks started seeing a stretched guide. Per Verizon, that wasn't intentional. Apparently they were doing some testing with their s/w and inadvertently rolled out that change but again it only affected one series of their boxes. A subsequent release removed it.


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

That VZ GUI is really beautiful. Applause to VZ. Silence and crickets to D*.


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## jpl (Jul 9, 2006)

Not to pound this too hard, and I know this isn't a FiOS forum, but to all who said 'well, yeah, that's pretty and all, but come on... it's just a guide...' - there are lots of new features baked into this s/w release too - beyond the pretty new guide, e.g.:

- eSATA expansion support
- additional multi-room functionality (what I mentioned above)
- DVD-like chapters baked into recordings (not sure how all this will be implemented)
- Undelete functionality
- additional support for streaming to other devices (e.g. they're creating an iPad ap, that will initially allow you to use an iPad as another TV - the decryption of programming will be done at the router, so the iPad will act as a stand-alone STB)
- enhanced searching (e.g. addition of auto-complete)
- chronological guide listings - meaning that you can see all the programs for a particular channel listed chronologically - I know... DirecTV has this... FiOS USED to have this (they don't now), but it has a nice twist to it - the horizontal channel lists.
- the ability to actually purchase VOD permanently (nothing that I can ever see using, but hey, it's an enhancement).

And then there's the 16x9 HD guide. This is a significant s/w update.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

jpl said:


> [...]
> - DVD-like chapters baked into recordings (not sure how all this will be implemented)
> - Undelete functionality
> [...]
> ...


Those three in particular caught my eye.

I wonder if they're sensing commercial breakes in order to insert bookmarks? That would be very cool, and not unlike one of our Top 10 Wish List requests. I'm paraphrasing, but something like _"When doing a FFx3, automatically switch from FF to PLAY at the end of a commercial break."_

"Undelete" is another of our long-standing requests.

I've always preferred Verizon's approach to search, especially when it comes to search results. E.g., with FiOS, a search for "A-L-<space>-P" not only finds _Al Pacino_ and _Al Punto_, but it also finds _Along Came Polly_. I like that better, but understand other's MMV on that one.


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## RACJ2 (Aug 2, 2008)

TBlazer07 said:


> You can be sure they would charge a premium for a box with a larger INTERNAL drive if they had one so you'd pay out that $100 you didn't want to spend in probably less than a year .... and keep on paying.... and paying .....


True, but I was really referring to the fact the the HR22 -> HR24 have plenty of space vs the FiOS standard drive in their DVR. For me, there is no need to add an external hard drive with DIRECTV.


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## dcowboy7 (May 23, 2008)

That fios guide has only 5 channels per page ?

Dont like that at all.

edit:
oh 7 - still not enough - too much waste of space on top - screw pip give me more channels per page.

edit2:
if its really 5 that totally sux.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

dcowboy7 said:


> That fios guide has only 5 channels per page [...]


Looks like 7 to me, unless you select a show as pictured.

Plenty of room for the show description on top, tho. Designers..... arghhhhhh!

Except for *Stuart*, of course!


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## DogLover (Mar 19, 2007)

Steve said:


> Looks like 7 to me, unless you select a show as pictured.
> 
> Plenty of room for the show description on top, tho. Designers..... arghhhhhh!
> 
> Except for *Stuart*, of course!


All the pictures show a show selected. Are we sure that you can scroll through the guide without a show selected? Does it just highlight a show/channel until you press enter/select?

Either way 7 is good, 5 is not.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

DogLover said:


> All the pictures show a show selected. Are we sure that you can scroll through the guide without a show selected? Does it just highlight a show/channel until you press enter/select?


I assumed you need to select a show, which I shouldn't! You may be right.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

jefbal99 said:


> I thought the Chipsets would support a 16x9 SD GUI, but not an HD GUI...
> 
> Maybe the newer HR23/24 have a chipset capable of HD GUI, but I don't think the H20/21/22 chipset will handle an HD GUI


The HR21 and up can definitely handle an HD GUI. I don't think the HR20 can.


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## jpl (Jul 9, 2006)

DogLover said:


> All the pictures show a show selected. Are we sure that you can scroll through the guide without a show selected? Does it just highlight a show/channel until you press enter/select?
> 
> Either way 7 is good, 5 is not.


Not sure I understand the question about scrolling through the guide withouth selecting a show. If the new guide works like it does now (which I think is a valid assumption) then the functionality will be very much like DirecTV's. Bring up the guide, and the show you're currently watching shows up in the picture. Scroll through the guide, and the picture doesn't change (unless you hit 'ok' on the remote), but you get the description of the show that the cursor is over. The only real difference from what I remember from my DirecTV days is that the current Verizon guide doesn't highlight the top show on every page by default. It's somewhere in the middle. So, if I page down, the show that's highlighted on that 'page' is one of the middle channels. But if I cursor over some other show I get the description for that show.


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## DogLover (Mar 19, 2007)

jpl said:


> Not sure I understand the question about scrolling through the guide withouth selecting a show. If the new guide works like it does now (which I think is a valid assumption) then the functionality will be very much like DirecTV's. Bring up the guide, and the show you're currently watching shows up in the picture. Scroll through the guide, and the picture doesn't change (unless you hit 'ok' on the remote), but you get the description of the show that the cursor is over. The only real difference from what I remember from my DirecTV days is that the current Verizon guide doesn't highlight the top show on every page by default. It's somewhere in the middle. So, if I page down, the show that's highlighted on that 'page' is one of the middle channels. But if I cursor over some other show I get the description for that show.


I will use the new interface since that's the only frame of reference I have.

The pictures show that one channel's display is taller than the other channels. That display allows the selected show's description to display right under the show's name in the guide. Because that channel is taller, only 5 channels are seen at one time in the full guide.

The question is this: As you scroll (or page) down in the guide, is there always one channel that has this taller display with a show descriptions? Alternatively, would you scroll (or page) down in the guide and see a screen with all channels the same height, not show description, and more channels on the screen? You would then have to press a button to "select" a show, that then make that channel's display taller and display the show description.

I assume that we will just be guessing until we find someone who has played with the new gui. The reason we are curious is that as pictured, there are only 5 channels displayed at a time, which is less than Directv's current guide. However, if the show description wasn't displayed, it appears there is room for 7 channels to display at one time, which is more than Directv's current guide.

Right now, with Directv's guide, you can scroll and a shorter description displays up by the "picture in guide". You can press the "info" button and get the full description as well as recording options,


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## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

for me a guide should show at least three hours and since I'm in the NYC area it should show channels 2, 4, 5 ,7, 9, 11, 13, and optionally 21, and NJN along with PIG and description of the highlighted show. IMHO of course.

Not to mention if a HD version is available show the HD channel and if only a SD then show that guide data.

I'm not impressed by a high WOW factor, give a high usability factor instead.

Remember the Microsoft interface? Hit the record button once and set a one time recording. Hit it twice set a weekly recording. Hit it a third time and remove the timer. As I remember it anyway. Functional.

Cheers


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

TBoneit said:


> ...
> 
> Remember the Microsoft interface? Hit the record button once and set a one time recording. Hit it twice set a weekly recording. Hit it a third time and remove the timer. As I remember it anyway. Functional.
> 
> Cheers


That's how the HRs work, too.


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## hbkbiggestfan (May 25, 2007)

I would love for D* to add an undelete function ahead First and then an HD GUI. The bookmark thing could be really cool especially if it allows for easier skipping of commercial breaks. Hopefully D* is on the ball making moves for a near future s/w release.


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## jpl (Jul 9, 2006)

DogLover said:


> I will use the new interface since that's the only frame of reference I have.
> 
> The pictures show that one channel's display is taller than the other channels. That display allows the selected show's description to display right under the show's name in the guide. Because that channel is taller, only 5 channels are seen at one time in the full guide.
> 
> ...


Ah, gotcha. I haven't played with the new GUI, so I'll just have to go by what the current interface does (which, again, I think is a valid comparison, since structurally things look equivalent). The tall line in the guide is for the line you're currently on. You don't have to hit 'ok' or 'select' to get it to open up like that. As you scroll through the guide, the line that the cursor is on automatically opens up like that, displaying the information that's there. In that regard it is different than what I remember my old R15 interface looked like. I seem to recall (don't know if DirecTV's interface is the same or not) that as you scroll through the guide, the information for the current show just appears on the top. That's not how the current FiOS guide works. With the current FiOS guide, like I said, the current line you're on opens up like that, showing all the information directly in the guide, meaning that (if the current pictures are accurate) you'll only get 5 lines of guide data at any one time.

One last point with this. The current line remains static on the screen. So, if I hit the up arrow, e.g. (not the page up, but the up arrow to go up a line) the cursor doesn't move up. The guide move down one line, so the current line (the tall line) always shows up in the same spot on the screen. I wasn't crazy about that aspect at first, but now I really like it - your eyes don't have to go all over the screen to see the program information - your eyes stay fixed in the same spot.

But then again, it wouldn't surprise me if things changed before they officially release it. For example, in that first picture in the Engaget article, there's no color coding on the guide, which bugged me (I love the color coding that Verizon currently has). But lower down, it's clear that they are preserving color coding. There's also no Verizon logo, which will most definitely be there, as will the TV Guide logo. Also, if the current guide is any indication, there will be multiple views available. Currently the default is a 1.5 hour grid guide. But I can also bring up a different style guide, which shows only the current programs, but the PIG takes up half the screen. It wouldn't surprise me if they offered something like that with this new guide too.

Finally, from what I understand, this interface will be a good deal more customizable than the old interface.


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## loudo (Mar 24, 2005)

It would take a lot more than HD GUI, to get me to go back to cable, fiber or coaxial.


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## HerntDawg (Oct 6, 2008)

I personally do not care if the gui is changed.


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

loudo said:


> It would take a lot more than HD GUI, to get me to go back to cable, fiber or coaxial.


That's fair, but it's great to see the possibilities. I really wish our friends at DirecTV would take notice.


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## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

Steve said:


> I guess I think like their GUI programmers, then.  Generally, don't they use click to select a menu subject area, and then right arrow to drill down to that menu's options? Once I understood that, it seemed natural to me.
> 
> It's not unlike the HR's Setup menu, navigating through the tabbed headers under certain menu selections, e.g.


What tabbed headers? They are long gone.

And, no. It is not cut and dried. A "menu subject area?" What the heck is that? Terminiology I never heard of before.


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## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

Steve said:


> I wonder if they're sensing commercial breakes in order to insert bookmarks? That would be very cool, and not unlike one of our Top 10 Wish List requests. I'm paraphrasing, but something like _"When doing a FFx3, automatically switch from FF to PLAY at the end of a commercial break."_


I doubt it. There are no tick marks on Fios DVRs. They are probably just going to insert them at 15 minutes, 30 minutes, whatever like the Tivo and HRs do.



Steve said:


> I've always preferred Verizon's approach to search, especially when it comes to search results. E.g., with FiOS, a search for "A-L-<space>-P" not only finds _Al Pacino_ and _Al Punto_, but it also finds _Along Came Polly_. I like that better, but understand other's MMV on that one.


I don't see appreciably different results on my Fios DVR than I do with Smart Search. The Fios search actually sucks. No category filtering, odd information delivery with no consistency. Also, the DVR does not load all the guide data for searching. You have to force the guide to load beyond a week to get data beyond the next couple of days.


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## jpl (Jul 9, 2006)

tonyd79 said:


> I doubt it. There are no tick marks on Fios DVRs. They are probably just going to insert them at 15 minutes, 30 minutes, whatever like the Tivo and HRs do.
> 
> I don't see appreciably different results on my Fios DVR than I do with Smart Search. The Fios search actually sucks. No category filtering, odd information delivery with no consistency. Also, the DVR does not load all the guide data for searching. You have to force the guide to load beyond a week to get data beyond the next couple of days.


I partially agree with you. First, the 'chapter' breaks, I would guess, are going to be just what you said - tick marks at every x number of minutes. Which I would be very happy to see (I don't know how they do it otherwise).

As for the searching on FiOS, I do agree that it's lacking in some areas. For example, you can't save searches, like you can with DirecTV. The subject searches, like you said, are all but useless.

As for the ordering... that's a subject for debate. It's supposed to give you a list by relevence, ala google. The more you type in, the closer you get to your listing. I actually like it, but I can see where it gets annoying. In the one example used, I would like to put in 'Along' and have it just list everything that starts with that word, alphabetically. Having that as a customizable setting would be nice - how do you want the results sorted? Alphabetically? By relevence?

I DO like what the other poster mentioned about the defaulted wildcards in the search. Every space you put in becomes a defacto wild card. So, if I put in 'A P', that's the equivalent of the following (pardon the SQL jargon):

select title
from whatever_table
where title like '%A%P%'

Finally, where I think you're post isn't quite right is on the data that's being searched. First, you're right - just like every other provider, Verizon only stores x number of days on your guide (up to 14). But unlike, say, DirecTV, the guide data is fed off their servers. If I reboot my DVR, it comes back really fast (within a minute), but I only have about a day's worth of guide data. However if I bring up the guide, and page forward, Verizon will keep feeding me guide data on the fly, up to about 14 days out - and it gets fed very quickly.

All that being said, Verizon stores their searchable stuff on their own servers. So when you search, you're not going against what's in your guide. You're going by what's on their servers. Meaning I can have 1 day of guide data on my DVR, but when I search, the search will go out to the max of up to 14 days.

The nice part of this is that the data you search on your boxes will all be the same - and it'll match the searches you do off their website (they use the same data there). However, where it can suck (and I've seen isolated cases of this) is if the guide data doesn't match what's on their servers. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen from time to time. So, I search for a show, it doesn't crop up, but I can clearly find it on the guide, and hit the record button from there. That kind of thing.


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## wilbur_the_goose (Aug 16, 2006)

I've worked in IT for about (well, a very long time) years. (OK - about 27). I once had a very wise boss who told me that when it comes to GUI's, "It's the sizzle that sells the steak."

D*'s current GUI was sizzling at one time, but now it's just boring looking compared to things like FIOS or Windows Media Center. D* is THE leader in television, right? 

Come on, DirecTV - show us some leadership in the GUI area! Please?


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## Button Pusher (Jan 19, 2007)

I knew it was ok to keep asking for a HD GUI. Some of you hand smackers should be ashamed of yourselves! lol


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## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

jpl said:


> All that being said, Verizon stores their searchable stuff on their own servers. So when you search, you're not going against what's in your guide. You're going by what's on their servers. Meaning I can have 1 day of guide data on my DVR, but when I search, the search will go out to the max of up to 14 days.


Not true. I just did this the other day. I find upcoming programs on the Fios DVR only AFTER I pushed the guide as you discribed to get more data. It does not go to their servers to find data. They may have done that at some point but it is not doing that now. The only stuff it finds is what is on my box for linear programming.


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## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

wilbur_the_goose said:


> I've worked in IT for about (well, a very long time) years. (OK - about 27). I once had a very wise boss who told me that when it comes to GUI's, "It's the sizzle that sells the steak."
> 
> D*'s current GUI was sizzling at one time, but now it's just boring looking compared to things like FIOS or Windows Media Center. D* is THE leader in television, right?
> 
> Come on, DirecTV - show us some leadership in the GUI area! Please?


I prefer the DirecTV guide. It is clean. The Fios one is unneccessarily noisy. Sizzle sucks.


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## jpl (Jul 9, 2006)

tonyd79 said:


> Not true. I just did this the other day. I find upcoming programs on the Fios DVR only AFTER I pushed the guide as you discribed to get more data. It does not go to their servers to find data. They may have done that at some point but it is not doing that now. The only stuff it finds is what is on my box for linear programming.


Then how is it possible that my search doesn't turn up something that's clearly in the guide? Where I see that predominantly is with the SD/HD versions of a particular program. The SD version will come back with a search, but the HD won't, but the HD version is clearly in the guide.

Besides, what I described isn't what I made up about it - it's how Verizon said their system works. All the searching is done on the back end. Now, it's possible that pulling in additional guide data will repost to their servers, but what I described is how Verizon said their service works. Basically their STBs are thin clients - they do as much as possible on the server end. It keeps the hardware costs down because the STBs don't need to be nearly as powerful as they are with other providers.


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## dreadlk (Sep 18, 2007)

I imagine that when FIOS comes into a neighborhood, Directv experiences a massive sucking sound as customers churn away to FIOS. I have used FIOS and IMO on a good Plasma it looks significantly better than Directv and once again IMO that’s the main selling point of FIOS. As TV's get better each year, that better PQ is going to be the main problem for Directv unless they can find a method to increase their bit rates etc. 

The one problem I did find with FIOS was going from their lovely HD picture to the Guide, it was absolutely dismal going from great HD to the guide, so they have now fixed that and there's no doubt that a better guide makes for a better presentation and customers who compare FIOS to Directv will see this right away.

Bigger hard drive on FIOS, great but it's still no match for Directv and they still do not have a feature laden system that is as versatile as Directv, so that does give Directv some time and does help to level the field, but in the end this looks like a really hard fight for Directv to win over the long haul.


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2010)

Jeremy W said:


> Check out the new guide software that Verizon will be rolling out before the end of this year: http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/18/verizon-fios-set-top-boxes-getting-a-new-hd-guide-external-stor/
> 
> It's not perfect, but it definitely shows just how far behind DirecTV is in the GUI department. The GUI we have today is still substantially the same as it was in 2004 when it was first introduced. It's still SD, and it's still natively 4:3. It's starting to get ridiculous.


I saw that and it looks cool! DTV really needs to upgrade their GUI.


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## dreadlk (Sep 18, 2007)

CraigerCSM said:


> I saw that and it looks cool! DTV really needs to upgrade their GUI.


Contrary to what some others have posted, I doubt Directv can upgrade it.
Even though the Chips can do it, there's that nagging speed problem! If you think the Menus and Guide are slow now, they will seem like bullets in comparison; if the Guide goes HD. While some will argue that the speed issue is not GUI chip related, it's certain that once you go HD the GUI can fit more info on the screen and that is going to suck more cycles from all other area's.


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

dreadlk said:


> Contrary to what some others have posted, I doubt Directv can upgrade it.
> Even though the Chips can do it, there's that nagging speed problem! If you think the Menus and Guide are slow now, they will seem like bullets in comparison if the Guide goes HD. Even if some will argue that the speed issue is not GUI chip related, it's certain that once you go HD GUI more info can fit on the screen and that sucks more cycles from all other area's.


The newest Tivo is a good example. Works fine with the old menus...switch to the new look & it's molasses.


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2010)

dreadlk said:


> Contrary to what some others have posted, I doubt Directv can upgrade it.
> Even though the Chips can do it, there's that nagging speed problem! If you think the Menus and Guide are slow now, they will seem like bullets in comparison if the Guide goes HD. Even if some will argue that the speed issue is not GUI chip related, it's certain that once you go HD GUI more info can fit on the screen and that sucks more cycles from all other area's.


The HR-24 is a lot faster than the older HD DVR's. I know I have one. Doesn't the HR-24 have a faster chipset?


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

sigma1914 said:


> The newest Tivo is a good example. Works fine with the old menus...switch to the new look & it's molasses.


It's not a good example. Tivo's new GUI isn't just a new look, it's totally new software. DirecTV's HD GUI would presumably be using the same base software they're using now, which shouldn't cause any significant decrease in speed.


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## hdtvfan0001 (Jul 28, 2004)

CraigerCSM said:


> The HR-24 is a lot faster than the older HD DVR's. I know I have one. Doesn't the HR-24 have a faster chipset?


Yes...they do.


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2010)

hdtvfan0001 said:


> Yes...they do.


Could that handle Fios' new GUI if DTV did something similar?


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## sigma1914 (Sep 5, 2006)

Jeremy W said:


> It's not a good example. Tivo's new GUI isn't just a new look, it's totally new software. DirecTV's HD GUI would presumably be using the same base software they're using now, which shouldn't cause any significant decrease in speed.


Ok...I was wrong.


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## GregLee (Dec 28, 2005)

George_T said:


> It would be nice if FIOS, D* and others would have multiple color display schemes that could be changed.


Yes, I agree. That's one of the few advantages of the TWC UI I had before I started with DirecTV -- configurable color schemes. But if users can't select the color, at least it doesn't have to be blue necessarily, does it? I dislike blue.

But the most important thing is to get more information on each screen page of the Guide. Even if it's blue.


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

GregLee said:


> But if users can't select the color, at least it doesn't have to be blue necessarily, does it? I dislike blue.


You may dislike blue, but it's DirecTV's color.


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## RACJ2 (Aug 2, 2008)

dreadlk said:


> I imagine that when FIOS comes into a neighborhood, Directv experiences a massive sucking sound as customers churn away to FIOS. I have used FIOS and IMO on a good Plasma it looks significantly better than Directv and once again IMO that's the main selling point of FIOS. As TV's get better each year, that better PQ is going to be the main problem for Directv unless they can find a method to increase their bit rates etc. ...
> 
> .... Bigger hard drive on FIOS, great but it's still no match for Directv and they still do not have a feature laden system that is as versatile as Directv, so that does give Directv some time and does help to level the field, but in the end this looks like a really hard fight for Directv to win over the long haul.


The two companies really aren't on a level playing field. Keep in mind that FiOS probably won't be installed everywhere. I don't know if its the same as the Telco part of the business, but I assume it is. So they can only install FiOS in Verizon areas, not AT&T or other local telco's. DIRECTV can sell nationwide and is only limited by LOS. So the massive sucking sound will be limited to specific areas. And sports enthusiasts may go for the FiOS internet, but not their HD sports content.


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## Davenlr (Sep 16, 2006)

Be hard to go from two 2TB hard drives to that little bitty Fios DVR too...


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## Jeremy W (Jun 19, 2006)

RACJ2 said:


> I don't know if its the same as the Telco part of the business, but I assume it is.


It's actually totally separate. However, Verizon has stated that they don't intend to go beyond their POTS service area.


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## raott (Nov 23, 2005)

CraigerCSM said:


> The HR-24 is a lot faster than the older HD DVR's. I know I have one. Doesn't the HR-24 have a faster chipset?


Is it really? The first look indicated it was. However, about a month ago there was a fairly lenthy thread with a number of people all of a sudden backtracking on the speed differences when it was pointed out that customers should be demanding the HR24 of D*.


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## Steve (Aug 22, 2006)

raott said:


> Is it really? The first look indicated it was. However, about a month ago there was a fairly lenthy thread with a number of people all of a sudden backtracking on the speed differences when it was pointed out that customers should be demanding the HR24 of D*.


I don't think folks were backpedaling. IIRC, some of us pointed out that with the latest software releases, our old boxes have been performing better. I know running the newest software, the speed gap has closed quite a bit between my HR24's and my old HR20... it's never been snappier in the 3 years I've owned it. So while my HR24's are definitely faster and a joy to use, my HR20 is very responsive and its speed is more than adequate for my needs.


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## TBoneit (Jul 27, 2006)

sigma1914 said:


> That's how the HRs work, too.


OK, Thanks

I tend to not look for a different way once I find something that works.

I know someone that always keeps a copy of a show they want to look for later as a reminder, trying to explain a different way would be a headache.

I know that there are other ways since I have many timers set for new only that haven't recorded all summer. Once the new season starts they'll start recording again.

Bottom line: Whatever works

BTW A think a GUI can matter, it needs to be easy to read and interpret as well as intuitive.

I've bought hardware that I was able to start using right away without looking at the manual as it was intuitive. Examples: Ipod, WD media player and the netflix interface in it. A few little tweaks like turning off the screen saver, and media library and voila.


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## jpl (Jul 9, 2006)

Not to keep this thread going, but I just wanted to post something else out there. In one post it was asked about the 'tall' line in the guide. I speculated that the new guide would likely operate like the old guide in that regard. I just realized - I didn't need to speculate too much about that, afterall. As someone else (in another forum) pointed out, Verizon has already given us a taste of the new guide. The template (including the new color template) HAS been rolled out, to some extent, in one of Verizon's guide options. It's not really a widget, but kinda acts that way - it's called Zona Latina, and is invoked off their main menu. It's designed to focus on the Spanish language package - everything's in Spanish, e.g. What's more, there's a mini-guide under there - it's nowhere near full-functional, but it looks damn close to all the pictures I've seen in the article. It functions just like I thought it would - just like the current guide does. The line giving the information is fixed. The guide moves 'around' that line, if you will.

Just thought I'd put that out there, for what it's worth.


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## Grydlok (Mar 31, 2007)

jpl said:


> Not to keep this thread going, but I just wanted to post something else out there. In one post it was asked about the 'tall' line in the guide. I speculated that the new guide would likely operate like the old guide in that regard. I just realized - I didn't need to speculate too much about that, afterall. As someone else (in another forum) pointed out, Verizon has already given us a taste of the new guide. The template (including the new color template) HAS been rolled out, to some extent, in one of Verizon's guide options. It's not really a widget, but kinda acts that way - it's called Zona Latina, and is invoked off their main menu. It's designed to focus on the Spanish language package - everything's in Spanish, e.g. What's more, there's a mini-guide under there - it's nowhere near full-functional, but it looks damn close to all the pictures I've seen in the article. It functions just like I thought it would - just like the current guide does. The line giving the information is fixed. The guide moves 'around' that line, if you will.
> 
> Just thought I'd put that out there, for what it's worth.


I thought you didn't have FIOS HD service


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## jpl (Jul 9, 2006)

Grydlok said:


> I thought you didn't have FIOS HD service


Yeah, I do. I think I understand where the confusion comes from, though. When I had DirecTV I only had SD service. A few years ago I got my HD TV, and I wanted HD service - in particular I wanted an HD DVR with the HD service. DirecTV wanted $300 + s/h for their HD DVR. They wouldn't budge, so I did. That was what drove me to seriously consider FiOS TV - I already had FiOS internet for 14 months by that point, so I decided to give it a shot. I suspended my DirecTV service, and got FiOS TV installed - I didn't want to cancel DirecTV outright because I didn't know if I would really go for FiOS TV service. After about a day I decided that FiOS TV was a better fit for me, and not long after that I cancelled my DirecTV service.

One clarification on the Zona Latina thing, btw. It does not include an HD guide. The only aspect I was alluding to was the basic look and feel of the guide - it operates just like the current IMG guide does today, where the current line falls in the same place on the screen, and is always expanded (tall). The guide itself moves relative to the one line.


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## Grydlok (Mar 31, 2007)

jpl said:


> Yeah, I do. I think I understand where the confusion comes from, though. When I had DirecTV I only had SD service. A few years ago I got my HD TV, and I wanted HD service - in particular I wanted an HD DVR with the HD service. DirecTV wanted $300 + s/h for their HD DVR. They wouldn't budge, so I did. That was what drove me to seriously consider FiOS TV - I already had FiOS internet for 14 months by that point, so I decided to give it a shot. I suspended my DirecTV service, and got FiOS TV installed - I didn't want to cancel DirecTV outright because I didn't know if I would really go for FiOS TV service. After about a day I decided that FiOS TV was a better fit for me, and not long after that I cancelled my DirecTV service.
> 
> One clarification on the Zona Latina thing, btw. It does not include an HD guide. The only aspect I was alluding to was the basic look and feel of the guide - it operates just like the current IMG guide does today, where the current line falls in the same place on the screen, and is always expanded (tall). The guide itself moves relative to the one line.


Just checking since when I had FIOStv HD service I couldn't remember did you sub to it or not.


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