New Guide for Scientific Atlanta Cable Boxes
You may not think about the On-Screen Program Guide every day (the interface that connects you, via your remote control, to all the channels and On Demand programming you enjoy) and that’s ok because I do (along with a team of people here at Comcast).
When you do share your opinions and ideas – through direct feedback, blog posts, forums and research – my colleagues and I gather all that information and work it into our planning and design of upgrades and new Guides.
We heard loud and clear from customers that live in what we call Scientific Atlanta/Cisco (or SA) markets (that’s you, if your Guide looks like the one pictured here) that you want your Guide to have more shortcuts, load On Demand faster, and have a user-friendly interface.
We listened and starting this year, customers in those SA markets are going to get a new and improved on-screen experience. The Guide will be launched on a rolling basis, market by market, throughout the year. We’ve been testing the Guide with some of our employees (often our toughest customers!) who live in Connecticut, and the verdict is in: they love the new Guide.
So, what’s new? For starters, check out the color-coded TV grid, a new On Demand menu that loads faster, more detailed program information, an improved search feature and a convenient menu of shortcuts (we call it the Quick Menu).
Some other new features include:
- expanded parental control options
- multiple favorites lists
- additional channel grids
- a message center
- local weather available anytime, right in the Guide
Customers who will be getting this new Guide will see TV commercials (see below) and will get a booklet in the mail explaining all the new features. In the meantime visit the Web page for the new Guide to learn more.
I look forward to your feedback!
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Comments (2078)
@Jaspal Boparai, glad to hear that this worked and agree that this could be easier.
We have some guide software changes coming very soon that will provide a better experience.
To clarify on the DVR series recording settings - there are three options: Only new episodes, New and repeats, All with duplicates. New and repeats would record new and repeat episodes but is designed to only record each episode one time. All with duplicates would not be discretionary and would record the episode numerous times. I’ll ask our guide listings data provider to take a look at ZeeTV and see if there are any anomalies.
Some inside baseball - how the DVR interprets the guide listings data is by looking at the New and Repeat "flag" in the data. The DVR doesn't determine if an episode is new by reading a value of "New," instead it determines if an episode is new by not seeing a value of "Repeat." And repeat is determined by mostly comparing the Original Air Date (OAD) to the scheduled air date.
Currently, our data partner works on a three day rule. If a show is marked as “New” and is scheduled to record new episodes only, the DVR could certainly also record the same show if those shows are within three days of the Original Air Date. It would still be considered “new” and could re-record within three days.
Anticipating your next question, the concern with making the 3-day rule a 1-day rule is that the OAD value is the premiere date of a program in the U.S., however, it may not premiere on the same date in every market. This is definitely true with some of the syndicated talk shows like Ellen and Dr. Phil, which some markets may air the episodes on a one-day or two-day delay from when most markets premiere new episodes. It can also happen on the smaller networks like CW, MyTV, or even FOX at times. It happens quite a bit when a local MyTV or FOX affiliate also has broadcast rights to local sports events. For example, during the Phillies season (GO PHILS), a MyTV episode of Maury or 30 Rock may not air at its regularly scheduled day/time because of a Phillies game, and will likely air at an off-hour time. However, the OAD for that episode would be the regularly scheduled day/time, because that's when it premiered in some (most) markets. The fear in this case is that the DVR would not record these new episodes when they should be recorded. The theory here is that it is better to over-record than to under-record.
We continue to work with our data provider to improve this overall experience and also have some software changes starting to be rolled out over the summer that should also help.
@Brandon, we have a meeting in Houston at the end of the month to go over our proposed schedule and additional details with the local Comcast management team. We have had great success in our launched areas.
The plan is to get On-Screen Guide 2.0 http://www.xfinity.com/onscreenguide2
available to our Houston customers this year just as we have been able to do in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, parts of Louisiana and now Minnesota (and soon New Mexico and Texas).
I will have a better date for your area after our meeting with the Comcast Houston team.
The plan we are following has been to introduce On-Screen Guide 2.0 with AnyRoom DVR initially and then also eventually include all of the RNG devices (RNG 100, 150 and 200) after a certain date in deployed markets later this year.
We do understandably have a controlled deployment plan for the early stages of this guide deployment so we can monitor customer and business metrics, install times, and the overall impact to our customers and to the business.
Even though you already have a Cisco RNG 200N now, getting the new On-Screen Guide 2.0 initially is a factor of getting a Cisco RNG box after a certain calendar date in each market.
After that, the current plan is to arrange to change the on-screen guide on the existing RNG set tops in the On-Screen Guide 2.0 deployed markets. That will require some advance, direct and wide customer communication.
Thank you for your guidance on setting manual recordings. There are too many steps but it did work. For the problem of multiple recordings of same show when they are repeated three times a day, the channel in question was ZTV (691 in Woodbridge, Virginia area). Not sure of definition of Repeat. It will work if Repeat is defined as something repeated within seven day period (no matter if it was a Repeat of something shown months/years ago).
Ted when will Comcast launch the 2.0 new guide? i have the new RNG 200N in Houston? The Guide is very beautiful.
Hello Gregg and thanks for your question.
All Cisco and Scientific-Atlanta cable boxes in all areas will be getting some sort of guide update and improvements starting over the summer. We are still on track to start delivering this new guide to many locations over the summer. We are still developing the rollout schedule and should have some more specific announcements shortly.
Some of the new features that are included in the summer release are listed below:
myDVR Manager: From the internet and the Xfinity TV app, customers can: set recordings, view/modify scheduled recordings, view completed recordings, modify series priority lists, etc.
http://xfinity.comcast.net/mydvr/how-to/
Caller ID to the TV See who's calling, right from your TV and PC! Comcast Universal Caller ID takes the guesswork out of incoming calls. http://www.comcast.net/callerid
Xfinity TV Application: The ability to use your iPad to change channels.
http://www.xfinity.com/help/internet/mobile-tv-app/
HSN Shop-by-Remote: A convenient, new way to make HSN purchases simply by using your remote. http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV_Guide_Shop-By-Remote_0110.pdf
Request for Info: Know more, save more! Introducing an easy way to request valuable coupons and info from advertisers simply by using your remote.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Request%20For%20Information.pdf
Ready Remind and Ready Record: Now you can conveniently set program reminders or recordings directly from certain TV show and movie advertisements.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Ready%20Remind%20Record.pdf
AnyRoom DVR (an additional service available at a recurring monthly charge) is not currently scheduled to be available in our Scientific-Atlanta/Cisco areas on New Jersey this year.
The long term plan is to get all of our newest cable boxes (regardless of hardware manufacturer or geography) onto a common more advanced on-screen guide starting in 2013 to provide a more consistent experience.
I am a costomer in the garden stated area of xfinty in new jersey. I was wondering if we were ever going to get the anyroom DVR or be able to set recording on the website. These services have been available for other people in my stated for a good amount of time.
@Bob, we have some additional guide features that are scheduled to start being delivered over the summer to customers with Cisco and Scientific-Atlanta branded cable boxes.
My post dated May 1st below outlines those additional features, including myDVR Manager. I don't have a specific date for your area of PA that I can share just yet.
Our initial trials are going well and we are still on track to start delivering this newer guide over the summer.
Ted Hodgins
could you please tell me do you know yet when
williamsport pa 17702 is supposed to get the updatef guid?
i heard My dvr service is already avalible in my area just not
for the sa boxes yet do you know when that will happen? if you coud
ket me know i would appriate it thanks
@Jaspal Boparai, If you are having issues with specific programs over-recording, please let me know so I can alert our data provider to review that particular program's new and repeat flag as in some cases that is the issue.
We continue to work with our guide data provider and we also have initiated a software solution and improved experience targeted to start over the summer to alleviate the DVR over-recording issue. The current theory here is that it is better to over-record than to under-record.
In the meantime, one option is to set a manual DVR recording. You are able to set up a single or recurring manual recording on any channel for any duration. Push the MyDVR button on your Comcast remote control, select "Set a recording", then Set a manual recording.
There you can set the start and end time and select the channel to record. Next, select "View Recording Settings" and make a selection, the options are "Once", "Everyday", "Once a Week", or "Mon-Fri".
To clarify on the DVR series recording settings - there are three options: Only new episodes, New and repeats, All with duplicates. New and repeats would record new and repeat episodes but is designed to only record each episode one time. All with duplicates would not be discretionary and would record the episode numerous times.
Another option: Change the DVR recording options to "Save only one episode". The default is "All Episodes". You can change that to save only 1 episode (this would save only the most recent episode). The other options allow you to save 2 episodes up to 7 episodes. From the grid, select a series to record. Press OK/Select and then arrow over to the red dot on the info screen (set or cancel a recording) Press OK/Select. Choose "Set Up a series recording". Then select "View all settings". Arrow down to "Save:"
@Mike, yes for your area of Florida it really can be down to the specific address where certain features are available as we roll across new locations in your area.
I would need some more information about exactly where you are in Florida to get you a more complete answer. You can send me your address here: http://blog.comcast.com/contact_author.html?mailTo=Ted%20Hodgins or you can call us at 1-800-XFINITY.
Dear Sir,
Knowing that working with a new interface is always a hassle, I have been trying to solve my problem of recording a series, but finally gave up. My program is repeated on the same channel three times a day, and then again on weekends as all five weekday programs in a row. These are international repeat programs. Whenever I program my DVR to record this series, no matter what I do, it always record all three of them everyday. What should I do, and why don't I have a simple option of entering start/end times and days of the week I want to record. Too much automation is not working...Please help. Thanks.
Hello. Just checking in on South Florida. Most of my friends have the new guide and ability to schedule tv shows using their PC, but for some reason my neighborhood does not. I live in 33177. Thanks
Hello Tom, my post below from May 1st outlines at a high level the plan that we have for our customers that have Scientific-Atlanta and Cisco branded cable boxes. We are scheduled to start delivering additional features and functionality over the summer of 2012.
Better communication is something that you will see as we get closer to delivering these new features in each area.
Typically notifications and announcements around products, channels and services are done via a combination of bill messages, e-mails, bill inserts, TV commercials, direct mail, box messages as well as this site.
@Nick Spader, thanks for visiting Comcast Voices.
We do have some additional guide features that are scheduled to start being delivered over the summer to customers with Cisco and Scientific-Atlanta branded cable boxes. My post from May 1st below outlines those additional features.
I don't have a specific date for your area of VA that I can share just yet. We are still on track to start over the summer.
Hello barryg and thanks for your comments and questions.
We do have some additional guide features that are scheduled to start being delivered over the summer to customers with Cisco and Scientific-Atlanta branded cable boxes. My post from May 1st below outlines those additional features.
I don't have a specific date for your area of NJ that I can share just yet.
Hello Ken V. and thanks for your question. We have some additional guide features that are scheduled to start being delivered over the summer to customers with Cisco and Scientific-Atlanta branded cable boxes. My post from May 1st below outlines those additional features.
AnyRoom DVR is not currently available in your area of VA and likely won’t be until next year. Sorry I don't have better news for you.
Ted,
Any word on the new guide release for Midlothian, VA 23112 yet? Has anything been scheduled?
Nick Spader
Thank you for maintaining this site - it is very useful and this speaks to the positive changes that Comcast made to service us customers.
Can you let me know when can I expect to be upgraded. My zip is 07764 in NJ.
Thanks!
When will we see an update in the zip code 20186? Is Anyroom DVR available in this area and when will it be? Thanks.
@Brenda, In almost all areas of Florida (including your zip code) where we are using Cisco or Scientific-Atlanta branded cable boxes, we do already have On-Screen Guide 2.0 http://www.xfinity.com/onscreenguide2 available with AnyRoom DVR http://info.xfinity.com/Portal/content/Comcast/VideoMicrosites/onscreenguide2/anyroomdvr.aspx
On-Screen Guide 2.0 includes myDVR manager. From the internet and the Xfinity TV app, customers can: set recordings, view/modify scheduled recordings, view completed recordings, modify series priority lists, etc. More info here: http://xfinity.comcast.net/mydvr/how-to/
I would need some more information about where you are in Florida to get you a more complete answer. You can send me your address here: http://blog.comcast.com/contact_author.html?mailTo=Ted%20Hodgins or you can call us at 1-800-XFINITY.
How do i get dvr manager. My zip code is 34285
Hi Ted,
What I believe is frustrating to most of the Cisco/SA customers is the lack of a plan, communication and execution. I have been trying for over a year to find out what the plan is. If you tell us its 2014, then it is 2014. Its the lack of a plan and communication that is frustrating. How hard is it to put a plan together and publish?
Tom
@Russ, apologies for the delay in responding.
We have seen significantly reduced instances of the unintended Not Authorized screen as part of the software patch that was distributed to all of our SA-Cisco locations.
We have also worked with Cisco to make necessary firmware changes in the upcoming guide release. These changes have been shown to eliminate the unintended Not Authorized occurrences that have been observed.
The firmware update included in this upcoming release also has the HDMI cables working very well with the HD Pass-Through feature.
Sorry if I have not presented this clearly.
To be very clear, all Cisco and Scientific-Atlanta cable boxes in all areas will be getting some sort of guide update and improvements starting over the summer. We are still on track to start delivering this new guide to many locations over the summer. We are still devleoping the rollout schedule and should have some more specific announcements in the next 30 days .
Due to the number of Comcast locations and other important projects, not all customers will receive the new guide over the summer, some locations locations will be scheduled to get the new guide in the fall.
Some of the new features that are included in the summer release are listed below:
myDVR Manager: From the internet and the Xfinity TV app, customers can: set recordings, view/modify scheduled recordings, view completed recordings, modify series priority lists, etc.
http://xfinity.comcast.net/mydvr/how-to/
Caller ID to the TV See who's calling, right from your TV and PC! Comcast Universal Caller ID takes the guesswork out of incoming calls. http://www.comcast.net/callerid
Xfinity TV Application: The ability to use your iPad to change channels.
http://www.xfinity.com/help/internet/mobile-tv-app/
HSN Shop-by-Remote: A convenient, new way to make HSN purchases simply by using your remote. http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV_Guide_Shop-By-Remote_0110.pdf
Request for Info: Know more, save more! Introducing an easy way to request valuable coupons and info from advertisers simply by using your remote.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Request%20For%20Information.pdf
Ready Remind and Ready Record: Now you can conveniently set program reminders or recordings directly from certain TV show and movie advertisements.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Ready%20Remind%20Record.pdf
Several customer facing issues are also resolved in this release, including the following:
- DVR Boxes losing functionality of 15 second rewind and 5 minute skip back after being online for a significant period of time.
- DVR over-recording issues with New and Repeat episodes
- RNG 200s only: When watching live TV, pressing rewind may rewind all the way to the beginning of the buffer and bring the customer back to live TV.
- RNG 200s only: Audio /video occasionally cuts in and out after swapping channels.
In some areas (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, Minnesota and New Mexico), we plan to deliver On-Screen Guide 2.0 http://www.xfinity.com/onscreenguide2 this year to the Cisco RNG series (RNG 100, 150 and 200) of cable boxes.
Other SA/Cisco areas that are in states that I have not listed above are not currently targeted for On-Screen Guide 2.0 this year and some of those areas (that I have not listed) may get our On-Screen Guide 3.0 (also called the X1 guide) this year or next year.
The long term plan is to get all of our newest cable boxes (regardless of hardware manufacturer or geography) onto a common guide starting in 2013 to provide a more consistent experience.
While I appreciate there are a lot of questions from a lot of regions being covered here, the information continues to be confusing. In some posts, it's indicated that only a select set of areas are going to receive the new features that have been advertised to us for over a year, then in other posts it's contradicted. We've been promised that these features (DVR manager, AnyRoom) would be coming 'soon' every few months. The delay tactic in attempt to appease customers is getting a little silly - give us an actual, realistic date. We keep hearing "scheduled for summer," then "scheduled for fall." Obviously it's not scheduled. I'm in northeast PA, Scranton area. I'm sure you'll let me know we'll be receiving features X, Y, and Z 'this summer,' which would be great, but as many others here have expressed, we're beyond taking this 'update schedule' with a grain of salt!
Hello Ron Mills, Pressing the Exit button on the Comcast remote control at anytime will immediately dismiss any on-screen guide overlay.
Apologies ktinacoz for the issues you encountered on our website and with our agents regarding DVR Manager.
That service is not currently available in the areas of CT where we use Cisco and Scientific-Atlanta branded DVRs. Many areas of CT use Motorola branded DVRs where My DVR Manager is already available.
My DVR Manager is scheduled to be available in your area starting over the summer.
When I pause a recording or a live show the bottom of the screen fills up with the pause info( time etc. ) which blocks most of the credits etc.. Can this be made to dissapear after a few seconds?
The comcast website, finally, indicates that DVR manager is available in my area (06810), however it says...
DVR Manager is available in your area. However, we are unable to detect a compatible DVR in your household.
I called customer service, and the representative confirmed it was available but said I would need to bring my box in and exchange it for a motorola one. I took a 1/2 day off work, headed over to the comcast facility the woman laughed and told me she doesn't know why the website and phone rep said it was available, because it's not. It hasn't been, and she has no idea when it will be.
Please help me understand this gross lack of communication between the various customer support tools (phone, website, local facility) ... and give me some idea of when this service will be available. Thank you.
Hi Ted,
Will the following two issues be resolved in the S26 guide?
1) The Not Authorized messages that are displayed even though the channel is authorized (You mentioned that firmware changes were required to completely fix this).
2) Pass Through using an HDMI cable.
Thanks,
Russ
@Russ, the changing over of a Cisco RNG cable box in a customer's home that is already running the current on-screen guide (the blue guide, S25 or S26) to our On-Screen Guide 2.0 can certainly be done. However, it is a fairly unique and involved technical process that needs additional attention on our end in order to provide a very smooth customer experience.
So it’s very likely that won't happen at the same time as an area starts with On-Screen Guide 2.0. The plan for Texas is (after a yet-to-be-announced date later this year) that all newly deployed Cisco RNG boxes would be delivered with On-Screen-Guide 2.0.
@Joe Roberts, thanks for your question.
If you have more than one Favorite channel list built, you can certainly toggle and switch through those pre-built lists, here's how:
From the full screen guide mode (press Guide on the silver Comcast remote control), press FAV (the button to the left of the channel up/down toggle on the remote control), that will bring up one of your Favorite channels list. While still in the full screen guide mode, press the FAV button again and that will toggle to your next Favorite channel list. You will see the name of your currently displayed Favorites list to the left of the TV Guide red and white logo near the top of the guide screen.
On my remote, how do I go from one Favorite Category to another? I have established four Favorite Categories: Sports; News; Nature, and Movies. I can access and add and subtract from these categories but I cannot determine how to go from one category to another. If I've been in Nature and now want to scroll through the "Movie" category, I can't figure out how. HELP!!
Hello ButchSS. To be clear, all Cisco and Scientific-Atlanta cable boxes in all areas will be getting some sort of guide update and improvements starting over the summer.
Some of the new features that are included in the summer release are listed below:
myDVR Manager: From the internet and the Xfinity TV app, customers can: set recordings, view/modify scheduled recordings, view completed recordings, modify series priority lists, etc.
http://xfinity.comcast.net/mydvr/how-to/
Caller ID to the TV See who's calling, right from your TV and PC! Comcast Universal Caller ID takes the guesswork out of incoming calls. http://www.comcast.net/callerid
Xfinity TV Application: The ability to use your iPad to change channels.
http://www.xfinity.com/help/internet/mobile-tv-app/
HSN Shop-by-Remote: A convenient, new way to make HSN purchases simply by using your remote. http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV_Guide_Shop-By-Remote_0110.pdf
Request for Info: Know more, save more! Introducing an easy way to request valuable coupons and info from advertisers simply by using your remote.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Request%20For%20Information.pdf
Ready Remind and Ready Record: Now you can conveniently set program reminders or recordings directly from certain TV show and movie advertisements.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Ready%20Remind%20Record.pdf
Several customer facing issues are also resolved in this release, including the following:
- DVR Boxes losing functionality of 15 second rewind and 5 minute skip back after being online for a significant period of time.
- DVR over-recording issues with New and Repeat episodes
- RNG 200s only: When watching live TV, pressing rewind may rewind all the way to the beginning of the buffer and bring the customer back to live TV.
- RNG 200s only: Audio /video occasionally cuts in and out after swapping channels.
Some areas will also have On-Screen Guide 2.0 available. Vermont is not currently targeted to receive On-Screen Guide 2.0 in 2012.
Ted,
Based on your recent information here, am I to assume that Vermont, which is not on the list of several states scheduled to receive guide 2.0 this summer, means we will have to wait another year to see this upgrade and fix some of the remaining issues we are having with S25? Please clarify.
Hi Ted,
Thanks for the information.
When
"Other areas may go directly to On-Screen Guide 2.0 on newly deployed Cisco RNG cable boxes",
will Comcast also deploy On-Screen Guide 2.0 to identical existing Cisco RNG cable boxes in that area at the same time?
Bye,
Russ
@John T, thanks for your question. The next guide release for Scientific-Atlanta and Cisco branded cable boxes is expected to start being available over the summer.
The software version will change slightly but the guide will look very similar to what you already have on those cable boxes.
Some of the features that are included in the summer release are listed below:
myDVR Manager: From the internet and the Xfinity TV app, customers can: set recordings, view/modify scheduled recordings, view completed recordings, modify series priority lists, etc.
http://xfinity.comcast.net/mydvr/how-to/
Caller ID to the TV See who's calling, right from your TV and PC! Comcast Universal Caller ID takes the guesswork out of incoming calls. http://www.comcast.net/callerid
Xfinity TV Application: The ability to use your iPad to change channels.
http://www.xfinity.com/help/internet/mobile-tv-app/
HSN Shop-by-Remote: A convenient, new way to make HSN purchases simply by using your remote. http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV_Guide_Shop-By-Remote_0110.pdf
Request for Info: Know more, save more! Introducing an easy way to request valuable coupons and info from advertisers simply by using your remote.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Request%20For%20Information.pdf
Ready Remind and Ready Record: Now you can conveniently set program reminders or recordings directly from certain TV show and movie advertisements.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Ready%20Remind%20Record.pdf
On your HD premium channel opposite coast feed question, our recent focus has been on adding more premium HD content to our extensive On Demand library (programming that is available anytime on your schedule and included with your premium channel subscription) rather than offering a constant 3-hour time-shifted HD programming with an opposite coast HD feed.
Hello Russ. The S25 name you referenced for this guide is not a customer-facing name but yes that is a name we use internally when referring to this version of the guide. You can see the S25p3 naming in the guide configuration menu. The next version of the guide coming out over the summer is labeled internally as S26.
For others, here is some inside baseball: The version number (S25, S26) of the on-screen guide for your cable box can be found in the guide’s setup menu.
Press the Menu button twice on the silver Comcast remote control, select Setup, then Cable Box setup, arrow down to Configuration and “Select to display” and press OK/Select.
The line immediately underneath the Review Configuration header will show you the version of the guide currently on your cable box. The first few characters (S25p3) indicate the guide code number. A change in guide code number on that box would indicate an update to the guide.
Don’t worry. You will hear about the new guide from us in advance in a few different ways (other than having to constantly check your guide code number via the above)!
What area is getting which guide and when depends a lot on time, geography and hardware (cable box type) with a few moving parts to make it interesting.
To try and put it simply, most all Scientific-Atlanta branded cable boxes will be receiving this new guide (S26) regardless of where you happen to live. Some smaller quantities of older models of SA boxes (about 1% of our deployed boxes in SA-Cisco footprint) will get a guide update without the iTV applications.
In some areas (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, Texas, Minnesota and New Mexico), we plan to deliver On-Screen Guide 2.0 this year to the Cisco RNG series (RNG 100, 150 and 200) of cable boxes. Some of these areas may get S26 on their Cisco box first before getting On-Screen Guide 2.0. Other areas may go directly to On-Screen Guide 2.0 on newly deployed Cisco RNG cable boxes.
The deployment sequence, customer communication plan and employee training plan will take that into consideration as each market will be at a different stage of the On-Screen Guide 2.0 process.
Other SA/Cisco areas that are in states that I have not listed above are not currently targeted for On-Screen Guide 2.0 this year and some of those areas (that I have not listed) may get our On-Screen Guide 3.0 (also called the X1 guide) this year or next year.
The long term plan is to get all of our newest cable boxes (regardless of hardware manufacturer or geography) onto a common guide starting in 2013 to provide a consistent experience.
I was curious when DVR Manager was going to be deployed for the 21784 zip code. It seems to have been some time since this was announced. Also, is there an estimate on when the HD channel lineup will be expanded to include multiple of the premium channels, and not just the East Feed?
Thanks!
Hi Ted,
I know the current guide for the SA/Cisco areas is called S25 and the guide for Cisco AnyRoom DVR functionality is called On-Screen Guide 2.0. What is the name of the guide that will be released this summer for the SA STBs?
Will Cisco RNG STBs get this guide or will they skip it and only get On-Screen Guide 2.0?
Thanks,
Russ
Hello Mr. Spader, your patience is appreciated.
We have begun the early portion of our field trials of the next version of the guide for our Cisco and SA areas. We are still on track to start delivering that guide to customers starting over the summer (summer starts June 20th).
We are still finalizing the market-specific deployment plan.
In Virginia, the software version will change slightly but the guide will look very similar to what you already have on those cable boxes.
Some of the features that are expected to be included in the summer release are listed below:
myDVR Manager: From the internet and the Xfinity TV app, customers can: set recordings, view/modify scheduled recordings, view completed recordings, modify series priority lists, etc.
http://xfinity.comcast.net/mydvr/how-to/
Caller ID to the TV See who's calling, right from your TV and PC! Comcast Universal Caller ID takes the guesswork out of incoming calls. http://www.comcast.net/callerid
Xfinity TV Application: The ability to use your iPad to change channels.
http://www.xfinity.com/help/internet/mobile-tv-app/
HSN Shop-by-Remote: A convenient, new way to make HSN purchases simply by using your remote. http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV_Guide_Shop-By-Remote_0110.pdf
Request for Info: Know more, save more! Introducing an easy way to request valuable coupons and info from advertisers simply by using your remote.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Request%20For%20Information.pdf
Ready Remind and Ready Record: Now you can conveniently set program reminders or recordings directly from certain TV show and movie advertisements.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Ready%20Remind%20Record.pdf
Hello Walter and thanks for your question. In almost all areas of Florida where we are using Cisco or Scientific-Atlanta branded cable boxes, we do already have On-Screen Guide 2.0 http://www.xfinity.com/onscreenguide2 available with AnyRoom DVR http://info.xfinity.com/Portal/content/Comcast/VideoMicrosites/onscreenguide2/anyroomdvr.aspx
On-Screen Guide 2.0 includes myDVR manager. From the internet and the Xfinity TV app, customers can: set recordings, view/modify scheduled recordings, view completed recordings, modify series priority lists, etc. More info here: http://xfinity.comcast.net/mydvr/how-to/
I would need some more information about where you are in Florida to get you a better answer. You can send me your address here: http://blog.comcast.com/contact_author.html?mailTo=Ted%20Hodgins
The plan we are following has been to introduce On-Screen Guide 2.0 with AnyRoom DVR initially and then also eventually include all of the RNG devices (RNG 100, 150 and 200) after a certain date in deployed markets later this year. We do understandably have a controlled deployment plan for the early stages of this guide deployment so we can monitor customer and business metrics, install times, and the overall impact to our customers and to the business.
All Cisco RNG devices in On-Screen Guide 2.0 deployed markets are targeted to receive On-Screen Guide 2.0 regardless of when the RNG set top was manufactured. It is factor of after a certain calendar date in each market any new Cisco RNG boxes that get installed or swapped would have On-Screen Guide 2.0. So no rush to change out your box right now unless you want On-Screen Guide 2.0 and AnyRoom DVR.
After that, the current plan is to arrange to change the on-screen guide on the existing RNG set tops in the On-Screen Guide 2.0 deployed markets. That will require some advance, direct and wide customer communication.
The RNG 200-N DVR does have a larger hard drive (500 GB) and is used for our AnyRoom DVR service now available in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee and parts of Louisiana.
We also do have plans to add additional features to the Scientific-Atlanta branded cable boxes that won’t be getting On-Screen Guide 2.0.
The software version will change slightly but the guide will look very similar to what you already have on the SA 8300HDC.
Some of the features that are expected to be included in the summer release are listed below:
myDVR Manager: From the internet and the Xfinity TV app, customers can: set recordings, view/modify scheduled recordings, view completed recordings, modify series priority lists, etc.
http://xfinity.comcast.net/mydvr/how-to/
Caller ID to the TV See who's calling, right from your TV and PC! Comcast Universal Caller ID takes the guesswork out of incoming calls. http://www.comcast.net/callerid
Xfinity TV Application: The ability to use your iPad to change channels.
http://www.xfinity.com/help/internet/mobile-tv-app/
HSN Shop-by-Remote: A convenient, new way to make HSN purchases simply by using your remote. http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV_Guide_Shop-By-Remote_0110.pdf
Request for Info: Know more, save more! Introducing an easy way to request valuable coupons and info from advertisers simply by using your remote.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Request%20For%20Information.pdf
Ready Remind and Ready Record: Now you can conveniently set program reminders or recordings directly from certain TV show and movie advertisements.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Ready%20Remind%20Record.pdf
All of the above features will be available on the Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD box that you already have.
Ted,
Summer is rapidly approaching. Is there any word on the release of the new program with MyDVR manager, callerID to TV and the Anyroom DVR for the Midlothian, VA 23112 area. I have been patiently awaiting this release. Please advise on the release schedule for my area. Any more information other then "over the summer" would be helpful.
Nick
I live in a Florida area where Comcast uses the Cisco & SA DVR's. I presently have the SA8300HDC STB and received the new guide in April 2011. The planned upgrade to this guide is planned for summer 2012. Will I be getting the same upgrade with the SA8300HDC STB as those with the RNG-200 STB or should I swap out boxes.
@Nick, yes you are welcome. I believe you will see some public announcements from us soon about supporting new DVR functionality.
In the meantime, the Scientific Atlanta or Cisco DVR that you have now is capable of adding an external hard drive today connected via the e-SATA port. This external hard drive can provide additional DVR storage space.
While not an officially supported Comcast configuration, we have tested this guide with various external hard drives and the e-SATA port in our labs and in the field.
If you do a little digging online I am sure you can find some devices that are very compatible and how to set that up. It's fairly easy.
Ted,
Thank you fro the quick response. I have one more question, I see that one of your competitors is advertising new DVR equipment that has the ability to record up to 6 programs at once and has 4 times the storage of the high end Comcast DVR. Can we expect Comcast to upgrade your equipment offerings to be more in line with what your competitors are offering?
Regards,
Nick
Hello Mr. Nava and thanks for visiting Comcast Voices.
As of February 29th, the Preferred Collection is no longer available On Demand. The Preferred Collection had been available at no additional cost to video customers that subscribed to at least Digital Preferred service and for $8.95 per month to customers who chose to subscribe to it a-la-carte.
The Preferred Collection has been replaced by XFINITY Streampix™, which is available at no additional cost as part of many triple-play packages as well with the Blast! Plus, Blast! Extra and Performance Extra video/ internet plans as an added value to customers’ subscriptions.
Customers who had the Preferred Collection at no additional cost as part of their package, but do not subscribe to qualifying packages can add Streampix to their existing video service for $4.99 per month.
XFINITY Streampix is included at no additional charge in the following packages. Check your current bill (also available for viewing online) if you’re not certain of your package name.
•HD Preferred Plus XF Triple Play
•HD Premier XF Triple Play
•HD Complete XF Triple Play
•MultiLatino Ultra HD Plus Triple Play
•MultiLatino HD Total Triple Play
•MultiLatino HD Complete Triple Play
•Alchemy HD Preferred Plus Triple Play
•Alchemy HD Premier Triple Play
•Alchemy MultiLatino Ultra HD Plus Triple Play
•HD Preferred Plus – Tenant Triple Play
•HD Premier – Tenant Triple Play
•HD complete – Tenant Triple Play
Video / Internet Packages:
•Blast! Extra
•Blast! Plus
•Performance Extra
More information can be found at the link below: http://customer.comcast.com/help-and-support/cable-tv/about-xfinity-streampix
If you have a qualifying package (listed above) and are still having trouble accessing Streampix programs, please give us a call anytime at 1-800-XFINITY.
Hello Nick and thanks for your questions.
Unfortunately I can’t yet get more granular right now than “starting over the summer”.
Now that the initial base guide is in place, we anticipate that the addition of these new features should be a much quicker delivery process to our customers.
I understand your frustration. Not all products and services are currently available in all Comcast locations. We have been working to bridge that gap. Any national or local media broadcast or print campaigns will likely spotlight the products and services that are available in over 80% of our areas (with the usual disclaimers). Thanks for your patience.
Ted lots of updates lately but one thing perplexes me about a month ago we lost. Preferred collection under the premium channel selection. Is that ever comming back. I see streampix but Comcast is now charging for that. Basically it looks like what I use to get for free, now you want another 5 bucks a month.
Ted,
I am writing to ask if you can provide a more direct answer than sometime this summer for the roll-out of the new Guide software. For quite some time now I have been told that the new guide will be coming out in a few months. First it was last summer, then it was in the fall, then it was after the first of the year. Now the roll out is scheduled to begin this summer.
I am sure you understand how frustrating it is for your customers to see the ads you run on TV for all these wonderful services that you offer, and to be told on your web site that these services are available in your area only to find out that we can not avail ourselves of these services because we are continuously waiting for the software update to arrive.
Please do what you can to find out when we will see the new guide in New Hampshire.
Hello Mr Coleman and thanks for your questions.
I am confident that the DVR truncation issue that was in the guide code has been resolved with the recent software patch.
DVR recordings can get cut off or stop suddenly if there is a signal loss to the DVR or any number of other signal related issues. Please can send me an e-mail with the specific recent observations you had with DVR truncation. I would like to look into those reports further. Can you include the show names, time of day, the make and model number of the DVR, how much of the show got cut off; was it the beginning or the end of the program, HD or SD recording? Also is this happening on a regular or intermittent basis? Please include your contact information. You can reach me here: http://blog.comcast.com/contact_author.html?mailTo=Ted%20Hodgins
Thanks, I appreciate you taking the time to report that additional information. In the meantime, if you are still having issues, please give us a call right away at 1-800-XFINITY.
The guide software patch that was delivered significantly alleviates the current Not Authorized issue on our cable boxes. Unfortunately it is not eliminated yet. As acknowledged it is not 100% fixed but certainly significantly improved. To 100% correct this requires a firmware fix from Cisco. Cisco has delivered those firmware fixes to us and we have been testing those fixes in our labs so that we are confident that this issue is resolved. Firmware changes rely on third party interaction and generally take more time to validate. Apologies that it is taking as long as it is taking.
We felt it was important to get a significant correction out to customers earlier rather than wait longer for the 100% fix. We are targeting a release that includes these firmware fixes (and other enhancements) to be available to customers over the summer.
Ted
Below you said that the new patch was applied in the Garden State serving area. My understanding is that this patch is supposed to fix the "unauthorized to view" messages and the "recording truncation". Unfortunately it does not seem to have completely resolved either.
Recordings still seem to get truncated, the most obvious of these is off the "Comedy Channel" - especially the daily show and the Colbert report but also happens with other channels and programs.
I'm in Zip code 08054.
thanks
Geoff
And I still get the "unauthorized to view" on switching channels - not sure if it is really any less frequent than before.
@Jaspal -
Customer satisfaction levels for this new guide are up based on independent third-party phone, in-person and internet surveys with customers that used to have the previous guide and have had this new guide for 60 days.
Also, On Demand usage is significantly up (both free and transactional programs) as is the number of cable boxes deployed in these impacted areas (as compared to the previous guide).
As with all of our new products, I can tell you that we have tested this guide (using an independent research firm) with real customers in Scientific Atlanta areas in multiple markets and also received much direct feedback on usability.
We do conduct many on-going customer focus groups and surveys pre- and post product deployments so that we can better improve our products and our communications.
We also have this guide (or a very similar version of this guide) now in over 26 million Comcast cable boxes across the country. Many other cable companies use this same guide.
We continue to do extensive testing and customer research on our on-screen program guides. We are always working to improve the look and add new features that are valuable. Customer feedback is very valuable and is an ongoing process.
A lot of improvements based on this customer feedback are apparent in our new On-Screen Guide 2.0 which is already available in many areas (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee and parts of Louisiana). More information on that guide is available here: http://www.xfinity.com/onscreenguide2
Dear Comcast Customer Support,
A simple question about the new Guide. Have you, or would you, give a survey on whether clients like the new guide, and given choice, which one of two (old and new) would they choose.
Thanks.
Hello Jess and thanks for your questions.
The next guide release for Scientific-Atlanta and Cisco branded cable boxes is expected to start being available over the summer. The team is also working to deliver that product sooner.
The software version will change slightly but the guide will look very similar to what you already have on those cable boxes.
Some of the features that are expected to be included in the summer release are listed below:
myDVR Manager: From the internet and the Xfinity TV app, customers can: set recordings, view/modify scheduled recordings, view completed recordings, modify series priority lists, etc.
http://xfinity.comcast.net/mydvr/how-to/
Caller ID to the TV See who's calling, right from your TV and PC! Comcast Universal Caller ID takes the guesswork out of incoming calls. http://www.comcast.net/callerid
Xfinity TV Application: The ability to use your iPad to change channels.
http://www.xfinity.com/help/internet/mobile-tv-app/
HSN Shop-by-Remote: A convenient, new way to make HSN purchases simply by using your remote. http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV_Guide_Shop-By-Remote_0110.pdf
Request for Info: Know more, save more! Introducing an easy way to request valuable coupons and info from advertisers simply by using your remote.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Request%20For%20Information.pdf
Ready Remind and Ready Record: Now you can conveniently set program reminders or recordings directly from certain TV show and movie advertisements.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Ready%20Remind%20Record.pdf
All of the above features will be available on the Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD box that you have.
Hello Donnie - the link below should help you to set up other devices to work with the Comcast remote control.
http://customer.comcast.com/Pages/HelpNFC.aspx?print=false&id=remotes
Hello David - apologies for the delay in responding, I was out for a few days last week.
Thanks for letting me know about this issue. The local Comcast team in Central Virginia was made aware of the problem and it should be corrected on Monday, March 26.
After Monday, you should cancel any recordings you have set up now on the ABC HD station (channel 210) and then re-schedule them. All should work correctly then.
I have a scientific atlanta HD DVR. Model: Explorer 8300HD. I'm in Palm Beach County, Florida (Lake Worth area). I keep getting VERY conflicting information every time I call into Comcast.
My question is, I have the xfinity iphone/ipad app, so will I be able to control my exisiting cable box just mentioned from my PC/iphone/ipad now or anytime soon OR do I need to get a new HD DVR box AND if so, will my local comcast have the correct one? Currently when I try the app does not detect any eligible boxes. The website states "DVR Manager is available in your area. However, we are unable to detect a compatible DVR in your household. Please help answer my question.
hello, I would like detailed instructions on "programming the remote control to my devices". I have the rest of the remote figured out. Unless I missed it somewhere,..I haven't been able to locate this part of the very much needed information for using the remote. I think someone may have forgotten the information. Please Advise
Regards,
Donnie
I live in Charlottesville, VA where I recently received the new guide and just this week got a bunch of new HD channels. It's been awesome!
I've had one issue with the new guide however. On the old guide I had several shows set to record on the HD ABC channel (210 in my area). When I first got the new guide, all of these recordings were still set, but had changed to record the non-hd ABC channel (3). I thought it was a one time thing, so I reset them all to record on 210 again. This works, but it seems that every time Comcast changes something (so when I received the patch for the new guide, and then now when I received the new HD channel list) all my saved ABC recordings revert to recording in non-hd and I have to reset them, which is a big hassle. Or if I don't catch it in time I have to suffer through non-hd quality which is quite poor now that I'm accustomed to the beauty of high resolution.
This time I've programmed my series to record on the other hd ABC channel I have (803) and will see if it ever resets, but hopefully this is something you guys can look into and fix as its definitely annoying.
Thanks so much though I'm definitely looking forward to receiving the additional features in the guide 2.0 this summer!
Thanks for your feedback. We are looking to change this current behavior in a future guide release.
Hello Mr. Scranton and thanks for your question.
There currently is no way to delete a saved search in this version of the guide. This is a feature that will be coming in a future release. This guide will save a maximum of 15 saved searches and works on a “first in, first out” system. Your first saved search will be deleted once you save your 16th search.
Here are some quick steps to set up some scheduled DVR recordings.
To record a single program:
1. Press the Guide button on your remote control to view the TV Listings.
2. Highlight the program you want to record.
3. Press the Record button on your remote. A red dot appears next to the program title in the grid so you know the program is scheduled to record.
To record a series:
1. Press the Guide button on your remote to view the TV Listings.
2. Highlight the TV series you want to record and press the Record button on your remote twice and select the multiple red dot symbol. Or press and select the Record icon from the Program Information screen. Select the Set up a series recording icon (the multiple red dot) to specify your recording options.
3. Select the Record series with these settings icon (the wrench) to schedule the recording, or select the View all settings icon to access advanced setup features.
Besides setting a series recording, one option is to set a manual DVR recording: To set up a recurring manual recording - Press the My DVR button on your silver Comcast remote control, select Set a Recording, then Set a Manual recording, enter in your start and end times and start date. Choose the channel and then view recording settings - the settings can be modified to record once, every day, once a week, or weekdays. This becomes incorporated into the regular recording settings in a future version of the guide.
Hello Mr. Reynolds.
The next guide release for Scientific-Atlanta and Cisco branded cable boxes is expected to start being available over the summer. The team is also working to deliver that product sooner.
The software version will change slightly but the guide will look very similar to what you already have on those cable boxes.
Some of the features that are expected to be included in the summer release are listed below:
myDVR Manager: From the internet and the Xfinity TV app, customers can: set recordings, view/modify scheduled recordings, view completed recordings, modify series priority lists, etc.
http://xfinity.comcast.net/mydvr/how-to/
Caller ID to the TV See who's calling, right from your TV and PC! Comcast Universal Caller ID takes the guesswork out of incoming calls. http://www.comcast.net/callerid
Xfinity TV Application: The ability to use your iPad to change channels.
http://www.xfinity.com/help/internet/mobile-tv-app/
HSN Shop-by-Remote: A convenient, new way to make HSN purchases simply by using your remote. http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV_Guide_Shop-By-Remote_0110.pdf
Request for Info: Know more, save more! Introducing an easy way to request valuable coupons and info from advertisers simply by using your remote.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Request%20For%20Information.pdf
Ready Remind and Ready Record: Now you can conveniently set program reminders or recordings directly from certain TV show and movie advertisements.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Ready%20Remind%20Record.pdf
Regarding the saved searches, how do I delete a saved search? Also, when I want to record a program, there are several times a certain tv program may be on. How can I set up to record the program at only one particular time?
When will anytime DVR and Universal Caller ID, etc. be available in the Merrimack, NH 03054 area? I've been getting the runaround for over two years now about this from various Comcast employees and I'm pretty angry that I'm paying the same as everyone else pays, but do not get all the features that everyone else does.
Question - I live in FL and have been upgraded to the new guide, so no more DVR truncation!! However there is an issue I'd like cleared up. If I have 2 programs scheduled to record at 8, say channels 433 and 434, and I decide I want to watch the one on 433 live, so a few mins before I tune to 433. About a min or so before 8 a message will pop up and say "A recording is about to begin on Channel 434. Switch channels and record, or Cancel recording and remain on this channel" or something to that affect. Since I want to record that show, I click to change channels, then at 8 when it starts recording I have to manually change back to 433. Why doesn't the box (SA 8300HD) realize that I am currently tuned to one of the 2 channels I want to record and just leave it there? The old system (pre-Xfinity) didn't have that problem, and only forced me to change channels if I was on a channel other than one of the 2 I had scheduled to record.
Thanks,
Scott
Hello Mr. Smith and thank for your question. Currently, AnyRoom DVR and myDVR manager are not available in Texas where we use SA or Cisco branded DVRs.
We are aware of and apologize for the incorrect message that appears on our website for your zip code. The team is looking into that and we should have that corrected soon.
The next guide release for Scientific-Atlanta and Cisco branded cable boxes is expected to start being available over the summer. The team is also working to deliver that product sooner.
The software version will change slightly but the guide will look very similar to what you already have on those cable boxes.
Some of the features that are expected to be included in the summer release are listed below:
myDVR Manager: From the internet and the Xfinity TV app, customers can: set recordings, view/modify scheduled recordings, view completed recordings, modify series priority lists, etc.
http://xfinity.comcast.net/mydvr/how-to/
Caller ID to the TV See who's calling, right from your TV and PC! Comcast Universal Caller ID takes the guesswork out of incoming calls. http://www.comcast.net/callerid
Xfinity TV Application: The ability to use your iPad to change channels.
http://www.xfinity.com/help/internet/mobile-tv-app/
HSN Shop-by-Remote: A convenient, new way to make HSN purchases simply by using your remote. http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV_Guide_Shop-By-Remote_0110.pdf
Request for Info: Know more, save more! Introducing an easy way to request valuable coupons and info from advertisers simply by using your remote.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Request%20For%20Information.pdf
Ready Remind and Ready Record: Now you can conveniently set program reminders or recordings directly from certain TV show and movie advertisements.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Ready%20Remind%20Record.pdf
Is mydvr and the ability to control my tv from my iPad available in Houston (77098). I have a Cisco rng200 dvr and When I login to the xfinity site to see a status it says it's available in my area but doesn't see a compatable dvr.
Hello Wayne and thanks for your question. I apologize for the current guide behavior that you have encountered and that our customer service agent was not able to address it.
There are a few unusual conditions that are triggered in some Comcast locations. This occurs in places where we deliver both a Playboy TV monthly subscription and a pay-per-view block for Playboy TV and putting both of these options on the same channel.
When a customer who has a subscription to Playboy TV attempts to set up a DVR recording, they will be prompted with an on-screen message that states: "This program must be ordered before a recording can be set". The on-screen options are:
Buy / Order
I have ordered by phone
Don't order
As you have discovered, customers with a monthly subscription to Playboy TV should always choose option 2, "I have ordered by phone" in order to continue on to the DVR recording set up screens.
Currently this guide also is only set up to record the entire Pay-Per-View block of Playboy TV, not individual shows within the PPV block.
Both of these known issues are scheduled to be corrected in an upcoming release starting over the summer.
Customers who have a monthly subscription to Playboy TV also have access to Playboy On Demand as a part of that package.
While the fix is being tested and validated, you may be able to locate many of the programs you are looking for via Playboy On Demand as an option. The menu path is On Demand >> Premium Channels >> Playboy TV On Demand.
Ted,
I'm having a very weird issue since the new guide. I have a subscription to Playboy as a monthly service. Before the new guide, I could schedule the DVR to record specific programs like any other channel. Since the change, if I attempt to record, I get the message "This program must be ordered before a recording can be set" with three buttons (Order, I have ordered by phone, and Don't order). This is despite the fact that I can see the channel active. The bigger issue is that it then records as an entire 6 hour window, not just the 30 minute show I'm trying to watch, and that I can't schedule these recordings going forward. If I try to set up a manual recording for a period of time, the channel doesn't even show up in the list.
I've tried calling a few times, but it's really a specialized problem that regular support doesn't seem to understand. My last call, the guy on the other end actually asked around, but no one else has seen the problem. Can you shed any light on this?
Sean, thanks so much for reporting this issue about the local weather not appearing in the guide.
It looks as though your location needs to be reconnected to the weather reporting station at the Carroll County Regional Airport (KDMW) so that the weather data can appear in the guide menu. Apologies for this issue, we should have it resolved very soon.
Hello Ms. Hartley and thanks for your feedback and questions.
The banner ads that are displayed at the bottom of each page in the guide grid are all related to TV content and are designed to aid in discovery of additional content available to you; some of it even free. In future versions of the guide, the ads are much less intrusive.
There might not be ads sold at that time of the day or a technical issue that is causing the ads not to show up in the morning.
Something that you may have already discovered (and a tip I will share for others) is that you are able to skip through the ads in the guide (as in not land on them) by using the Page Up or Page Down key on your remote control while browsing the TV listings grid. That should also allow you to move around in the guide a bit faster.
You are also able to modify the listings grid to show 5 channels at one time (the same as the previous guide). It sounds as though you may have already made that change. But for others, here is how to do that - Press the Menu button on your Comcast silver remote control twice, choose Set Up from the on-screen menu, then Guide Set Up, scroll down to the Grid Cell Height option and change Double Height (the default) to Single Height.
I am feed of off westminster md headend and my zip is 21104.
For the past 3 mornings, the online TV guide has not had the On Demand advertisement on the bottom of the screen. This advertisement takes up about 1/3 of the screen. You have to scroll through it before you can continue with seeing the guide's next page. It limits my onscreen guide to showing only 5 channels at a time. It takes forever to scroll through the channels to see what is on television! But in the mornings, the TV guide looks normal, without the On Demand ad. How can I keep my TV guide looking like it does in the mornings without the On Demand ad which takes up 1/3 of the screen?
Hello again Jaspal Boparai. Understood on your concern about keeping the set top box on all the time. It is not required to be left on during unattended recording; the DVR will turn on and record and turn off when it is finished recording. You are not able to turn the DVR off while it is recording.
The DVR should always be in a well-ventilated area.
The calculation of 0.3w variance was from looking at the power on usage vs. the standby usage. The link I provided to the Energystar website is constantly updated with the newest set top models so the variance has changed based on the newest set tops listed.
I can see where that was confusing and I apologize for adding to that confusion; some of the more prevalent Cisco DVRs that we have deployed were previously listed on that site had a power variance of only 0.3w between standby mode and on mode.
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/products/prod_lists/set_top_boxes_prod_list.pdf
Some of the newer Cisco boxes on that link (using the Cisco 8642 as an example) use 24.5w when in the on mode and 22.9w when in the standby-sleep mode for a variance of 1.6w. Doing some quick math of 1.6w variance over one year (8760 hours) at an estimated round number rate of 10 cents a kwh would be $1.40 a year or almost 12 cents a month to keep the box on for 24 hours a day all year long.
Regarding the SPDIF and HDMI audio output, my understanding is that the Cisco boxes and firmware only currently allow one or the other of these audio outputs to be active at one time. The HDMI audio is in Dolby 5.1 and yes, you could connect the HDMI directly to your surround sound receiver.
I received some more information on the video buffer question that you asked. What is expected is that if the video is paused in the buffer at any time, the play key should begin playback from the current position in the buffer. That experience is not working as designed and is unfortunately a known issue with certain SA and Cisco boxes.
The issue is set to be resolved in the next guide release scheduled for for over the summer.
Hello Gregg - Currently, AnyRoom DVR and myDVR manager are not available in areas of New Jersey where we use SA or Cisco branded cable boxes.
The next guide release for Scientific-Atlanta and Cisco branded cable boxes is expected to start being available over the summer. The team is also working to deliver that product sooner.
The software version will change slightly but the guide will look very similar to what you already have on those cable boxes.
Some of the features that are expected to be included in the summer release are listed below:
myDVR Manager: From the internet and the Xfinity TV app, customers can: set recordings, view/modify scheduled recordings, view completed recordings, modify series priority lists, etc.
http://xfinity.comcast.net/mydvr/how-to/
Caller ID to the TV See who's calling, right from your TV and PC! Comcast Universal Caller ID takes the guesswork out of incoming calls. http://www.comcast.net/callerid
HSN Shop-by-Remote: A convenient, new way to make HSN purchases simply by using your remote. http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV_Guide_Shop-By-Remote_0110.pdf
Request for Info: Know more, save more! Introducing an easy way to request valuable coupons and info from advertisers simply by using your remote.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Request%20For%20Information.pdf
Ready Remind and Ready Record: Now you can conveniently set program reminders or recordings directly from certain TV show and movie advertisements.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Ready%20Remind%20Record.pdf
Xfinity TV Application: The ability to use your iPad to change channels.
http://www.xfinity.com/help/internet/mobile-tv-app/
I am a costomer in the garden stated area of xfinty in new jersey. I was wondering if we were ever going to get the anyroom DVR or be able to set recording on the website. These services have been available for other people in my stated for a good amount of time.
Hello Ms. Sakshaug and thanks for your question.
To look ahead in time or look at another channel's listings without leaving a show that you are watching, you can press the OK/Select button on the remote control - that brings up a mini guide (which you can set to show either two or three channels) - then using the nearby four arrows you can scroll down or up by channel or go right to see what is on later.
Hello Sean. The weather option on the guide menu should already be enabled and active.
If you are not seeing the forecast, please let me know what city and state you are in and I can investigate this further. Thanks!
I have a question about the guide i noticed that there is a weather option when you hit the menu button twice, when will this be enabled?
When watching a channel I can no longer use the left/right up/down buttons around the red middle button to see what is on next or on other channels. I used this feature all the time to see what was on other channels without having to change the channel. Now when I use those buttons it activates the rewinding, etc. of the show being watched. Help! I don't want to have to go to the big guide in order to see something that I used to be able to do so simply.
Thank you for your clarifications on my questions/concerns. However, I am disappointed that your notes merely confirmed problems I mentioned. Having to keep the unit on in run mode generating heat in my cabinet, is not something I like. I am also somewhat puzzled with your calculation of power usage difference between Standby (no hard-drive running) and Run mode to be merely 0.3W.
I am also somewhat puzzled with your clarification that SPDIF audio in Dolby is available only when HDMI audio is turned off. Why should there be such a restriction? My TV turns its audio off as soon as its ARC channel senses External Audio Amplifier in on mode.
Question: Is the HDMI audio in Dolby 5.1? If that is the case, I could provide audio/video to my TV via my Audio Amplifier using HDMI passthrough option.
Please clarify or correct the problem where video buffer is lost as soon as a recording is finished (i.e.. if I am watching a channel, decide to record it, and then rewind it to revisit previous seens, I lose the buffer as soon as recording is finished, bringing me to live TV). This was not a problem with previous s/w
Thanks...
Hello Jaspal Boparai and thanks for reaching out.
I can see that you are not entirely satisfied with the new on-screen guide. Using the new guide may be a challenge and disappointing initially for some customers, especially after using the same on-screen guide interface for many years. I can certainly understand and appreciate that. Also there are some feature variances and deltas that may have been core features for some of our customers.
This new guide is just one step of a multi-step process of improvements, enhancements and new features for our customers in our Scientific-Atlanta/Cisco areas. You should expect to see additional improvements this year. The path for future features and quick innovation is through this new guide - features that a majority of our customers have been asking for and features that are already available in the majority of Comcast areas. The main reason why we are implementing this on-screen guide change is to be able to deliver additional features and services to all of our customers a lot quicker. Some examples of these future features include Caller ID to the TV, myDVR Manager (scheduling your DVR via your phone or from the internet) and AnyRoom DVR.
There are many benefits of the new guide that I think you will discover over time and additional use. For example, we have heard directly from many customers that they now appreciate the new search feature - plus the layout, speed and responsiveness of the new On Demand menu. There are many other improvements included in this guide, including multiple favorites list, additional channel grids, parental lock by title, local weather and much more. Our SA/Cisco customers should see some phased improvements and enhancements over the summer and into the fall.
Let me try and address some of your specific concerns below:
You don't have to leave the DVR on to record. It will turn on and record if it is turned off. You do need to leave the DVR on if there is a recording in progress. The previous on-screen guide software did allow you to turn the DVR box off (it actually went into standby) when you were recording a program, the new guide software does not. This is certainly a slight change in behavior and in line with what the majority of our customers are used to and have in their home today.
With the new on-screen guide, when you attempt to turn off the cable box while a DVR recording is in progress, an on-screen message appears that says the following: "A recording is in progress. Turning off your cable box will stop all recordings in progress."
There are two options presented on-screen underneath this message.
1. Continue recording, leave cable box on
2. Stop recording, turn cable box off.
You can choose one of those options. If no selection is chosen the on-screen message will time out and the DVR will continue to record. Leaving the DVR on allows for your cable box to easily get software and firmware updates as well as updated TV listings. This should not significantly impact the lifespan of the cable box or the hard drive. A lot of our customers leave the DVR on and turn the TV off.
There is a slight power variance between the SA/Cisco box and other set top boxes being on and off (most consumer electronic equipment is never really all the way "off" unless it's physically unplugged.). The variance I see between power on mode and sleep mode on a Cisco HD set top is roughly 0.3 W
http://www.energystar.gov/ia/products/prod_lists/set_top_boxes_prod_list.pdf
At a rate of 9 cents per kwh that would equate to about 2 cents a month to leave the cable box on 24 hours a day. Better DVR power management is something that is available in a future version of the on-screen guide.
I am looking into your second issue with the HD recordings as that does not sound like intended behavior.
If your guide is not showing correctly on the screen (if it's not centered), you may need to adjust the cable box settings using the HD Setup Wizard. This link will show you how to do that.
http://por-chr.cimcontent.net/ui/pdf/meetyourguide/High_Definition_TV_Setup_Guide.pdf
Dolby Digital audio is the default audio signal that is delivered via the guide (when it is sent by the program provider).
In order to use the optical audio out to your surround sound system and have Dolby Digital 5.1 audio output to your surround sound system, you will need to turn HDMI audio OFF via the guide menu.
This will send Dolby Digital 5.1 to the SPDIF and no sound to the HDMI connected TV. If you wish to listen to the HDMI audio via the TV, you will have to turn HDMI Audio Output = ON. This will send PCM out of the SPDIF port and the TV will output the sound.
To send Audio via SPDIF (optical audio) : Press the menu button twice on your Comcast silver remote control, then select Setup. Select Audio Setup, then select HDMI Audio output. Press the LEFT arrow button to turn HDMI Audio Output to Off. This will allow the SPDIF output to send the audio to a receiver and the TV will not output sound.
To send Audio via the HDMI (this is the default): Press the menu button twice on your Comcast silver remote control, then select Setup. Select Audio Setup, then select HDMI Audio output. Press the RIGHT arrow button to turn HDMI Audio Output to ON. This will allow the HDMI output to send the audio to the TV so the TV provides the audio.
The link below also may be helpful.
http://por-chr.cimcontent.net/ui/pdf/meetyourguide/Audio_Setup_Guide.pdf
There are other audio settings in this menu area (Menu, Menu, Setup, Audio Setup) that can be adjusted that may give you a better audio experience.
Hello George and thanks for your feedback and questions. Apologies that you have been getting conflicting answers on AnyRoom DVR and myDVR manager.
The Comcast footprint in Connecticut has both Motorola and Cisco-Scientific-Atlanta areas; many in adjacent neighborhoods and towns based on acquisitions and legacy equipment. I have let the Comcast management team in Connecticut know about the issue that you raised and they will look at their database to take steps to get the specific information to the right set of customers.
Currently, AnyRoom DVR and myDVR manager are not available in areas of Connecticut where we use SA or Cisco branded cable boxes.
The next guide release for Scientific-Atlanta and Cisco branded cable boxes is expected to start being available over the summer. The team is also working to deliver that product sooner.
The software version will change slightly but the guide will look very similar to what you already have on those cable boxes.
Some of the features that are expected to be included in the summer release are listed below (these features will likely be available to customers in Connecticut early on):
myDVR Manager: From the internet and the Xfinity TV app, customers can: set recordings, view/modify scheduled recordings, view completed recordings, modify series priority lists, etc.
http://xfinity.comcast.net/mydvr/how-to/
Caller ID to the TV See who's calling, right from your TV and PC! Comcast Universal Caller ID takes the guesswork out of incoming calls. http://www.comcast.net/callerid
HSN Shop-by-Remote: A convenient, new way to make HSN purchases simply by using your remote. http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV_Guide_Shop-By-Remote_0110.pdf
Request for Info: Know more, save more! Introducing an easy way to request valuable coupons and info from advertisers simply by using your remote.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Request%20For%20Information.pdf
Ready Remind and Ready Record: Now you can conveniently set program reminders or recordings directly from certain TV show and movie advertisements.
http://www.comcast.net/newguide/iTV%20Guide%20Ready%20Remind%20Record.pdf
Xfinity TV Application: The ability to use your iPad to change channels.
http://www.xfinity.com/help/internet/mobile-tv-app/
Hello Mr. Smith and thanks for visiting Comcast Voices.
With a third party remote control that you already own and are using, that should still work normally with the new guide. There may be some slight modifications that need to be made to your remote (additional buttons to be coded) but the existing codes for your TV, DVD player and cable box should remain as they are now.
The new guide is designed to work directly with the silver Comcast remote control. Third party remote controls should also work quite well. Customers with programmable third party remote controls (not provided by Comcast) may need additional programming and setup for their remote control in order to utilize the full features of this guide. Buttons and actions like Last, Guide, Menu, page Up, Page Down, MyDVR and On Demand may need to be programmed into the customer’s owned remote control. Customers should consult their remote control user manual or visit the device’s website for additional instructions.
The banner ads that are displayed at the bottom of each page in the guide grid are all related to TV content and are designed to aid in discovery of additional content available to you; some of it even free. In future versions of the guide, the ads are much less intrusive. Something that you may have already discovered (and a tip I will share for others) is that you are able to skip through the ads in the guide (as in not land on them) by using the Page Up or Page Down key on your remote control while browsing the TV listings grid.
You are also able to modify the listings grid to show 5 channels at one time (the same as the previous guide). Press the Menu button on your Comcast silver remote control twice, choose Set Up from the on-screen menu, then Guide Set Up, scroll down to the Grid Cell Height option and change Double Height (the default) to Single Height.
If your guide is not showing correctly on the screen (if it's not centered), you may need to adjust the cable box settings using the HD Setup Wizard. This link will show you how to do that.
http://por-chr.cimcontent.net/ui/pdf/meetyourguide/High_Definition_TV_Setup_Guide.pdf
Hello Mr. Petzar and thanks for your feedback. Apologies for the issues you are experiencing. The flip bar should definitely disappear after a few seconds and it should not remain on the screen. That is not normal behavior and a condition I am not aware of.
Most of the time a box power re-boot (like what you did) should solve a problem like that. If you are still having that problem, I would suggest exchanging that DVR for another one.
The display on the front of the set-top box can easily be changed to show either the time of day or the current channel. The default in the new guide is to show the current channel.
Here are the steps to change the display to show the time of day:
1. Press Menu button twice on the silver Comcast remote control
2. Select Setup
3. Select Cable Box Setup
4. Select Front LED Display
5. Use the right arrow button on your remote to select Current Time.
Access the following link for a demonstration on how to do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CXS7dWTSHI
If you enable the current channel as the front panel display type, you should see the current channel number displayed while the box is on and a blank LED front panel screen when the cable box is turned off. If you would want the current time displayed on the front LED panel, you would need to set the Front LED Display to current time and then it should display the time when the box is powered off.
Hello Ian and thanks for your question.
There are a couple of things in the works to support your suggested example and improve the customer experience.
We are working on improving the guide listings data and the DVR software to support automatic re-routing of DVR recordings in alternate non-conflicting time slots. This would alleviate some recording conflicts and provide a much better outcome.
First comment I don't like new Guide (S25). I was quite happy with older (SARA) Guide, and, if I could, would like it back. I lost a few conveniences and now have a few annoyances.
I am with Comcast in Virginia area, use SA8300HDC units. I don't use OnDemand service - just record/watch HD TV. Here are a couple of problems I now have (which did not exist in older guide)
1. Unit is recording one channel, I am watching another channel. I decide to turn off my TV. I get a message and am given two choices, (i) stop recording and turn the unit off, (ii) leave the unit on so that recording could continue. I am forced to leave the unit on (thus running it whole night uselessly). I don't like that.
2. I am viewing a channel, and recording it at the same time. After a while I decide to Rewind and watch missed portions. When recording is finished, I am adrunptly kicked out, and buffer is cleared, taking to live TV. Now to finish my viewing, I must go to the Recording section, find my recording, search the point where I was kicked out, and then continue. That was not the case with previous software.
3. For Digital/Optical audio outputs, I had choices on Dolby/Digital, etc. in previous guide. Now I have none, and get just PCM. Optimization does nothing. My Receiver can decode DTS/Dolby, but I get just two channel stereo from SA8300
4. Search in recordings is very tedious. Dates are in far right (beyond screen) columns.
Please help, and get me my previous (and better) Guide. Thanks.
I currently have one 8300HD Scientific Atlanta box and a Cisco RNG200N box for DVRs. I am a customer in Connecticut and for almost the past 2 years have been getting promo material for the MyDVR service. However, no matter how many chats, phone calls or emails I send, nobody seems to know why the service doesn't work. Comcast actually sent out a technician not too long ago who told me because were are on an old Scientific Atlanta system, we will be the last to get the "update". This has been the other story that I have heard from time to time, getting time lines from "very soon" to "not for awhile".
It is incredibly frustrating to know that there are services like Any Room DVR and MyDVR that add a lot of convenience to having cable service and paying the same price for cable service as other people who do get these services but not receiving these "extras". I have given up on customer service calls and having techs come out and giving me a different story or interpretation as to what is going on each time. They have sent me new boxes, upgraded boxes, sent techs out, refreshed my service and pretty much done every other conceivable action to attempt to bring me online with the MyDVR service.
I would really just like to know as a customer in Connecticut, when can I expect to be able to use the MyDVR service or should I abandon all hope. Competing services like Dish Network and DirecTV already offer features similar to the two services I mentioned before and up to now I haven't really given much thought to switching. However, at this point I am really tired of receiving all of this promo material indicating MyDVR service and AnyRoom DVR service when I can't even use it because of some other issue. I found this thread and it actually seems like customers are getting some real answers so I will be enthusiastic to hear what has to be said about my situation.
Hello Mr. Fowler. Apologies for the issues that you are having.
In reviewing your account on Monday, it appears that our representative on the phone was able to correct the issue by sending a refresh signal to your cable box. Please give us a call at 1-800-COMCAST if you experience this issue again. Thanks.
I no longer have access to the search features, and other features, when using my Bose remote. With the old guide, these features worked fine, how can I get them back using my Bose remote?
Why must I scroll through a Comcast add everytime I reach the end of a page on the guide?
Why is the guide always to large for the screen, even if I've sized the screen properly?
Ian
I can see people aren't happy with the new guide, but at least you have one. Since january, I only had a program guide sporadicaly. The last few days every time slot just says "To be announced". Now I wait again for a call back from Comcast techies.
Hello,
Today I swapped out my Cisco RNG200 DVR for another because of playback concerns. After hooking it up and having it authorized I noticed two small, but significant bugs that won't go away. After changing channels or coming back from the menu, the flip bar stays on. I've tried changing the settings in the options menu including the time on from 2 or 3 seconds and its position on the screen. A phone call to Comcast only instructed me to disconnect the power and reconnect to no avail. The other is that even though the clock is enabled on the display, when the DVR is switched off it is blank. The playback and recorder all work fine but for the amount that I pay each month for the "Triple Play" I expect all the functions to work properly. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Steve
Thanks for the reply about how it records new shows. Just a suggestion - if it misses a specific episode due to a conflict or whatever, why not just save the title and/or episode number of that show and when it sees that same title/episode number again, record it?
Hello Evan and thanks for your questions and the opportunity to better clarify a few things.
First, I do not yet have a timetable for On-Screen Guide 2.0 or 3.0 for your area of Virginia that I can share just yet. So there is no rush on your part to do anything right away.
Second, I can see that I wasn’t clear on my earlier statement and for that I apologize.
The plan we are following is to introduce On-Screen Guide 2.0 with AnyRoom DVR initially and then also eventually include all of the RNG devices (RNG 100, 150 and 200) after a certain date in deployed markets later this year. We do understandably have a controlled deployment plan for the early stages of this guide deployment so we can monitor customer and business metrics, install times, and the overall impact to our customers and to the business.
To clarify and add to my earlier statement, all Cisco RNG devices in On-Screen Guide 2.0 deployed markets are targeted to receive On-Screen Guide 2.0 regardless of when the RNG set top was manufactured. It is factor of after a certain calendar date in each market any new Cisco RNG boxes that get installed or swapped would have On-Screen Guide 2.0.
After that, the current plan is to arrange to change the on-screen guide on the existing RNG set tops in the On-Screen Guide 2.0 deployed markets. That will require some advance, direct and wide customer communication.
The RNG 200-N DVR does have a larger hard drive (500 GB) and is used for our AnyRoom DVR service now available in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee and parts of Louisiana.
The N indicates that it is MoCA capabale. More info on MoCA is available here http://www.mocalliance.org/
Hello Mike Cisco and thanks for your question.
Today, customers using Cisco branded cable boxes in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina,
Mississippi, Tennessee and parts of Louisiana are able to experience On-Screen Guide 2.0 http://www.xfinity.com/onscreenguide2 when they subscribe to our AnyRoom DVR service.
You can get more information about AnyRoom DVR by calling 1-800-XFINITY or at the link below
http://info.xfinity.com/Portal/content/Comcast/VideoMicrosites/onscreenguide2/anyroomdvr.aspx
On-Screen Guide 2.0 includes the myDVR Manager feature which allows you to schedule DVR recordings online. MyDVR Manager is available today in your area with a Cisco RNG 200-N and a subscription to AnyRoom DVR. Some links below for additional reading:
http://info.xfinity.com/Portal/content/Comcast/VideoMicrosites/onscreenguide2/advanceddvr.aspx#dvrmanager
http://xfinitytv.comcast.net/mytv/dvr
The plan we are following is to introduce On-Screen Guide 2.0 with AnyRoom DVR initially and then also eventually include all of the RNG devices (RNG 100, 150 and 200) after a certain date in deployed markets later this year.
Hello, I currently have two Silver RNG200 non N series DVRS. One of them have a manufacturing date on the back of the set top dated 3/02/11. My other Silver RNG200 manufactured date is 9/24/08. I know a while ago you did say only the RNG boxes deployed after a certain date will receive on screen guide 2.0 Will both of the set tops that I have receive the On Screen Guide 2.0 when it becomes available in the Alexandria, VA 22304 area? My other question too you is that I used to have the black RNG200N series a newer model but I kept having problems with those boxes so I had to constantly return them to my local office and I eventually got the two Silver RNG200 non N series. I know the N series had a bigger hard drive 500GB and anyroom dvr capabilities and the non N series has a 160GB but what is really the difference between the RNG200 N and the non N series hardware wise. Does the N series have more horse power then the non N series. Would it be a good idea if I switch and get the N series our just keep my non N series? Which is better?
Hello Meanda and thanks for your comments and feedback.
Unfortunately, the sleep and wake timer functionality are features that are not supported in this version of the guide. Many television sets support a sleep timer feature independently.
The wake and sleep timers are features that most other video providers also do not currently offer.
Hello Gary E.
To dismiss the DVR transport bar or any on-screen guide overlay at anytime, simply press the Exit key on the silver Comcast remote control.
where do I find the sleep timer on the new cable box?