[TelstraClear] T-Box issues continued

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › [TelstraClear] T-Box issues continued

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127 posts

Master Geek

#508473 18-Aug-2011 11:57

mad01:I have these issues as well. And often waking up in the morning to a black screen where the box is completely unresponsive (green stays blue on the box and pressing it does nothing). When that happens I need to do a reboot and I can see it's updating so it takes a few minutes to come back. Why do I need to reboot every time an update needs to be applied? It seems I only get updates when I reboot, which is strange.

That "Updating" occurs after every reboot and I'm pretty sure it is simply reloading the EPG. It's nothing to do with software updates. They give a different (and obvious) message. The EPG is normally updating on the fly, as the new days appear without a reboot (usually). That said, I found that the last software update (a long time ago) did not occur till I rebooted. This was despite the previous software-update including a fix for that very issue. Software updates are meant to be automatically applied (presumably they would be deployed in the wee small hours of the morning). It'll be interesting to see if THE update we are all waiting for is applied automatically. Given the importance of it, TCL will no doubt put a message at the top of the EPG (and post to this thread!) when it is available.

Gbowering

58 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#508507 18-Aug-2011 12:27

BigBadaboom: I have a theory on the possible reasons for some mystery failed recordings. I believe it might be due to some programs changing their start or end times in the EPG - and the box not handling that well.

The reason I think this might be the case is that a couple of weeks ago I went to set up a recording and it complained that there were already two recordings set. I knew this wasn't the case so I pressed the button to view the conflicts and discovered that it had listed the following:

Program A: 7:00pm-7:30pm
Program B: 7:25pm-8:00pm
Program B: 7:30pm-8:00pm

It looks like Program B might have had it's times adjusted in an EPG update and the box didn't correct it's schedule properly.

I suspect if I hadn't accidentally spotted it, it would have caused a fail. In hindsight, I should have left it to see what actually would have happened.

Thanks for reporting this BigBadaboom. This is a known bug and our European software developers are working on a fix for it. In the meantime, the workaround is as you describe.

Gbowering

58 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#508546 18-Aug-2011 13:15

It'll be interesting to see if THE update we are all waiting for is applied automatically. Given the importance of it, TCL will no doubt put a message at the top of the EPG (and post to this thread!) when it is available.

Hi Lance - yes, we will be letting people know when the code update's coming and what (if anything) they need to do to ensure that it installs correctly. I'll update this thread as soon as I hear.

Cheers, Gary

Gbowering

58 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#508547 18-Aug-2011 13:18

We have also had to reboot the T-box as for some reason it just stops working all of a sudden and won't do anything.

Hi angeldevilnz - please send Tim your contact details and he’ll get help to sort out the problem.

online.marketing@telstraclear.co.nz

Thanks, Gary

lanceanz

127 posts

Master Geek

#508687 18-Aug-2011 18:42

Hi Lance - yes, we will be letting people know when the code update's coming and what (if anything) they need to do to ensure that it installs correctly. I'll update this thread as soon as I hear.

Cheers, Gary

Thanks Gary. I've had my box record a completely different programme again today. Recording details are what I expected, but programme is a different channel. I'll send Tim an email.

angeldevilnz

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#508700 18-Aug-2011 18:58

"Hi angeldevilnz - please send Tim your contact details and he’ll get help to sort out the problem.."

Thanks Gary, will do.

Gbowering

58 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#510481 23-Aug-2011 11:27

Hi everyone,

In the early hours of Thursday morning, a new T-Box code (2.9.23) will be released. Your T-Box should automatically download the code and restart. The information below tells how you can check that you have the new software (there will be a banner displayed as well), and also lists the fixes and enhancements.

To check you are running the latest version of T-Box software. press ‘Menu’ on your remote and then select ‘Settings’. Press ‘OK’ on your remote and navigate to ‘General’ and press ‘OK’. System Details should list your IPG Version as 2.9.23.

If your IPG Version differs, then please power-cycle your T-Box to force it to download the latest software. If you still don’t see 2.9.23 as your IPG Version please call us on 0508 888 800 for assistance.

Changes in 2.9.23

• The extended channel banner in Live TV can now be closed immediately by pressing the ‘i’ button on your remote, rather than waiting for the banner to timeout.

• Part Recorded programmes are now correctly listed as ‘Viewed’ if you watch all or part of the recording.

• If you go back to view a partially viewed recording in the planner, the default option is now ‘Last Viewed’ instead of ‘Start’.

• A new Part Recorded Icon has been implemented.

• There is new colour-coding in the planner screen to assist with identifying the status of recordings:

Orange = Recording

Blue = Recorded

Grey = Viewed

Dark Grey = Part Recorded

Black = Failed

White = To be Recorded

• Programmes that are currently recording will always be listed at the top of the planner. Once recording is completed they will move into their correct order (based on the Filter that you are using).

• A new filter ‘Newest’ has been added to the Planner screen which, when selected, will list recordings with the newest date at the top.

• The T-Box no longer crashes when you attempt to delete a programme you are currently watching.

• You are now asked for a PIN to ‘Un-keep’ a ‘Kept’ recording before you can delete it.

• When power-cycled the T-Box will now remember the last volume setting (except MUTE).

• When moving ahead of time in channel banners whilst in Live TV, this is now set back to present time when the channel is changed.

• After deleting programmes from the planner screen, the T-Box no longer locks up.

• There have been numerous enhancements made to EPG processes.

• 24 Hour PPV is now working correctly and will be re-enabled shortly. When a movie title is purchased you will be able to watch it as many times as you like, within the next 24 hours.

Sharesies

Trade NZ and US shares and funds with Sharesies (affiliate link).

r2b2

586 posts

Ultimate Geek

#510516 23-Aug-2011 12:01

Gbowering: Hi everyone,

In the early hours of Thursday morning, a new T-Box code (2.9.23) will be released. Your T-Box should automatically download the code and restart. The information below tells how you can check that you have the new software (there will be a banner displayed as well), and also lists the fixes and enhancements.

To check you are running the latest version of T-Box software. press ‘Menu’ on your remote and then select ‘Settings’. Press ‘OK’ on your remote and navigate to ‘General’ and press ‘OK’. System Details should list your IPG Version as 2.9.23.

If your IPG Version differs, then please power-cycle your T-Box to force it to download the latest software. If you still don’t see 2.9.23 as your IPG Version please call us on 0508 888 800 for assistance.

Changes in 2.9.23

[...]

Sounds good! Is this likely to address the random hanging that seems to occur if you are playing a programme when another one finishes recording? (While playing the screen goes black suddenly and the TBox is no longer responsive and has to be power-cycled - recorded programme is fully saved but is "Part Recorded" according to the planner)

RobertT

120 posts

Master Geek

#510569 23-Aug-2011 13:13

Thanks Gary

Looking forward to Friday night!

BigBadaboom

151 posts

Master Geek

#510643 23-Aug-2011 14:40

Yeah, what r2b2 said.

While I applaud seeing announcements on releases here (thanks Gary!), I was somewhat aghast that we are getting a "tinker with colours" release when the single biggest problem with the software goes unfixed.

I'm hoping against hope that it is fixed and they just forgot to mention it.

This end-of-recording crash occurs on my box 2-3 times a week.

> If you go back to view a partially viewed recording in the planner, the default option is now ‘Last Viewed’ instead of ‘Start’.

This is poor UI anyway. What should actually happen is that the program starts playing from where you left off instead of displaying a menu. And the 'jump to start' and 'jump to end' buttons on the remote should actually do something instead of taking up space on the remote.

Other IMO significant bugs that I don't see addressed here:

(1) The buttons don't auto-repeat bug

(2) The "refuses to rewind" bug

(3) The "fast forward to the end of a recording program" bug. When you are fast forwarding through a program that is being recorded, and you reach the end, it should drop into play mode instead of dumping you back to the planner.

(4) The "can't control the recording while updating" bug. You can't do anything once the box decides to do one of it's random "Updating..." sessions. Bad luck if you happen to be FFing through ads when it happens. At the very least, let us set the time when it does EPG updates to a time when we are not likely to be using the box.

(5) The "onscreen time doesn't update" bug. Commonly the displayed time at the top left of the EPG and Planner screens isn't up to date when you go into them. Sometimes it updates after a few seconds. Sometimes it can take a minute or never. In fact there was one occasion recently when the top-left-time, the EPG and the 'i' banner indicated three different times.

(6) The "fast-forward progress bar doesn't update" bug. Sometime you can forward half way through a program before the progress bar catches up. And why is there no time display on this screen? VCRs had this feature 30 years ago.

(7) The clumsy and unsophisticated fast forward and rewind. Lots of issues here. I'm sure you know what I mean.

(8) The "channel banner gets stuck on screen and won't go away" bug.

(9) When the box does crash, the least it could do is continue recording the unfinished recordings. Or let us manually record the remainder. At the moment you have to delete the first half of a partially-recorded program before it will let you record the rest.

So there are a quick eleven things that I just came up with off the top of my head that are more important to me than any of the fixes listed in this update. Except perhaps for the "numerous enhancements made to EPG processes" - whatever that means.

BigBadaboom

151 posts

Master Geek

#510661 23-Aug-2011 14:50

Oh and I forgot one:

(10) The "no way to see all your series links" bug

mad01

76 posts

Master Geek

#510957 24-Aug-2011 08:53

Hopefully that update will also have some bug fixes.

I've been getting a lot of failed recording "Due to unknown reason". I would really like to get to the bottom of what the "unknown reason" is. 6pm news keep on failing. One of the program that failed I was actually watching at the same time, I tried deleting and re-creating the recording and every time it failed.

Bring on the update - and a more stable platform.

In reply to the last poster I would add:

11) A much more responsive menu. It doesn't make sense that you have to wait 3 seconds for the page to change or whatever.

Gbowering

58 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#511094 24-Aug-2011 11:34

Hi r2b2, BigBadaboom and Mad01.

A long post, but I hope it helps and answers some questions for you. Thanks for your feedback and reports of issues and suggestions for improvement. We appreciate the time and effort you take to let us know what issues you’re having.

We’re aware of almost all of the things you each have raised and are working on the majority of the biggest issues for the next release (after tonight’s). RobertT, clivestart, KiwiNZ and Mauricio saw a very early version of this next update when they visited our broadcast guys, and may agree with me that the performance improvement is significant. We want the update to work as it should before it’s released so can’t give any dates, but as at today we’re on track for weeks rather than months.

Firstly, the colour changes, new icons and sort etc, were always scheduled for tonight’s code release.

In the meantime, for many other performance (slow response) issues, if you press a button on the remote and the power button on the T-Box flashes, the T-Box has received the command and you just need to wait for the T-Box to respond. As noted, there are significant performance improvements in the next (the one after tonight’s) software release. If you are experiencing slower than usual responses, then please power-cycle the T-Box. This is due to a known issue which is fixed in the next (Performance Build) release.

A few of the issues you’ve raised are ones we haven’t seen before or could have multiple causes. Details such as when they occur, how often, what the T-Box is doing at the time, what commands you have given the remote and anything else that might help us replicate the behaviour would help. I’ve noted where these appear to be new below and we’d appreciate your help in replicating them.

PM me with the details as noted above (and specifics below) and I’ll pass them on to the team.

1. The random hanging that seems to occur if you are playing a programme when another one finishes recording. (While playing the screen goes black suddenly and the TBox is no longer responsive and has to be power-cycled - recorded programme is fully saved but is "Part Recorded" according to the planner).

2. This end-of-recording crash occurs on my box 2-3 times a week.

For both of the above, this is not something that’s been seen or reported before. If you could give me as much detail as possible on what you’re seeing and when etc I’ll pass it on to the technical team. The sort of detail that might help is:

What type of crash is this (eg, total freeze, response delay etc)?
What type of recordings does this occur on (one-off, series link etc)?
What are your recording settings (buffer size, number of programmes recording at that time, etc)?

3.            If you go back to view a partially viewed recording in the planner, the default option is now ‘Last Viewed’ instead of ‘Start’.

Thanks for the feedback. Most user testing showed people prefer the option to start viewing again rather than having to rewind (should you wish to start watching the recording again). Whichever menu option is the default though, the other option only requires one extra button push.

4.            The buttons don't auto-repeat bug

This is a performance improvement and will be implemented in a future build.

5.            The "refuses to rewind" bug

This is not something that’s been seen or reported before. If you could give me as much detail as possible on what you’re seeing and when etc I’ll pass it on to the technical team. Eg: What are you doing and what buttons are you pressing prior to the problem? What exactly is happening (or not) and when? What else is the T-Box doing at the time (eg, recording)? Does the power light flash to show it has received the command? Does the rewind simply refuse or does it start if you wait?

6.            When you are fast forwarding through a program that is being recorded, and you reach the end, it should drop into play mode instead of dumping you back to the planner.

Thanks, we’ll discuss this. As it’s currently being recorded it makes more sense to many people to go back to the planner. If you want to keep watching it, you can go straight to Live TV.

7.            At the very least, let us set the time when it does EPG updates to a time when we are not likely to be using the box.

This is currently by design. We agree this is frustrating but, for now, it has to stay this way because the T-Box is a network device and not a simple PVR. Once performance improvements and other issues are addressed we will look at ways to allow users to keep using the T-Box while updates occur. We are also working to have the EPG update more often to ensure capture of as many of the last-minute changes broadcaster’s make as we can.

8.            The daily update only occurs once a day, sometime between 2am and 4:30am. The only other time is shows is when the T-Box is updated.

With tonight’s release of 2.9.23 this update process is a lot faster and within the next few days the process will be sped up further (only changed EPG data will be downloaded).

9.            Commonly the displayed time at the top left of the EPG and Planner screens isn't up to date when you go into them.

This is a known issue and will be addressed in future updates. The time always updates after a couple of seconds.

10.          Sometime you can forward half way through a program before the progress bar catches up. And why is there no time display on this screen? VCRs had this feature 30 years ago.

Graphics and GUI speeds will be improved with the performance build (next release after tonight’s). The time display enhancement is scheduled for a future build.

11.          The clumsy and unsophisticated fast forward and rewind. Lots of issues here. I'm sure you know what I mean.

The only issue we are aware of with fast forward and rewind is some slow key response which is addressed in the performance build that will be released next (after tonight’s release). Could you please provide specifics so that we can try and replicate the issues you are having?

12.          The "channel banner gets stuck on screen and won't go away" bug.

This is fixed in 2.9.23 being released tonight.

13.          When the box does crash, the least it could do is continue recording the unfinished recordings. Or let us manually record the remainder.

This is a known issue and scheduled for a future build.

14.          The "no way to see all your series links" bug

Go to the planner, press the filter button and scroll to ‘Series Links’. This will then show all the series links you have set up and nothing else.

15.          I've been getting a lot of failed recording "Due to unknown reason".

This is being addressed in a future release. In the meantime, a work-around is to delete the series link, power cycle your T-Box and re-create the series link.

16.          A much more responsive menu. It doesn't make sense that you have to wait 3 seconds for the page to change or whatever.

This will be resolved in the performance build that is the next release after tonight’s. As noted above, RobertT, clivestart, KiwiNZ and Mauricio can comment on the performance changes that are coming, but we believe that they are significant.

Thanks again for the feedback, and please PM with any issues you're having so I can pass them on the technical team.

Cheers, Gary

ThatGuy2004

19 posts

Geek

#511547 25-Aug-2011 00:41

After a very long silence from TCL about issues and solutions it is great to see much more positive feedback and transparency being shown- Thank you very much TCL. In the end we all just want the box to work as it should.

I have also had various issues described above, such as the rewind problem - will note and pass on if they continue post upgrade. Interesting side effect of the "Newest" Filter enhancement is I now have several pages of future recordings to scroll through before I see the most current recordings already done - am I doing something wrong? When I use the Recorded Filter, I still have to page down to get to the newest actual recordings - would have thought most people would prefer their freshest recordings on top by default?!

Subject to this upgrade, I have still had some recordings cutting off the ends of programs...grrr. I understand this may be due to Sky or other TV networks programming but not as often as it seems to be happening. Very annoying missing the last few minutes of fav shows. I shoudn't need to check I have a full show recorded before watching from beginning. Yes I know there are the buffers but previously the buffers created other recording failures.. ideas???

One last thing...why do I get heavy pixellation at times from some live and recorded shows???? Changing channels sometimes helps.. video buffer issues? Will also let you know if continues post upgrade. I will also change HDMI cables as possible solution.....

Progress anyway. Thanks.

BigBadaboom

151 posts

Master Geek

#511550 25-Aug-2011 00:59

ThatGuy2004: Yes I know there are the buffers but previously the buffers created other recording failures.. ideas???

The padding buffer as it is is virtually useless. Seems like it was added quickly with little thought put into it.

- You should be able to turn it on and off for individual programs or series links.
- You should be able to choose whether to add it to the start or end or both.
- You should be able to set it to only add padding if there is a tuner available (so it doesn't cause conflicts)

ThatGuy2004: One last thing...why do I get heavy pixellation at times from some live and recorded shows???? Changing channels sometimes helps.. video buffer issues?

Sometimes, this is the T-Box, sometimes this is the cable signal itself.

The former type you can get rid of by RW or FF a few seconds.

The latter you can do nothing about. For example tonight between 6:30 and 7:00 pm several channels were messed up. I had a corrupted video stream that lasted for around half an hour. It affected at least TVONE and TV3. I know that was the video signal itself because it was confirmed by another family member.
The RW/FF trick doesn't work when it is the signal itself affected.

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