Sept 2020 Fios DVR and Guide Update

[Scott804]

This week Fios pushed out interface updates for their TV services. After nearly 3 hours in chats, I was finally told that there is no way to roll back updates once loaded and they base new update options based on posts in the forum. Below are my complaints that they will only fix with enough support on here, if you have the same issues, please mark the post. 

1. They removed the chapter function for recorded programs on the dvr (the up arrow that would allow you to move to any 10 min marker in a program).

2. The new Now and Next function causes latency when switching channels. Even after setting it to 0 seconds. 

3. They removed the ability to view a single channel lineup in the tv guide. In the past I would just hit guide a second time to see the next 5-10 shows on a single channel. 

4. Finally, I just find the prettier guide view harder to actually read and process. Not sure if it is the number of channels,  dark screen, or just that it is too busy.  Turning off the background video helped a little, but not much. 

[nonstoptwo]

Nope, no amount of cheerleading will make this better, Verizon has really made this useless. 

[Frommec]

This does nothing to make it better! Please switch back to previous guide!

This new guide is unusable and even the remote buttons are really badly delayed...

you can see from pages of comments/complaints that the guide is awful to use!

nothing done since has made it any better at al...right now my dvr doesn’t even work!
please make actual real changes aka switch back to more of the previous guide!

[rehickson]

I hope these changes actually improve the guide.

The small and blurry guide, and the lag time when opening the guide and changing channels is a serious problem. I hope Verizon realizes that the guide is really the only reason many people, including myself, keep cable and don't move to streaming exclusively. So the guide is VERY important and I need to be able to read it. 

[SUE110]

1.  Why was this upgrade necessary at all?

2. Are you aware that PLUTO TV, which is an add on app to the Fios lineup HAS A BETTER GUIDE THAT YOU PRESENTLY GIVE US?

3. Thanks for throwing us  bone in our recent "upgraded guide", but it leaves far to be desired for all the $$$ we spend each month

4. AGAIN, CAN YOU JUST TELL US WHY????????

[RickGold]

Our feedback was basically to go back to what was there before because it worked. From chaptering in playback to the guide to the individual channel description displayed when first entering a new channel. 

This is especially bad: I click to go to a new channel and the information is basically just a title, sometime an abbreviated title. Its hard to tell if sports are 'live', what the movie might actually be about, etc. You need a little more information at channel entrance -- basically what used to be displayed. 

Most important:  what are you trying to solve for? What was missing in the old version? Were viewers complaining about something? Did someone complain about chaptering? Or is this just Verizon Fios trying to be hip and cool and give viewers something they didn't ask for or want? Please, fill all of us in because its a horrible experience STILL. 

[RickGold]

Oh, and one more call-out:  the latency between key press and response is still terrible. It's not only slow but if you try to go through more than one or two channels it freezes up or just doesn't show all of the elements for each channel. Again, just a terrible interface that solves no real issue. 

[FormosaSavage]

It's scat. The guide font is way too large.

The channels all show TV,TV,TV all the way up and down. You can't tell what channel you're on. For over $200/mo, this is completely a downgrade to the way the mini worked. The main box is fine. You can't hold the page up or down anymore.

[2poodles1]

How beat to describe responsiveness?

Molasses

Watching paint dry

Refinancing your house

I am SO tired of typing in a channel number and having the first number not take. 

I am SO tired of hitting favorites and having such a delay that I hit it again. Then both take at once and I get sent to some other view. And then I have to start over. 

The fixes only fixed 25% of the problems.  It’s still a disaster. 

Verizon’s refusal to admit their mistake and change it back smacks of the emperor of childhood fable fame continuing to tell everyone how great he looks in his clothes.  

[mgklank1]

Why am I unable to see the channels icons next to the channel on the left of the guide? My guide shows an icon of a distorted box in blue with tv written in white?

 

[Donfranko]

Instead of Phd workarounds why don't you do user acceptance testing (UAT) BEFORE rolling out changes.  The new guide is horrible as majority agree.

If you can't roll it back then program it back then develop a new guide based on comments here and extensive UAT

[bfinacchio]

I spent 3 hours with your troubleshooting to try to get the channel banners to appear with no resolution. No amount of rebooting or unplugging of the router, STB’s or ONT resolved this issue. 

[clem21]

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@bfinacchio wrote:

I spent 3 hours with your troubleshooting to try to get the channel banners to appear with no resolution. No amount of rebooting or unplugging of the router, STB’s or ONT resolved this issue. 

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Try this:

Menu > Settings > Systems Info > enter 4883 keys followed by reboot of box.

[imlazar]

I tried the 4883 trick, no impact. I still have “tv” for every channel except 517

[bristollucy]

I think you mean 507.

[bristollucy]

Ops,  Should be 500.

[bfinacchio]

What is the significance of the 4883?

[clem21]

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@bfinacchio wrote:

Ehat is the significance of the 4883?

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It was a potential fix I saw on the web. Supposed to clear one of the caches. Guess it is only occasionally successful.

[bfinacchio]

I also have a lot of lag time after pressing the Guide button and it popping up. 

[MonforteSG]

It's frustrating when you have something that's satisfactory which gets "improved " and ends up being worse and hard to use.  The new guide and menu is very difficult to read and, thus,  very difficult to navigate.   What was wrong with the old guide from Verizon's standpoint?

[_m_]

This is complete **bleep**.  This 'new' guide is awful.   It's nothing more than aa repackage of every terrible guide from 1980.

The ONLY acceptable solution is to fully implement all of the features of ALL of the previous, fabulous guides. Without the old guide system or features, NOTHING differentiates FiOS from any other equally terrible service, except possibly even more terrible customer service, and feeding us **bleep** about a 'new, improved' guide.

WHY shoudl I not simply cancel my service?

[Betsy_Quilter]

So now, instead of being able to browse my Chanel listing to pick out movies, I need to press Guide and click 8 more times to to to "Movies/Family" which only goes to a grouping of Chanel's which may or may not have movies in them. See picture:  Hogan's Heroes is not a movie.  And it does not include movie that may be shown on "non movie" channels.  This is not particularly useful.

I find the channel guide harder to read than the previous guide.  

On top of that, everything that happens is painfully slow.  "Last" was ruined in the prior update by adding multiple choices which on the surface seemed good, but it was soooo slow.  It's slightly faster now but still slow.  If I want to switch back and forth between channels (for example, keeping up with current events by watching two news channels) I miss large chunks of the events.  It's quicker but not easier to key in the channels manually each time.

The skip ahead and replay takes a second or two to react.  So I think it didn't take and hit it again.