8642HD really SLOW - is this normal?

[cdpage]

Hi there,

I'm new to rogers. Just got the NextBox 8642HD. 

It's been a slow learning curve, and as such i've accepted it's SLOW repsonce times, but after a couple months of use, I can't take it any more.

Is it normal for the cable box to be SO SLOW?

Can I fix this?

Do I have a Faulty Box?

I can not imagine that customers would accept this?

it take take seconds for a button to activate after pressing it on the romote. Worse, sometimes not at all.

It runs like a 3D program on a 386.

Any one else have a really slow NextBox?

***Edited labels***

[LimboMan]

To my dismay I woke up this morning to find my PURCHASED 8642HD force-updated to the new guide.  I was happily using the SARA and had asked not to have any of my purchased boxes updated in the past.  I called in and was told all remaining boxes were being updated without the option to opt-out.  

I didn't ask for the new guide nor was I unsatisfied with my SARA guide.  I can no longer use the box as waiting 10 sec after a keypress before something happens is not acceptable.  Even after a power-cycle it still has the same lag so I now wish there was a way to restore the original firmware on my two 8642HD boxes.  

[brownie31]

Agree totally. I would like to get the old software back!! Brutally slow, awful FF and REW, 2am "software upgrade" every night (never happened on the old software). I was dreading the day when my old reliable PVR was getting a forced update and that day arrived.

[brownie31]

Couldn't have said it better myself.....

[RogersTony]

Hello @LimboMan & @brownie31,

Welcome to the Rogers Community Forums!

I know how frustrating it can be when your Cable Service is not as responsive as it used to be. It sounds like quite the ordeal to perform simple tasks on the TV.

Regrettably, all digital terminals that were previously running the SARA program guide will be upgrading to the Navigatr program guide. The SARA guide is no longer being supported by our terminals and once the boxes have been upgraded there is no way to revert back to the SARA guide.

I understand that this may not be ideal for some customers especially if you've noticed much slower responsiveness since receiving the new software.

There are some promotions available now that may cover the rental fee for a Nextbox HD terminal. For more info check out our promotions page on the Rogers website by clicking here.

Regards,

RogersTony 

[LimboMan]

I OWNED BOTH of my PVRs.

To go out and rent some new boxes using "the great promotions" is unfortunately not a satisfactory solution to a problem created by Rogers, given things were working just fine (BETTER) beforehand.

If you're going to push an update to break the product, be prepared to replace the hardware or lose your customer.

[User0000624]

Same issue here, using an old 8642HD that I purchased, working great with the old guide, then was "upgraded" to the new guide and it's unusable.  I had the same problem a few years ago when they pulled this, called in to complain, was told it was not possible to go back to the old guide, but sure enough after arguing for 15 minutes finally they relented and did it for me, all the while acting like they were doing me the biggest favour of all time. 

So, I tried that again tonight, but this time was told in no uncertain terms that the old guide was gone.  The first CSR told me she had received a lot of complaints about the new guide (herself included), so I was thinking "oh good, they're aware of the issue and will be happy to fix it for me this time".  Nope...  She then went on to tell me I had to just live with it and hope for the best.  When I declined to just live with it she got mad at me, kept asking me why I think she would like to me, telling me that she's a Christian and how dare I imply that she is not telling the truth, etc.  I said "no, I believe that you believe that it can't be fixed, but I know that in the past this exact same thing happened and they DID fix it".  She put me on hold to get her manager, only to come back and tell me her manager said the same thing.  I said that wasn't good enough and asked to speak to the manager myself.

So, she got her manager (Pavel) who was the most condescending and rude CSR I have ever dealt with in my life, which is saying a lot.  The guy could not have cared less, and basically told me I should have rented my box, that "people don't like change", that I was lucky that my 8642 was even still working, etc., etc.  He was not the LEAST bit sympathetic to the problem.  As I said to him, my TV viewing experience is now completely unsatisfactory, unless I want to stay on one channel the entire time given that switching channels or using the new guide in any way, shape, or form on an 8642 is absurdly slow.  Not only was Pavel completely unsympathetic and unapologetic, he was outright rude, sarcastic, and full of contempt for me - how dare I complain about the new (unusable) guide! 

As far as I'm concerned there are only two reasonable solutions: 1) Let customers who don't like/can't use the new guide revert to the old guide, or some form of a less resource-intensive guide, or 2) Offer free upgrades to new boxes that can actually run the new guides.  It's not rocket science...  How they can change their service such that a large population of users will now be unable to use the service with ZERO compensation is beyond me.  If something isn't done I will definitely be cancelling my cable as I was on the verge of cutting the cord anyway.

[57]

@User0000624(and others who have recently been switched from SARA to Navigatr):

Whenever you purchase something electronic these days you cannot expect it to perform forever. Think about a computer, or cell phone or most other electronics. They are basically obsolete in a few years.

Yes, I sympathize with you, but you have to be realistic that you got quite a few years out of your 8642, it cost you less than a rental, and it's now "obsolete".   At least it does still operate, but like an old computer, it's now slow and you need to replace it.

By talking to Rogers Retentions, I believe you may be able to negotiate the free rental of a 9865 for 1-2 years, at which time there will again be new technology at Rogers - like IPTV, etc.  Or you can try logging in and sending a PM to Community Helps. See the link below:

http://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/1446984

[OLDYELLR]

---

@RogersTony wrote:

Regrettably, all digital terminals that were previously running the SARA program guide will be upgrading to the Navigatr program guide. The SARA guide is no longer being supported by our terminals and once the boxes have been upgraded there is no way to revert back to the SARA guide.

---

Whoa there! I hope you're not saying Rogers is about to destroy my two owned SA8300 PVRs, which will only run on SARA. Say it isn't so!

[LimboMan]

Hopefully your boxes will escape the firmware push. I'm now looking at options, even outside Rogers. Something I had never considered doing honestly, but this move was extremely disappointing. It's one thing to expect products to become obsolete, but it's another concern altogether when something works one day and not the next, due solely by a move by Rogers.

This effectively is pushing those of us owners from previously not having to pay a monthly fee, into a paid rental or full purchase scenario.

[LimboMan]

I should also note that I had been demonstrating my loyalty and commitment to Rogers previously, by purchasing my two HD PVR boxes. In doing so, I was essentially locking myself into the Rogers network without considering the alternatives.  At this point, the lack of customer service to this issue puts me in a position to start shopping around with other providers, as my friends have all done so over recent years.

Anybody at Rogers paying attention?  Retentions?

[RogersTony]

Hello @OLDYELLR & @LimboMan,

I know the recent updates have been a significant change for many customers with older Purchased NextBox branded equipment. 

@OLDYELLR I have been advised that only NextBox branded boxes will be affected by the discontinuation of the SARA guide and replaced with the Navigatr guide. The affected boxes would be the 4642, 8600 and 8642 series NextBoxes and above. the SA8300 PVRs are not compatible with the Navigatr guide and should not be affected by these changes.

@LimboMan I understand your frustration regarding this matter as a choice was not given to you on whether or not you'd like to receive the update. We definitely do not want to lose you as a customer and we appreciate your loyalty to the Rogers brand over the years. 

Please send us a private message @CommunityHelps the next time you're online and we can take a closer look at what options are available to you. 

For more information on our private messaging system check out our blog.

Regards,

RogersTony

[LimboMan]

I have NON-branded 8642 devices but I suppose it doesn't matter whether it had the "NEXTBOX" sticker on it or not?

[adm7007]

Picture takes a long time to appear/Navigatr change

Last week my guide changed by itself to this Navigatr guide.

I had an old guide for years with a Nextbox 8642HD box.

Now when I turn on the TV it can take 1-2 minutes before the picture appears.

This never happened with the old guide.

The picture would appear much faster.

TV works fine otherwise,but this long wait time for the picture to appear is not good.

Anyone know why this is happening and how to fix it?

This started the same time the guide changed to Navigatr.

[LimboMan]

Sadly, it appears you too have been negatively affected by the forced update of your Rogers box. All of us with this same 8642HD now have unusable cable boxes. If you are renting, consider yourself lucky as you may be able to swap it at a Rogers store for a different box. If you own your box, you're as out of luck as some of us here.

[adm7007]

Do you think trying a reboot would make the picture appear faster when turning the TV on?

The channels change just as fast as with the old guide,so I have no issue with slow channel changes and I only use it for watching TV and use none of the other features.

[LimboMan]

Power cycling the box or even a system reset may be worth a try and have been known to help a bit. Unfortunately for me it has done nothing to solve my problems on either of my babies.

[57]

Although the 8642 is pretty slow with Navigatr, it's possible that how slow it gets could be related to signal strength.  The reason I say this is because the new Navigatr firmware "talks" to the head end much more than the old SARA firmware and if the (return) signal is poor, it could take longer for certain functions.  Here's a post on checking your signal.

http://communityforums.rogers.com/t5/TV/Nextbox-3-0-PVR-Skips-Recorded-Playback-Only/m-p/387839#M422...

[LimboMan]

Thx for the page. My box is showing level of -3 and S/N of 35 dB. Haven't had any concerns with up/down data transfers in the past and the last time a tech came to check my levels (when I got the gigabit internet recently) he noted the signal was good coming into, and within the house.

Hopefully this tip may help others though!

[adm7007]

Did a reboot and it seemed to help with varying success.

Picture appeared after 10 seconds twice,then a little longer at 25-35 seconds to a worse of 1:16 and then less to maybe 25-30 seconds.

My 8642HD is a rental so I will try to exchange it for the latest greatest box from Rogers since I am paying Rogers plenty for their "service".

[User0000624]

---

the SA8300 PVRs are not compatible with the Navigatr guide and should not be affected by these changes.

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So are you saying the old guide is still available for those with the SA8300 PVR?  I was EMPHATICALLY told that the old guide is gone!  If that is not the case, then why can't those of us who want/need the old guide go back to it???

If this is the case looks like I need to trade-in my 8642 for an 8300.

[User0000624]

---

Whenever you purchase something electronic these days you cannot expect it to perform forever. Think about a computer, or cell phone or most other electronics. They are basically obsolete in a few years.

Yes, I sympathize with you, but you have to be realistic that you got quite a few years out of your 8642, it cost you less than a rental, and it's now "obsolete".   At least it does still operate, but like an old computer, it's now slow and you need to replace it.

---

Wrong.  I've got PLENTY of electronics that are 5+ years old and working flawlessly.  The device is not obsolete, it's working perfectly.  The fact that it doesn't run the latest Rogers software does not mean it's obsolete.

It would be one thing if I demanded the latest software run perfectly on my older hardware, but that is not the case.  Let's say I have a 10 year old PC and I'm happy with Windows XP - nobody is forcing me to upgrade to Windows 10 if I don't want to, but that's exactly what Rogers has done in this instance.  And to top it off I'm expected to happily keep paying my monthly fee to them!  What kind of lunacy is this?  Who runs a business like this?  If Rogers is going to insist that I upgrade to their latest software, then they should provide me with hardware that can handle it, end of story.  Or let me run the old software and take my money every month - sounds like a win-win... 

Or there's the alternative (i.e., the current situation), which is that Rogers insists that I run the new software that I don't want (with zero incentive to do so), insists that my hardware is now "obsolete" and must be replaced (at my own cost), causes me grief, wastes my time, and insults me.  What is the logical response to this scenario?  Call Rogers up and beg them to take more of my money, switch to a competitor who will happily provide me with brand new hardware for free, or cut the cable like everyone else.  Up until a month ago the latter two options were not at the front of my mind.