View Full Version : Plea to DirecTV - PLEASE make the progress bar go away more quickly!
miss_my_utv
10-03-08, 07:50 AM
I held off on this post for a few weeks into the college football season, but now I really need to make this plea:
PLEASE make the progress bar disappear more quickly when using '30 sec slip'! PLEASE!
Yes, I know (at one point, at least) it's on the Wish List.
And, yeah, I've read it doesn't appear if you switch to '30 sec skip'
And, yeah, I know you can make it go away by hitting PLAY a couple of times.
But, slip works better than skip for FF between plays (you can stop FF if they start a play before 30 sec - very common in CFB); needing to hit PLAY is just plain annoying.
This really shouldn't be that hard to fix, there are multiple acceptable options (e.g., don't show it at all, make the display time programmable like banners), and it would really improve the "experience".
So, DirecTV, please help us sports viewers (who spend all the extra $s for Game Plan, etc.) have a better experience with your DVRs. Please fix this soon!
Mike Bertelson
10-03-08, 07:55 AM
As a work around, if you hit the Play or Exit button while the progress bar is up it will then go away.
Mike
johnd55
10-03-08, 08:13 AM
Works for me.
As a work around, if you hit the Play or Exit button while the progress bar is up it will then go away.
Mike
davring
10-03-08, 08:17 AM
Exit works like a charm, I just do it out of habit now, had to stop and think of what you were refering to:)
Capmeister
10-03-08, 10:07 AM
I hit play, because if I accidentally hit exit just as it has gone away on its own, I exit the show. :)
Mike Bertelson
10-03-08, 10:22 AM
I hit play, because if I accidentally hit exit just as it has gone away on its own, I exit the show. :)
Me too. I'll only use Exit on live TV. Almost always use Play though.
Mike
miss_my_utv
10-03-08, 10:22 AM
As a work around, if you hit the Play or Exit button while the progress bar is up it will then go away.
Mike
Yeah, I had mentioned I knew about that. And I use it (not much choice). It is a work around, but it is still an annoying extra step - especially since the Progress Bar provides no meaningful info (I'm only moving 30 secs!) and takes up a large part of the screen.
Plus, a large part of the time hitting it twice causes the bar to reappear.
For skipping commercials, the workaround is not a big deal. For going between plays in a football game, it's a needless PITA.
As a work around, if you hit the Play or Exit button while the progress bar is up it will then go away.
Mike
Thats what I do, just have gotten used to it and it is no big deal now for me ;)
mirwin101
10-03-08, 11:09 AM
Thanks for the tip about pressing Play. I usually press Exit but if I time it wrong the banner goes away right before I press Exit and then I end up exiting the recording I'm watching... DOH!
As a work around, if you hit the Play or Exit button while the progress bar is up it will then go away.
Mike
Yes, I know (at one point, at least) it's on the Wish List.Yup. It's still there:
OPTION for the PROGRESS BAR to clear immediately when hitting PLAY to exit from a CRUISE CONTROL function, or after the last ADVANCE
For those who haven't yet voted for it, please do so at the link below. TIA. /steve
And while they're at it, maybe DirecTV can make it look like this? /steve
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/2007/03/aptvin046.jpg
Starchy77
10-03-08, 11:32 AM
And while they're at it, maybe DirecTV can make it look like this? /steve
And miss out on the DirecTV ad??? I don't think so!
Seriously, though, why are they advertising themselves on these machines? Don't the people that are using ALREADY have directv???
And miss out on the DirecTV ad??? I don't think so!
Seriously, though, why are they advertising themselves on these machines? Don't the people that are using ALREADY have directv???
That's been my thought exactly.
We already are sold on DirecTV, you don't need to beat us over the head with it everytime we FF, REW, etc.
bwaldron
10-03-08, 12:36 PM
And miss out on the DirecTV ad??? I don't think so!
Seriously, though, why are they advertising themselves on these machines? Don't the people that are using ALREADY have directv???
No kidding.
I guess it's for all those cable customers watching bartenders using trickplay during Sunday Ticket games at their favorite watering holes. :)
No kidding.
I guess it's for all those cable customers watching bartenders using trickplay during Sunday Ticket games at their favorite watering holes. :)
You know it!
and it is more subliminal advertising, IE you see it all the time, get used to it, and think about it much more whenever the topic of TV comes up. Sounds stupid, but it is very true for most of the public.
...PLEASE make the progress bar disappear more quickly when using '30 sec slip'! PLEASE!...
...So, DirecTV, please help us sports viewers (who spend all the extra $s for Game Plan, etc.) have a better experience with your DVRs. Please fix this soon!
:biggthump +1
You could switch to 30sec skip instead of slip. No bar at all. And faster.
miss_my_utv
10-05-08, 07:53 AM
You could switch to 30sec skip instead of slip. No bar at all. And faster.
I had mentioned I knew about that, also. Unfortunately, 'slip' works better for skipping between plays in a college football game, since the time isn't always 30secs. I do remember 'skip' (on an HDTivo) working pretty well for that purpose for pro games, but I rarely watch those.
I've also found that I prefer slip, even though slower, for commercial skipping, since on the channels I typically watch (e.g., Speed), the overall time of a commercial break seems pretty variable.
Again, I'm mainly using the "skip the dead time between plays in a football game" usage (not commercial skip) as the root of my annoyance with that damn bar...
Greg Alsobrook
10-05-08, 08:39 AM
I'm in the habit of just hitting exit after trickplay.. but as others have pointed out... if you wait too long, you exit the recording... So I also wouldn't mind the progress bar going away a little faster...
I'm in the habit of just hitting exit after trickplay.. but as others have pointed out... if you wait too long, you exit the recording... So I also wouldn't mind the progress bar going away a little faster...If I just want to clear the PROGRESS BAR, I re-hit PLAY after TRICKPLAY, including 30SLIP, where I only have to hit it once to clear the BAR.
For other OSD's, I just hit the same key that brought up the graphic (MENU, LIST, INFO, MINIGUIDE). The only OSD key that doesn't behave as a toggle is GUIDE, and we have a Wish List request to make that so.
So except for GUIDE, I only use EXIT as a "LIVE TV" button.
/steve
RoyGBiv
10-05-08, 12:21 PM
I have 2 HR20's, and hitting play has worked for me to clear it with these machines. Last week I got an HR22, and hitting play doesn't seem to clear the bar on this model. Does anyone else have a similar experience?
SMK
miss_my_utv
09-04-09, 10:27 AM
I held off on this post for a few weeks into the college football season, but now I really need to make this plea:
PLEASE make the progress bar disappear more quickly when using '30 sec slip'! PLEASE!
Yes, I know (at one point, at least) it's on the Wish List.
And, yeah, I've read it doesn't appear if you switch to '30 sec skip'
And, yeah, I know you can make it go away by hitting PLAY a couple of times.
But, slip works better than skip for FF between plays (you can stop FF if they start a play before 30 sec - very common in CFB); needing to hit PLAY is just plain annoying.
This really shouldn't be that hard to fix, there are multiple acceptable options (e.g., don't show it at all, make the display time programmable like banners), and it would really improve the "experience".
So, DirecTV, please help us sports viewers (who spend all the extra $s for Game Plan, etc.) have a better experience with your DVRs. Please fix this soon!
Time for my annual plea(se!)...
litzdog911
09-04-09, 10:32 AM
Time for my annual plea(se!)...
Is it really that hard to simply press the "Exit" button to make the progress bar disappear?
Doug Brott
09-04-09, 10:38 AM
Time for my annual plea(se!)...
Press {EXIT} .. poof, gone!
FWIW, this request still ranks in the "Top Ten" on the Wish List (http://wishlistsurvey.com) survey.
The PROGRESS BAR should clear immediately when hitting PLAY to exit from a CRUISE CONTROL function (or after the last ADVANCE), and just display for a half-second when hitting PAUSE.
Holy Old Threads, Batman!!
Greg Alsobrook
09-04-09, 12:09 PM
Is it really that hard to simply press the "Exit" button to make the progress bar disappear?
Press {EXIT} .. poof, gone!
I have accidentally "exited" my way right out of the recording many times doing this though.
hdtvfan0001
09-04-09, 12:13 PM
I have accidentally "exited" my way right out of the recording many times doing this though.
I'm no longer embarassed to say...so have I....:lol:
A trick my daughter taught me. When you exit a recording accidentally, simply press PREV to return to the recording.
calidelphia
09-04-09, 12:38 PM
Press {EXIT} .. poof, gone!
Press {EXIT} .. poof, Live TV, game ruined (bad timing on key press or keybounce).:p
Seriously... Why do we need 2 buttons to exit a recording. Stop works just fine. EXIT should only clear on screen graphics.
PLEASE DirecTV make the change.
jdspencer
09-04-09, 02:39 PM
I'd like this as well. The DirecTV TiVos had a backdoor code that could be entered so that the progress bar would be removed very quickly after any function was performed that caused it to display. The only function that didn't was Play for obvious reasons.
I'd like this as well. The DirecTV TiVos had a backdoor code that could be entered so that the progress bar would be removed very quickly after any function was performed that caused it to display. The only function that didn't was Play for obvious reasons.Ya. Good thing now is that PLAY-PLAY is an effective progress bar on/off toggle, if you just want to see where you are in a recording.
Doug Brott
09-04-09, 03:06 PM
Press {EXIT} .. poof, Live TV, game ruined (bad timing on key press or keybounce).:p
Seriously... Why do we need 2 buttons to exit a recording. Stop works just fine. EXIT should only clear on screen graphics.
PLEASE DirecTV make the change.
All good and well, but the OP is asking that the trick play bar go away quickly. What you are talking about is something completely different.
dcowboy7
09-04-09, 03:46 PM
The rumour is once the 'channels i get' issue is resolved they will get to this. ;)
miss_my_utv
09-07-09, 10:32 AM
Is it really that hard to simply press the "Exit" button to make the progress bar disappear?
Actually, I use "PLAY", since often you're already using it to stop in the middle of a "slip" (remember, we're talking using it to skip between plays in a football game). From a previous post:
Yeah, I had mentioned I knew about that. And I use it (not much choice). It is a work around, but it is still an annoying extra step - especially since the Progress Bar provides no meaningful info (I'm only moving 30 secs!) and takes up a large part of the screen.
Plus, a large part of the time hitting it twice causes the bar to reappear.
For skipping commercials, the workaround is not a big deal. For going between plays in a football game, it's a needless PITA.
So, the answer to your question is "Hard? No. Annoying? Yes."
Is it so hard for you to accept that the current behavior is a PITA for some viewers? How a request to get rid of needing extra steps to get rid of useless information that covers a large portion of the screen (i.e., Progress Bar after a 30 sec slip) can be controversial is what's "...hard..." for me to understand.
miss_my_utv
09-07-09, 10:34 AM
Holy Old Threads, Batman!!
Holy Old Crappy Behavior that ought to be Easy to Fix, DirecTV!!
Doug Brott
09-07-09, 10:35 AM
Holy Old Crappy Behavior that ought to be Easy to Fix, DirecTV!!
Uh, no .. I'd much rather it stay the way it is.
Why not make it a user selectable value like they already do for banner time having a shorter time, the current time and a longer time?
dally7777
09-07-09, 11:26 AM
I use the "BLUE" button to get rid of the "Play" bar at the bottom of the screen. I also used EXIT but also got frustrated at the result of losing my place......
I thought the PLAY button was slow so I found if you push the BLUE button twice you control the speed of how fast it goes away....
dcowboy7
09-07-09, 11:53 AM
Why not make it a user selectable value like they already do for banner time having a shorter time, the current time and a longer time?
Because directv is stubborn & doesnt operate that way.
In fact, if everyone said they like it just the way it is now, directv would probably change it.
... if everyone said they like it just the way it is now, directv would probably change it.
Very jaundiced view, Cowboy! I like the way you think. :)
But seriously, D* doesn't have the time to fool around with these little annoyances; they're too busy working on their little apps, and Quick Channels, and ways to encourage us to buy movies from them. Please see my recent "compendium of HR2x software problems (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=164125)".
[...]I thought the PLAY button was slow so I found if you push the BLUE button twice you control the speed of how fast it goes away....I may be misunderstanding your post, but I'm curious why you don't just hit PLAY again, to make the bar disappear.
Just hitting Play again to make the bar disappear sometimes backfires, when my HR21 decides on its own to kill the bar early, so that the second press of Play actually brings it back!
Doug Brott
09-08-09, 07:44 AM
Just hitting Play again to make the bar disappear sometimes backfires, when my HR21 decides on its own to kill the bar early, so that the second press of Play actually brings it back!
Timing is everything .. so hit {PLAY} again since your thumb should already be on the button (having just accidentally brought it up).
Just hitting Play again to make the bar disappear sometimes backfires, when my HR21 decides on its own to kill the bar early, so that the second press of Play actually brings it back!I'm curious, are you related to "dreadlk"?
miss_my_utv
09-10-09, 08:39 AM
Uh, no .. I'd much rather it stay the way it is.
But, if they did it the way I'd prefer, all you would need to do is hit PLAY to get the info you wanted! ;)
Of course, making it programmable, like it was in the HD Tivo, might actually make more folks happy...
Just hitting Play again to make the bar disappear sometimes backfires, when my HR21 decides on its own to kill the bar early, so that the second press of Play actually brings it back!Timing is everything .. so hit {PLAY} again since your thumb should already be on the button (having just accidentally brought it up).
I think maybe you missed my point, which was that my HR21 sometimes decides on its own to kill the bar early -- probably because the software kernel can't keep time accurately. It's one of many similar problems, like the jumbling of "triple-tap" text input.
As a work around, if you hit the Play or Exit button while the progress bar is up it will then go away.
Mike
Sometimes for me, when slipping through a recorded program, and I hit exit to clear the progress bar, I'll be returned to the Playlist instead of clearing the progress bar.
(edit: Guess I should read the whole thread before posting ;)
And while they're at it, maybe DirecTV can make it look like this? /steve
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/2007/03/aptvin046.jpg
If they insist on having the bar display for 5 seconds after every slip then at least this bar would be less obtrusive.
I was trying to watch MNF tonight after recording it. 30 second slip between plays to get a game in in about an hour, and of course the progress bar completely covered up the ESPN score bar at the bottom of the screen.
Probably be easier to have ESPN move their score bar to the top.
Personally, I'm not sure why the progress bar is even needed while slipping, other than to give you feedback that the machine counted 3 button presses when you actually had 6.
Personally, I'm not sure why the progress bar is even needed while slipping, other than to give you feedback that the machine counted 3 button presses when you actually had 6.That's a very important reason, IMHO... along with knowing how far you are through the recording, in case you're skipping to ticks, e.g.
The PROGRESS BAR should clear immediately when hitting PLAY to exit from a CRUISE CONTROL function (or after the last ADVANCE), and just display for a half-second when hitting PAUSE
This Wish List request ranks #9 out of 80 in popularity, so implementing it would probably satisfy the majority of users unhappy with the PROGRESS BAR display as currently implemented.
Sometimes for me, when slipping through a recorded program, and I hit exit to clear the progress bar, I'll be returned to the Playlist instead of clearing the progress bar.
(edit: Guess I should read the whole thread before posting ;) )
No, no, it was great to see someone else say what I've been saying. It helps to counteract the dittoheads who always say they have no problem at all with the HR2x and everything is hunky-dory. They never, ever press Exit a little too late. (But are you pressing it soon enough, and still getting dumped back to the Playlist?)
... Personally, I'm not sure why the progress bar is even needed while slipping, other than to give you feedback that the machine counted 3 button presses when you actually had 6.
I use 30skip rather than 30slip, and the progress bar is not displayed. That in itself should be enough reason to switch.
10david2
09-29-09, 06:49 AM
(But are you pressing it soon enough, and still getting dumped back to the Playlist?)
I have gotten in the habit of pressing the Prev button (without thinking) when I accidentally hit Exit too many times and it goes back to "Live" tv. Prev makes it jump right back to where you were. It's amazing how many shortcuts you learn to keep your sanity with these DVRS.
Enter to Play program, Press Play again to make screen go away
Prev button, because I hit exit too quick or at the wrong time.
And my favorite, stop or slow down and let the DVR catch up with my clicking...I'm going way too fast for it..lol
But I'm pretty happy as a whole with these DVRs.
miss_my_utv
09-29-09, 08:20 AM
I use 30skip rather than 30slip, and the progress bar is not displayed. That in itself should be enough reason to switch.
Unfortunately, for my use, 'slip' is way better than 'skip', so that won't work. I suspect that's true of most of those who want the bar to disappear quickly - they're wanting to skip between some variable amount of "dead space" (e.g., between plays in a football game), and slip allows them to see when to resume watching, while skip, well skips over everything. On the HDTivo, skip worked OK for pro football (more plays had ~30 secs between), but it was nearly useless for college football.
I find slip to be more useful for skipping commercials, also, since the break time has seemed to become more variable over the years (at least on the channels I record).
In addition to football or baseball plays, the PROGRESS BAR often obscures subtitles or closed captions, which are normally at the bottom of the screen. Even if you hit EXIT to clear it, you sometimes can't do that quickly enough, before the words you are trying to read disappear.
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