Time Warner Cable Navigator - Page 489

Hi Ben,

The assessment is now clear that everyone in your division of Rome New York with an ODN box seems to have slow buggy Navigator software since the 4.0.24 change-over. Why do I get the feeling that a change to Signature Home is still going to yield the same experience in your division?

Everyone, Ben has been through everything, and I mean every thing, ranging from box swaps, signal and line checks, testing, level 3 tech support, personalized assistance with level 3 tech support ever since ODN 4.0.24, and no matter what they have done, no matter what box they have tried, no matter what they have done at the head-end, his ODN 4.0.24 has been a POS ever since the update to 4.0.24 in terms of slow, sluggish speed, and unreliable recordings. Everything was OK for Ben before the ODN 4.0.24 update.

And yet, after all this time, no one knows why there is such a difference in Ben's division compared to mine, where my box is just a little bit slower than MDN, but not that much. It might hiccup from time to time, but nothing intolerable. And Ben has done tech work for customers in his node that ALL report slowness and unreliability with ODN 4.0.24 and nothing has been done. And how long have you had ODN 4.0.24 Ben? I got mine downloaded around Mid October, 2010.

I have to agree with Ben that I am pessimistic that a Signature Home set up is going to solve the problem. I don't know if the techs in his division either don't care, don't know what to do, can't do anything because they have tried everything else.

Rome New York needs a speed and reliability patch for Navigator, something, immediately. At least they should be able to get up to the ODN levels experienced by other divisions.

Jack

The only reason I brought it up was because I've been through everything that TWC could do and was wondering how Signature Service would compare based on the "personalized" aspect. We we're updated sometime around Sept or Oct (I think). I'm really hoping the next version helps us out. The only box I haven't tried is the 8642 which can only be had with a multi-room setup or Sig Home. I want to go that route, but finances got a bit tight with gas prices and other factors to justify a $200+ a month cable bill.

They have been some great comments and suggestions that we would all love to see within Navigator. I just hope TWC hears them.

On a side note about MDN. Where I work still has some 3000 Series boxes and MDN runs horribly on those. MDN seems to really shine on the 8300HD.

we received 3.4 i believe around oct14, 4.0 came out approximately 2 weeks later here in cny

Navigator runs quickly and smoothly on the pair of Samsung SMT H3272 boxes that came with my Sig Home subscription here in Syracuse. However, there is a slight delay (about a half to a full second) in response to the remote if I am playing a recording upstairs that I made on the downstairs machine. I have also found that, unlike the SA-Cisco DVR, the Samsung requires a hard reboot every couple of weeks to avoid flakey performance on playback. I'll also mention that the wideband service delivers highly variable download speeds, from a low of 4 mbs to a high of 27 mbs, obviously depending on network traffic. Upload speeds are consistently good. Otherwise, I've been quite satisfied with Sig Home.

Sup Ben?

I was just wondering, and my suggestion probably is not gonna do crap, but have you ever replaced your HDMI cables with Component Cables just to see if that makes a difference? I know that there are some people who have gotten faster responses out of the boxes when using Component Cables. I was just wondering if you have considered testing that?

We had a poster that had a Samsung, who noticed a speed boost on the box when using Component Cables in place of HDMI. Considering all you've done already, it couldn't hurt to try.

Jack

No inside info... just an observation:

Just prior to (at least) the last two updates, the about-to-be-new version of ODN has shown up in the box's application list... but marked as "not running". Recently a new ODN "version in waiting" has shown up on my 8640's app list... 4.1.0_5 (4.1.0_3 is also listed).

Last time, 4.0.2_4 showed up about two weeks prior to being activated, with the old version hanging around on the app list for about a week afterward, then disappearing. Looks like new versions of TWC_SACANH_NETWORK and TWC_MONITOR are also ready to be sprung as well.

Could be any day now...

Thanks JC!

This could be cool!

Jack

For you guys - we are usually 6 months to a year later which is inexcusable. Hopefully if this version does get deployed, we see it right away and it fixes the multitude of issues we are having.

I wouldn't recommend posting that if I were you. You could get in trouble with TWC.

San Diego will likely get the update a few months.

If I haven't been in trouble yet...

Besides, I haven't disclosed any confidential information. It's just an independent observation of information that every person here can see for themselves on standard diagnostics pages that have been discussed openly and repeatedly here for years. In fact, I learned how to access them here.

We have a channel realignment of just the Basic and Standard Tiers coming about May 24th. (Only about 8-10 stations I think.) Everything else stays the same. I think the only Digital Changes are adding Fearnet to TWC Movie Pass in May, (Which I don't get.)

I'll bet we will get the new Navigator Update in June. We got ODN 4.0.24 about a month after it was released. Maybe the consolidation of divisions is helping!

Jack

Our division just plain refuses to do a channel re-alignment even though I have repeatidly shown that it is one of the worst. The only thing they do is move analogs off basic and into digital only tiers. I talk to so many of my customers who just stopped caring about HD and record SD even when there is an HD available because they don't want to hunt they guide.

Literally every install I've done, the customer has said to me: "Why don't the SD and HD channel numbers line up?' or "Why can't I just block out the SD channels?". One customer made a great point - Why even have duplicate channels? Just put everything out in HD and let older sets see the station letterboxed. I'm all for TWC dropping all analog offerings provided they do what other MSO's have done and offer low or no cost basic (no guide, VOD, PPV,etc.) converters to subs for additional outlets. It would free up ENORMOUS amounts of bandwidth, enough to probably eliminate SDV if they wanted, or at least ramp up the bitrates.

TWC north texas is some what organized channel lineup wise as they have the SD channels grouped into themes but when it comes to HD they are scatered over the 300s/400s locals, 700s and 800s national.

TWC north texas is killing 8 analogs come june:
CSPAN2
CSPAN3
TXCN
5 local access channels (box will be provided for free for a certain amount of time to customers without a box)

One person on sandiegohdtv.org reported that his 8300HD downloaded a big update and sure enough it was MDN v3.0.

http://seekingalpha.com/article/2662...all-transcript

This article has some interesting things. iPad app to get remoteDVR and the ability to use it as a remote control. TWC is also working on a new cloud based guide probably for high end OCAP boxes (e.g. Samsung, Cisco, Moto DCX). It also mentions improved search features. I guess Keyword search is coming to this guide, not Navigator.

When you move the guide to a server, limits on memory & performance go away. All of a sudden almost anything is possible. Lots of developer tools for server apps, most likely none for a DVR.

Reported here on 4/13. Confirmed by me on 4/15. One downside to this version is that the 15min jump ahead (hold down right arrow) has been eliminated. I hope that is a "bug" and that they bring it back.

I could not find where it said that Navigator was not getting the Keyword Search option. Nor where it really said anything about Navigator. Note that I only skimmed it, and could find nothing Navigator specific about Navigator in an IE 8 search for it.

However, it did talk about the Cloud Service in the future. I don't think that will be a STB based feature, but a web or network-based feature. I have proposed something like this for years! In fact, Ben and I both advocate the use of having a back-up system for shows and box settings stored in a "cloud." When the STB craps out and need to be exchanged, settings and services would remain in the "Cloud." So you could bring them back by signing into your account like "My Services" or call up TWC, and verify your account information, and they would copy the services that you had in the cloud, back to the box.

Actually, Ben and I really want the Remote DVR Manager to store shows and box settings as if TWC My Services would become a "Cloud" for storage, rather than relying everything on the current DVR. As the capabilities of the cloud expand, the boxes phase out more and more in proportion to what the Cloud can do, and store.

And maybe in the next 5-10 years more and more data and storage settings will move to a cloud-based and mobile based technology, over time, the box, both as a stand-alone AND as a DVR gets eliminated.

Jack

Is there a 4x FF function? My sources said the the next Navigator update for MDN/ODN would have this.

Jack

My Sony TV seems to be handling the Samsung boxes over, after I've reset the HDMI. On the V5100 TV's, if you unplug all HDMI connected devices, and plug them back in, it resets the HDMI. This seems to make it handle a little better. I will also try out the new E328 firmware to see if that helps as well.

The 4x FF/RW functions are STILL there on MDN 3.0. (They were there on the previous version of MDN).

Our MDN v.3.0 "RED CLOUD" version only goes out to "3X"...the larger font size was
the FIRST thing I noticed that was "different"....

As of this morning, the "SEARCH" database was finally populated, so I'm hoping the
Guide problems I saw yesterday will settle out today....or perhaps in a few days...
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...86#post2037358

re. MDN v.3.0:

Guide can be filtered to display (just) High Definition channels...or favorites,
but it takes a SECOND Guide button press and it doesn't "stick"...you have to
do it every time you display the Guide.

As I mentioned above, going into the additional options menu to mark a program
to NEVER DELETE seems to work but doesn't actually set the NEVER DELETE icon
until you EXIT those menus and select LIST again.
[Don't they ever TEST their software????? This is just SSSTTTUUUUPPPIIIDDDDD.....]

The Tribune Corporation Copywright notice takes an ENTIRE LINE away from ALL
of the program displays....yuck!!!!! Surely there is a better way......

Hawaii should finish up it's navigator transition by May 10th. Hawaii will also get MR-DVR in the Navigator page.

It is just stupid as not only a second push to bring up the fav but a third to select them and as you say it will not stick.

Also when you bring up the guide you cant just push it a second time to go back to the program you were watching if you had scrolled to look at another channel to see what was on you need to scroll back and push sel or hit the exit buton.
They are going backwards here.

Roy

My Samsung 3270 received a major update last night that took approx. 30 minutes to complete. It first displayed a CableCARD update that took about 10 minutes and then a Navigator update took place which lasted about 20 minutes.


I don't know how to check which version of Navigator I have now but they did ad a few new features including DVR compensation(woohoo!) and new 3D support which means nothing to me. Nothing else appears to be different.


Justin in Oneida, NY

Hold select on the remote for several seconds than press the down key for a few seconds. ODN version should be on the first page.

I also received the update on my 8300C. It moved the "press select for enhancements" down to were mdns is on the channel bar. Speed seems the same. I didn't get a chance to see if this brought 4x ff. I did notice you can change the dvr compensation rate, not sure if that was there before.

I believe the version was 4.1.04 or something like that. Sorry i can't be more specific until i get home from work.

Thanks for the heads-up Justin and Boothmaster! When you get your new version number, if you can, change the signature in your profile so we can all see you have been updated. Did any of you get a phone call from TWC about the Navigator update?

Jack