Consolidated list of improvements and feature requests

Keith · 29 September 2012, 5:31PM

Within the old forum system it was easy for customers to +1/vote/me too/like topics to show their support for it. In the old forum these votes very naturally led to prominent ordered lists. One can still view such ordered lists.

This topic draws those ideas together into the single reference list below making such key ideas and requests more visible and accessible. The topic is also a place where some may wish to discuss the relative merits of ideas and/or which are most important to them. Over time as suggestions are made or features implemented I update this list to reflect the current situation.If you are actually more interested in a chronological changelog then you may be better looking at the consolidated list of updates and changes

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Consolidated list of improvements and feature requests

Note the list does not in general include issues that are clearly faults/bugs as it is assumed they must be addressed by YouView in due course. There is however a companion topic to this one that provides a separate consolidated list of bugs and faults for easy reference.

Skip button functionality {see [1]} 30/10/2012 update added 60s forward, 15s backward skip functionality
Channel list management - hiding channels, reordering the channel list and favourites channel lists, better functionality to select/deselect all when hiding/unhiding channels {see [1]} 30/10/2012 update added secure channel hiding; 29/11/2016 next gen keeps hidden channels hidden but is awaiting the re-implementation of the feature to hide further channels; 9/8/2017 new hide channels feature added
Extending search functionality to cover the guide etc {see [1]} 8/1/2013 update added this feature
EPG: Extended programme info in the guide {see [1], [2]}
EPG: Guide layout improvements and functions - make it more compact so more channels and time span are visible per screen; improved zoom mode; single channel view option {see [1], [2], [3], [4]}Improved zoom mode added 3/12/2013; 29/11/2016 next gen update tweaked the EPG layout a little and added a highlight of current channel, dynamic expansion of programme entries under 30 minutes long if the title does not fit the box and that box is highlighted, dropped the mini TV from the top right corner
EPG: Display the synopsis for a programme highlighted in the guide without pressing the info button {see [1]} 9/10/2018 updated added a clunky implementation of an inflating grid entry that shows the detailed timing of a programme and the first line of the synopsis
EPG: Show channel logos in the guide {see [1]} 31/3/2015 update added Black & white channel logos
EPG: Show movie icons in the guide {see [1]}
EPG: In the guide show a symbol for items that will be in on-demand before they have aired not just afterwards {see [1]} 23/10/2014 update added the ability to scroll forward and watch some on-demand content before it has aired partially fulfilling this idea
Better use of the YouView button for more direct access to MyView recordings list or scheduled recordings list {see [1], [2]} 30/10/2012 update reduced number of presses by 1; 25/2/2013 discrete codes made available for programmable remotes
Recordings List: Folders and series rollups (plus options to control the sort order and to disable rollups entirely){see [1], [2], [3]} 30/10/2012 update added series rollups but not general folders
Recordings List: Show the duration of items directly in the list {see [1]
Recordings List: More informative status and error messages; add a symbol to clearly show recordings that are locked against auto-delete function {see [1]} 30/10/2012 update added a padlock symbol to locked recordings; Next-gen has actually made some of this info less obvious or available, e.g. part recorded items are shown with a partial recording symbol which is less obvious that then previous 'part recorded' text
Recordings List: Options/feature to manually change recordings status between watched, part watched and not watched {see [1], [2]} 30/10/2012 update automatically marks an item as watched when all but a few minutes have been watched
Recordings List: Within the info menu of an episode add a list of available repeats {see [1]}
Recordings List: Info display mode {see [1]}
'Play from' option for recordings {see [1]} 30/10/2012 update added this feature; play from feature 'lost' in next gen software, perhaps to return in due course
Trash folder and undelete option {see [1]}
Scheduled Recordings: Show the dates and start/end times in the scheduled recordings list (both the list as seen on the box and as now seen in the YouView app) {see [1]}
Scheduled Recordings: Make series record the default option rather than single item or provide the user with an option to choose whether series or once is the default option {see [1]} 29/11/2016 next gen update makes series recording the default
Scheduled Recordings: Manually set or modify scheduled recordings option {see [1]}
Scheduled Recordings: Manual and automatic intelligent/adaptive recording padding options to provide user choice to try to eliminate/minimise risks of clipped recordings if desired {see [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7]}
Scheduled Recordings: Even better recording clash resolution {see [1]}
Extending instant recording to include content from the buffer {see [1]}
Recording in progress indicator on the YouView box (would typically be hardware specific) {see [1]}
Remote recording setting and management via mobile app and/or web system {see [1], [2]} 3/12/2012 update together with Apple iOS app delivered remote recording booking functionality; 24/6/2013 Android app launched - requires the box to be in low eco mode (now standby mode smart or always ready) in order that it can query the booking service every 30 minutes for new recording bookings entered via your mobile device; currently does not show what is already set to record on the YouView box and does not do clash resolution; 1/3/2020 YouView and TalkTalk-skinned apps withdrawn so only the BT app remains which is only available to BT TV customers; following significant negative feedback, the standard elements of the BT TV app have been opened up to all YouView users so everyone still has an app!
Unified/integrated resume 'last watched' option for on-demand, recordings, and live TV {see [1], [2]}
On-Demand: Filters for listings - free, not free, children, adult, by pay provider etc {see [1]} 15/7/2013 added children and adult filters/sections; next gen BT players allows filtering to show just content 'free/available to me'
On-Demand: Bookmarks {see [1]} 23/1/2018 updated added a MyTV on-demand bookmarks/watchlist featured; 17/9/2018 update further enhanced the watchlist functionality
On-Demand: Live restart for all players {see [1]} BBC iPlayer for YouView gained this feature on 19/8/2015
On-Demand: Add on screen visual cues when fast forwarding/rewinding {see [1]}
On-Demand: Recording and downloading content {see [1]}
On-Demand: Additional apps - Youtube, Lovefilm, Netflix, NASA TV, BFI etc {see [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]} 23/7/2013 update added UKTV player (Dave only); 22/1/2014 UKTV player extended to include Yesterday and Really too; 30/1/2014 S4C player added; 8/10/2014 Quest player added; 4/11/2014 Netflix player added; 31/3/2015 On demand section splits into players and apps and BBC sport and news apps placed in new apps section; 17/4/2015 UKTV player further extended to include Drama too; 19/6/2018 Amazon Prime Video added for BT T2xxx boxes (with indications this will ultimately be available for TalkTalk and retail too); 21/2/2020 full NowTV app added including integration into the EPG and recording for BT TV customers
IPTV: linear channels and on-demand content; support for MHEG-IC (which is in the YouView spec) to enable access of such IPTV services as VuTV or Connect TV {see [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]} 1/8/2013 BT sports IPTV channel available for BT customers; 21/11/2013 recording of IPTV channels added; 18/8/2014 IPTV channels and recording added for TalkTalk customers; 27/11/2014 Connect TV channels Motors, Vintage TV, RT doc and SonLife added
DLNA client/server functionality {see [1]}
Importing, exporting and accessing/playing content via USB ports {see [1]}
Sound: Enable Dolby AC3 5.1 sound {see [1]} 30/10/2012 update added surround sound via S/PDIF, 8/1/2013 updated added HDMI support too
Sound: Delivering consistent volume for different content types, e.g. on-demand, SD and HD channels {see [1]}
Further improvements needed to eco-modes and start-up times {see [1], [2]} 30/10/2012 update reduced high eco startup time to about 100s and low eco startup time to about 15s; 24/11/2015 update replaced eco mode options with standby mode options which in effect adds a 3rd state called smart standby that broadly runs in the always ready/low eco mode in the day and switches to a deeper sleep low energy use mode overnight (1am to 5am by default)
Improve the on screen material during start-up and bring on the TV picture much much quicker {see [1]}
Reminders: Provide a list of reminders set {see [1]}
Reminders: Auto channel change on reminder event {see [1]}
New channels added indicator/message {see [1]}
Live TV programme progress bar {see [1]} 29/11/2016 next gen update adds this feature (including showing how much of the programme lies in the buffer for scroll back purposes)
Fast forward and rewind for radio recordings {see [1]}
Speed viewing: 1.5X fast forward with sound {see [1]}
Picture in picture {see [1]}
Ability to hide the 'press red' icon {see [1]} 30/10/2012 update added a press green to hide the press red icon
Option to use an on screen keyboard instead of txting style text entry {see [1]}
Option to disable scrolling title info on YouView box (could go in a manufacturer specific options menu) {see [1]} - only relevant to original T1000 boxes, and so largely redundant now they are largely end of life
Option to dim or turn off display on Humax YouView box (could go in a manufacturer specific options menu) {see [1]} - only relevant to original T1000 boxes, and so largely redundant now they are largely end of life
Manually control/set video output resolution (e.g. to manually match TV resolution such as 720p, 1080i, 1080p when auto detect is not working) and/or manually set output formats/ratio (e.g. to support old 4:3 format TVs via SCART connection without just squashing the output ratio of 16:9 programmes but instead offering 4:3 centre cut out (fills vertical, chops sides), 4:3 letterbox (black bars top and bottom, full width)) {see [1], [2]} 8/1/2013 added output resolution settings of 720p, 1080i, 1080p
More detailed tuning information and manual tuning option {see [1], [2], [3]}
Include a calibration image mode {see [1]}
Prompt to record or watch HD version from all SD channels with corresponding HD versions, i.e. not just BBC (note more a broadcaster EPG data issue than a direct feature YouView should implement); Also offer options in the guide to easily jump to HD/SD and +1 channel variants {see [1], [2]} 29/11/2016 next gen update no longer has this feature for any channel
YouView partners to address rights issue to give more consistency of what on-demand content is available on other platforms (e.g. a PC) and YouView and also when it becomes available {see [1]}
Slow motion playback {see [1]}
Switch to previous viewed channel via back button or other suitable key {see [1]}
EPG: Option to not show/hide the mini TV when viewing the EPG {see [1]} 24/9/2013 update added this feature; 29/11/2016 next gen update dropped the mini TV entirely
Reinstate an auto standby never option {see [1]} 30/10/2012 update added a 12 hour option rather than a never option
Internet radio app {see [1], [2], [3], [4]}
Web browser {see [1]} - note YouView have previously stated they do not intend to add a browser
Additional recording clash resolution options via retrospective on-demand recording and/or bookmarks {see [1]}
Recordings List: change/improve navigation of the list {see [1]} (largely redundant now recordings are in a tiled grid rather than a paged list)
Seamlessly switch to the live channel when you catch up during chase play {see [1]} Is in the YouView spec - feature needs to be implemented at the manufacturer level by Humax etc
Simultaneously record multiple channels on the same mux via one tuner and hence in many situations be able to record more than 2 programmes at once {see [1]}
Importing and exporting content via network file transfer {see [1]}
Alternatives to full factory reset to restore just some default settings {see [1]}
Accessibility options: text size, colours, themes, audible notifications (e.g. for channel changes) etc; more intelligent zoom option; enabling such settings during initial setup {see [1], [2]} 30/10/2012 update changed font and highlight colour for better accessibility and contrast. Also layout of programme names in EPG table cells slightly adjusted; 24/9/2013 update added an optional high contrast theme/colour scheme; 3/12/2013 updated improved the zoom mode, added USB keyboard and grid2 support
Playback slider to allow jumping easily to different points in a recording like the resume feature accessible from the recordings list {see [1]} note in the next gen software the slider has gone from the recordings list; replacement jump to time feature finally added in 7/8/2019 update
Recommendations system based on your past viewing and recording history {see [1]}
Function to place bookmarks at positions within recordings {see [1]}
Option to specify location of on screen notifications such as channel number, volume level, play, pause etc {see [1]}
Alternate remote codes for YouView remote to deal with clashes (could go in a manufacturer specific options menu) {see [1]}
Feature/option to play items within a single series rollup/folder one after the other in chronological order starting from any particular selected item; more generally the ability to queue a list of recordings to be played in order {see [1], [2]} 17/9/2018 update provides the ability to easily start playback of the next item in a series from the playback bar of the current item for easier chain/binge watching
Recordings List and On-Demand: search/filter/order listings by programme duration {see [1], [2]}
Automatically join parts of a split recording into a single file/item (or failing that then place them under a single folder/tile) {see [1]}
Option/functions to manually join/split/crop recordings {see [1]}
EPG: for programmes set to record mark all alternative showings with a suitable 'alternate recording set' symbol to save you thinking you have not set something and you try to set it again only then to get the message that an alternate showing is already set {see [1]}
EPG: if you press play in the guide on an item that is still recording offer to (chase) play that item directly as it would for a completed recorded item rather than just take you to the live channel {see [1]}
EPG: when trying to record something that has already started or is even in the backwards part of the guide then use the clash resolution functionality to try to identify a future alternate showing and offer to record that instead (or failing that offer an on-demand version if available) {see [1]}
After a software update (which may also include changes to terms and conditions since a copy of those is held on the box too) has occurred show an on screen message the next time it is turned on that preferably lists all the feature changes and additions, bug fixes and any changes in terms and conditions, or otherwise points to a relevant web resource {see [1]} 24/9/2013 update added an update announcement box that appears the first time the box starts up after an update has been applied; 23/10/2014 update introduced a more comprehensive list of details (to support the basic announcements) provided via the YouView website; 23/1/2018 update includes a spotlight message feature that can be used to highlight new features and changes
Option to choose when the daily software update check runs (e.g. so it does not run in the night) {see [1]}
For series link recordings provide the user an option to specify (on a per scheduled recording series link entry basis) that only the N most recent episodes should be retained (can be useful for news or very frequent children's TV programmes etc) {see [1]}
Allow On Demand programmes to be buffered to the end for slow internet connections {see [1]}
Notifications or automatic scheduling for returning series based on past series recordings database (i.e. if I record series/season N of a programme and then series/season N+1 appears then notify me suggesting it can be recorded or subject to an option just automatically schedule the recording for me; perhaps drop such entries from the 'database' after 12-18 months so it does grow too large) {see [1]}
Extend the device information page to include more detailed information, e.g. disk size, RAM, and CPU spec; alternatively provide entries in the main YouView knowledge base listing the specs of each box (i.e. 2 Humax models and 1 Huawei so far) {see [1]}
Introduce a YouView cloud storage service {see [1]}
Stretchyvision option for those that would prefer the box to output old 4:3 aspect ratio programmes stretched to a widescreen 16:9 format rather than have black bars down the sides {see [1], [2]}
EPG search refinements: prioritise search results by title first rather than simply by matching on the full description/info and then purely ordering by scheduled time, match search term to part of words not just whole words, make sure items are not missed out of the search results but exclude content from hidden channels {see [1], [2]}
Utilisation and consistent use of genre information in EPG, listings and searches etc, e.g. genre specific search options and filters for EPG, on-demand and recordings listings (and recommendation system (idea 71) if implemented in the future), option to group or order recordings list and scheduled recordings list by genre, colour coding or icons for items in the EPG based on their genre (could also tie in with idea 8 about movie icons) {see [1], [2]}
Child lock option to disable front panel buttons (although it would need some way to override it to avoid being locked out if there are remote control problems) (could go in a manufacturer specific options menu) {see [1]}
Make some options sticky, e.g. recordings list sort order, search and on demand listing filters, EPG filters etc {see [1]}
Reminders: Daily and/or weekly reminders {see [1]}
Make ISP branding optional on retail boxes {see [1]}
Scheduled Recordings: provide a view showing scheduled recordings bookings that do not match any programmes currently in the EPG (since bookings persists for 13 weeks in such a scenario). This could just be an extension of the existing scheduled recordings view where the existing view is the default which filters out bookings that do not match EPG entries but then the filter could be deselected to add in the other bookings or inverted to just show bookings with no match. {see [1]}
EPG: (when simultaneous recordings are in progress) indicate which channels can be switched to for viewing by greying out inaccessible ones {see [1]
Option to disable automatically switching channel if a recording commences that means the currently viewed channel can no longer be viewed {see [1]}
Option to connect a keyboard (and perhaps mouse too) via USB (e.g. USB dongle wireless keyboard) {see [1]} 3/12/2013 update added USB keyboard support
Add the BBC Connected Red Button service {see [1]} 23/10/2014 update added CRB
Extend mobile app to allow remote control of the YouView box (perhaps initially only on the local wifi network)
Extend mobile app to allow remote viewing of recordings held on the box and direct launching of on-demand content via other apps installed on the mobile device 4/9/2017 YouView app update enabled MyTV recordings list to be seen on the mobile device and, where available as on-demand content, the 'recording' can then be launched within the relevant on-demand player
Provide an option to rearrange the order of the on-demand players list
Provide an option to disable/hide the 'volume disabled' message {see [1]}
Add a screen image mute option/feature, particular for use with radio channels that can otherwise show a static image for long periods that may lead to screen burn in in some situations {see [1]}
On-Demand: Live restart (see item 30) related improvements - facilitate live restart directly from within the EPG; Add fast forward and rewind feature to players when using live restart (player provider task rather than YouView) {see [1]}
Add a My Purchases tab to My View to conveniently list in one location all content purchased from providers available on the platform, e.g. Sky Store, and in the future BBC store, TalkTalk TV store etc {see [1]}
Extend mobile app such that one can choose and watch live TV, where available on the linked Players
Next Gen: on exiting a recording need to deep link back to the specific recording within a series roll up tile {see [1]} 6/6/2017 update restored this feature
Next Gen: on entering a series rollup tile the focus should be on the next unwatched episode {see [1]} 19/4/2017 update changed focus from newest to oldest which is better for most people but still not the optimal solution of this idea; 19/3/2018 update finally implements this in full dropping you on the oldest part unwatched item so you can pickup where you left off; 17/9/2018 update added a 'press green' to return the focus in a series rollup to the natural next item to watch
Next Gen: better options for the user if a recording is allowed to run to the very end {see [1]}
Next Gen: at switch on the main menu is displayed for 1 minute, change this or add user options for choice {see [1]} 19/4/2017 update reduced this timeout to 30 seconds
Next Gen: the fastest fast forward speed shown is 30x, why not add say 60x, 120x and 240x too {see [1]}
Next Gen: bring back the ability to wrap around the EPG between the very last to the very first channel {see [1]}
Next Gen: provide the ability to delete recordings from the menu-bar/ribbon/mini-guide MyTV section as well as from the main MyTV full screen interface
Next Gen: offer an option/feature to choose between a tiled and list view of recordings (where a list view could actually be a tiles variant of N rows with 1 column where each row has a thumbnail for the item and text to the right as in the YouView app (but with series rolled up under 1 tile/row still)) {see [1], [2]}
Provide a (default) filter to ignore/hide any matching search results that are only on channels the user has chosen to hide
Next Gen: software information no longer shows when the software was last update, only when it last checked for updates (which is usually the in night just gone)
For 4k UHD boxes, provide an option to disable 4k upscaling for non-4k sources (i.e. pass 4k content to the TV as 4k (no downscaling) and pass non-4k content at 1080p resolution, leaving the 4k TV to upscale it which can give a better picture quality than the YouView boxes upscaling) {see [1]}
Next gen: large series recording folders are difficult to navigate. Whilst a wrap around/carousel feature would be helpful, for particularly large folders spanning multiple seasons it would be better still to present the tiles in season groups with suitable navigation options to jump quickly between the seasons. This would ideally also combine with idea 110 whereby one is initially placed on the next unwatched/part watched episode {see [1]}
Netflix app feature consistency and currency: surround sound is available on Netflix on many platforms, including BT YouView T400 boxes, but alas so far not on other YouView boxes. The Netflix app should be updated for all to capture the latest features that are standard on numerous other platforms such as 'skip intro', 'previews', 'choose your own adventure style content such as Black Mirror season 5' {see [1], [2]}
Extend the mobile app to (provide an option to) show channel numbers as well as (or instead of) the channel logos {see [1]}
Enhance the MyTV series view to include the bottom actions and info bar including the disk usage display. This will provide consistency with the main MyTV tiles page, make it easier for users to understand the actions available to them via different key presses, and allow easier space management when deleting several entries from within a series {see [1]}

Please do use the thanks or like reactions at the bottom of this post, if you wish to say thanks for the work that goes into maintaining this, to help get it reasonably well placed in the frequently asked questions list to make it easier for others to find and hence access the individual topics linked from here. [note the likes/thanks are very low since they did not carry over from the old forum system where it had gained many likes over the years

]

Keith · 29 September 2012, 5:32PM

Consolidated list of improvements and feature requests now located above

The list now contained in the post above originally resided here within this first topic post. The list was initially created on 29/9/2012 and maintained within this post until 4/12/2013 when the forum software changed meaning the mechanism being used/exploited to manage this post no longer worked. YouView kindly granted me additional access on 3/6/2014 which combined with an adjustment/fix deployed by Get Satisfaction on 24/6/2014 enables me to both maintain such posts again and provides a little additional flexibility which I have chosen to exploit by maintaining the list within the main opening topic post going forward.

As ever if you spot any errors or know of extra information that can be added to the above just add a reply to the topic and provided the forum software allows me I'll do my best to update the information

No thanks is required or expected but always gladly received and, as per Roy's recent suggestion elsewhere, all (including YouView staff) are welcome to like this first reply post in such threads as recognition should they wish to ;-)

Keith · 29 September 2012, 5:33PM

As YouView move towards the first main features software update in late October several of the above listed features are already marked as planned (1, 3, 17, 52) or parts of them are planned (2, 11, 26, 37, 38, 45).

From a purely personal perspective things that are near the top of my wish list (that are not already fully planned) are: 2, 10, 11, 12, 20, 21, 28, 29, 35, 38, 39. So I hope to see more progress on the ones that may be partially implemented in the October update and further progress on many of them in the following update which will presumably be around January/February time.

I would hope some of the other items, although of less immediate importance
to me, are not too difficult to implement and would be nice to have in the
near future to make the product appear more polished (e.g. 5, 6,
7, 13, 14, 18, 19, 24, 25, 41, 42, 43).

Additional on-demand apps (33) and IPTV (34) presumably require development together with external content providers so is not something that is purely within YouView's control but is no doubt key to the success of the platform. Since they have already noted they have had expressions of interest from 140 or so providers we can hopefully expect to see lots more growth of this aspect over time.

I'm sure many will also want to see progress on DLNA (35) and use of the USB ports (36)

northern · 29 September 2012, 8:49PM

I personally think they should be prioritised by the information received from the trialists via the surveys they completed( which we understandibly we dont know the results) and subsequent comments made on this forum baring in mind very few trialists regurarily used the forum so although many of these items may be desired by how many is the question and no doubt YouView will be taking this into consideration when providing software updates

Keith · 29 September 2012, 9:00PM

I agree Cestrian, YouView should take in as much info as possible and the biggest external source they have so far is likely to be the trials surveys although they only covered a subset of the things people have asked about. I think it is good for people to give a flavour of their personal preferences or opinions on the forum (as they are doing in various ways) but it is of course a very small sample set so needs to be considered with care. From the developments planned for the October update and the YouView feedback on the forum I think we can already see YouView are sensibly deciding on developments based on a variety of information gathered.

Keith · 1 October 2012, 2:13PM

Reply to bump this up the recent activity list in case lots of people have not seen it and some have something to say or a vote to add if they consider it a useful resource/topic to make it more likely others will see it/find it easily too.

Also YouView may wish to add something (in broad terms) about how they prioritise development/plan their roadmap (noting of course they cannot disclose too much info for commercial etc reasons).

Adrian Wood1 · 2 October 2012, 7:04AM

This is the order of priority for the various improvements for me:

Urgent / Key:
1, 3, 10 - one button access to recordings list needed, 11, 12, 13 - especially lock icon, 24 - allow an option to record the buffer or not, 30, 37, 39, 40, 55, 56

Important:
2, 5, 9, 21, 22, 23, 27, 31, 32, 33 - especially LoveFilm Instant, 34, 35,53, 64, 66 - better use of tuners to allow more channels to be watched and recorded, 68

Very Useful:
4, 6, 16, 18, 19, 20 - or allow setting for default option, 25, 28, 36, 38, 48 - possibly use close button, 51- options to choose to display either more info or else more channels in the EPG, 58, 62 especiallly YouTube, 63, 64, 65, 69, 70, 79, 80, 81, 85

Nice to have:
14, 15, 17, 26, 29, 41, 42 - but as an option only, 43, 44, 45,49,50,57, 71, 72, 74, 82, 84

Low Priority:
7,8,46,54, 59, 60, 61, 67, 73, 75, 76, 77, 78, 83

Adrian Wood1 · 2 October 2012, 7:37AM

Another improvement that is needed but not mentioned but would be in the "Important" category for me:

Either -

Ensure recordings in ITV or Ch4 offer to record in HD when available.

and / or -

An option to automatically switch to HD programming when an SD program is watched or set for recording.

creon · 4 October 2012, 12:31PM

ive read on the web some speculation on a radio app, i really would like to see internet radio combined not to mention a basic browser and the mentioned access to youtube etc.

Keith · 6 October 2012, 8:33PM

I've just extended the consolidated list of improvements and feature requests above adding items 55-63.

Adrian Wood1 · 7 October 2012, 4:17PM

Updated my post in response to the updated list, including items 64-66

Keith · 7 October 2012, 6:35PM

I've further extended the consolidated list of improvements and feature requests above adding items 64-65.

Ryan1 · 9 October 2012, 1:43AM

For me:

1) 33
2) 35

Keith · 9 October 2012, 7:58PM

Adrian Wood1 said:
Updated my post in response to the updated list, including items 64-66

I've just merged item 64 into item 27 in the list since they are broadly about the same thing in slightly different ways. That does mean in your post above though 65 and 66 need to become 64 and 65 - sorry

Adrian Wood1 · 10 October 2012, 7:49AM

Adrian Wood1 said:
Updated my post in response to the updated list, including items 64-66

Updated my list thanks.

Clem Dye · 10 October 2012, 3:53PM

As a would-be Youview customer a lot of these features would need to be in place before I'd consider the platform.

churchwarden · 10 October 2012, 6:53PM

What a long list, Keith ... wonder if that goes some way to explaining this little snippet ....!

"BT has explained to TechRadar why it will continue to sell its original BT Vision boxes alongside the new YouView set top box, feeling the functionality of the latter is some way from where it needs to be."

Keith · 10 October 2012, 9:25PM

A long list indeed ;-)

Of course not all are urgent as broadly indicated by Adrian's post above splitting items into 5 categories of importance. I've not looked in detail at the exact items Adrian has placed in each level but it does give a good indication that some 10-15 items are seen as key to some with a further 10-15 being important to add after that.

During the trials when I constructed a similar style of list containing some 40-50 ideas I posted something along the lines of Adrian's post where I too happen to split the list into 5 levels where my categorisation was trying to base things on a combination of what I saw as important to the general user (rather than necessarily most important to me) and also the possible ease of implementation.

Presumably the above quote is from this article. It seems like a reasonably fair and honest article with BT still clearly backing the YouView project over time with an expectation that it will be significantly more developed by the middle of next year.

Based on the YouView stated software update cycle of roughly every 3 months I would assume BT are thus expecting things to look a lot better by say an April 2013 update and even better still come July 2013 or so.

Within the topic on the October update I've made some comments about what might be coming soon and how that could impact on improved publicity and assessment of the device going forward. Even if the update does not come out until the end of this month it is still not long to wait now to see what it actually contains. I expect some things implemented will not be perfect or will only be a step towards a complete feature but it will represent progress which will no doubt be a good step forward.

churchwarden · 10 October 2012, 10:49PM

Indeed, it was from that article, as you stated, but you may have missed the following.

"You probably know it's late in terms of announcements that were made a while ago, no one could have predicted how long it was going to take. If it had launched as it was in the state it was, it would have failed. When you have four public service broadcasters together with two competing ISPs and bring them together to create a single unified business model, proposition and technology it took a little longer than anyone wanted."

It did indeed take far longer than expected - so why is this list still so long - and why did it only come for trial (and I was a triallist too) a few months ago?

Given the time it has taken to bring it to market, the missing items, and lack of basic functionality in some areas are inexcusable. For instance, with a Guide button on the control, how come someone allowed a product to be released where the "YouView" key opens on the Guide! Sorry, but this is just sloppy! The management of the project must have been atrocious.

It has been around for almost 4 years now. I worked on a project which delivered a National Vehicle Licensing system in just over 2 years - from scratch - with a main project team of 4 people, plus about 10 others involved on & off throughout the project. Given the existing products already available when the initial project was conceived - why, oh why, is so much of the elementary stuff still missing?

That having been said, I think it can become excellent - but that does not explain why it was in the state it was when it came to market. And, as I have said before, it is now playing catchup with other competing offerings. For instance, I can get some of the Freeview channels via my Smart TV that Freeview is incapable of showing.

Keith · 11 October 2012, 8:15AM

Hi churchwarden - I too was surprised having not even considered that the system would not have the majority of the functionality already contained in a good PVR at launch plus the key new integrated on-demand features. As we know when we were triallists such questions about lateness to market yet still being under developed in many people's opinion were raised but not ever really answered. I took the comments in the article about lateness to mean that had the box released even earlier it would have been so bad it would have crashed and burned but that to have waited another 6-12 months to release anything would have meant they missed getting into the market at a key time and so would have also potentially been too late and missed the boat entirely. As such they have released now having decided that is the best option despite the fact there are short comings of the device in its current state. Time will tell whether they can improve it quickly enough to grow a market rather than put people off but I doubt we will ever really be told what could have prevented them from getting more functionality in for the launch.

churchwarden · 11 October 2012, 8:39AM

Totally agree with you. Keith. The key sentence in your reply is "Time will tell whether they can improve it quickly enough to grow a market rather than put people off".

My frustration with YouView is that it is a superb idea (and the bits that work are really good) wrapped round by a ham-fisted, ill-designed implementation of features that have been in the field for many years prior to YouView even being conceived, and it seems to be taking a long time for them to improve things. The speed of improvement is key to my mind, and to be honest, I am losing faith in their ability to bring about the necessary changes in a timely-enough fashion to provide a box with the full set of winning features that it undoubtedly could have.

Keith · 16 October 2012, 5:53PM

I've further extended the consolidated list of improvements and feature requests above adding item 66 a few days ago and now adding items 67-69.

Adrian Wood1 · 17 October 2012, 9:18AM

Keith1 said:
I've further extended the consolidated list of improvements and feature requests above adding item 66 a few days ago and now adding items 67-69.

Thanks, I've updated my list above with the new items.

Keith · 27 October 2012, 8:11PM

As something of a companion to this topic, earlier today I created a topic for a consolidated list of bugs and faults.

An aim of both topics is to provide handy tools to access the relevant individual topics and track developments, progress, fixes and ideas in a positive way which over time will highlight/capture/document the evolution of the YouView system as it matures.

I would expect items on the much shorter bugs list (only 10 items currently compared to 69 on this features list) to generally be addressed much more quickly than feature improvement ideas (where of course some feature ideas need not even be implemented at all too). I would also expect the bugs list to remain short and grow very slowly in line with YouView's commitment to rigorously test developments and fixes before including them in updates to the customers.

Keith · 30 October 2012, 6:31PM

I've further extended the consolidated list of improvements and feature requests above adding items 70-72.

I've also added notes to specific items to capture the changes from the software update today (30/10/2012).

Taliska · 2 November 2012, 2:14AM

Can YU configure the forum to make this a sticky post please.

This is undoubtedly one of the most valuable threads in the forum.

Taliska

Keith · 2 November 2012, 10:28AM

My understanding is there is no concept of a sticky post in the Get Satisfaction forum system. What it does offer is the ability to put 'additional support links' on the right hand side of the main community page. Clearly one does not want to over fill that but it would be one place to add a very small list of sticky info.

Really though it would be better if the Get Satisfaction system offered a section within the main community page above the 3 most common questions that could be either some free form HTML added by YouView staff or still a structured list say called 'Promoted/Key topics' in which YouView staff could tag certain topics to be listed.

From a general support and overview point of view I would then include in such a section

but such a section could also include key topics that do not have enough votes to make it into the other sections but are hot/important topics, e.g. the channel loss problem.

Another minor tweak I think Get Satisfaction could offer would be for the company (YouView in this case) to be able to choose how many topics are listed in each section on the main community page. They could then set this to say 5 instead of 3 to give a few more popular topics better visibility.

Get Satisfaction could even combine these ideas and modify the system to list the 3 most popular topics in each section plus 2 further topics tagged/nominated by the YouView forum administration staff.

So perhaps one of the YouView staff who liaises with Get Satisfaction could raise these suggestions/questions with them as they could be fairly straight forward to implement and good for all companies using the Get Satisfaction forum system.

I would hope this post will not start off a fresh discussion of the forum software in general (or if it does that would be better done on the topics that already exist that mention that or a new topic). Something I would say is there are good features to this forum system too including presumably the management tools and reports that we as customers do not see.

Taliska · 2 November 2012, 2:58PM

Can we specifically add (adjust wording as appropriate):

Ability to change the code set on the remote.
Ability to move the channel change / volume information panels from the middle of the screen.
Ability to set SCART output options (4x3 / 16x9 / smart zoom, etc)
Option during installation to enable high accessibility features.
Ability to speak out channel names / numbers while changing channels.
Make the DTT TV output appear 'instantly' from power on while letting the more complex 'areas' initialise in the background.

Taliska

Keith · 2 November 2012, 6:39PM

Hi Taliska - I've added most of those now:

Ability to move the channel change / volume information panels from the middle of the screen - now item 73
Ability to change the code set on the remote - now item 74
Option during installation to enable high accessibility features + Ability to speak out channel names / numbers while changing channels - included in item 69 for accessibility
Make the DTT TV output appear 'instantly' from power on while letting the more complex 'areas' initialise in the background - already part of item 40

The one I've not added yet is

Ability to set SCART output options (4x3 / 16x9 / smart zoom, etc)

Is this in relation to comments on a specific topic to give as the reference? Is the idea that this is a fixed output or are you thinking of the equivalent of the aspect ratio option one often has on the TV such that one would change this via the remote as required?

Unknown · 2 November 2012, 6:46PM

Taliska said:
Can we specifically add (adjust wording as appropriate):

Ability to change the code set on the remote.
Ability to move the channel change / volume information panels from the middle of the screen.
Ability to set SCART output options (4x3 / 16x9 / smart zoom, etc)
Option during installation to enable high accessibility features.
Ability to speak out channel names / numbers while changing channels.
Make the DTT TV output appear 'instantly' from power on while letting the more complex 'areas' initialise in the background.

Taliska

>> Ability to speak out channel names / numbers while changing channels.

Great suggestion. Have a star :-)

Taliska · 4 November 2012, 11:47PM

Hi Keith,

The problem with the SCART is that it wil only output in 16x9. Hook this up to a 4x3 TV and you might be excused for believing that we were living in Holland - everyone is tall and thin.

There is no option to configure the output aspect ration on the SCART - minimal options would be 16x9 (what it is now), 4x3 centre cut out (fills vertical, chops sides), 4x3 letterbox (black bars top and bottom, full width).

I would imagine that it would be fine to leave this as a 'fixed' configuration item rather than something you might want to change on a per programme basis on the remote,

Essentially this makes it support 4x3 TVs for the small minority that still have them.

( I remembered that smart zoom was for pulling 4x3 non-linearly to 16x9 on my very old Sony Wega CRT, so ignore.)

Taliska

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