Having been in IT for over 35 years this is without doubt the most retrograde “upgrade” it has been my misfortune to be a customer of. Over 60 hours of recorded programmes no longer accessible in any practical way. No clear instructions of how to use the interface. Using customers as guinea pigs only works if you have a monopoly. I can only think that new people have been brought on who felt they had to change something to make it look as if they were doing their job and to in some way trying to make it look different from other products. I imagine they have also designed a square wheel. What a shame BT got mixed up in this. The only clear thing is what to avoid when next getting an appliance or signing up to a service which has this interface. It is not a matter of “if it is not broke don’t fix it” it is more “if it is working well, don’t break it”. A while back the Post Office renamed themselves at great expense as “Consignia”. They were reluctant to roll back to the previous name when customers said they did not know what the name meant or what they did. Turns out they had gone ahead largely through gut feeling of a senior manager and no real consultation or meaningful trialling beforehand. The final roll back cost lots more money, caused a lot of reputational damage to the brand and senior managers threw some juniors under a bus to hide their own lack of competence. Maybe you CAN learn something from history.
@likeitis, Have you tried the left icon with mytv+ ? Third row down . . . . All your recordings are still there!!!!!! I totally agree regarding software update, but you can still access your recordings. Enjoy! Please let the forum know if you still can't access your recordings. Instructions have been provided recently, I agree not user friendly for some users, but for someone with many years it experience, I would have thought just a little navigation and you would find it. I actually was able to find my recordings without even reading the instructions. Just looked on screen and ignored the silly homepage icons that are totally confusing users and found the next page by clicking on left icon. When I first saw this I thought, yes + must indicate next page layer of menu. I agree again, the update is not perfect. Youview really need to listen to the comments made this time round. John L
Can't wait for the day when Youview get rid of the dreaded darkened banner when using fast forward/rewind recordings.
It would be a shame if your cogent rant was marred by a couple on inaccuracies.
To get to your recordings before, you went right, right, right, OK. Now you go down, down, down, OK. Exactly as accessible as before,
And they weren’t trying to make it look different from other products, YouView were trying to make it look more like other products. Compare the new look and the previous look with the big three, Netflix, Prime and Now; The new look has tried to make itself barely distinguishable from them now, as I am sure was YouView’s intention.
As far as the economics go, YouView would not have moved on this without BT’s enthusiastic support, and BT may even have been the prime mover behind it, with it rolled out first on the T2000s as YouView’s usual guinea pigs, and the intention to then put it out on the BT boxes if performance was acceptable, after any nits had been squashed.
But YouView have form in the unilateral imposition of new UIs; perhaps you remember the launch of NextGen in 2016, when YouView went from lists to thumbnails, to a great deal of user dismay. We were told at the time that NextGen would allow YouView to move forward more easily in the future - as it undoubtedly did, as far as the underlying platform changes went - though I challenge YouView to explain how moving from lists to thumbnails helped, or what future hindrances it let them avoid.
YouView has never had a name change, though, except on Sony TVs, where it is now known as (or hidden under) ‘Live & Catch-up TV’. The reasons for this, or where the initiative for it came from, are unclear.
But whatever, just like the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, we are being promised jam tomorrow; and we certainly had jam yesterday, before 2016, though we perhaps didn’t know it. But looking on like Alice, it’s never jam today.
Perhaps, in Consignia mode, we should call this the 10/6 UI?
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
Wasn't there a wonderful 'new' feature a while ago that, when first booting a new firmware update, there would be a splash screen telling you all about it. I only remember seeing it once or twice but it sounds like it could have been useful here.
Wasn't there a wonderful 'new' feature a while ago that, when first booting a new firmware update, there would be a splash screen telling you all about it. I only remember seeing it once or twice but it sounds like it could have been useful here.
@Roy I see. Are you suggesting yv released a feature that nobody liked or wanted* and then took that information on board and abandoned it? *I still think it could have helped here.
@Roy I see. Are you suggesting yv released a feature that nobody liked or wanted* and then took that information on board and abandoned it? *I still think it could have helped here.
Not at all. I am suggesting that such an option would be woefully inadequate in any multi-occupier household where the person starting the box for the first time after an update is not equipped either to process the information, or to pass it on accurately to anyone who is.
A one-time splash screen would work fine for any YouView-savvy person living alone (except for my caveat about when they are in a hurry to use the box).
But in the real world there ought to be a changelog under Settings, or Help, that can be referred back to, or at the very least, a URL for one.
But there is nothing currently appearing under the new UI that wasn’t there under the old UI, except that you get all the thumbnails from all of the options at once, instead of them changing on a single row as you move along the horizontal options on the old UI.
It’s hard to explain why the new way is worse, but the best way I can put it is that the old menu seemed to have a ‘floor’, while the new UI is just hanging in space, not grounded at all.
Nothing that can’t be fixed, though, by adding a horizontal bar above all the options and/or letting us toggle back to the old presentation until some compelling customisation options has us gladly embracing the new look.
And Lists would be nice… 😛
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
As youview have stated there is a switch in the software to enable this new layout. It should be easy to put this in the settings. They could I am sure monitor the use of this switch and hence for the first time know how many people use the new layout.
As youview have stated there is a switch in the software to enable this new layout. It should be easy to put this in the settings. They could I am sure monitor the use of this switch and hence for the first time know how many people use the new layout.
So, turned on the TV yesterday morning to find the new (unexpected) update. My thoughts went something like this.... 1) That looks odd, is the internet broken? 2) Nope, iPad works, has box broken? 3) hmm..wonder if there’s been an “improvement”? 4) ok, so things are now vertical rather than horizontal...what happens if I go down? 5) Wow, that’s sllllooooooowwwwwww. This was at 6am with the rest of our house asleep, no competing instagram or WFH. What I can’t understand is why youview have introduced a slower, less user-friendly and non-intuitive interface, when the old one worked fine. I’ve had a proper play with it now and have a few comments. 1) Why is the “live tv” section given priority? Personally I’ve got a perfectly good “guide” button and so just go past that...I’d argue there’s no need for that section at all!
2) Why is “mytv” not first on list? I’d anticipate that most people hitting the interface button are looking for their recordings. 3) Why is it so much slower? We’re on a reasonably fast internet connection and the change is noticable enough to be annoying. What used to be limiting was the speed of physically clicking buttons, now it’s building the thumbnails, most of which are not of interest. The”old-style” menus hidden one click down are still fast....please don’t mess with those too! Was all testing done by youngsters on a super-fast fibre connection, or with dedicated servers that could cope with the extra data needed to build the new interface? 4) Where is the advantage to the user? As someone who uses the box purely to watch recorded tv (sony tv iplayers etc are much faster so have never used the youview one), I can’t see one at all. From having to roll-out IT systems at work you need one of 2 things in a new version, either improved functionality/fewer bugs, or an improved user interface. I’m not seeing either of those here, and with the UI performing as it does now I suspect I would have made a different decision on purchase.
5) For future versions, please can we have some element of personalisation...specifically the ability to hide “live tv”, “apps”, “tv shows”, “films”, etc, or at least re-order them. 6) Please consider older users or those in future too...it took ages for my Mum to train my Dad how to use their youview box...I’m expecting a complaining phone call soon. Barry (humax dtrt2110, 32.53.0 / 3.7.76)
This is what they did and as I understand it there was no software version changes
To continue with our normal phased approach to rollouts, and to allow us to properly monitor this release for any potential issues, we will be reverting the change on some devices later on today.
I absolutely hate it!!!! How can I go back to the old system? If I can't then I am getting a new box that is not YouView. My main problem is with my taped programmes. For a start it has lost all my taped programs bar the last 9 of them! Secondly, whereas before, all programs in a series were nicely grouped in one folder, now they are scattered about in date order so I have to go back until I find the first one. Of course if it was before the last 9 then it has gone, presumably for ever!!! How could you even think this is a good idea?????!!!
@CherylP, Welcome to the forum. Before you rush off and purchase a new box, take 5 seconds and you will find your recordings!!! Totally agree about new homepage. All you have to do is go down 3 rows to my TV by simply pressing the down arrow on your remote control, then click on LEFT icon that shows my TV+ . . . press Ok and if by magic, you will find the next screen showing all your recordings. Hopefully this has helped You. A lot of users have panicked over this without really taking a few moments to explore. I found it in seconds without notes as a trialist. I totally agree, it's not perfect, Youview hopefully will improve and customise as the weeks, months, even years go on. The past 4 1/2 years has been a journey since the last big revamp. I fully agree it needs to be clearer. Please let forum know how you get on finding your lost recordings and if you need further help. John L
Can't wait for the day when Youview get rid of the dreaded darkened banner when using fast forward/rewind recordings.
Just to add @CherylP, ignore the thumbnail icons, this is confusing all new users. Please read comments previously on this topic. Youview design team, hope you are reading comments and will listen to what users are experiencing. John L
Can't wait for the day when Youview get rid of the dreaded darkened banner when using fast forward/rewind recordings.
Welcome to the forum @chris20. Good question, but this is the new homepage being dished out to users boxes at the moment. You need to ask @sarah from Youview this question @Chris20 John L
Can't wait for the day when Youview get rid of the dreaded darkened banner when using fast forward/rewind recordings.
I have a BT DTR T2100 box, purchased pre-owned two and a half years ago, and once again I'm seeing more of the maintenance mode than I am TV! Every time Youview roll out a new software update I have to endure almost daily software resets on the box. When the reset is complete the box seems to roll back to an earlier software version 3.7.48 which appears to be the BT version (the BT logo is in place of the Youview logo in the EPG) with that horrid purple colour scheme that hurts my eyes and gives me a headache!
I was under the impression that BT branded software should only appear if the box is connected to a BT line, however mine isn't - my ISP is Virgin Media - infact whilst the box was preowned I can confirm that it has NEVER been connected to a BT line because it was still on the original release software (the one with lists that worked properly and was lightning quick!)
I guess my question is why does my box go all squiffy whenever there's an update? It usually settles down a week or two after the rollout is complete and works normally again - until the next update! As I already said this isn't a one off and to be honest it's starting to get tedious!
If the latter, try a real Maintenance Mode Option 2, and if it works, an Option 4, to get your box up to date, if this is possible.
At a guess, your box has never updated, and shows the BT skin because that was the default, and the two-week periods of squiffiness are because the latest update is trying, and failing, to get on to your box for a couple of weeks before giving up.
But if the MM2 and MM4 don’t work, then there is nothing for it but to try an MM5, which will wipe the box clean - including your recordings 😢 - and start again from scratch, albeit with the latest update.
And if that doesn’t work, then your box is a wrong ‘un, probably with a hardware fault, or being a Dev box that should never have got onto the market, and you will need a replacement if you want a YouView box that works as it should.
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
Hi all, I haven't been on here for a dog's age. I was outraged at the NextGen update in 2016 and made my opinion known on here for many weeks. I made several suggestions during that time and it seems pretty much none of them were ever addressed. I wasn't alone in most of these suggestions. In the end I gave up and got on with my life.
The new update: not the end of the world, I don't like it at all but I can see it's basically a realignment of the horizontal/vertical axis. Pointless and without value but hey ho. Less easy to move around certainly. But, big but, the thumbnails. Gormless. I am now fortunately in possession of a reasonable broadband speed at 20 mbps but these thumbnails have slowed the box down noticeably. Why impose these on us? Seriously though, why? What have they added? And what about those with a slow broadband connection? Their experience must be glacial.
And I see YouView still haven't done anything about the never-ending banner timeout problem. 40% of the screen taken up with the top and bottom dark areas whenever you touch any button that go on for 5-8 seconds every single time.
I have a second BT YouView box in my office which has never been connected to the internet so never got the NextGen update in 2016. It still has lists. It remains an absolute joy to use.
@Roy I am able to update to the latest software - my issue is that I never know how long it will be until the box throws itself into maintenance mode. For example yesterday I woke up and the box was in maintenance mode, however this morning it wasn't but tomorrow it could be! It mostly happens overnight but does occasionally happen during the day. Iam able to recreate this by manually entering maintenence mode and the results are the same each time - reset software (which gives me 3.7.48) then manually update to the latest software.
Some pics to clarify:
The 3.7.48 software
The purple BT colour scheme:
The latest software update:
Maybe I shouldn't complain as it seems I'm in the position of being able to roll back to an earlier version of the software, I'm just not sure if I can live with that horrible purple colour scheme though!
I've decided to do an experiment and replace the hard drive with another and see what happens. Will report back with the results later.
I think we will have to wait for @Sarah or @Louise Murdoch to return on Tuesday, unless @Stephen can throw any light on this in the meantime, but your box is deranged in a way I have never seen before.
Whether it was inadvertently allowed to escape from a lab before finding its way into the secondary market, I am unable to say, though YouView may recognise the symptoms.
It would be interesting to know if a replacement hard disc would achieve anything, though; I suppose it depends on whether the derangement is just in the disc, or actually in the firmware on the box.
‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’ Wm Morris
Looking at the screen images there seems to be a blank Isp profile on the BT logoed display whereas when upated onto the latest software it is populated. Suggests to me if Youview hasn't determined an ISP profile then it hasn't determined that it needs to change to a retail skin.
My DTR 2110 now has 3.7.76. What a hopeless "upgrade". I am a software developer and would be ashamed of this release if it were me. I personally - get a "blackout" of 30 secs after a few mins of watching. This lasts another 30 secs. - It has missed several scheduled recordings so far. - Trying to change Power and standby settings has no effect The first rule of an upgrade is do not break the existing functionality, no brainer YouView folks. Looking at the threads you guys have royally messed up. I suggest you give users an upgrade so that they can downgrade to an older version and block updates. If not you are gunna loose customers like me hand over fist. I am already looking to ditch my YouView box and get an alternative. @Sarah I suggest you release corrective actions\releases pretty quick!!
These are not issues that have been reported by anyone else who has had this update, but sometimes an update goes wrong; however, it is the process of the update, rather than the content of the update, at fault, usually.
@Roy I am able to update to the latest software - my issue is that I never know how long it will be until the box throws itself into maintenance mode. For example yesterday I woke up and the box was in maintenance mode, however this morning it wasn't but tomorrow it could be! It mostly happens overnight but does occasionally happen during the day. Iam able to recreate this by manually entering maintenence mode and the results are the same each time - reset software (which gives me 3.7.48) then manually update to the latest software.
Hi @craig78 With the box putting itself into maintenance mode without you initiating it, we would recommend that you carry out a full factory reset as this usually resolves these types of issues. We appreciate that this isn't the most convenient thing since it will delete your recordings however it does usually help with problems such as the one you're experiencing. Thanks, Sarah
Comments
Have you tried the left icon with mytv+ ? Third row down . . . .
All your recordings are still there!!!!!! I totally agree regarding software update, but you can still access your recordings. Enjoy! Please let the forum know if you still can't access your recordings. Instructions have been provided recently, I agree not user friendly for some users, but for someone with many years it experience, I would have thought just a little navigation and you would find it. I actually was able to find my recordings without even reading the instructions. Just looked on screen and ignored the silly homepage icons that are totally confusing users and found the next page by clicking on left icon. When I first saw this I thought, yes + must indicate next page layer of menu. I agree again, the update is not perfect. Youview really need to listen to the comments made this time round. John L
It would be a shame if your cogent rant was marred by a couple on inaccuracies.
To get to your recordings before, you went right, right, right, OK.
Now you go down, down, down, OK. Exactly as accessible as before,
And they weren’t trying to make it look different from other products, YouView were trying to make it look more like other products. Compare the new look and the previous look with the big three, Netflix, Prime and Now; The new look has tried to make itself barely distinguishable from them now, as I am sure was YouView’s intention.
As far as the economics go, YouView would not have moved on this without BT’s enthusiastic support, and BT may even have been the prime mover behind it, with it rolled out first on the T2000s as YouView’s usual guinea pigs, and the intention to then put it out on the BT boxes if performance was acceptable, after any nits had been squashed.
But YouView have form in the unilateral imposition of new UIs; perhaps you remember the launch of NextGen in 2016, when YouView went from lists to thumbnails, to a great deal of user dismay. We were told at the time that NextGen would allow YouView to move forward more easily in the future - as it undoubtedly did, as far as the underlying platform changes went - though I challenge YouView to explain how moving from lists to thumbnails helped, or what future hindrances it let them avoid.
YouView has never had a name change, though, except on Sony TVs, where it is now known as (or hidden under) ‘Live & Catch-up TV’. The reasons for this, or where the initiative for it came from, are unclear.
But whatever, just like the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, we are being promised jam tomorrow; and we certainly had jam yesterday, before 2016, though we perhaps didn’t know it. But looking on like Alice, it’s never jam today.
Perhaps, in Consignia mode, we should call this the 10/6 UI?
Feeds back
“No clear instructions of how to use the interface. “
https://support.youview.com/homescreen/
Only someone who was the sole user of a given YouView box, and hadn’t just fired it up in a hurry to do something else, would find that satisfactory 😢
I see. Are you suggesting yv released a feature that nobody liked or wanted* and then took that information on board and abandoned it?
*I still think it could have helped here.
Not at all. I am suggesting that such an option would be woefully inadequate in any multi-occupier household where the person starting the box for the first time after an update is not equipped either to process the information, or to pass it on accurately to anyone who is.
A one-time splash screen would work fine for any YouView-savvy person living alone (except for my caveat about when they are in a hurry to use the box).
But in the real world there ought to be a changelog under Settings, or Help, that can be referred back to, or at the very least, a URL for one.
But there is nothing currently appearing under the new UI that wasn’t there under the old UI, except that you get all the thumbnails from all of the options at once, instead of them changing on a single row as you move along the horizontal options on the old UI.
It’s hard to explain why the new way is worse, but the best way I can put it is that the old menu seemed to have a ‘floor’, while the new UI is just hanging in space, not grounded at all.
Nothing that can’t be fixed, though, by adding a horizontal bar above all the options and/or letting us toggle back to the old presentation until some compelling customisation options has us gladly embracing the new look.
And Lists would be nice… 😛
It should be easy to put this in the settings.
They could I am sure monitor the use of this switch and hence for the first time know how many people use the new layout.
1) That looks odd, is the internet broken?
2) Nope, iPad works, has box broken?
3) hmm..wonder if there’s been an “improvement”?
4) ok, so things are now vertical rather than horizontal...what happens if I go down?
5) Wow, that’s sllllooooooowwwwwww.
This was at 6am with the rest of our house asleep, no competing instagram or WFH. What I can’t understand is why youview have introduced a slower, less user-friendly and non-intuitive interface, when the old one worked fine. I’ve had a proper play with it now and have a few comments.
1) Why is the “live tv” section given priority? Personally I’ve got a perfectly good “guide” button and so just go past that...I’d argue there’s no need for that section at all!
3) Why is it so much slower? We’re on a reasonably fast internet connection and the change is noticable enough to be annoying. What used to be limiting was the speed of physically clicking buttons, now it’s building the thumbnails, most of which are not of interest. The”old-style” menus hidden one click down are still fast....please don’t mess with those too! Was all testing done by youngsters on a super-fast fibre connection, or with dedicated servers that could cope with the extra data needed to build the new interface?
4) Where is the advantage to the user? As someone who uses the box purely to watch recorded tv (sony tv iplayers etc are much faster so have never used the youview one), I can’t see one at all. From having to roll-out IT systems at work you need one of 2 things in a new version, either improved functionality/fewer bugs, or an improved user interface. I’m not seeing either of those here, and with the UI performing as it does now I suspect I would have made a different decision on purchase.
6) Please consider older users or those in future too...it took ages for my Mum to train my Dad how to use their youview box...I’m expecting a complaining phone call soon.
Barry (humax dtrt2110, 32.53.0 / 3.7.76)
To continue with our normal phased approach to rollouts, and to allow us to properly monitor this release for any potential issues, we will be reverting the change on some devices later on today.
Welcome to the forum. Before you rush off and purchase a new box, take 5 seconds and you will find your recordings!!! Totally agree about new homepage. All you have to do is go down 3 rows to my TV by simply pressing the down arrow on your remote control, then click on LEFT icon that shows my TV+ . . . press Ok and if by magic, you will find the next screen showing all your recordings. Hopefully this has helped You. A lot of users have panicked over this without really taking a few moments to explore. I found it in seconds without notes as a trialist. I totally agree, it's not perfect, Youview hopefully will improve and customise as the weeks, months, even years go on. The past 4 1/2 years has been a journey since the last big revamp. I fully agree it needs to be clearer. Please let forum know how you get on finding your lost recordings and if you need further help. John L
John L
There was no version 3.7.48 that I can see, according to YouView’s published information:-
https://support.youview.com/youview-box/software-updates/
So either you have this wrong, or you have got hold of a BT Dev Box, hence your issues.
You talk about Maintenance Mode; are you doing real Maintenance Mode resets, as per:-
https://support.youview.com/youview-box/box-and-remote/using-maintenance-mode/
If the latter, try a real Maintenance Mode Option 2, and if it works, an Option 4, to get your box up to date, if this is possible.
At a guess, your box has never updated, and shows the BT skin because that was the default, and the two-week periods of squiffiness are because the latest update is trying, and failing, to get on to your box for a couple of weeks before giving up.
But if the MM2 and MM4 don’t work, then there is nothing for it but to try an MM5, which will wipe the box clean - including your recordings 😢 - and start again from scratch, albeit with the latest update.
And if that doesn’t work, then your box is a wrong ‘un, probably with a hardware fault, or being a Dev box that should never have got onto the market, and you will need a replacement if you want a YouView box that works as it should.
The new update: not the end of the world, I don't like it at all but I can see it's basically a realignment of the horizontal/vertical axis. Pointless and without value but hey ho. Less easy to move around certainly. But, big but, the thumbnails. Gormless. I am now fortunately in possession of a reasonable broadband speed at 20 mbps but these thumbnails have slowed the box down noticeably. Why impose these on us? Seriously though, why? What have they added? And what about those with a slow broadband connection? Their experience must be glacial.
And I see YouView still haven't done anything about the never-ending banner timeout problem. 40% of the screen taken up with the top and bottom dark areas whenever you touch any button that go on for 5-8 seconds every single time.
I have a second BT YouView box in my office which has never been connected to the internet so never got the NextGen update in 2016. It still has lists. It remains an absolute joy to use.
Thanks for the visual confirmation of 3.7.48
I think we will have to wait for @Sarah or @Louise Murdoch to return on Tuesday, unless @Stephen can throw any light on this in the meantime, but your box is deranged in a way I have never seen before.
Whether it was inadvertently allowed to escape from a lab before finding its way into the secondary market, I am unable to say, though YouView may recognise the symptoms.
It would be interesting to know if a replacement hard disc would achieve anything, though; I suppose it depends on whether the derangement is just in the disc, or actually in the firmware on the box.
I am a software developer and would be ashamed of this release if it were me.
I personally
- get a "blackout" of 30 secs after a few mins of watching. This lasts another 30 secs.
- It has missed several scheduled recordings so far.
- Trying to change Power and standby settings has no effect
The first rule of an upgrade is do not break the existing functionality, no brainer YouView folks.
Looking at the threads you guys have royally messed up.
I suggest you give users an upgrade so that they can downgrade to an older version and block updates. If not you are gunna loose customers like me hand over fist. I am already looking to ditch my YouView box and get an alternative.
@Sarah I suggest you release corrective actions\releases pretty quick!!
These are not issues that have been reported by anyone else who has had this update, but sometimes an update goes wrong; however, it is the process of the update, rather than the content of the update, at fault, usually.
Therefore, please try a Maintenance Mode Option 2 as under:-
https://support.youview.com/youview-box/box-and-remote/using-maintenance-mode/
With the box putting itself into maintenance mode without you initiating it, we would recommend that you carry out a full factory reset as this usually resolves these types of issues. We appreciate that this isn't the most convenient thing since it will delete your recordings however it does usually help with problems such as the one you're experiencing.
Thanks,
Sarah