Rogers HD PVR Set-top box's & IPG: Outdated

[pablowest]

Hi sir sleemo, I hope that Rogers does it.

[Zentreri]

That search is a joke. It's a filter and an absolute crappy one at that. bell's was so much better.. I have wasted hours of my life paging through the alphabet trying to find stuff.

I remember when I could input a search term with my old sat box top and it would search the next three days programming for me and advise me of any hits..

This is the year 2011. that so called search option in the Rogers box is stone age.

I hate it... It speaks volumes about the service.

[Paolo]

I'm pretty sure they know their IPG is with the stone age, but WHY do they continue to keep using it? they dont wanna hire some new programmers? they wanna squeeze every penny out of the old IPG platform? what is their reasoning? they want us to be miserable for how many more years and jump ship to bellus and shaw? dang. There must be a reason why theyre holding back?

[scrooloose]

Originally Posted by Paolo

I'm pretty sure they know their IPG is with the stone age, but WHY do they continue to keep using it?

Because Roger's customers keep buying it.

-Mile

[kibosh]

What else are we supposed to do? Not much in the way of competition.

If Bell would hurry up with FibeTV maybe we'd have more of a choice . . . but then you'd have to deal with them!

[scrooloose]

Speak with your wallet and find another provider. Bell TV has a far superior PVR if you can handle their other annoyances. Anyway, it doesn't really matter because Rogers has had the same PVR for years now, and their subscribers are not decreasing, so it isn't impacting their bottom line in any way - and that's all that matters to them.

As you say, Bell's FibeTV might change that if they can deploy the service wide enough. Telus Optik TV in the West has worried Shaw enough to respond with better hardware.

-Mike

[MapMaker]

If this bothered me as much as it bothers you, I would keep phoning Roger$ and complaining about it. I doubt that any of us here can do anything about it except keep phoning.

The reason it doesn't bother me is that I have not even attempted to use it in the last year or more...just given up as Roger$ wants all us sheep to do.

B-a-a-a

[flaminghomer]

Originally Posted by MapMaker

...just given up as Roger$ wants all us sheep to do.

B-a-a-a

So true. There are alternatives to Rogers and its Stone Age software (as others have suggested, the hardware itself is likely capable of much more), but the one thing the 8300 (or any STB for that matter) has going for it is simplicity; you connect some cables, you plug it in, wait a few minutes, and voila! You have TV. I have not much more than average techie skills, and I admit I've been too lazy to sit down, sort through all the alternatives, and decide what will work for me.

The number one reason a company rolls out any improvements, enhancements, etc. is to stay ahead of, or at least keep up with, the competition. (No newsflash there, but I'm a Business Analyst, so I deal with this basic truth all day! ) Bell may have better hardware/software, but from what I seen on this forum and others, they have their own problems. In Rogers' case, there is simply no compelling business reason for them to provide anything more than what they do now, especially since their directive from the CRTC is to be profitable, not consumer-oriented.

[viking5000]

Rogers has called our home a couple of times recently trying to get us to purchase the 8642 PVR we are renting. I wonder if they are looking to offset these prior to introducing new PVRs ?

Also, I was wondering if anyone knows if Rogers are planning to do anything with the hopelessly outdated IPG and UI they currently have ?

I am considering switching to Bell FibeTV.

Thanks

[yyzlhr]

There have been rumors that Rogers is revamping its TV product however details are scarce and Rogers has been pretty mute about it. There have been reports that customers are receiving surveys from Rogers asking them whether they would like a whole home pvr experience and the ability to stream pvr recordings onto a tablet etc. I'm assuming if all this comes to fruition a better UI and IPG is probably in the equation. In addition, Bell Fibe is expanding quite aggressively so eventually they won't have a choice but to improve their technology to compete. Also Rogers in Atlantic regions has already rolled out whole home pvr service that has an improved UI experience so I'm sure Ontario will follow eventually. Also I don't think the 8642 is going anywhere, they're fully capable of running more advanced software and are MoCA capable. They're calling you with that offer because it locks you either into a one or two year term so you can't cancel.

[MarcP]

If only you knew for how many years we've heard these stories of "surveys".

[yyzlhr]

I'm quite aware of how long these surveys have been around.

I'm also quite confident something is in the works. However we won't see it until Bell becomes a serious contendor in more of Rogers cable markets.

[akmeikle]

New widescreen guide GUI is being tested by some rogers clients. Not sure when Rogers plans on releasing it.

[Wayne]

Does it actually have modern attractive graphics? Or are we going from a Commodore 64 to a Commodore 128 UI?

[MarcP]

Widescreen GUI in 2012. Rogers is on the edge of innovation!