Known Navigator Program Listing Bugs.

[Jack 1000]

Here is more detail with the Sports Now Access Menu Listing Bug.

A bug on my box SA-8300 is that the Sports Now Category in the Access Menu (Press A, horizontal scroll to Sports Now) is horribly truncated with anywhere from no shows present to only 5 at one time. And sometimes it will show a repeated title with the channel being the same, or the SD channel and the HD channel being the only difference in the Sports Now Category. Kids Now, News and Weather Now, and HDTV Now are properly and heavily populated.

The other thing is that the same channels always seem to show up, but the most important thing is that channels that you KNOW Sports are playing on now, do not show up in the list. The channels that show up most often, (note that it is never more than 5 at a time, and usually anywhere from 0-3 shows only) seem to be:

RFD TV (Optional Digital Choice Package Channel)

Sportsmen's Channel (Optional Digital Sports Package Channel)

Outdoor Life Channel (Optional Digital Sports Channel)

ESPN (rarely shows)

ESPN 2 (rarely shows)

Sports Now is supposed to show ALL of the Sports Channels that are showing Sports Now. Just to give an example ABC, NBC, and CBS sports programing never show up in the Sports Now Category even when sports are showing in the Time Grid The new CBS College Sports channel, ESPN U, NHL Network, MLB Baseball Network, NBA TV never show up in the Sports Now listings. This problem has been like this for at least three months, maybe as many as five.

I run Navigator version MDN 2.4.6-19.

Jack

[Jack 1000]

Updates: Latest Bug Reports For TWC-Navigator on SA-8300 MDN (no C box)

This might also be an issue with the guide,

There are Titles of Channels in the Guide that have no station or channel assigned to them at all!

Example#1  Go under "Theme" now select the "Lifestyles" category and select "Cooking" or key in "Game Time Dine" using the keyboard.  You will be taken to times for a show who's channel number does not exist!  It showed up the other day when I pressed Select as a "Comcast" station!  (At least according to the channel banner!)

Example#2: Select "Theme" and Select "Sports" and select "Boxing" Going through the list it shows some 8:00 future match with no channel number indicated.  I get the name of the fight, but no channel identifying information

The second issue:

The "Sports Now" Category only shows the same 3-4 channels listed regardless of how many sports may be showing now.  Most of the time, only RFDTV, ESPN2, Showtime if it's a Sports Movie, and HBO if it's a Sports Movie ever show in the guide.  No local sports on ABC, CBS, NBC, or Fox ever show up in the Sports Now Category.  It has been this way for a year.  The other  "Now" categories, such as "News and Weather", "Kids Now" are fully populated.  If one of those four channels is not showing sports at the current time, even when there are sports on the networks, shows "None."

Jack

The box itself works great!

[Jack 1000]

Several neighbors and frinds as well as myself were unable to find tonight's Floyd Mayweather-Shane Mosley fight doing either:

Category Search

OR

Keyboard Searches

While, I will not be ordering the fight, several friends can't find it using the guide search feature. I can report that the boxes had this information about two days ago where the fight did show up in searches.  Now, when you go to Find Shows pressing the B button and go to Theme. than Sports, to select Boxing, guess what shows where the fight used to be?  "No upcoming shows are available for this title."  I have already talked about how the PPV price does not even show up where the event just shows a dollar sign next to the description, until about three days later when the price appears.  When I checked this morning, the only way you could find out about the fight tonight, was to see it in the Time Grid

We already have a truncated Sports Now list in the Access Menu.  Many sports showing now have not shown up in the Access Menu.  No local channels when showing sports ever show up in the Access Menu's Sports Now category.  That means if channel 4, 6, 12, or 5 (local 58) or their HD equivalents are showing Sports, you can only see them in the Time Grid or by doing a Category or Keyboard Title Search.  (And you already know how unreliable the Category Search listings are. Please see the PPV example above to illustrate.  There are Sports channels that I have not seen in the Sports Now Category for over a year, (The Tennis Channel has not shown in Sports Now for a year.)  Box reboots have no affect in this regard.

TWC-Milwaukee really needs to push the new release of Navigator 2.5 to the non-C boxes ASAP.  This allows all listings of a show to appear in one place and the option to see All Showings of a program, when taking future action on a show in the time grid.  Searches begin on the show being watched.

TWC is going to lose PPV buyers because the guide listings often show incomplete data for PPV events.  I would suggest:

A rollout of Navigator 2.5 for MDN boxes ASAP and

An update of guide data components at the head-end.

Jack

[Jack 1000]

Here's one small TWC Navigator bug that just looks "Tacky."

We have our HD's in the 1000's here in Metro-Wisconsin. No! That's not the tacky part! LOL! The thing is, in the Show Searches when you press B to Find Shows, any stations with six or more letters in the channel identification on the right side of the screen, (search list on the left, results on the right) will have the last two numbers bunched together, because there is only room for a maximum of five numbers in the channel field. It's a small flaw, but it just makes the Guide look like "Amateur Night."

Here is an example below of what I am talking about: Let's say for example that Caddyshack is on TWC Movie Pass. The SD channel shows it like this: (Times listed are hypothetical for illustration only)

TWCMP: 209: Caddyshack 2:00-4:00PM 299:--Perfect and normal

Now, for the HD channel on channel 1299, it will look like this:

TWCMPHD: Caddyshack 2:00-4:00PM 1299--The last two nines in the show description are bunched together with the channel number, because of the limitations of having the channel ID field being six or more letters. In this example, you can't see the last two 9's because of the field limitations.

Note that the regular time grid when you press Guide is NOT effected. It's the design of the search results numerical fields that show this flaw. This flaw is more important, because if people did not press the Info button, they would never be able to read the station it was on when searching for the shows. How to correct this?

1.) Creating a software update so that the a font can have six letters or numbers and still fit in Find Shows screen results.

And/Or

2.) Moving the field over on affected stations so the numbers fit with a software update.

And/Or.

3.) Using a smaller size font in a software update to make the numbers fit.

And/Or

4.) Using less than six letters or numbers in Navigator's current design to make the numbers fit.

Having program information bunched like that, does not look very polished or professional.

Jack

[Jack 1000]

Data Crunching on Channel 1284  Still Exists. (Navigator ODN boxes)
Details of issue are below: (With Possible Solutions)

Here is more information for the Navigator tech team in Milwaukee Wisconsin regarding data crunching conditions on channel 1284 MGM-HD. I will use some examples below to illustrate when the data shows correctly and when it does not:

If I scroll out several days ahead, for example pressing the 3 button, and the right-arrow button when viewing the guide, I might get this. (in the "B" Find Shows Search Results.)

MGMHD*1284Tues 3:00PM

In this example of data crunching, the "4" digit in the channel number bumps into the "T" in 'Tuesday. It looks like the "4" and the "T" are on top of each other.

HOWEVER NOTE BELOW:

If a program is listed for the current day, it will generally appear (but NOT ALWAYS) just like any other show in this example below:

MGMHD*1284 (Correct.)

*However, note that have found shows with data crunching that looked like this:

MGMHD*1284-3:30PM-4:45PM where the data WAS bunched. The problem is too much data on the same line:

MGMHD*1284-3:30PM-4:45PM

ALSO NOTE BELOW:

I have often found that if there is at least one instance of a show repeating on MGMHD at a later date that if Navigator picks it up in its seven day program scan, the Find Shows Listing data displays correctly as well:

MGMHD*1284 (Correct)

11/26 3:00PM
12/1 11:00AM

Correction Possibilities For Data Crunching on MGMHD below:

The incorrect listing data illustrated below with the example information:

MGMHD*1284Tues 3:00PM (Data bunching)

shows that there is too much information in the Find Shows Listing Data with the channel, name, number, day of week and time, all on the same line. for future programs on MGMHD. There are three possible solutions for testing:

1.) Removing the letters HD in the channel ID location for the guide so that the data displays like this:

MGM*1284 Tues 3:00PM

OR.

2.) Displaying all future instances of shows on MGM in the format that currently works for every other station in the Find Shows List like this:

MGMHD*1284

This is the correct form with the description on the next line.

OR

3.) You could change the guide data for the MGM Channel to display a month/day format, which would allow the same data to be shorter, like this. (I have seen some instances of programs on different stations. displayed this way: )

MGMHD*1284 11/26 3:00PM

Once again, only ODN Navigator builds and this one channel, (MGMHD 1284) are affected by this data issue.

I hope this helps clarify things!

Jack

[Jack 1000]

Overlapping Text on Some Channels in B. "Find Shows" Search Results:

(Applies to ODN Boxes. SA/Cisco C-Models and Samsungs Only.)

One thing that I have been waiting for YEARS to get fixed in Navigator is the lack of ability for Navigator to display guide data without overlapping the text  often when there are more than 5 digits in the Channel ID field when doing a "B button" Show Search.

We have some channels that are abbreviated from 3-5 letters in the station identifier, say for example CBS or that network, or Food for Food Network and the description is fine. But we have OTHER channels with 6-7 identifiers and the text bunches together in show descriptions.

Like we have one of those shopping channels that I think is on must carry status, the Jewelry Network. And it the Time Grid, they show it like this:

Jewelry. If you search in the show list the channel has too many letters in the identifier, so the text overlaps.  Go to this channel, 185 and do a B (Find Shows) Search.  If you have an ODN, (C-Model SA/Cisco or Samsung box) you will see exactly what I am talking about.

If you have something like TWCMPOD, the text will over-lap in show descriptions, because the Navigator's search parameters may cause text bunching if the show ID has more than five spaces in the channel field.

This is something that should have been fixed a long time ago, If the powers that be could get information out to local Navigator development managers to reduce their channel letters to no more than five digits, the text overlapping should stop. Is this going to be worked on for the new Navigator release?

I am delighted with our Theme-Based line up. However, the overlapping of text in show searches occurs all the time on the Jewelery channel, sometimes on MGMHD, when there is just one listing of a show title for that channel in a show search, and on some VOD channels.  Shortening up the channel letters and numbers in the Time Grid by abbreviating them more, WILL solve this issue!  Interestingly enough.  a relative of mine has an MDN box and I tested this with a couple of channels at his place and there was NO OVERLAP.

Why can't local divisions make the channel abbreviations short enough to fit in Show Search Descriptions? For instance:

Make Jewelry say Jewel?

Make Channel MGMHD's Search results (on channel 1284) NOT overlap when only one instance of a show is presented in a Find Shows search.

ABBREVIATE STATION LETTERS IN THE TIME GRID MORE, TO MAKE SHOWS FIT in a Find Shows Search, OR USE A SMALLER FONT SIZE LIKE ON MDN BOXES (No C and No Samsung boxes) Do Something!  Overlapping text looks retarded on a program guide for 2012!

I want a software update to fix this!

Jack

[Jack 1000]

Added  these two known issues to the bug report list:  Thanks guys!

Problem #1
When someone calls, the caller ID shows up on our screen but you cannot change channels or do ANYTHING to the box! I really do not want to turn off the feature but I do want to use my cable box when someone calls.
Is there a fix (possibly in the sub menues) that I can change to regain control.

Problem #2
Since some TWC recent box update....... when we are FF 3x or 4x the remote is unresponsive to resume play (say after ff'ing during a commercial).
This problem does not appear to be present when FF'in 1x or 2x but only in the 3x and 4x speeds. When we finally press the play button repeadely...... the box ends up going to slow motion mode but waaaayyyy past the commercial we were attempting to pass.
Ideas and fixes would be greatly appreciated.

To add Problem #3:

Sometimes when starting a recording's playback, if you FF 4x out.  The info bar will just sit there, until you press exit.  This sometimes happens shortly after the screensaver has kicked in.  It can also happen regardless of the screensaver.

Jack