Mrs. Smiddy's Recommendation on Guide

[smiddy]

Mrs. Smiddy and I were discussing the guide. She was wondering if instead of all one color, is there a chance that each package get its own color that identifies what package it is in as a guide to get what you're after quicker. Thoughts?

[say-what]

What do you mean by "package"? Are you talking about Family, Total Choice, Premier, HBO, Showtime, Starz, Sports...... Since I have Premier, I really don't care to see what's in the base Family Package, or Total Choice

[topcats69]

if it could be a option I would like it

[Spanky_Partain]

Back when I was a very young prince, we had a choice of colors. You could pick blue, green, a light magenta, autumn, etc. Then you could even personalize it. Say Favorites A is Autumn, Favorites B is Blue, and Smiddys Favorites would be, well we know what that would be. :)

Is that more of what you are talking about?

[smiddy]

What do you mean by "package"? Are you talking about Family, Total Choice, Premier, HBO, Showtime, Starz, Sports...... Since I have Premier, I really don't care to see what's in the base Family Package, or Total Choice

That was the thought, each package having its own color.

So you are fine with the way it is currently and don't want to see a color seperation via packages?

I guess this thought was brought on by Channels I Get, which doesn't seem to work (yet).

[smiddy]

Back when I was a very young prince, we had a choice of colors. You could pick blue, green, a light magenta, autumn, etc. Then you could even personalize it. Say Favorites A is Autumn, Favorites B is Blue, and Smiddys Favorites would be, well we know what that would be. :)

Is that more of what you are talking about?

I like this idea, but I think Mrs. Smiddy was more in line with the Channels I Get and putting them into the Package One gets...humm, perhaps I need to chat with her about this some more.

[kevinwmsn]

Sounds like a good idea and I like it to get it work. I wish they would get all the problems worked out with Channels I Get Feature.

But I could forsee some problems or decisions that they would have to make with that.
1) You got people who got grandfathered packages that it wouldn't quite work out with. Some of the old Total Choice channels are now in Total Choice Plus. I'm not sure if DirectTV would go for each user on that or just have a general current packages in that color.

2) Premium Movie Channels. Do you make HBO one color and Starz another or do you make them the same?

3) PPV Channels do you make each channel a different movie or do you lump them all together as one color?

4) DNS Channels - lump together or each a color?

5) HD Channels - They need 2 things HD Access and the right channel package. Unless you want to do color addition - red channel and yellow for HD access would make the HD version of the channel Orange.

I'm sure there's more things I haven't thought out yet.

[spartanstew]

That was the thought, each package having its own color.


So, if you have premier, it would all be one color anyway?


Options are good, I guess, but I'm fine with the way the guide is now. I don't really need colors to identify the channels (that's what the channel number is for).

[say-what]

That was the thought, each package having its own color.

So you are fine with the way it is currently and don't want to see a color seperation via packages?
Well, yeah. If I have Premier, why do I care what's in the lower packages? If CIG ever completely works, then I can just filter based on what I get and you don't need colors. But with CIG the way it is now why would you expect the coloring scheme to work any better - it would presumably work on the same coding as CIG - which actually codes channels you don't get as gray, with some exceptions.

I just don't see any need for this - just fix CIG.

[Draconis]

Reminds me of the old Hughes receivers. They color-coded the guide based on the type of program. Movies were one color, sporting events another, etc.

They even had a working feature like "channels I get" except the receiver would manually tune to every channel in the guide and remove anything it received a OSD on. (Of course the amusing thing about that was that if you got a OSD on the PPV channels it would remove them from the guide as well.)

As for the current receivers, I think that a good indication that you do not receive a certain channel would be to reverse the colors on that channels entry in the guide and color the letters red.

Color-coding the banner based on the program type would be nice as well.

[Chaos]

I'm with Draconis. I remember different colors for movies, sports, etc. I loved that idea. It would go a long way to adding user friendly guide functionality.

[bruinfever]

Smiddy...I like it a lot, and it seems simple to implement (??)..
Not bad for an ogre :)

[Michael D'Angelo]

I am moving this to the "General DIRECTV Discussion" forum.

[paulman182]

But what color could we use for channels that are in several, or all, of the packages?

Unless I'm misunderstanding the whole point...

[jonaswan2]

But what color could we use for channels that are in several, or all, of the packages?

Unless I'm misunderstanding the whole point...

I'm assuming that all channels available on Family would be on color, the channels that Choice adds would be a different color, and then the channels that Choice XTRA/Plus/Plus HD add would be a different color, etc.

That would be terribly confusing to anyone who is familiar with any other type of guide.

[smiddy]

Well, yeah. If I have Premier, why do I care what's in the lower packages? If CIG ever completely works, then I can just filter based on what I get and you don't need colors. But with CIG the way it is now why would you expect the coloring scheme to work any better - it would presumably work on the same coding as CIG - which actually codes channels you don't get as gray, with some exceptions.

I just don't see any need for this - just fix CIG.

I concur, Channels I Get is the very reason Mrs. Smiddy brought it up, since it doesn't work as advertised (yet). The last I heard it is not on the front burner but will be worked intermittently until tweaked.

There was mention too of a menuing overhaul, so I wonder what that will mean too, which should include the guide.

Thanks for your input.

[smiddy]

Sounds like a good idea and I like it to get it work. I wish they would get all the problems worked out with Channels I Get Feature.

But I could forsee some problems or decisions that they would have to make with that.
1) You got people who got grandfathered packages that it wouldn't quite work out with. Some of the old Total Choice channels are now in Total Choice Plus. I'm not sure if DirectTV would go for each user on that or just have a general current packages in that color.

2) Premium Movie Channels. Do you make HBO one color and Starz another or do you make them the same?

3) PPV Channels do you make each channel a different movie or do you lump them all together as one color?

4) DNS Channels - lump together or each a color?

5) HD Channels - They need 2 things HD Access and the right channel package. Unless you want to do color addition - red channel and yellow for HD access would make the HD version of the channel Orange.

I'm sure there's more things I haven't thought out yet.

Good stuff, thanks! Most of those are very difficult questions and at a certain point most primary colors would be used up. I think I had seen one of the DirecTV Channle Line Up cards where it lumped packages and colored them and I would imagine it like that.

[smiddy]

Reminds me of the old Hughes receivers. They color-coded the guide based on the type of program. Movies were one color, sporting events another, etc.

They even had a working feature like "channels I get" except the receiver would manually tune to every channel in the guide and remove anything it received a OSD on. (Of course the amusing thing about that was that if you got a OSD on the PPV channels it would remove them from the guide as well.)

As for the current receivers, I think that a good indication that you do not receive a certain channel would be to reverse the colors on that channels entry in the guide and color the letters red.

Color-coding the banner based on the program type would be nice as well.

Thanks, I am relitively new to DirecTV and was a cable savant prior to getting DirecTV, so I have no point of reference. What you present is good to know. Perhaps one day Channels I Get will work on the HR series.

[Tiger62]

I just hope they don't pull programmers off of the "Channels-I-Get" task force to implement this proposed color scheme! :)

[smiddy]

Smiddy...I like it a lot, and it seems simple to implement (??)..
Not bad for an ogre :)

Mrs. Ogre really, I'm just the conduit. ;) Though I think there is a lot to be said for the reason towards this type of solution, Channels I Get likely needs to be fixed to work as advertised. :)

[smiddy]

I am moving this to the "General DIRECTV Discussion" forum.

Thanks BMore! I debated where to go with this, since it is a developmental type question too.

[smiddy]

But what color could we use for channels that are in several, or all, of the packages?

Unless I'm misunderstanding the whole point...

That's a good question, I would think colored from lower to higher, this way if you were using everything you can get see the colors of the lower tiered channels.

[smiddy]

I just hope they don't pull programmers off of the "Channels-I-Get" task force to implement this proposed color scheme! :)

That is a good point too...and I think Mrs. Smiddy's proposal stemmed from the lack of useability with Channels I Get. Of course, Channels I Get pales in comparison to blank recordings or canceling recordings and plain old picture quality. Assuming there aren't enough programmers to go around, though they did just get Earl. :)

[TimGoodwin]

I don't think I would like the idea of different colors in the guide. I don't mined if we had the option of changing the whole guide from one color to another, but filling the whole guide with a lot of different colors would make it hard to read.

Just my 2 cents.

[smiddy]

I don't think I would like the idea of different colors in the guide. I don't mined if we had the option of changing the whole guide from one color to another, but filling the whole guide with a lot of different colors would make it hard to read.

Just my 2 cents.

What if you could sort on colors (packages)?

[TimGoodwin]

What if you could sort on colors (packages)?



I guess it would be fine as long as we had an option to turn it off. But right now we have the channel we don't get shaded out on the guide what is wrong with that?

[hdtvfan0001]

What Mrs. Smiddy really wants is a green guide - cummon - we know where this is headed...... :D

[jmschnur]

Nice concept!!

[Jlg]

I with TimGoodwin. One color. Clean. No distractions. It's hard enough to concentrate on the words as it is, don't make it worse.

[smiddy]

I guess it would be fine as long as we had an option to turn it off. But right now we have the channel we don't get shaded out on the guide what is wrong with that?

For us, we don't have all the packages, and only some of the one's we don't have are highlighted. If it were working as advertised, I'm certain this would be sufficient.

[smiddy]

What Mrs. Smiddy really wants is a green guide - cummon - we know where this is headed...... :D

I could start an arguement about types of equipment, but I won't it serves no purpose here. To be sure, I like green, but this isn't about me either. Mrs. Smiddy would like the Channels I Get working but wanted to pose the question about color coding the guide such that it aligns with the packages folks get. Generally thus far the concensus seems to be that if Channels I Get worked, why bother?! I concur with this attitude, but am still willing to listen to all comments as they are coming in. :)

[Stuart Sweet]

I would not stop anyone from having this option but I would not use it. I prefer my guide to be subdued in color.

[smiddy]

I with TimGoodwin. One color. Clean. No distractions. It's hard enough to concentrate on the words as it is, don't make it worse.

Do you mind if I poke at this a bit?

I guess I am making a huge assumption too, that everyone has an HD box with a guide that you can select NEWS or Locals or whatever. Based on that, I can see what you mean, it should already be sorted to what you need. Is this what you mean or perhaps you can expand on what the distractions are?

[smiddy]

I would not stop anyone from having this option but I would not use it. I prefer my guide to be subdued in color.

Humm, I wonder if that is personality driven? :p I do think this is the general consensus thus far.

[JeffBowser]

Sorry, Smiddy - I'd prefer it not only more subdued, but I'd like an option for a smaller font, so it can show more lines at once. And I'd like "channels I get" to be accurate and reliable.

[tcusta00]

I'm with everyone else, you ogre (and I mean that endearingly :D) - I like the conservative approach, and more lines is an absolute necessity.

[dcowboy7]

i use my favorites list for the channels i get/want....i dont really care what package the channels i dont get are in.

again if they would just fix the channels we get option this would be a mute point.

[JeffBowser]

It would only be a mute point if we stopped talking about it. It would be a moot point if they made it work. :lol:

[dcowboy7]

It would only be a mute point if we stopped talking about it. It would be a moot point if they made it work. :lol:

right if it worked we wouldnt talk about anymore. :lol:

[hdtvfan0001]

Sorry, Smiddy - I'd prefer it not only more subdued, but I'd like an option for a smaller font, so it can show more lines at once. And I'd like "channels I get" to be accurate and reliable.
Now you're talkin....

[Sirshagg]

How would grandfathered packages be handled? For example I'm fairly certain that NatGeo is not in the new package that's eqiuvalent to the old package I'm currently on.

[smiddy]

Sorry, Smiddy - I'd prefer it not only more subdued, but I'd like an option for a smaller font, so it can show more lines at once. And I'd like "channels I get" to be accurate and reliable.

I'm with everyone else, you ogre (and I mean that endearingly :D) - I like the conservative approach, and more lines is an absolute necessity.

Now you're talkin....

Well, perhaps there are two different things here. I agree, a more efficient use of the screen space is needed considering the HD format we all (ok, almost all) enjoy. I really like ESPNNews' channel for screen efficiency (that's 720p) and The Weather Channel's screen efficiency (that's 1080i), when they use it.

Can it be effectively done so that you can do more information per row to, not just more rows?

Channels I Get then needs to be beat on a bit then based on what most folks here have interjected thus far. Colors are out then. Now I need to tell Mrs. Smiddy. :hurah:

[smiddy]

How would grandfathered packages be handled? For example I'm fairly certain that NatGeo is not in the new package that's eqiuvalent to the old package I'm currently on.

IF (hence, big if) it were to go forward, I'd imagine it would be what the latest packages are, but based on everyone's take on colors, it's a non-starter. :)

[CJTE]

I guess this thought was brought on by Channels I Get, which doesn't seem to work (yet).

Its getting there though. I test it once every other week with one of my receivers that has Choice and its slowly filtering out channels.
The first to go were the DNS Channels (National ABC, Fox, NBC, etc). Followed by the MPEG2 HD channels (STARZ/CMAX/SHO/HBO). Then some PPVs that I was inelligable to even view the channel, and also some "secret" DirecTV channels.

[Drew2k]

I'm with Stuart - I prefer the guide to be uniform and consistent in color.

My LG TV has a built-in guide and uses color-coding for categories (sports, movies, comedies, events, etc.) and to me it looks like a color-wheel vomited on the screen - it gives me a headache!

[tnflyboy]

I am not sure if color coding would work at least for me. Even the new little guide advertising banner lines are a big distraction.
I believe a more efficient screen with smaller, clearer fonts would work well. And have the ability to filter what you want in a setup option. (Favorites, Channels I get, etc).
I wouldnt mind a little eye candy with some nice graphic designs. But all of that is going to take more processing power. So possibly slower guides.
I think the guide speed should be the most important thing, then work on making it pretty and keeping it fast.

[apexmi]

That was the thought, each package having its own color.

So you are fine with the way it is currently and don't want to see a color seperation via packages?

I guess this thought was brought on by Channels I Get, which doesn't seem to work (yet).

I don't see the use as I, and I would imagine most don't care what's in a package I/we don't have. (I block them all out of the favorites)

Color coding by genre might be more useful for quick guide surfing sports/movies/ppv etc....

[rustynails]

Ya know, E already has the color coding! Red means you don't have it. You can also adjust the guide to see more programming. D is so far behind the times when it comes to Dvrs. Even if they gave us DLB they would still be playing catch up with E. I really don't understand D and their way of thinking unless they just didn't want to take a chance in being sued by TIVO for a similar product.

[Paul A]

what jeff and soup nazi said

[Drew2k]

Ya know, E already has the color coding! Red means you don't have it. You can also adjust the guide to see more programming. D is so far behind the times when it comes to Dvrs.DIRECTV already has a similar scheme to depict channels not in the user's subscription package. When viewing ALL CHANNELS in the guide, channel numbers with a gray/light-blue background are not in the user's package.

[Juppers]

Yeah. Would be nice if it actually worked.