I saw Bell on a HD PVR receiver for the first time yesterday and I have to say that I was completely blown away by the look, content and overall appearance of the Bell guide.
The Bell guide has a very professional look to it and the verbose info for programming makes the Starchoice guide look quite basic and really lacking for info.

I do love Starchoice but after seeing the Bell guide I feel like I'm using a somewhat inferior guide.
I'm not considering a move to Bell I just like the look and feel of their guide.

Zak

Sometime in the next few months (May-June timeframe I think is the current estimate), we are getting things like an extended IPG, more detailed listings, and a searchable guide. Of course, this is only on the newer receivers (217/317/505/530).

I don't know if the new IPG has this (I have the old one) I wish that when *C addresses the box (applies the programing) The IPG would only show the channels that you subscribed to. Its a pain setting up the favourites and then when I turn my box off and then turn it on again, I have to go back and choose my favorites

Its a pain setting up the favourites and then when I turn my box off and then turn it on again, I have to go back and choose my favorites

I used to use favourites as well and found that annoying. Now I lock out all the channels I don't get instead so there's no need to set it up every time the receiver is turned off & on. Another advantage is that new channels will pop up.

i know your not supposed to post, a support person told me,. but a support person told me that in the next update, (only new receivers of course), only your sub'd channels will show up on the guide, the others will be greyed out or something, and also mentioned something about a mosaic screen, where you can view 6 channels on screen at once,,, again,, this is what I was told by a sc support guy, so not sure if it's accurate or not, but hopefully

and the program information is a joke,,, often only a line, or sometimes nothing at all,,, even Shaw Digital boxes have very detailed info about the shows/movies,,,, SC really needs to improve this,,,

I completely agree with the above poster. The program information is not just a joke it is an insult. 50 percent of movies just lists the actors, and the amount of information in the ones that do list anything is abysmal. Imagine a movie and the information about it is "man falls in love with a woman" We never know if the show is a drama, comedy etc., where the film was made etc. We seldom watch live shows so it is important that we know what the show is about and more importantly whether we have seen it before we record it. Shows such as National Geographic often list the content as "National Geographic" Now what the heck does that mean? Hopefully the next major code will change all of that but I have been holding my breath for a few years on this subject.

The Bell guide has a very professional look to it and the verbose info for programming makes the Starchoice guide look quite basic and really lacking for info.


I have had first hand experience with Cogeco, Rogers, ExpressVu and Star Choice guides. I think Bev has the best looking guide but I think Star Choice is still better than Rogers or Cogeco. Rogers is absolutely horrible so I guess you should look at the glass as being half full rather than half empty. (BTW, many Bev users complain about the accuracy of the Bev guide so maybe SC is the best overall!)

i know your not supposed to post, a support person told me,. but a support person told me that in the next update, (only new receivers of course), only your sub'd channels will show up on the guide, the others will be greyed out or something, and also mentioned something about a mosaic screen, where you can view 6 channels on screen at once,,, again,, this is what I was told by a sc support guy, so not sure if it's accurate or not, but hopefully

and the program information is a joke,,, often only a line, or sometimes nothing at all,,, even Shaw Digital boxes have very detailed info about the shows/movies,,,, SC really needs to improve this,,,
Yes that is correct, the new guide will have unsubscribed channels greyed out or you can have them removed from the guide completely. You can also search for your favorite shows as well. In addition to that, there will more a lot more info about each program, such as cast information, more detailed description of each program and whether it is a new episode or rerun. I have seen screen-shots of the new guide and it looks pretty neat. They also have the Mosaik channel on display in the Star Choice call centre as well. It is scheduled to be released in April. During the Spring there will be more interactive features added as well.

I used to use favourites as well and found that annoying. Now I lock out all the channels I don't get instead so there's no need to set it up every time the receiver is turned off & on. Another advantage is that new channels will pop up.

Hey... I never thought of that.. I'll try that
Thanks :)

i love to see them add how much time is lerft in the show your watching and a option to let you know how long the show is.

If you set up your favorites and then hit the save icon on the ipg there should be no need to do this every time you turn your receiver on and off. Also I think a good way to say how the *c guide looks,is with all the different colors it uses it looks kind of "cartoonish".

looking forward to the touted, long awaited searchable guide. Hopefully this brings us Name Based Recording too.

i like the guide as it is.. the colour coding is a great feature even if it looks cartoonish at times. it's a guide, its meant to be functional.

what i would like to see is a guide that takes advantage of HD resolution.

If you set up your favorites and then hit the save icon on the ipg there should be no need to do this every time you turn your receiver on and off. Also I think a good way to say how the *c guide looks,is with all the different colors it uses it looks kind of "cartoonish".
This is not an option with the old IPG... I just checked

What receiver do you have?I have a 505 and it works with the ipg on there.

What receiver do you have?I have a 505 and it works with the ipg on there.
I have a DSR315... Getting the 505 next week :)

The favourites guide is there after a power up, but the default goes back to ALL channels, so you have to go through the steps to switch to your personalized favourite list.

With parental controls, those controls will stick after a power down.

I have a 500 and a 505 that I turn on and off all the time. Never have to reselect the favorites.

You think the guide is bad, look at anything in the 700s...

I love my MythTV.

-gmd

New guide is head and shoulders above the Blue guide and that was better than the old industrial grey guide on the legacy boxes.

Some just don't do well with change.
It takes a bit of getting used to, but it's just an enabler to watching TV anyways.

I have a 500 and a 505 that I turn on and off all the time. Never have to reselect the favorites.

You think the guide is bad, look at anything in the 700s...

I love my MythTV.

-gmd
I should have said a reset, either front panel or unplug the unit. In this case you have to reselect the favourites list. Parental controls stay after a reset.