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mbaran
@twtelecom.net

mbaran

Anon

[TWC] SoCal DVR Question (iGuide to Navigator)

I just picked up new service in Hermosa Beach and was brought an old old DCT3416.

Am I wasting my time asking for a box with Navigator there? I want remote dvr and an HD GUI. On a 1080p 106" screen, the iGuide is laughable.

If not, I'll probably rip and replace with DTV again.

Thanks!

djrobx
Premium Member
join:2000-05-31
Reno, NV

djrobx

Premium Member

Giving new customers ancient DVRs is a clue that you should go elsewhere if you're serious about TV.

You'd think after almost 7 years, we wouldn't have to think about service areas as being "former Comcast" or "former Adelphia", but TWC has still not properly consolidated its SoCal market. The result is that we still have Comcast's 2003-era iGuide in some areas.

I knew we were in trouble when I saw they actually added LookBack and StartOver into that old UI.

-- Rob
Satch
join:2009-11-25

Satch

Member

said by djrobx:

Giving new customers ancient DVRs is a clue that you should go elsewhere if you're serious about TV.

You'd think after almost 7 years, we wouldn't have to think about service areas as being "former Comcast" or "former Adelphia", but TWC has still not properly consolidated its SoCal market. The result is that we still have Comcast's 2003-era iGuide in some areas.

I knew we were in trouble when I saw they actually added LookBack and StartOver into that old UI.

-- Rob

That is an issue, without question Rob,

You would think that California, one of the leading entertainment and movie industries in the world, that TWC would have wanted to move off of the I-Guide GUI long ago, or work towards that goal. My friends who have I-Guide said it is kind of mix of a poor Passport clone and Navigator.

The different TWC guides have their pros and cons. This is what I learned over the years from a composite of subs:

1.) SARA-The most reliable, because it was the guide that came OEM with the DVR's. Many cable systems kept it to save money on updates. Appearance wise, it sucked, but a good friend of mine with TWC who has been in the electronics and computer business for twenty years said, it missed at most one recording when he had it.

2.) Passport-Close to SARA for reliability. Clean appearance, cross-system platform. Being with TWC myself for twenty five years, this was my favorite GUI.

3.) Navigator-Making progress from the Titanic disaster from its early deployment days in Lincoln Nebraska. So bad at the time that the cities common council called a meeting to try to revoke TWC franchise agreement claiming that they "released a Beta product on unsuspecting customers." Designed entirely by TWC, with the exception of its acquisition of data from Tribune Media Services, recent developments have shown small but steady improvements in the guide. I think the main variable is getting a good box and being in a division where the guide is good. With a well behaved box and a knowledgeable division, Navigator is getting almost, but not quite as good as Passport.

4.) I-Guide- A cross between Navigator and Passport. Have not used it, but this system is plagued by an old early year 2000's GUI. It can work on other companies' boxes and is not in-house like Navigator, so the cross-sectional hardware relationship shows this guide can work across platforms. The GUI is too old, and I heard that when the new "TWC Navigator type features" are added to I-Guide, the boxes are becoming strained. I heard that all the modern boxes in Southern LA that are OCAP, (Two-Way compliant) run Navigator, but I am notsure about that. It sounds like TWC, by adding Start Over and Look back, will keep updating I-Guide, instead of replacing the boxes, (Motorolas I think) with Navigator.

Satch

motorola870
join:2008-12-07
Arlington, TX

motorola870

Member

said by Satch:

said by djrobx:

Giving new customers ancient DVRs is a clue that you should go elsewhere if you're serious about TV.

You'd think after almost 7 years, we wouldn't have to think about service areas as being "former Comcast" or "former Adelphia", but TWC has still not properly consolidated its SoCal market. The result is that we still have Comcast's 2003-era iGuide in some areas.

I knew we were in trouble when I saw they actually added LookBack and StartOver into that old UI.

-- Rob

That is an issue, without question Rob,

You would think that California, one of the leading entertainment and movie industries in the world, that TWC would have wanted to move off of the I-Guide GUI long ago, or work towards that goal. My friends who have I-Guide said it is kind of mix of a poor Passport clone and Navigator.

The different TWC guides have their pros and cons. This is what I learned over the years from a composite of subs:

1.) SARA-The most reliable, because it was the guide that came OEM with the DVR's. Many cable systems kept it to save money on updates. Appearance wise, it sucked, but a good friend of mine with TWC who has been in the electronics and computer business for twenty years said, it missed at most one recording when he had it.

2.) Passport-Close to SARA for reliability. Clean appearance, cross-system platform. Being with TWC myself for twenty five years, this was my favorite GUI.

3.) Navigator-Making progress from the Titanic disaster from its early deployment days in Lincoln Nebraska. So bad at the time that the cities common council called a meeting to try to revoke TWC franchise agreement claiming that they "released a Beta product on unsuspecting customers." Designed entirely by TWC, with the exception of its acquisition of data from Tribune Media Services, recent developments have shown small but steady improvements in the guide. I think the main variable is getting a good box and being in a division where the guide is good. With a well behaved box and a knowledgeable division, Navigator is getting almost, but not quite as good as Passport.

4.) I-Guide- A cross between Navigator and Passport. Have not used it, but this system is plagued by an old early year 2000's GUI. It can work on other companies' boxes and is not in-house like Navigator, so the cross-sectional hardware relationship shows this guide can work across platforms. The GUI is too old, and I heard that when the new "TWC Navigator type features" are added to I-Guide, the boxes are becoming strained. I heard that all the modern boxes in Southern LA that are OCAP, (Two-Way compliant) run Navigator, but I am notsure about that. It sounds like TWC, by adding Start Over and Look back, will keep updating I-Guide, instead of replacing the boxes, (Motorolas I think) with Navigator.

Satch

The iGuide boxes are not strained by the Startover and Lookback features instead they have somewhat of a buggy version of those services.
Satch
join:2009-11-25

1 edit

Satch

Member

said by motorola870:

said by Satch:

said by djrobx:

Giving new customers ancient DVRs is a clue that you should go elsewhere if you're serious about TV.

Satch

You'd think after almost 7 years, we wouldn't have to think about service areas as being "former Comcast" or "former Adelphia", but TWC has still not properly consolidated its SoCal market. The result is that we still have Comcast's 2003-era iGuide in some areas.

I knew we were in trouble when I saw they actually added LookBack and StartOver into that old UI.

-- Rob

That is an issue, without question Rob,

You would think that California, one of the leading entertainment and movie industries in the world, that TWC would have wanted to move off of the I-Guide GUI long ago, or work towards that goal. My friends who have I-Guide said it is kind of mix of a poor Passport clone and Navigator.

The different TWC guides have their pros and cons. This is what I learned over the years from a composite of subs:

1.) SARA-The most reliable, because it was the guide that came OEM with the DVR's. Many cable systems kept it to save money on updates. Appearance wise, it sucked, but a good friend of mine with TWC who has been in the electronics and computer business for twenty years said, it missed at most one recording when he had it.

2.) Passport-Close to SARA for reliability. Clean appearance, cross-system platform. Being with TWC myself for twenty five years, this was my favorite GUI.

3.) Navigator-Making progress from the Titanic disaster from its early deployment days in Lincoln Nebraska. So bad at the time that the cities common council called a meeting to try to revoke TWC franchise agreement claiming that they "released a Beta product on unsuspecting customers." Designed entirely by TWC, with the exception of its acquisition of data from Tribune Media Services, recent developments have shown small but steady improvements in the guide. I think the main variable is getting a good box and being in a division where the guide is good. With a well behaved box and a knowledgeable division, Navigator is getting almost, but not quite as good as Passport.

4.) I-Guide- A cross between Navigator and Passport. Have not used it, but this system is plagued by an old early year 2000's GUI. It can work on other companies' boxes and is not in-house like Navigator, so the cross-sectional hardware relationship shows this guide can work across platforms. The GUI is too old, and I heard that when the new "TWC Navigator type features" are added to I-Guide, the boxes are becoming strained. I heard that all the modern boxes in Southern LA that are OCAP, (Two-Way compliant) run Navigator, but I am notsure about that. It sounds like TWC, by adding Start Over and Look back, will keep updating I-Guide, instead of replacing the boxes, (Motorolas I think) with Navigator.

Satch

The iGuide boxes are not strained by the Startover and Lookback features instead they have somewhat of a buggy version of those services.

Thanks! This is helpful!

Satch

Vertigo
@myvzw.com

Vertigo to mbaran

Anon

to mbaran
We have 2 DVR's and are in SoCal. On is a Motorola DCX3400 (running iGuide) and the other is a DCX3510 (running Navigator). The iGuide is very outdated, however everything simply works, hardly any glitches, fast channel changes, 14 day guide, and program description in channel banner. We got the DCX3510 for the Online DVR Manager and Smartphone app support. Navigator certainly does look better however since we've had the box, there have been 3 major updates to fix bugs and we end up having to reset the box after each one. While it works very well most of the time, it is much more prone to glitches, freezes, and recording conflicts than the iGuide. Having 2 DVR's we can benefit from both advantages. My recommendation is go to the TWC store and pick up a DCX3400 or DCX3510. The DCT series was horrible with lots of pixelation and slow channel changes.
Satch
join:2009-11-25

Satch

Member

said by Vertigo :

We have 2 DVR's and are in SoCal. On is a Motorola DCX3400 (running iGuide) and the other is a DCX3510 (running Navigator). The iGuide is very outdated, however everything simply works, hardly any glitches, fast channel changes, 14 day guide, and program description in channel banner. We got the DCX3510 for the Online DVR Manager and Smartphone app support. Navigator certainly does look better however since we've had the box, there have been 3 major updates to fix bugs and we end up having to reset the box after each one. While it works very well most of the time, it is much more prone to glitches, freezes, and recording conflicts than the iGuide. Having 2 DVR's we can benefit from both advantages. My recommendation is go to the TWC store and pick up a DCX3400 or DCX3510. The DCT series was horrible with lots of pixelation and slow channel changes.

Great that you are in an area, and can do side-by-side comparisons!

Satch