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. 

[MaryFromMarylan]

I cannot believe Verizon removed the single channel lineup from the Guide . It is very time consuming and visually confusing to scroll horizontally through a channel just to see what the next 5 to 10 shows are, especially movies which typically take up a 2 hour block. Also, Verizon MUST allow those customers with poor vision the ability to enable a Guide with larger channels numbers!

[VZFiosGigUser]

This update is ridiculous.  I have played around with the setting but nothing.  It is so sluggish, if you try to input the channel manually, it sometimes skips numbers, hard to follow the TV guide, extremely annoying the banner that comes up after one changes the channel.  TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.

[NewtownGrant20]

1. Still experiencing serious lag for pause, rewind, FF, play of both live tv and DVR —especially pause and play. 
2. Still don’t have the channel logos in the guide. I rebooted both the box and the router in case this would have made a difference...it didn't. 
3. When are the color codes for shows going to be reinstated?

[bristollucy]

Should we not hold our breaths?

[G-S]

Lag is sooooooo bad.  I have to hit pause button 5 or 6 tines to actually pause a program.  Rewind and FF just as bad.

[parsleyndill]

Yep.  The time lag between pressing remote buttons and getting a result is close to absurd.

But the lack of color coding for types of shows in the Guide means I just watch fewer and fewer programs on live TV.  Because I didn't see the listing, as all listings look exactly the same (between movies, series, news, sports, etc.)

[bristollucy]

Yadda, Yadda, Yadda. They don't care about you or me. They know most people won't complain. Some people just take what they are served.

[Newguideconcern]

Why can’t we get an answer to this question?

[bristollucy]

Because no one in management cares. We are whistling in the dark. 

[Bluespeyer]

The lag is insufferable. What once was a smooth and enjoyable TV viewing experience is now intolerable. I've purchased a Roku stick for streaming and will be cancelling my Fios cable subscription. (I'm keeping internet – for now anyway – because it remains stellar.) I wonder if Verizon is purposely trying to drive people away from its cable service? I think they lose money on it every quarter, so maybe better for them not to have it. Sure doesn't seem like they're concerned about defections. 

[mfidelman1]

For what it's worth, it's a lot better (but still not very good), after a reload & reboot of our cable box.  It's back to barely tolerable.

[bristollucy]

I wish I could say the same. 

[2poodles1]

The other night we were trying to find a game on ESPNU.  We couldn’t read the logos.  On our 65” TV.  Standing 3 feet away (no way we could read them from our seats 10’ away so we got up and moved closer).  Luckily, we have memorized the channel for ESPN and assumed ESPNU would be nearby, so clicked on each one, one by one, until we found it. Otherwise we might still be searching since channels aren’t color coded and many logos are unreadable. 

Most people would describe this as frustrating and annoying.

Verizon calls it an improvement. 

[bristollucy]

It's driving us crazy.  I think Verizon has no intention to make any return to the color channels or showing the channel numbers instead of the ridiculous "TV" column. 

[zSkylar1]

I bought a TiVo Bolt and cable card. I can use On Demand on another set top box. But for my primary watching room the TiVo can do 95% and the UI is such a pleasure. Upgraded the remote to back-lit (LUX remote). I couldn’t deal with this upgrade any longer. 

[jhickey007]

DEC 12, 2020

My fios STB/DVR updated and I now have:

1) up to 2 sec latency between pressing the remote button and the result. This makes you hit the button again. Sometimes it remembers how many times you pressed it. Sometimes it doesn't. By the time it's done, you don't know where you are.

2)Pressing LAST watched now takes 4 seconds.

3) While paused, using the JOG FWD and BACK (to see a good football catch), the new screen graphics obscure the video with the timeline, -/+.4sec, channel info, time, and a graphic of the remote buttons. If I'm trying to frame by frame, I want NONE of that! It's one of the great things about having a DVR!

4) While viewing GUIDE holding PAGE DOWN or UP use to work quickly and continuously instead of one page per one arrow down or up. 

5) Three or four times I've had to reset the STB because LAST WATCHED selections were incorrect, Stuck at some previous time.

Gentleman, when you add Thumbnail photos to every channel and nifty graphics to every menu, THINGS WILL SLOW DOWN. I agree with previous complaints. The last version of GUIDE, LAST WATCHED was fast and better. Leave well enough alone.

[bristollucy]

We are stuck with it. No amount of complaining from a few will force management to change. Most subscribers are just suffering in silence.

[RG6251]

Apparently this FIASCO of an update is more important to Verizon than it's customers.

Two BASIC business ethics still remain true (except with Verizon):

1. The customer is always right

2. Customers always come first.

So... HOW IN THE WORLD can this self-serving update be SO VALUABLE TO VERIZON where they cannot simply ROLL IT BACK??! 

PLEASE ANSWER!!  HOW??

[bristollucy]

They cannot be bothered.

[UnhappyCamper10]

I can only add to the list of complaints already listed. The new guide is the last straw. Balky, hard to read, seems to "forget" all the settings I enter in a day or two and a host of other things that just add up to just not worth it.

I will be cutting the cord shortly.

[AGW-1980]

APR 7.5 (with some updates) is still the standard in some parts of the country (e.g., here in northern Virginia), according to the Verizon phone techs, while APR 7.8 is already in use in other parts of the country.  I don't know why.