sgc
join:2011-11-02
Naperville, IL
1 edit | i-Guide I am wondering why WOW! has not pursued the implementation of an enhanced guide platform for their current set-top distribution. I know that Indiana uses Passport Echo, but that wasn't by WOW!'s choice.
While it hardly can compare to the award-winning Moxi user interface, the i-Guide platform is an effective and user-friendly interface for interacting with the set-top boxes. When I have used it in the past, it was great. It looks nice, and it lays out content effectively. In my opinion, the Moxi UI is better (from what I have seen and read), but i-Guide is deployable on the SciAtl and Cisco platform that WOW! has, and it is a great solution.
I am certain that it would make less customers wary of switching for an inferior DVR. As long as they work out the kinks with the Cisco HD DVRs and the VOD software (which would also be replaced with the i-Guide software, so it would be a problem), it would not be inferior to the general offerings of other companies (except for whole-home, which would still be fulfilled by the Ultra TV platform). The upgrade could be applied to current customer's boxes remotely (I remember that when my relative's Comcast upgraded to i-Guide, it changed overnight to a vastly different UI). Of course, it may work differently on the Cisco platform than on the Motorola. I do recall that Comcast deployed i-Guide on their SciAtl boxes a while ago, so I know that it is possible. |
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mogamer
join:2011-04-20
Royal Oak, MI | said by sgc:While it hardly can compare to the award-winning Moxi user interface, the i-Guide platform is an effective and user-friendly interface for interacting with the set-top boxes. When I have used it in the past, it was great. It looks nice, and it lays out content effectively. In my opinion, the Moxi UI is better (from what I have seen and read), but i-Guide is deployable on the SciAtl and Cisco platform that WOW! has, and it is a great solution.
I am certain that it would make less customers wary of switching for an inferior DVR. As long as they work out the kinks with the Cisco HD DVRs and the VOD software (which would also be replaced with the i-Guide software, so it would be a problem), it would not be inferior to the general offerings of other companies (except for whole-home, which would still be fulfilled by the Ultra TV platform). The upgrade could be applied to current customer's boxes remotely (I remember that when my relative's Comcast upgraded to i-Guide, it changed overnight to a vastly different UI). Of course, it may work differently on the Cisco platform than on the Motorola. I do recall that Comcast deployed i-Guide on their SciAtl boxes a while ago, so I know that it is possible.
The real problem is that cabelco's use inferior dvr's with tiny hdd's while charging high fees for them. Making nicer menus won't change that fact. Just looking at the alternatives from satellite providers, WMC and 3rd party equipment makers, should be enough to piss off customers that have to use the crap that Motorola, Cisco and SA make. You notice that those companies don't make dvrs available for commercial sales for cable card customers. That's because consumers wouldn't buy that crap when compared to the really nice stuff thats out there.
The same thing goes for cable modems. Why lease crap to your customers when very nice equipment is available at not that much higher a cost?
Treating customers like rubbish is the American way! |
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timf
join:2012-01-09
Plymouth, MI
1 edit | reply to sgc
I'm not a fan of i-Guide, or really any of the current generation cable DVR interfaces. My parents have the Passport Echo from Time Warner at their house and it's definitely better than SARA or i-Guide, but still leaves a lot to be desired.
The DIRECTV and U-verse interfaces are my favorites out of current generation UIs, and I'm looking forward to the MOXI UI on the new DVRs. |
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Keep in mind I am in Indiana.
Insight uses the iGuide and I found it to be awful. I'm fairly new to WOW (about 6 months) and although most of my interactions are through Media Center, I do have 1 of their SD boxes in my dining room and I like the software it uses much more than the iGuide. I think it uses the Passport Echo software you mentioned. On the Motorola and Pace DVRs that Insight uses the iGuide seemed clunky and would become unresponsive quite often. It is what drove me to buy a Ceton InfiniTV 4 and use Media Center for my TV watching and DVRing.
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My posts are of my own opinion, not my employer's. |
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| reply to sgc
said by sgc:I am wondering why WOW! has not pursued the implementation of an enhanced guide platform for their current set-top distribution. It would cost a lot of money and have nearly zero ROI. Beyond some improvements that can't be communicated in a quick and efficient manner, what would the selling point be? "We have the same shitty i-Guide you already know and hate!"
Nobody likes i-Guide. |
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sgc
join:2011-11-02
Naperville, IL | I haven't used it that much, but when I have, I thought it was nice. I didn't use it on a daily basis or for advanced functions. I have never been a subscriber to any service that offers i-Guide, but my extended family has been and I got a few chances to use it. |
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| said by sgc:I haven't used it that much, but when I have, I thought it was nice. I didn't use it on a daily basis or for advanced functions. I have never been a subscriber to any service that offers i-Guide, but my extended family has been and I got a few chances to use it. i-Guide is slightly better than SARA, but if you think it's nice, you've never used a really nice GUI. MediaRoom (used by AT&T U-verse), DirecTV's new HD GUI, and Tivo's recent HD GUI update are not even in the same league as i-Guide and SARA. Those are some truly nice interfaces. |
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sgc
join:2011-11-02
Naperville, IL | said by Jeremy W:said by sgc:I haven't used it that much, but when I have, I thought it was nice. I didn't use it on a daily basis or for advanced functions. I have never been a subscriber to any service that offers i-Guide, but my extended family has been and I got a few chances to use it. i-Guide is slightly better than SARA, but if you think it's nice, you've never used a really nice GUI. MediaRoom (used by AT&T U-verse), DirecTV's new HD GUI, and Tivo's recent HD GUI update are not even in the same league as i-Guide and SARA. Those are some truly nice interfaces. From the few commercials of AT&T's UI, and my tour of their facility a year ago, the UI looks nice. TiVo's guide does seem interesting; before I heard of the Ultra TV update, I *briefly* thought about getting a TiVo, but they are so expensive and for me they would not really be worth it. I also have heard nothing of DirecTV's new guide.
Compared to AT&T and TiVo, I actually do prefer the Moxi UI. Not to mention the hardware benefits over the other two. |
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| said by sgc:Compared to AT&T and TiVo, I actually do prefer the Moxi UI. Not to mention the hardware benefits over the other two. I didn't provide an exhaustive list of all of the nice GUIs out there, just the ones I have lots of experience with.
Comcast is rolling out an updated HD GUI to their current boxes which looks very nice: »info.xfinity.com/Portal/content/···ult.aspx
And then they'll be rolling out new boxes this summer that have an all new GUI. So if WOW were to change the GUI on their current boxes, they'd need to do much better than the current version i-Guide. |
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sgc
join:2011-11-02
Naperville, IL | said by Jeremy W:said by sgc:Compared to AT&T and TiVo, I actually do prefer the Moxi UI. Not to mention the hardware benefits over the other two. I didn't provide an exhaustive list of all of the nice GUIs out there, just the ones I have lots of experience with. Comcast is rolling out an updated HD GUI to their current boxes which looks very nice: » info.xfinity.com/Portal/content/···ult.aspxAnd then they'll be rolling out new boxes this summer that have an all new GUI. So if WOW were to change the GUI on their current boxes, they'd need to do much better than the current version i-Guide. I think WOW! is aiming to eventually eliminate the SA/Cisco boxes (not to force it, but to slowly upgrade customers) and not put any more effort in keeping the current boxes.
As for the Comcast new UI, it does look nice, but I am SO beyond anti-Comcast that when I misread a headline and thought Comcast bought Verizon (for all of 1 hour before I went back and re-read it) a couple weeks ago, I am still having to re-adjust my connotation of Verizon (I like Verizon usually, but that shifted it rapidly until I figured it out). |
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| said by sgc:I think WOW! is aiming to eventually eliminate the SA/Cisco boxes (not to force it, but to slowly upgrade customers) and not put any more effort in keeping the current boxes. What makes you say that? They're still the only boxes that are being deployed, and I'm not aware of any plans aside from Ultra TV for new STBs. |
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sgc
join:2011-11-02
Naperville, IL | said by Jeremy W:said by sgc:I think WOW! is aiming to eventually eliminate the SA/Cisco boxes (not to force it, but to slowly upgrade customers) and not put any more effort in keeping the current boxes. What makes you say that? They're still the only boxes that are being deployed, and I'm not aware of any plans aside from Ultra TV for new STBs. I'm talking over the course of the next several years. Just like they panned out the 8000, they will slowly get rid of the 8300s, and then the 8600s, until nobody has them anymore, or at least only a few have the 8600s. I suppose not to completely eliminate them, but to reduce volume significantly over time in favor of the new whole-home system. As a smaller cable company, they would not want to have such a diaspora of equipment; it makes it less simple for consumers unless they operate the exact same way.
--side note--
The 8600 has a new SARA version that slightly increases usability and interface (by maybe 1%). It has a little more info in the guide, and it looks ever so slightly less horrible. |
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