I took a look at some old correspondence I have sent to them and wanted to quote some specific statements that were made. The following was from my "2nd" version of the problems/issues/suggestions list .
Many of what has been brought up by others here was in my original list to them, so many of these issues that HDTV1080p and others recently discovered, I already made them aware of almost three months ago.
Some of the entries might not make sense, since six or seven of these items were actually corrected leading me to believe more were on the way,
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After spending hours with this DVR I have to say, this is no way ready for release. There are just too many issues & problems that apparently haven't been thought out properly. I will venture to guess at many of these would come back to you mostly due to the Guide, or lack of.
There are so many 'issues' I really don't know where to begin.
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Hardware issues;
1. I see absolutely no reason why provision wasn't allowed for an internal 2.5" HDD. There is plenty of room. A simple set of brackets attached to the floor of the chassis with a short USB jumper and the addition of a small 1.5" fan to handle the HDD would be all that is needed. How much would that add to the cost?? A couple of dollars? Somebody is cutting pennies where they shouldn't be.
If a third USB port isn't available without adding additional circuity, move one from the rear panel to inside.
2. There is no reason for the mechanical power switch, especially on the front panel. I realize your tuners have this, but since this needs power 24/7, why is it there? The cost saving should be passed to supplying brackets and a fan for a internal HDD.
3. The standby function has a problem, since placing this in standby stops any recordings in progress. I tried scheduling a recording, then placed it in standby. It booted the unit up, but it just sat in the "boot" mode, nothing more. Are you aware of this?
4. No 'Exit' button on the front panel.
5. The GoTo button needs to be renamed to 'Return' and swapped with the 'Guide' button. This leads to huge confusion as evident by the separate card placed in the box mentioning this GoTo button. Other than the fact the term "GoTo' is totally incorrect, placement is also an issue since it should be around the navigation keys as with most remotes.
6. 'Info' & 'Quick' buttons need to be swapped.
7. I see no need for a 'Sleep' function. Replace it with direct access to the Recorded list.
8. I would like to see a component out added back in. Obviously, it was intended to be there, but decided that it wasn't necessary, again for cost cutting.
9. I now realize that the analog tuner is 'RF1'. It would be nice if the term 'Analog' was added to the label associated with RF1 on the cabinet itself.
10. I don't see a need for the clock display when in standby and you also need a different LED color for standby since you are using that for record. At least provide the ability to turn it off.
11. There also should be a 2nd LED to indicate both tuners are recording as it isn't apparent. This would prevent one from trying to start a third, forgetting two were in progress.
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Firmware issues;
1. The number one problem with this is the lack of integration between the two tuners. Both are treated as separate devices with no continues access to either. The channel list and Guide should be able to access all channels in both tuners without switching back and forth.
2. Continuing from the above, there should be only one Guide showing all channels, Air and Cable. If it is expected for the user to scan one Guide, then repeat the entire process by scanning the other Guide for the 2nd tuner, I can't imaging anyone putting up with that.
3. Further, regarding the Guide, there is no overall 'Grid' that shows all the stations available with names of the programs for one to get a overview of what's on without looking at one channel at a time. This is tiresome to look at one station at a time. It's just not practical or reasonable to expect anyone to do this. There must be some way around patents regarding this problem.
4. It appears that the PSIP data doesn't always get remembered for each station that supplies it. If you jump from one channel to the next in the Guide then back again, many times the info isn't there right away. Instead, the Guide exits, the Info screen pops up and you have to go back into the Guide again. It's hard to really properly describe these issues, other than they are apparent 'glitches'.
5. If you are recording a station and try to use the Guide, you can't look at any other channel without stopping the recording. A firmware change has to be made so the preview window stays locked on the channel being recorded and there is freedom to view other stations data assuming it is available.
6. If you stop playback of a recording there is no provision to save where you were. Who wants to scan through half or more of a two hour program trying to remember were they left off.
7. The is no skip forward or skip back. That is about as bad as not having reverse in a vehicle. No one wants to use the FF to skip commercials. This feature/function should replace the next/previous functions on the remote with the ability to change the period (15, 30, 60, 120 seconds either way). The FF just isn't acceptable.
8. Audio level & mute have no effect on analog out. I haven't tried optical yet. Is this by design and why?
9. Color temperature, Game & Cinema Modes have no effect.
10. Changing the aspect setting isn't remembered when you change channels. The default setting of 'Full Screen' gives you too much overscan. 'Normal' is the only true setting. Also, 'Full Screen' & 'Direct' appear to be the same at 1080p.
11. No 1080i. It's a problem with older TV's that only have 1080i.
12. Sometimes, menus time out too quickly. A additional setting with a choice of times would be nice.
13. Tuner labels do not include "Air". Also, why is a choice of "Amplifier"?
14. Under Channel List, 'Clear' should be labeled 'Skip' since it check marks channels that the user wants 'skipped'. This is confusing to use the term 'Clear'.
15. The ''Quick' function has picture controls available while in Media, but not elsewhere.
16. No direct access to the recordings list. Unable to play back from the Recording List in the Main Menu where one would think it would be available. It took me an hour to figure this out just how to play back a recording. The 'Media' function should be for other media, not what was recorded here. I'm sure you will debate this, it's just wasn't what an experienced DVR person would expect.
17. When in Media Player, hitting 'Exit' should not switch to tuner.
18. Under picture settings, when you scroll down past hue, it jumps to 'reset', then back to 'Hue' and 'Color temp.'
20. Under the tuner functions, "Tuner ALL" doesn't seem to hold. I change it to "All", but the next time I go into that screen, it's back to the default (forgot the name used).
21. In Media Player, the list is alphabetical order only. It's more convenient to have it by when if was recorded instead, or at least a choice.
22. There are two confirmations to record a program. There is no need for even one. Please remove this.
23. Sometimes the image in the Guides preview window doesn't change when you scroll to another station. I can't find any pattern here. Glitch?
24. In the Main Menu, those Icons are too hard to read. I can't tell what is what until I scroll to that Icon and text appears. Please drop the Icons and replace with clear text. I know it has been a trend that was forced upon us to replace a single language text, but it is a inconvenience.
25. Those custom picture settings, namely 'brightness', do not take affect when you change screens/modes. Example; Going into the media tab, selecting a recording, then playing it back, the adjustment I previously made did not take. When I going into that screen, then press the brightness right (or left) navigation button, the adjustment takes. The setting change is there, but it doesn't show in the actual image until I try to change it. This is only the brightness as the video into this monitor I'm using id very dark. I haven't tired it on another TV yet. Glitch.
26. "Picture" button on remote has no effect. If this is suppose to be a one button access to the 'picture' controls it doesn't respond.
27. In Media, the term "Movie" is improper and just incorrect. Please rename it is "Recordings" as these can be anything other than just "movies", namely news, talk shows, documentaries etc.
28. In Media Player, I feel the exit should take you the the Main Menu instead of exiting to the tuner(s).
29. When formatting the HDD, it would be nice if some counter, timer, or some indication of the time factor would show. I realize it can't predict any end time, but something to let one know at least how it's been since the operation was started.
31. That multi digit number at the end of the file name of a recording is almost impossible to read. Too many unnecessary digits.
32. In the recorded file name, what is the "1" or "2" that I see directly after the channel number?
33. When you have a recording in progress, when I go into media Player and start playback, it only seems to allow viewing for a few minutes. Then it stops even though the recording is still in progress. What's wrong?
Edited by videobruce - 7/4/12 at 7:23am
it would probably work well
