Vodafone TV - new Gen2 box

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#2336879 14-Oct-2019 16:50

IvanPiacun:

If you have the sound muted on the Vodafone Gen2 Set Top Retail Cloud PVR Box when you turn it off with the remote then when you turn it back on again with the remote the sound remains muted and cannot be unmuted. You then have to pull the power cord from the box after turning it off with the remote, wait 5 seconds put the power back into the box, wait about 30-60 seconds and then turning it on with the remote restores the sound. I believe this is a bug.

@IvanPiacun I believe you would be correct

Tonsmi

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#2336880 14-Oct-2019 16:50

olof:

Many thanks for the awesome review and constructive feedback. Really appreciated! Some comments below to clarify some of the niggles and constructive feedback:

You're welcome olof. Some replies to your replies, and a new item below!

Tonsmi:

2. My unit had a large scratch on the underside below the HDMI cable socket. I assume the devices are tested at point of manufacture, and the tester scraped an HDMI cable down the back of the device. Again only cosmetic so no functional impact.

Should not be there of course on a brand new device. Please let us know if you want us to do something about this?

Thanks for the offer but happy to keep the existing box for now (the VTV is behind the TV, and obviously sitting on its base, so I certainly don't have to look at the scratch everyday, so all good). I'll probably buy a second backup unit at some stage, I'm sure that one will be mark free.

Tonsmi:

4. My daughter handled the remote, and I immediately noticed some scratches and marks on the top surface. On closer inspection, it seems there is a really fine grainy coating on the remote, but the coating is delicate. Maybe longer term, Vodafone might offer replacement remotes, or look into this issue and adjust manufacture to avoid this.

We will offer replacement remotes (at a cost) when this is required. You are right, the top of the remote has a slightly matte finish. This is the same remote as Gen1 that has been in the market for 2 years, but with Bluetooth and voice control added. (Voice control has not been launched yet.) To date, the remote's have stood up really well to wear and tear. But please let us know if your experience is different!

I've posted a photo below. My daughter was fidgeting with the remote, but still don't expect this to happen.

Click to see full size

Tonsmi:

1. I've noticed that when viewing the Scheduled Recordings list, and when viewing an individual show to be recorded in the future, the description says "Recorded on n date" (where n date is a date in the future, when the show is next on). This seems to be a labelling glitch, as I believe it should say "Airs on n date", to indicate it is a show that will be recorded in the future.

Hmmm. Well spotted. We will fix this. (Probably something we can fix really quickly!)

Awesome!

Tonsmi:

2. I noticed that the sound levels are different when moving between channels. It appears the 'Audio Language' setting is different between channels, and/or the Audio Language setting doesn't carry across from one program to the next when changing channels. e.g. when I go to a channel, the setting is English, I then set it to English Stereo, but when I go to another channel the setting reverts to English, so I have to set it to English Stereo again. It would be great if this setting remained across channels.

In regard to audio levelling: This is something we are always working on. Will discuss with team.

In regard to audio language: You are correct that the audio language setting is not retained between channels. This is a limitation in the current software version, that we may be able to improve on in the future. Also noting that if you prefer to always listen in Stereo instead of the standard Dolby Digital (when supported), you can change this in Settings > More Settings > Audio & Visual.

I tried setting that setting, but don't think anything has changed?

Tonsmi:

3. I've noticed that when scrolling through the TV Guide, the selected point sometimes skips to another day e.g. I was scrolling across shows on the cloud buffer from several days ago, then it seemed to jump to several days ahead (i.e. no longer the buffer but the upcoming shows on the guide). This has only happened a couple of times so could be user error. I'll report again if I see it again.

Hmmm. We have not seen that one. If it happens again, could you please make a video of it and DM it to me? Much appreciated!

I think Rugrat in the 14-Oct-2019 02:16 post has encountered this.

Tonsmi:

4. I had the box hang when exiting the Three app (box was unresponsive, so had to cut the power and restart). I've also lost sound when exiting any app (i.e. came back from app and no sound was present, had to power off and on with the remote), and have lost the ability to set volume or mute after exiting any app (i.e. came back from app and sound was present, but I couldn't change it with the volume button or mute it, had to power off and on with the remote). So there seems to be a few issues when closing an app and going back to the menu (I think some of these are already known bugs).

Noted, and will make sure team is looking into these issues.

Had this happen a few times again. Will look forward to the fix.

Tonsmi:

5. This morning (Sunday morning), the box wouldn't start from the remote. I didn't try the buttons on the box, but just cut the power and restarted.

See my previous post about this. We have had this reported and have replicated issue. Fix is under way and will be deployed as an over-the-air update in the short term.

Awesome!

Tonsmi:

1. I wish the colour scheme (theme) was more red than purple. Red is Vodafone's colour scheme, so I would have thought the UI would be redder!

Noted! This is the default Vodafone Group colour scheme as deployed in other markets in Europe. Hence a bit hard for us to change!

OK, I'll adjust the colour settings on my TV so it doesn't look purple ...

... just kidding :-).

Tonsmi:

2. I'm not a big fan of the menu having transparency over the show that is playing in the background. It isn't transparent enough to see what is really going on, but is just transparent enough to be distracting when viewing the menu. My vote would be for no transparency at all here.

3. Related to point 2 above, I'm not a big fan of a channel playing when you either turn on the device, or when you return to the menu from an app. My vote would be to just show the menu but not have anything playing behind it. Note this would have the benefit of lowering data consumption, as it wouldn't start streaming something you may not end up watching.

Noted.

Awesome!

Tonsmi:

4. Related to point 2 and 3 above, I've noticed that when you return to the menu from an app, the app that you've just come back to the menu from isn't always selected in the menu, but the top item in the MyTV section is selected. My vote would be whenever returning to the menu, the item that was last chosen in the menu is selected. Obviously a default will be needed for newly launching the menu when turning on the device.

Noted and good suggestion. Added to our list of potential feature improvements.

This behaviour seems to be a bit inconsistent (sometimes it highlights the last item you were on, other times it doesn't). Upon reflection maybe it always defaulting to the same menu item regardless would actually be quite good (will prevent having to visually scan the homepage to see where the focus is). My vote would be to highlight the TV Guide.

Tonsmi:

5. The TV Guide filter options (e.g. to show Subscribed Channels only) should ideally persist once set.

Agree with you. Added to our list of potential feature improvements.

Awesome!

Tonsmi:

6. I understand the FF/RW previews are on their way. I hope the existing FF/RW speeds can be retained despite the previews.

Correct. The speeds will be retained, but with visual feedback added. Very similar to how Netflix and YouTube scrubbers work.

Really looking forward to this improvement!

Tonsmi:

7. A 'playback speed' setting has recently been mooted by another forum user. It would be amazing to watch the show at say 1.5 speed or 2 speed, including with audio etc.

Noted and good suggestion. Added to our list of potential feature improvements.

Awesome!

Tonsmi:

8. The cloud buffer extending to 5 days, or eventually 7 days! And with more/all programs available in the cloud buffer or to cloud record!

For sure a good idea! We would love to extend the CloudPVR buffer to something much longer than 3 days. This is only limited the content partner agreements that we have. @sansom maybe you can comment further?

@sansom - can you comment further?

For a new item, sometime recently either sansom or olof mentioned an update going out today (presumably this morning in the wee hours).

When I went to start the VTV this morning, I had the "won't start so have to pull the power" issue.

However when it fired up, after the message that says "Vodafone TV is connecting to the internet" (or whatever it says), up came a message that said "Something has gone wrong. We didn't configure the device before you bought it" (or something along those lines). I though "oh no", thinking the worst. But luckily the sound of a FTA channel started playing, then eventually the picture appeared.

So, @sansom or @olof, can you folk confirm if a patch went out this morning, and if so, can you advise what has changed, and, have you seen this error or message before (even though it ended up being OK)?

Still love my VTV!

Will look forward to your reply :-).

Take care!

Tony

sansom

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#2336890 14-Oct-2019 17:15

IvanPiacun:

Is there any possibility of getting Ted Talks App added to the Vodafone Gen2 Set Top Box please. I also I suggest there should be a way of selecting in settings from a list of apps that are to be displayed by way of a list with tick boxes.

Yes, although we don't currently have a timeframe for when this will be available as it will be a Global deal (rather than an NZ-only build).

In the meantime there is the TED channel on YouTube (with ads if you don't pay for YT premium).

Hamish

IvanPiacun

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#2336892 14-Oct-2019 17:16

I appear to have found another bug on Vodafone Gen2 Retail Cloud PVR Set Top Box. i.e. When you swap to a program using the TV Guide plus the OK button, and then rewind it to its start, 30 minutes or more previously, the program will only play to 10-20 minutes from the end and then if it is a non recordable program there is now no way of seeing the end. Very frustrating!

Ivan Piacun CITPNZ

sansom

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#2336898 14-Oct-2019 17:41

IvanPiacun:

I appear to have found another bug on Vodafone Gen2 Retail Cloud PVR Set Top Box. i.e. When you swap to a program using the TV Guide plus the OK button, and then rewind it to its start, 30 minutes or more previously, the program will only play to 10-20 minutes from the end and then if it is a non recordable program there is now no way of seeing the end. Very frustrating!

Sounds like a problem related to synch between the guide information and the actual live screening times being different.

To clarify, are you saying you restarted a programme that did have rewind/reverse EPG rights, but it only rewound to 10-20 minutes before the start?... and so it then stopped 10-20 minutes early? Are you able to remember which programme this was on?

Hamish

sansom

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#2336902 14-Oct-2019 17:45

Tonsmi:

So, @sansom or @olof, can you folk confirm if a patch went out this morning, and if so, can you advise what has changed, and, have you seen this error or message before (even though it ended up being OK)?

Still love my VTV!

Will look forward to your reply :-).

Take care!

Tony

Hi Tony, I'm still catching up on things after having been on leave for the last couple of weeks. I'll leave it for @olof to reply tonight if he can as I believe he has an update on a "patch" :-)

Hamish

IvanPiacun

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#2336914 14-Oct-2019 18:14

sansom:

IvanPiacun:

I appear to have found another bug on Vodafone Gen2 Retail Cloud PVR Set Top Box. i.e. When you swap to a program using the TV Guide plus the OK button, and then rewind it to its start, 30 minutes or more previously, the program will only play to 10-20 minutes from the end and then if it is a non recordable program there is now no way of seeing the end. Very frustrating!

Sounds like a problem related to synch between the guide information and the actual live screening times being different.

To clarify, are you saying you restarted a programme that did have rewind/reverse EPG rights, but it only rewound to 10-20 minutes before the start?... and so it then stopped 10-20 minutes early? Are you able to remember which programme this was on?

I swapped to a program which was over 30 minutes in in real time that had rewind/reverse EPG rights. I'm sorry I don't recall the name of the program. I will make a note of the name next time. According to the Guide it had finished about 10-20 minutes ago in realtime when the playback stopped, leaving 10-20 minutes of the program unplayable which I did not get to see. Hope this makes sense. The Guide looked okay for the timing of the next program which was then 10 to 20 minutes in.

Ivan Piacun CITPNZ

Equinox IT

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olof

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#2337043 14-Oct-2019 22:02

Tonsmi:

Thanks for the offer but happy to keep the existing box for now (the VTV is behind the TV, and obviously sitting on its base, so I certainly don't have to look at the scratch everyday, so all good). I'll probably buy a second backup unit at some stage, I'm sure that one will be mark free.

No problems. (My VodafoneTV box is velcro-ed to the back of my TV by the way. One of the advantages of a small box with Bluetooth!)

Tonsmi:

I've posted a photo below. My daughter was fidgeting with the remote, but still don't expect this to happen.

Fair enough. We will provide this as feedback to Vodafone Group who drives the remote control development.

Re FF/FREW scrubber:

Tonsmi:

Really looking forward to this improvement!

Me too! (But I have to confess, I have been testing this feature at home for a while!)

Olof:

For sure a good idea! We would love to extend the CloudPVR buffer to something much longer than 3 days. This is only limited the content partner agreements that we have. @sansom maybe you can comment further?

Tonsmi:

@sansom - can you comment further?

@sansom has been away on holiday, but is back today and will let him comment!

Tonsmi:

For a new item, sometime recently either sansom or olof mentioned an update going out today (presumably this morning in the wee hours).

There was no update today or in the last couple of days I am afraid. (We are however just about to start testing of the next release, 57.11, that is focused on bug fixes and stability. Will be pushed as soon as QA testing completes.)

Tonsmi:

When I went to start the VTV this morning, I had the "won't start so have to pull the power" issue.

Planned to be fixed in software release 57.11 as noted above.

Tonsmi:

However when it fired up, after the message that says "Vodafone TV is connecting to the internet" (or whatever it says), up came a message that said "Something has gone wrong. We didn't configure the device before you bought it" (or something along those lines). I though "oh no", thinking the worst. But luckily the sound of a FTA channel started playing, then eventually the picture appeared.

Strange indeed. "Vodafone TV is connecting to the internet..." is displayed when the box is not yet connected to the internet. The "We didn't configure the device before you bought it..." message should never be displayed if your box is activated. Which it obviously already is. Many thanks for reporting this.

Tonsmi:

So, @sansom or @olof, can you folk confirm if a patch went out this morning, and if so, can you advise what has changed, and, have you seen this error or message before (even though it ended up being OK)?

Still love my VTV!

Will look forward to your reply :-).

Unfortunately, we have not pushed an update yet. The next release, 57.11, is starting testing tomorrow morning. It will be released as soon as it passes QA.

We have of course seen both of the error messages above ("We didn't configure the device before you bought it..." and "We didn't configure the device before you bought it..."). However, you should never see the "We didn't configure the device before you bought it..." message if your box is activated. Really appreciate you reporting this, and please let us know if it happens again.

On the upcoming 57.11 software release: we will post here when it is out, to make sure you know that it is available.

Thanks again for all the feedback. We are definitely listening and getting real user feedback is invaluable to us in improving VodafoneTV going forward.

Olof Olsson - my views are my own.

olof

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#2337050 14-Oct-2019 22:09

DjShadow:

Will any new software updates include fixes to the stability of the unit? I've had to pull the power plug on it a few times in the past week to get it going

We are starting testing of the next VodafoneTV STB software release (57.11) tomorrow, and it will be released as soon as it passes QA. 57.11 is focused on bug fixes and stability.

Will ensure we post a note here as soon as it is ready for release.

Olof Olsson - my views are my own.

IvanPiacun

378 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2337073 15-Oct-2019 01:00

Might I suggest a new topic for Vodafone TV Gen2 Retail cloud PVR with software version 57.11 when it is released with a link to it posted in this topic.

Ivan Piacun CITPNZ

olof

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#2337187 15-Oct-2019 09:07

IvanPiacun: Might I suggest a new topic for Vodafone TV Gen2 Retail cloud PVR with software version 57.11 when it is released with a link to it posted in this topic.

Good idea. Let's do that!

Olof Olsson - my views are my own.

dklong

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#2337242 15-Oct-2019 10:48

Hi @sansom and @olof

Thanks for all the info and feedback on this forum. This device does look like it's going to solve a lot of people's problems once the initial 'challenges' are sorted through. :-)

Freeview with recording, Netflix, Lightbox, and Sky with recording on a month by month basis (if wanted) all in one little box for $179 seems pretty darn good! And the three day buffer probably removes the need to record a lot of programs for most people as they would either have watched it, or are not going to as it is no longer current (in the case of the news).

The only thing I'm struggling to understand is how the economics will work for running/maintaining the system, and in particular the cloud DVR infrastructure, once the initial sales bump has passed and new sales are only ticking over. From what I understand with overseas Cloud DVR/PVR providers, they tend to have a monthly subscription model of some sort to keep it all running. How do you see Vodafone earning enough ongoing to fund the running of the system or do you expect to have to move to a subscription model further down the track?

Cheers

eracode

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#2337268 15-Oct-2019 11:59

I bought a VTV today, intending to use it to replace our Sky box (and cancel Sky). The Sky box is in a cupboard about 4m from our TV and is connected by an in-wall HDMI cable and it works fine.

I set up the VTV in the cupboard, Ethernet to router, unplugged the Sky HDMI and plugged the VTV HDMI into the wall socket. On the TV, I got a black and white Vodafone boot logo for a few seconds, which then disappeared - then nothing. Repeated tries and nothing different.

Then I put the VTV near the TV and plugged its HDMI directly into the TV (bypassing the in-wall HDMI). VTV started and I went through set-up, registration etc - all good.

Returned the VTV to the cupboard set-up and same old problem. Tried different HDMI cables between VTV and the wall socket - no change. It appears the VTV doesn’t like our in-wall cabling - even though Sky has no problem with it. TBH the actual length of HDMI cable is quite a bit longer than 4m due to down wall > under floor> back up wall.

This is a major disappointment for us because I really do want to ditch Sky - but we have no aerial and can only get FTA TV via Sky or IPTV. I will have to take the VTV back for a refund - very frustrating because this box is perfect for what we need. There is no practical way for us to have the VTV closer to the TV.

I’d be grateful for any suggestions before I take it back.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

MikeB4

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#2337271 15-Oct-2019 12:05

What are others experiences with the VTV home screen? On my set up the image is quite hard to see as the image has very poor contrast. The test is very pale and only really become visible when passed over by the curser. The colour is very washed out. Going into the settings section the text is quite difficult to read. Normal TV viewing is fine and Apps are fine as well.

rugrat

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#2337358 15-Oct-2019 12:29

eracode:

This is a major disappointment for us because I really do want to ditch Sky - but we have no aerial and can only get FTA TV via Sky or IPTV. I will have to take the VTV back for a refund - very frustrating because this box is perfect for what we need. There is no practical way for us to have the VTV closer to the TV.

I’d be grateful for any suggestions before I take it back.

Can try and change picture resolution to 1080p.

Think 4K uses a higher copy protection, hopefully changing it to 1080p goes to the lower one. Don’t know if it will work.

Haven’t tried yet but I want to run it through an HDMI splitter and may run into same issue, just if I move box between TV’s don’t want to do wear and tear on TV’s HDMI plug. Sky box runs through them fine.

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