Just out of curiosity does anyone know if Sky+ and Virgin boxes offer channel management?
I know that most modern TVs and PVRs offer channel management, my Topfield for instance has a really good channel manager app, but I'd be interested to know how YouView compares with it's direct competitors.
Not sure what "Channel management" is exactly, but I do know this...IMO Sky is far superior to my new You View box in regards to finding channels easily. Not at all happy with the new system.
Sky are very strict about NOT letting you re-arrange the EPG. That said they do automatically replace certain SD variant's with HD IF you have a HD subscription (SKY and money where have I heard that before) and they also allow you to build a favorites list.
Personally the majority of the channels I watch are in the 100's and 400's anyway so by the time I have hidden the rubbish, and because YouView goes to the guide on the last channel I was watching, I almost all of the time end up on the right channels straight away (or within a page or two). The only real problem channel is '5' but I blame Ofcom for that - Ofcom should stipulate that in this day and age a PSB should have to broadcast it's main channel for free in HD, if it is available, to get a PSB licence. I therefore now watch very little on channel 5 unless I have heard about it elsewhere purely for the reason stated above.
With SKY I also tended to use the filter functions all the time which work in exactly the same way on YouView, also the sky interface isn't perfect (try finding a program that was on two days ago using the sky interface and I bet I can find and start watching it much faster on YouView).
Don't get me wrong I certainly see the benefits of being able to re-arrange a channel list to your own preference I just don't like the way everything is made out to be so much more harder than other systems.
I can't comment on Virgin as they never made it to my street....
I'm not surprised with talktalk, having obviously done no research on what other competitors and even bog standard tv set-ups have been offering for years, they omit the very thing that most users demand - being able to arrange dozens of channels into a logical order, and not be railroaded by the provider into surfing dozens of channels to find the one you want at the very end of a considerable list. EPIC FAIL talktalk... do some homework before offering this half-baked and considerably amateur set up. Sky TV and others must be laughing aloud at what you've foisted on viewers as a comparable 'state of the art' TV service. With so many of the fundamentals missing, I'm already looking to switch to get the service I'm paying for - sadly this isn't it.
Agreed; if you don't want it to record, most of the reliability problems go away.
But if you want your guests just to watch HD, then you can hide all the SD channels, or most of them at least, so the HD channels appear at or near the top of the channels list.
Best hide Dave, though, certainly, plus the other channels that show legacy programming, or you will probably get into the 'stretchyvision' debate about how 4:3 is shown by YouView, which makes the channels thing look like a minor side issue.
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
Sky are very strict about NOT letting you re-arrange the EPG. That said they do automatically replace certain SD variant's with HD IF you have a HD subscription (SKY and money where have I heard that before) and they also allow you to build a favorites list.
Personally the majority of the channels I watch are in the 100's and 400's anyway so by the time I have hidden the rubbish, and because YouView goes to the guide on the last channel I was watching, I almost all of the time end up on the right channels straight away (or within a page or two). The only real problem channel is '5' but I blame Ofcom for that - Ofcom should stipulate that in this day and age a PSB should have to broadcast it's main channel for free in HD, if it is available, to get a PSB licence. I therefore now watch very little on channel 5 unless I have heard about it elsewhere purely for the reason stated above.
With SKY I also tended to use the filter functions all the time which work in exactly the same way on YouView, also the sky interface isn't perfect (try finding a program that was on two days ago using the sky interface and I bet I can find and start watching it much faster on YouView).
Don't get me wrong I certainly see the benefits of being able to re-arrange a channel list to your own preference I just don't like the way everything is made out to be so much more harder than other systems.
I can't comment on Virgin as they never made it to my street....
Regarding the comment on hiding SD channels. I have hidden SD channels 1,2,3,4. and now at top of the list is channel 5. The HD 1,2,3,4. channels are still well down the E.P.G. or channel list out of site on first page. surely when you are planning which channels to record or watch most people preference would be to have Hd1234 on the first page, and then scroll down to the less popular channels. You should not have to remember channel Numbers, after all I use my E.P.G. on my humax fox2 as my TV Listing mag.to decide my viewing or recording. at the moment the youview box is confinded to bedroom and only used for recording the over-spill 3rd.or 4th.programs, via the useful phone app.(I cannot believe I have said something is useful )But even that list cannot be reordered!!! For me a the moment leaving out back viewing Fox 2 box is far superior to the youview, but hears hopping!!!
Sky are very strict about NOT letting you re-arrange the EPG. That said they do automatically replace certain SD variant's with HD IF you have a HD subscription (SKY and money where have I heard that before) and they also allow you to build a favorites list.
Personally the majority of the channels I watch are in the 100's and 400's anyway so by the time I have hidden the rubbish, and because YouView goes to the guide on the last channel I was watching, I almost all of the time end up on the right channels straight away (or within a page or two). The only real problem channel is '5' but I blame Ofcom for that - Ofcom should stipulate that in this day and age a PSB should have to broadcast it's main channel for free in HD, if it is available, to get a PSB licence. I therefore now watch very little on channel 5 unless I have heard about it elsewhere purely for the reason stated above.
With SKY I also tended to use the filter functions all the time which work in exactly the same way on YouView, also the sky interface isn't perfect (try finding a program that was on two days ago using the sky interface and I bet I can find and start watching it much faster on YouView).
Don't get me wrong I certainly see the benefits of being able to re-arrange a channel list to your own preference I just don't like the way everything is made out to be so much more harder than other systems.
I can't comment on Virgin as they never made it to my street....
Good point about the listings mag..that's pretty much how I see Sky listings, it's so easy to scroll through to find what's on next and onwards
Ok so you can't reorder channels on Sky+. While that doesn't make me feel any better about the fact that I'm unable to reorder channels on YouView I think it speaks volumes about the commercial sensitivities.
Would be interested to know if the same is true of Virgin boxes.
I'm not surprised with talktalk, having obviously done no research on what other competitors and even bog standard tv set-ups have been offering for years, they omit the very thing that most users demand - being able to arrange dozens of channels into a logical order, and not be railroaded by the provider into surfing dozens of channels to find the one you want at the very end of a considerable list. EPIC FAIL talktalk... do some homework before offering this half-baked and considerably amateur set up. Sky TV and others must be laughing aloud at what you've foisted on viewers as a comparable 'state of the art' TV service. With so many of the fundamentals missing, I'm already looking to switch to get the service I'm paying for - sadly this isn't it.
So the only reason Ronskiman bought a youview box was so guests can watch the HD channels on LCN 1,2,3,4 etc? (Is that where they would expect them to be?) I would have thought researching set top boxes and settling for one that does the one thing you want would have been a good way to avoid this epic fail.
I'm not surprised with talktalk, having obviously done no research on what other competitors and even bog standard tv set-ups have been offering for years, they omit the very thing that most users demand - being able to arrange dozens of channels into a logical order, and not be railroaded by the provider into surfing dozens of channels to find the one you want at the very end of a considerable list. EPIC FAIL talktalk... do some homework before offering this half-baked and considerably amateur set up. Sky TV and others must be laughing aloud at what you've foisted on viewers as a comparable 'state of the art' TV service. With so many of the fundamentals missing, I'm already looking to switch to get the service I'm paying for - sadly this isn't it.
OK, perhaps 'epic fail' was the wrong phrase to use. It was mainly purchased so guests could use it, I also thought it would be useful as my daughters could use the on-demand services on a TV rather than using their computers/tablets. And finally I could use it as a back up system if there was ever a problem with my TV server set up. I do admit that I didn't bother to do much research, it was a last minute decision, and it's certainly not my main TV recording system. I would of preferred another HTPC in there, but to keep costs down I bought one of these, and for what it's going to be used for it will do.
I really would of thought that these types of PVR would have moved on to something reliable and organised by now. My first HDD PVR was a Kiss DP-558 which I purchased in 2005, moving on to Windows Media Center in late 2006, and now to MediaPortal with a Quad DVB-S2 tuner which can theoretically record up to 48 channels at once, and I can organise the EPG however I see fit :-)
I'm not surprised with talktalk, having obviously done no research on what other competitors and even bog standard tv set-ups have been offering for years, they omit the very thing that most users demand - being able to arrange dozens of channels into a logical order, and not be railroaded by the provider into surfing dozens of channels to find the one you want at the very end of a considerable list. EPIC FAIL talktalk... do some homework before offering this half-baked and considerably amateur set up. Sky TV and others must be laughing aloud at what you've foisted on viewers as a comparable 'state of the art' TV service. With so many of the fundamentals missing, I'm already looking to switch to get the service I'm paying for - sadly this isn't it.
YouView is for Mrs Smith on the 14th floor of a tower block in Newnham. It's not for anyone who has half a clue about these things. (The fact that Mrs Smith can't work hers, and it needs someone with half a clue to keep the damn thing going, is the elephant in the room which YouView won't discuss).
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
I'm not surprised with talktalk, having obviously done no research on what other competitors and even bog standard tv set-ups have been offering for years, they omit the very thing that most users demand - being able to arrange dozens of channels into a logical order, and not be railroaded by the provider into surfing dozens of channels to find the one you want at the very end of a considerable list. EPIC FAIL talktalk... do some homework before offering this half-baked and considerably amateur set up. Sky TV and others must be laughing aloud at what you've foisted on viewers as a comparable 'state of the art' TV service. With so many of the fundamentals missing, I'm already looking to switch to get the service I'm paying for - sadly this isn't it.
I thought it was Mrs Trellis of North Wales - or have I got the wrong comedy programme? (don't I feed you some good lines, Roy?)
I'm not surprised with talktalk, having obviously done no research on what other competitors and even bog standard tv set-ups have been offering for years, they omit the very thing that most users demand - being able to arrange dozens of channels into a logical order, and not be railroaded by the provider into surfing dozens of channels to find the one you want at the very end of a considerable list. EPIC FAIL talktalk... do some homework before offering this half-baked and considerably amateur set up. Sky TV and others must be laughing aloud at what you've foisted on viewers as a comparable 'state of the art' TV service. With so many of the fundamentals missing, I'm already looking to switch to get the service I'm paying for - sadly this isn't it.
I'm sorry? I haven't a clue what you are talking about :-(
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
I'm not surprised with talktalk, having obviously done no research on what other competitors and even bog standard tv set-ups have been offering for years, they omit the very thing that most users demand - being able to arrange dozens of channels into a logical order, and not be railroaded by the provider into surfing dozens of channels to find the one you want at the very end of a considerable list. EPIC FAIL talktalk... do some homework before offering this half-baked and considerably amateur set up. Sky TV and others must be laughing aloud at what you've foisted on viewers as a comparable 'state of the art' TV service. With so many of the fundamentals missing, I'm already looking to switch to get the service I'm paying for - sadly this isn't it.
This gives me sooooooo much pleasure... Roy - GIYF!
I'm not surprised with talktalk, having obviously done no research on what other competitors and even bog standard tv set-ups have been offering for years, they omit the very thing that most users demand - being able to arrange dozens of channels into a logical order, and not be railroaded by the provider into surfing dozens of channels to find the one you want at the very end of a considerable list. EPIC FAIL talktalk... do some homework before offering this half-baked and considerably amateur set up. Sky TV and others must be laughing aloud at what you've foisted on viewers as a comparable 'state of the art' TV service. With so many of the fundamentals missing, I'm already looking to switch to get the service I'm paying for - sadly this isn't it.
Unfortunately it would appear at the moment that Youview are too busy setting up Twitter and LinkedIn to bother about what really matters. As I have no interest in these or Facebook I suppose I will get left behind. Presumably they think that getting their message out on as many forums as possible is more important than providing a function that was available on even the earliest Freeview boxes and DVR's.
I'm not surprised with talktalk, having obviously done no research on what other competitors and even bog standard tv set-ups have been offering for years, they omit the very thing that most users demand - being able to arrange dozens of channels into a logical order, and not be railroaded by the provider into surfing dozens of channels to find the one you want at the very end of a considerable list. EPIC FAIL talktalk... do some homework before offering this half-baked and considerably amateur set up. Sky TV and others must be laughing aloud at what you've foisted on viewers as a comparable 'state of the art' TV service. With so many of the fundamentals missing, I'm already looking to switch to get the service I'm paying for - sadly this isn't it.
Sorry to disillusion you gwatuk, but - churchwarden, would you like to explain for the benefit of our hard-of-thinking friend, and anyone else who may have fallen into the same trap, how your 'good feed line' has borne fruit? :-)
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
Ok so you can't reorder channels on Sky+. While that doesn't make me feel any better about the fact that I'm unable to reorder channels on YouView I think it speaks volumes about the commercial sensitivities.
Would be interested to know if the same is true of Virgin boxes.
If any of you guys have a HTC One smart phone try HTC TV app, it works instead of remote control and you can have favorite list
I'm not surprised with talktalk, having obviously done no research on what other competitors and even bog standard tv set-ups have been offering for years, they omit the very thing that most users demand - being able to arrange dozens of channels into a logical order, and not be railroaded by the provider into surfing dozens of channels to find the one you want at the very end of a considerable list. EPIC FAIL talktalk... do some homework before offering this half-baked and considerably amateur set up. Sky TV and others must be laughing aloud at what you've foisted on viewers as a comparable 'state of the art' TV service. With so many of the fundamentals missing, I'm already looking to switch to get the service I'm paying for - sadly this isn't it.
I'm sorry, Roy, but I haven't a clue either. Perhaps Samantha could help by getting to the bottom of it, assuming she isn't scoring at the time, that is.
I'm not surprised with talktalk, having obviously done no research on what other competitors and even bog standard tv set-ups have been offering for years, they omit the very thing that most users demand - being able to arrange dozens of channels into a logical order, and not be railroaded by the provider into surfing dozens of channels to find the one you want at the very end of a considerable list. EPIC FAIL talktalk... do some homework before offering this half-baked and considerably amateur set up. Sky TV and others must be laughing aloud at what you've foisted on viewers as a comparable 'state of the art' TV service. With so many of the fundamentals missing, I'm already looking to switch to get the service I'm paying for - sadly this isn't it.
Perhaps Mrs Smith lives in Mornington Crescent? :-)
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
I'm not surprised with talktalk, having obviously done no research on what other competitors and even bog standard tv set-ups have been offering for years, they omit the very thing that most users demand - being able to arrange dozens of channels into a logical order, and not be railroaded by the provider into surfing dozens of channels to find the one you want at the very end of a considerable list. EPIC FAIL talktalk... do some homework before offering this half-baked and considerably amateur set up. Sky TV and others must be laughing aloud at what you've foisted on viewers as a comparable 'state of the art' TV service. With so many of the fundamentals missing, I'm already looking to switch to get the service I'm paying for - sadly this isn't it.
She can't. The "No re-arranging of the channels" rule applies. Sorry, Roy - you obviously haven't a clue. Console yourself with the thought that, from what I have seen over the past months/years, you aren't the only one.....!
If any of you guys have a HTC One smart phone try HTC TV app, it works instead of remote control and you can have favorite list
That is genuinely helpful. I can't afford an HTC but it does provide some hope that this type of feature on (cheaper) smart phones may (in the near future) make the ridiculous lack of channel list management irrelevant. This is exactly what the You View app should have provided - but didn't. Thank you for sharing this info.
If any of you guys have a HTC One smart phone try HTC TV app, it works instead of remote control and you can have favorite list
I assume HTC TV doesn't actually allow you to set timers on the YouView box. If that is the case, there are plenty of Android EPG guides in the Android Play Store. Search for "uk tv guide" (without the quotes), and pick your favourite.
If any of you guys have a HTC One smart phone try HTC TV app, it works instead of remote control and you can have favorite list
It could set reminder on your phone and if you like you could record the program. HTC One have an IR blaster which is very useful and act as a remote control. Here is one more picture of it showing what is on the air and how long left of them:
One of today's cheerful little tweets from @YouView:
Did you know you can delete channels from the programme guide just by pressing the yellow button? #easy
Yes - until you need to retune the box, and then it's #arealpaininthe...
yes i do, and that is why my first channel in list is channel 5 as i watch channels 1 2 3 & 4 in HD, so they all start way down the list at 101 and so on . This is insane channel management. if only Youview would listen. they must be losing a lot of sales because of lack of channel management. i know meany people who changed their minds about getting youview
Meeting the reasonable enhancement requests put forward by experienced and dedicated users for the general good of all, and for the good of YouView itself, seems to be complete anathema for YouView. I think we now need to ask Richard Halton why the hell this is.
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
Meeting the reasonable enhancement requests put forward by experienced and dedicated users for the general good of all, and for the good of YouView itself, seems to be complete anathema for YouView.
I think it would be very useful if we could hear from senior YouView management - according them all due respect - whether or not they are comfortable with this state of affairs?
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
This is the first time I've seen someone say something positive on this subject... From the Digital Spy forum:
shame you cant rearrange channels a bit as would be nice to replace 1 2 3 4 with the HD ones but i guess puting 10X to get the the HD is not that bad compared to skys all over the place HD channel listings lol
This is the first time I've seen someone say something positive on this subject... From the Digital Spy forum:
shame you cant rearrange channels a bit as would be nice to replace 1 2 3 4 with the HD ones but i guess puting 10X to get the the HD is not that bad compared to skys all over the place HD channel listings lol
Curate's egg?
But our Samsung TV, if you are so pixel-indifferent as to choose a low-numbered channel rather than scroll the EPG, jump, or type that extra 10, will offer you the HD equivalent, if there is one, as a one-click choice.
Even the distaff side elects to do this on the TV. Whereas watching YouView, it's "Oh God, 3 again, let me move that to 103 for you", the slight delay that 103 has over 3 ensuring she does not miss a microsecond of Emmerdale. Which probably isn't made in HD anyway....
Would it hurt if the YouView box could also do this simple thing?
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
Sky are very strict about NOT letting you re-arrange the EPG. That said they do automatically replace certain SD variant's with HD IF you have a HD subscription (SKY and money where have I heard that before) and they also allow you to build a favorites list.
Personally the majority of the channels I watch are in the 100's and 400's anyway so by the time I have hidden the rubbish, and because YouView goes to the guide on the last channel I was watching, I almost all of the time end up on the right channels straight away (or within a page or two). The only real problem channel is '5' but I blame Ofcom for that - Ofcom should stipulate that in this day and age a PSB should have to broadcast it's main channel for free in HD, if it is available, to get a PSB licence. I therefore now watch very little on channel 5 unless I have heard about it elsewhere purely for the reason stated above.
With SKY I also tended to use the filter functions all the time which work in exactly the same way on YouView, also the sky interface isn't perfect (try finding a program that was on two days ago using the sky interface and I bet I can find and start watching it much faster on YouView).
Don't get me wrong I certainly see the benefits of being able to re-arrange a channel list to your own preference I just don't like the way everything is made out to be so much more harder than other systems.
I can't comment on Virgin as they never made it to my street....
Regarding Virgin, I have had a look recently, since I'm considering subscribing.
Apparently, it used to be possible to reorder channels with the early TiVo firmware, but that feature was later removed. For obvious commercial reasons, you don't seem to be able to even hide channels (so that you might be tempted to subscribe to a bigger package). The only mechanism provided seems to be a limited favourites list, which will anyway follow the original channel order. In my case, the first two channels in the list would look like: - 105 Channel 5 - 108 BBC One HD
Though, it seems you have filters available, which allow to filter by genre, with an HD option.
Will know more in a couple months, when I'll be done with my Talktalk contract.
Comments
I know that most modern TVs and PVRs offer channel management, my Topfield for instance has a really good channel manager app, but I'd be interested to know how YouView compares with it's direct competitors.
Sky are very strict about NOT letting you re-arrange the EPG. That said they do automatically replace certain SD variant's with HD IF you have a HD subscription (SKY and money where have I heard that before) and they also allow you to build a favorites list.
Personally the majority of the channels I watch are in the 100's and 400's anyway so by the time I have hidden the rubbish, and because YouView goes to the guide on the last channel I was watching, I almost all of the time end up on the right channels straight away (or within a page or two). The only real problem channel is '5' but I blame Ofcom for that - Ofcom should stipulate that in this day and age a PSB should have to broadcast it's main channel for free in HD, if it is available, to get a PSB licence. I therefore now watch very little on channel 5 unless I have heard about it elsewhere purely for the reason stated above.
With SKY I also tended to use the filter functions all the time which work in exactly the same way on YouView, also the sky interface isn't perfect (try finding a program that was on two days ago using the sky interface and I bet I can find and start watching it much faster on YouView).
Don't get me wrong I certainly see the benefits of being able to re-arrange a channel list to your own preference I just don't like the way everything is made out to be so much more harder than other systems.
I can't comment on Virgin as they never made it to my street....But if you want your guests just to watch HD, then you can hide all the SD channels, or most of them at least, so the HD channels appear at or near the top of the channels list.
Best hide Dave, though, certainly, plus the other channels that show legacy programming, or you will probably get into the 'stretchyvision' debate about how 4:3 is shown by YouView, which makes the channels thing look like a minor side issue.
The HD 1,2,3,4. channels are still well down the E.P.G. or channel list out of site on first page. surely when you are planning which channels to record or watch most people preference would be to have Hd1234 on the first page, and then scroll down to the less popular channels. You should not have to remember channel Numbers, after all I use my E.P.G. on my humax fox2 as my TV Listing mag.to decide my viewing or recording. at the moment the youview box is confinded to bedroom and only used for recording the over-spill 3rd.or 4th.programs, via the useful phone app.(I cannot believe I have said something is useful )But even that list cannot be reordered!!!
For me a the moment leaving out back viewing Fox 2 box is far superior to the youview, but hears hopping!!!
Would be interested to know if the same is true of Virgin boxes.
I would have thought researching set top boxes and settling for one that does the one thing you want would have been a good way to avoid this epic fail.
I really would of thought that these types of PVR would have moved on to something reliable and organised by now. My first HDD PVR was a Kiss DP-558 which I purchased in 2005, moving on to Windows Media Center in late 2006, and now to MediaPortal with a Quad DVB-S2 tuner which can theoretically record up to 48 channels at once, and I can organise the EPG however I see fit :-)
Roy - GIYF!
My current app of choice is Feersum (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.feertech.android.tvguide). The drag and drop ordering of the channels is a little idiosyncratic, but it's not something you need to do often.
Julie
yes i do, and that is why my first channel in list is channel 5 as i watch channels 1 2 3 & 4 in HD, so they all start way down the list at 101 and so on . This is insane channel management. if only Youview would listen. they must be losing a lot of sales because of lack of channel management. i know meany people who changed their minds about getting youview
I think it would be very useful if we could hear from senior YouView management - according them all due respect - whether or not they are comfortable with this state of affairs?
From the Digital Spy forum:
Curate's egg?
But our Samsung TV, if you are so pixel-indifferent as to choose a low-numbered channel rather than scroll the EPG, jump, or type that extra 10, will offer you the HD equivalent, if there is one, as a one-click choice.
Even the distaff side elects to do this on the TV. Whereas watching YouView, it's "Oh God, 3 again, let me move that to 103 for you", the slight delay that 103 has over 3 ensuring she does not miss a microsecond of Emmerdale. Which probably isn't made in HD anyway....
Would it hurt if the YouView box could also do this simple thing?
Apparently, it used to be possible to reorder channels with the early TiVo firmware, but that feature was later removed. For obvious commercial reasons, you don't seem to be able to even hide channels (so that you might be tempted to subscribe to a bigger package). The only mechanism provided seems to be a limited favourites list, which will anyway follow the original channel order. In my case, the first two channels in the list would look like:
- 105 Channel 5
- 108 BBC One HD
Though, it seems you have filters available, which allow to filter by genre, with an HD option.
Will know more in a couple months, when I'll be done with my Talktalk contract.