# New White GUI for R15-300 is a little fuzzy, not very clear



## audispartan (Sep 26, 2006)

Just got the new GUI for the 300, and I noticed some visual problems: bolded words seem fuzzier than standard words; left hand side items seem fuzzy in the main channel guide; in the main guide, when you enter a channel and it replaces the date spot in the mid-upper left, it is extremely fuzzy...

I know this isn't necessarily a TV issue because similar graphics are crystal clear (i.e. CNN scroll bar, ESPN bar, and even the Directv pop up channel bar when you change the channel are all clear). Using a Sony 32 inch tube non-HD TV. 

Any thoughts?


----------



## willis3 (Feb 2, 2007)

audispartan said:


> Just got the new GUI for the 300, and I noticed some visual problems: bolded words seem fuzzier than standard words; left hand side items seem fuzzy in the main channel guide; in the main guide, when you enter a channel and it replaces the date spot in the mid-upper left, it is extremely fuzzy...
> 
> I know this isn't necessarily a TV issue because similar graphics are crystal clear (i.e. CNN scroll bar, ESPN bar, and even the Directv pop up channel bar when you change the channel are all clear). Using a Sony 32 inch tube non-HD TV.
> 
> Any thoughts?


Had the same exact thing here...changed the settings on my Sony to "PRO", that took care of it..


----------



## audispartan (Sep 26, 2006)

willis3 said:


> Had the same exact thing here...changed the settings on my Sony to "PRO", that took care of it..


Thanks, but I tried it and while it did improve the GUI, I wasn't pleased with the results on the channels themselves (for instance, the Fox graphics for the WS game looked worse and less clear). Since I obviously watch more programs than I watch the guide, I don't know if this is a solution just yet. I guess I'll keep fiddling, but I'd like to hear if anyone else notices this on their TVs, including non-Sony TVs.


----------



## Coffey77 (Nov 12, 2006)

My in-laws televisions (two console types, different brands) both began to get fuzzy and "clouded". It was just that they were getting too old and needed to be replaced or re-adjusted. I voted for the first option and got them to buy new TVs  but that's not always an option. Check out the settings, try using S-video if you can or the RCA jack as an alternate... You're supposed to turn OFF any Sharpness settings on the TV but you can try adjusting that setting. Also, turn down your Contrast as that should be about half of what the factory sends them at. It could help with your white "bleeding". It could also be too late and have caused permanent damage which applies to my origional sentance about needing a new one. Also, cable type can have an effect on the signal and anything that cable passes over. If you notice, on tube televisions that are near un-shielded speakers (magnets) they tend to bleed and you'll see color pockets but those are usually green or purple if I recall... The could cause interference of course. Hope that helps give you some ideas to look for.


----------



## audispartan (Sep 26, 2006)

Coffey77 said:


> My in-laws televisions (two console types, different brands) both began to get fuzzy and "clouded". It was just that they were getting too old and needed to be replaced or re-adjusted. I voted for the first option and got them to buy new TVs  but that's not always an option. Check out the settings, try using S-video if you can or the RCA jack as an alternate... You're supposed to turn OFF any Sharpness settings on the TV but you can try adjusting that setting. Also, turn down your Contrast as that should be about half of what the factory sends them at. It could help with your white "bleeding". It could also be too late and have caused permanent damage which applies to my origional sentance about needing a new one. Also, cable type can have an effect on the signal and anything that cable passes over. If you notice, on tube televisions that are near un-shielded speakers (magnets) they tend to bleed and you'll see color pockets but those are usually green or purple if I recall... The could cause interference of course. Hope that helps give you some ideas to look for.


Thanks for the ideas, and without poo-pooing all of them or sounding like a jerk, I just don't think any apply. The Sony is only 2 years old; Monster Cable and AR cables are being used; S-video for a connection; no near speakers or magnets; and, most particularly, I haven't noticed any white bleed or color problems with any other text, colors, etc....only with the GUI from Directv.

I will look into adjusting some of the suggested settings you said like contrast and sharpness, but that seems to have an adverse effect on the actual TV channels and graphics. Sometimes it's like the old anecdote about squeezing a ballon: solves the problem on one end but blows it up at the other end...


----------



## Coffey77 (Nov 12, 2006)

No problem, I do appreciate the toning down of the "poo-pooing"  (had to chuckle a bit over that one). Just had some ideas I thought I'd throw out there, it's hard to see what's going on without actually being able to "see" what's going on. I hope you can figure this out as I do know how frustrating it is to not have the picture you want or "should" have.


----------



## audispartan (Sep 26, 2006)

Coffey77 said:


> No problem, I do appreciate the toning down of the "poo-pooing"  (had to chuckle a bit over that one). Just had some ideas I thought I'd throw out there, it's hard to see what's going on without actually being able to "see" what's going on. I hope you can figure this out as I do know how frustrating it is to not have the picture you want or "should" have.


 
Agreed. And better yet, it's frustrating not having the GUI clarity I used to have, let alone what I should have. What "grinds my gears" is that the actual channel clarity hasn't changed, just the menus and GUI.


----------



## Mark20 (Dec 25, 2006)

I see this too on my R15-100's. To a large degree your running up against the limits of standard definition television. I actually prefer lighter text and a darker background.

Many years ago (and history books were a lot thinner then) I went to the the New York City Transit Authority museum (in an unused subway station). One of the displays was about why their new signs at the time were white on black. They had too signs next to one another and asked you to pick the one with the larger font. Most people picked the white on black but its an optical illusion. The font sizes were the same. The lighter color on the darker background normally looks bigger to the eye.


----------



## Jhon69 (Mar 28, 2006)

I find the pictures look better changing the Display setting to Widescreen.This is on my 50" Phillips Magnavox RPTV.


When I got the white GUI on my R15-500.I had to reduce the Brightness and Picture settings.


----------



## unsub (Dec 27, 2004)

This guide was made for flat panel tvs , thats my opinion but I think its obvious. My r-15/300 is on a new RCA 32 inch tube TV and I like the new GUI, no complaints about it, I did have to get used to it though but it would look even better on a flat panel TV.


----------



## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

Woke up this morning to the new software and new GUI.

My initial reaction was that I didn't like it and found it hard to read. Maybe it looks better on an HDTV, but on my old tube television, the new GUI seems worse than the old GUI. 

I'll give it a few days and see if it grows on me. Though the real test will be if my wife complains.


----------



## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

I've been using this since it was first introduced in the Cutting Edge..... Turn your brightness down, I have a phillips with "Smart Picture" and I set mine to "weak signal" setting and it tones down and the picture on the channels is actually brighter than before too.


----------



## Upstream (Jul 4, 2006)

Dodge -- I'm also using a Philips TV with Smart Picture. But I have it set to "personal" setting which gives me the picture I like best. 

It seems absurd to have to adjust the picture settings to get a worse picture just to make the DTV menus easier to read.


----------



## dodge boy (Mar 31, 2006)

They just made it brighter. You can manually turh the brightness down on the "Personal" setting. i think the picture itself is brighter and cleaerer as well. atleast on my 36" tv hooked up by the "RCA" jacks.


----------



## zortapa (Nov 16, 2005)

I Hate It! Too Bright! Too Blurry! 

Why the he77 should I have to alter the settings on my TV just to view the guide?????????


----------



## Bud33 (Jan 26, 2006)

I may be wrong, but I believe that if the DVR started $hitting out GOLD bricks, someone would complain!!!


----------



## zortapa (Nov 16, 2005)

Perhaps, but the most important issues would be a) how many complained and b) how loudly they complained. While D* will never please all of us, they need to be careful not to tick off most of us.


----------



## kruegs (Feb 19, 2007)

Another R15-300 user here... I actually downloaded a CE version a month or so ago with the "new" GUI and reverted back to the National release because it is too bright. I too have a 3 year old Sony and it looks horrible. My contrast and picture settings are less than 50% and while the actual programming looks great, the guide sucks. It would be perfect if they could just tone down that bold white.


----------



## mrtak60451 (Oct 26, 2007)

i hate the new gui, way, way too bright. 
also, has anyone noticed that the new software update WON'T automatically switch you back to live tv; after a recorded show ends. if for example, you fall asleep watching a recorded show, (like i do all the time) when the recorded show ends, after a few minutes the keep, delete screen, would time out, and the dvr would revert to whatever channel you were watching, I just woke this morning, (first night after the update) to a completely 'black' screen. Only after i manually switched channels did my tuner come up. I think that sucks......


----------



## unipat (Sep 5, 2006)

I am a huge fan of the new GUI. IMHO it's clearer and my brain also thinks that the picture looks clearer as a result. I guess that makes me a mindless drone...but a happy one!


----------



## LI-SVT (May 18, 2006)

The new GUI does seem to be pushing the limits of my older tube TV. Seems as if it was developed/reviewed on an LCD.


----------



## Colonel Badger (Jul 23, 2007)

unipat said:


> I am a huge fan of the new GUI. IMHO it's clearer and my brain also thinks that the picture looks clearer as a result. I guess that makes me a mindless drone...but a happy one!


Actually on my Panasonic Plasma I COMPLETELY agree. Not only does the UI look sharper but bizarrely the picture of channels looks better, is this the placebo affect or have they done some picture improvements in this release as well?


----------



## sadmaker (Sep 16, 2006)

Bud33 said:


> I may be wrong, but I believe that if the DVR started $hitting out GOLD bricks, someone would complain!!!


no sh**. i replaced the philips 35 hr TIVO in my bedroom recently with the r-15 bc, imo, the r-15 has surpassed it. the more releases it recieves, the more stable it becomes.


----------



## ThomasM (Jul 20, 2007)

mrtak60451 said:


> i hate the new gui, way, way too bright.
> also, has anyone noticed that the new software update WON'T automatically switch you back to live tv; after a recorded show ends. if for example, you fall asleep watching a recorded show, (like i do all the time) when the recorded show ends, after a few minutes the keep, delete screen, would time out, and the dvr would revert to whatever channel you were watching, I just woke this morning, (first night after the update) to a completely 'black' screen. Only after i manually switched channels did my tuner come up. I think that sucks......


I hear you!! The same thing happens to me (fall asleep playing a recording). Must be the stimulating fare now available on DirecTV. But I always woke up when the live channel returned and an obnoxious loud commercial played. 

What model do you have and what software release? (Choose MENU/SETTINGS/INFO & TEST to find out)

There was a version of R15-300 software that didn't have the screen saver enabled which did this, but the newest version sent over the satellite (0x10AC) has the screen saver enabled and it goes back to the live channel upon end-of-recorded-playback-timeout.


----------



## jmhorn (Apr 11, 2006)

The new UI is certainly fuzzier -- particularly on the left side of the screen. Much harder to read the the previous UI. I have an SD Sony that is 7 years old, but the UI upgrade shouldn't be harder to read IMO.


----------

