# New Guide Interface. Any update?



## SeaBeagle (May 7, 2006)

Is there any update on when the new TV listings guide be available?


Sent from my iPad 4 128GB using DBSTalk mobile application.


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## Willh (Jan 1, 2009)

Are you asking for a update on the Carbon UI that has been the works, well some people have said on the other satellite forum site it may roll out sometime between now and around CES Time. In fact it might be on select hoppers that are beta testers in which they can't legally talk about.

Also, keep an eye on Bluegras, he has been known to be obsess with Dish as he is not only a member here at DBSTalk, he also a member of that other site too and his obsession with Dish and constant asking on an update on the Carbon UI had resulted in that other site to banned him from posting in just that thread, which was ironically started by him. He hasn't been banned from the site, just the thread he started about a update on it. And yes, that thread is not locked on that site either.

I know that cause I am also a member of that site too.


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## FarmerBob (Nov 28, 2002)

For a short while there was an App the "New Hopper Experience" in the Apps area that talked all about it, then it was gone. Today I had some wonkiness, had to reboot and got the first I have ever seen, a little "Guide/DVR Update" ghosted window with a progress thermometer at the bottom in the middle of the screen that took forever to progress. I was trying to keep my hopes down thinking that I was getting the update. With fingers crossed, I waited for a good half an hour, and no it wasn't it. With that App in the wild a few weeks ago, one would think that it would have been out by now. I have gotten them at all times of the day, so I was hoping that was it.

But it can't be too soon and I pray that there are other fixes in there. My HwS is really acting up on many levels.


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## SeaBeagle (May 7, 2006)

Thank you for the updates.


Sent from my iPad 4 128GB using DBSTalk mobile application.


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## FarmerBob (Nov 28, 2002)

Just got home from "clubbing". Got S528 at 12:58am MST. A jump from 525. First off the titles on the CD channels are missing again. The "guide" is still ugly as sin. If this is a "series" of updates to fix things in preparation, things ain't gettin' fixed. Who knows what else is broken. Like it's been said again and again, "they break more than they fix with each roll out". I'm getting really scared about the new Carbon UI. If they can't contain a simple update, what's gonna happen then?!

But then what's Christmas without the disaster surprise? Off to see what . . .


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

Yeah, the AUDIO and CD titles are screwed up again. They work, then they don't, then they work again, then they don't.

The Carbon UI is a big concern, if not, it should be. What I consider to be a waste of time and money when the resources could have been better spent fixing current problems. Such as, adding an option to set the receiver reboot time, instead DISH foolishly doesn't even take into consideration late night network talk shows. The priority crash bug that kills the tuners and splits anything you have recording. The bug that removes the assigned folder if the timer is edited. The "Add Locals" option that perpetually says, "This feature is coming soon". On and on and on.

Instead, they "streamline" the UI experience and make it less functional. That'll impress the masses, your dollars hard at work. It's the equivalent of painting new road markers on a pothole filled road. The current UI is not terrible, potentially that's the one coming next.


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## FarmerBob (Nov 28, 2002)

Blowgun said:


> Yeah, the AUDIO and CD titles are screwed up again. They work, then they don't, then they work again, then they don't.
> 
> The Carbon UI is a big concern, if not, it should be. What I consider to be a waste of time and money when the resources could have been better spent fixing current problems. Such as, adding an option to set the receiver reboot time, instead DISH foolishly doesn't even take into consideration late night network talk shows. The priority crash bug that kills the tuners and splits anything you have recording. The bug that removes the assigned folder if the timer is edited. The "Add Locals" option that perpetually says, "This feature is coming soon". On and on and on.
> 
> Instead, they "streamline" the UI experience and make it less functional. That'll impress the masses, your dollars hard at work. It's the equivalent of painting new road markers on a pothole filled road. The current UI is not terrible, potentially that's the one coming next.


Totally agree that the potholes need to be filled first, but one of the potholes is the UI whose upgrade is a long time past due along with a sorely needed updated Guide. My family, friends and clients number one complaint is the Guide, then the UI. I have moved a couple of client to DTV because they hate the DISH gear "is".

My nightly updates have been firing off really early between 11 and 1 or wait for hours until I am done 5-6am if I am watching anything. Have never had it chop a recording, it waits until it's done. Timers do that enough on their own. There's something that needs to be fixed. It's almost like the HwS feels my wrath and is trying not to "upset" me. But I have a question, what is getting updated with the restart process, when if you leave it for about 5 minutes you get another updater that is updating the Guide?


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## Blowgun (May 23, 2008)

One thing that the current guide UI could use is a font size adjustment. I'd like to make the font smaller so more could be shown, while others would like to make the font bigger. Not taking something away, but adding functionality. I've always advocated having a channel description somewhere accessible from the guide. Nothing fancy, something that would explain what the, sometimes cryptic, channel abbreviation means and what the channel is about.

I don't mind the darker appearance of the Carbon UI, it's the other changes that go along with having the darker appearance that soured it for me. At first I was excited to see the darker style, but that quickly changed when I learned that it wasn't just eye candy, but poorly thought out baggage that was getting tossed in without the potholes getting fixed. I'd like to know who thought you could divide 24 by 2.5 and end up with a whole number. And, what genius thought it would be cool to move the program description from the top where it is spaciously wide, to a vertical narrow strip that in all likelihood will more often cut things off. People might be tired of looking at the current guide, but having to deal with ill-conceived changes, for the sake of change, will quickly get frustrating. Of course, there are always going to be people that are oblivious and others that do not care.

I prevent one Hopper from rebooting, but on it's own would reboot around 1:20 AM. While the other Hopper, which I do let it reboot, the network log shows it's rebooting roughly around the same time. As it happened, the program I was watching and had buffered, went to commercial and while I was in the other room, the Hopper rebooted and I lost what I was watching. So, after that unadulterated stupidity I decided that I would no longer allow that Hopper to reboot on it's own.

As to recordings getting split, I hope I didn't give the impression that happened because the Hopper rebooted. Instead, while you are recording something, go into the Priority screen and start moving unrelated timers around. Do that a couple of times. If you see the screen suddenly go black and there is no sound, all of the tuners crashed and the recordings, when the Hopper recovers, will be split.

If the guide is getting updated while the Hopper is in standby, it will show a percentage of downloaded guide data. I've also seen the guide getting updated from the TV Activity screen.


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## FarmerBob (Nov 28, 2002)

I agree on the font thing and am surprised that with the level of "adjustability" that Closed Captioning has, the most options I have ever seen for a CC set up, that this is not available for the Guide. I need mine smaller on the larger screens and larger on screens smaller than 32". And the darker UI is what it needs to be and should have been all along. Having been a publisher of books at one time I saw as the transition into visual screens, monitors, took place, that the viewing axiom changed. You need light to read a book, so black print on a white page facilitates that. But when that white page is being projected at you, the brightness is counter productive and eye damaging in the process of viewing the black type that gets somewhat "pinched" and eye strain is caused by the bright white or light background in the process. TV is light, so no added light in the "document" is necessary, but a reversal, a darker overall background and light type. Thus, the advent of the newer more "futuristic" UI's. I read the other day in the trades that there is a company that has a transparent 55" screen for signage available. And in all the promo pics it had a dark hotel lobby behind it while it created its own light in the images. They sited the "want" from what we have seen on TV and in movies in their transparent screens as a next step in a "viewing experience". I see real trouble here. It'll be a fad or specifically placed situation. Can you imagine trying to see something with another image behind it. I have always thought that when watching CSI: Miami and they are looking at those "fake" (CGI) transparent screens. Real cool in a design aspect, but try to look at one with people walking or something else behind it . . . Even Kindle and eReaders started with white type on black backgrounds. I have seen a couple recently that allows for the option of switching depending on your environment. PLUS, with my DLP a bright image can be painful at times. And having the guide, unlike DTV's, bright background and lightish type is just plain difficult to read sometimes. Unless you look at the wall behind me where it is reflect on and can read backwards. It can be that bright. For a long time TV specs have claimed darker, richer blacks, as a positive selling point, why is that important? It's the reverse of the "print axiom" and more akin to nature. You put on sunglasses when you go outside to protect from the "brightness" and potentially damaging effects of it. Right?

I will ardently agree with you on that there are a number of questionable "genius'" there that have moved things around that makes no sense and adds to physical and logical viewing difficulty. Also the truncation of listings, descriptions and info. Many years ago, I was hired to help design a new UI long before anyone had a "balanced" UI and when it came time to show up for work, the project was dropped, I was never called to come in. So DISH has been "aware" of this for some time. Just hasn't acted on it.

FYI: I use skins on my browsers that make the blank backgrounds dark or insert dark pictures and have selected dark skins in forums when I can to reduce the eye strain and potentially headaches and less time one spends on that page. Less Time = Bad advertising these days. Oh, I'm in design and advertising now. Now that you are aware of this see how many websites you go to these days that are "darker". There's metrics behind this, Psychologically and Physically. Even writing this, since the Spell Checker in this forum seems to have disappeared when the "look" was updated, or at least I can't find it and have made mention that it's gone to the powers that be with no response, I use a third party editor that I just switched to white type on a black background because my eyes are really starting to bother me looking at all this "brightness".

_*Next:*_ This morning I had my first REAL "Strangeness" since S528. At 1:02am the screen went black and a couple of seconds later a floating block, not the usual game widget ad, came up saying that my unit was off and to press Select to turn it back on. But if this was not correct and an error had happened to do a Red Button reset . . . It was kinda quick so I didn't get all of it. Then back to black, that would made a great title for a song, the fan rev'd and then I got the blurb over the Roo logo saying that is was updating the Guide and there was X amount of time left and counting. This was a whole new and faster process cycle and not at all like previous "early morning updates". Usually, as I have mentioned, the Guide update happens, if you wait to watch, about 5 minutes after the "start up screens" process is done. No Start Up Screens or that whole process this time. I watched for a while longer and at about 3:43am I got the "update pop up" panel and just said no. Wasn't bothered again an hour later and who knows what happened after that when I shut things off for "the night".


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