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***

[Lurker]

---

@User0000624 wrote:

---

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

---

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.

---

1. Trade it in where?  Rogers no longer issues 8300's - havent for years.  You can probably find one on the secondary market somewhere tho. 

2.  You were told emphatically, probably by a first line CSR who, as we've established, dont know much.  They only know what they're told by Rogers and they generally assume that everyone has the equipment Rogers wants them to have.

If you have Nextbox era equipment, there's no going back from Navigatr, period.  Its Rogers' network, its Rogers' rules.  If you want the old guide, you need to track down old gear, and no first line CSR is going to tell you that.

[Gdkitty]

---

@User0000624 wrote:

---

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.

---

While I do agree.. the 'obsolete' part still runs true.
Can you run an XP machine thats working fine, and choose not to upgrade the hardware or software? Sure.
But at the same time... like XP may not get updates anymore.   Can leave you vulnerable.  Or may miss important updates to be able to access specific things. (in the case of the box.. guide updates, maybe specialty channel that needs two way communication that it cant do.

But switching companies.. wont get you much anywhere either.  At least in the case at hand here.
You will be on THEIR newest hardware/OS.. good or bad.   And you are at the same mercy.  They want to change something? They will change it, and there is no control over it.

Heck, even cord cutting its the same boat.  You constantly have to update, and change things, to be able to keep up to date and access everything.

[57]

---

@User0000624 wrote:

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.

---

That's an interesting analogy in light of the recent malware infections with WannaCry and Petya.  No one should be running that combination because it is out of date. I agree that Rogers have taken that decision away from you, however, those that contact Rogers in an appropriate manner are "made whole" with new equipment, a new overall package, etc.

As discussed earlier in this, and other threads, SARA on an 8642 was an anomaly that was allowed to exist for several years for a few people, however, it caused confusion for users and for CSRs when troubleshooting.  It may also be that Rogers is no longer allowed to run that combination due to agreements with the firmware suppliers (licensing).  8300s may be "obsoleted" in the near future, as has other hardware on the Rogers system, however, again, Rogers have typically compensated customers with upgraded equipment or packages when this happens.

[User0000624]

I spoke to a manager after dealing with the first-line CSR (no easy task, but eventually she relented and put me through) and made the case that they should either let me revert to the old guide or provide me with new equipment, and he flat out said no to both, then essentially told me I was an idiot for buying the hardware instead of renting.  He did note that he was a tech support manager rather than customer support, but also said that even if he had the power to give me new hardware he wouldn't (great customer service...).  He gave me the company line, told me they were working to improve efficiencies with the new guide on the old boxes, blah blah blah.  He basically told me to live with it and be thankful my 8300 was even functional at this point.

Regardless of the rationale behind the "upgrade", it doesn't change the fact that Rogers is disaffecting presumably thousands of customers.  They should be proactively making people "whole" rather than stonewalling.  You'd think customers who've been with Rogers for 10+ years and forked out $500 to purchase their boxes (two in my case, so $1,000) would be automatically eligible for some sort of soultion to the software/hardware issue that THEY caused.

Perhaps Rogers will do something for me if I complain long enough and loudly enough, but this is no way to run a business.

[57]

@User0000624:

You shouldn't be wasting your time with the technical people.  Try contacting the community helps people on this forum using the following link.  You need to be logged in to PM them.  Many people have been "made whole" when they contact the correct people.

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

Another avenue is the Retentions department if you prefer to phone, or perhaps live chat.

Although you spent $1000, Rogers would have far preferred if you had rented that entire time paying many times that amount.  If you had done the latter, you would be able to "upgrade" without issue. It was your choice to do the former.  😉

I have also purchased all of my boxes over the years and have saved thousands of $, however, I do so knowing the risk that they could fail or be made obsolete.

[RogersZia]

Hi @User0000624,

I truly apologize for the interaction that happened between you and the manager. This is definitely not the kind of experience we want our customers to have.

Please contact us via PM @CommunityHelps so we can rectify this experience for you.

Our private messaging system is explained in this blog.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

RogersZia

[User0000624]

Thank you for the link provided.

FYI, I called to have them fix the guide issue, thus I requested help from technical support.  I wouldn't consider this "wasting my time", it was the logical place start.  As I said previously, I'd had the identical experience years ago when Rogers "upgraded" the guide rendering my box useless, and after calling tech. support they put me back on the old guide.  I expected the same thing to happen in this case.  Given the initial response of the first CSR ("We're aware of the issue, we've had a lot of people calling to complaing about it") I honestly expected it to be fixed in 5 minutes.  I was floored when the next line from her was "...but there's nothing we can do about it".

Given the experience I had after this call, clearly I now need to contact someone in customer support, but I have a life beyond dealing with Rogers issues so I don't have time to deal with numerous hour-long phone calls at the moment, which is usually what it entails.

True, had I rented I would obviously have more options at the moment, but that is missing the point.  The point here is that the boxes I purchased are working fine, they are NOT "obsolete", the issue here is that Rogers made them non-functional, and essentially obsolete, by forcing this new guide upon me.  If users with 8300 boxes are allowed to run the old guide (which I understand is only due to technical issues, not the good will of Rogers), then why can't others?  The manager I spoke to emphatically told me the old guide is gone - this is was clearly a lie. 

And trust me, it's not like I think the old guide was some amazing piece of technology.  Frankly I think it sucks, it looks like something from the late '80s, especially in comparison to what Bell has, but IT WORKED.  I could change channels, manage my recordings, etc.  This is not the case with the new guide, which looks much better, but is completely unusable on an 8642 box.

It's not rocket science...  If Rogers is going to force users to migrate to the new guide then it's their reponsibility to make sure their hardware is compatible with it.  If it isn't, then they have 3 options:  1) Upgrade user's hardware; 2) Let users keep the old guide; or 3) Fix the new guide so that it is compatible - and by compatible I mean it functions with speed comparable to the old guide, not the current unusable level of "compatibility".  I have no idea why people care to argue these points, isn't this common sense?  You want to defend Rogers for disenfranchising thousands of paying customers, and foster this notion that all hardware must be chucked out and replaced every 5 years?

[User0000624]

@RogersZia

I appreciate your response, I will contact @communityhelps when I get a chance.

[LimboMan]

I'd like to note that for all the great benefits Rogers like to say about the new guide, two functions I used DAILY that is nowhere to be found :

1) Sleep Timer
2) "Keep the last X number of recorded shows from this series"
3) ... It just worked.

I may have missed it on the menu. If so, please enlighten me!

[57]

@LimboMan: There is a long discussion thread regarding the new Navigatr in this forum. It is not specific to the 8642 since it applies to all the NextBox PVRs.

Here's a summary of the good, the bad, and some tips regarding Navigatr so you can avoid reading that very long thread, unless you want to.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/61-rogers-cable-tv-hd-pvr-discussion/202473-cisco-9865-nb3-0-also-nb...

[k214]

Reading Canada's anti-spam legislation, especially section 8 and section section 11(5), I think Rogers has one year from receiving a complaint to make things right. The Enforcement Info Page implies CRTC handles malware issues.

[Lurker]

Hope you didn't pull anything with that stretch.   But, if somebody with deep enough pockets wants to go for it, you know what they say about fools and their money...

[LimboMan]

UPDATE:

Not sure if others have also received phone calls, but a Rogers agent called to let me know that the next firmware is being developed that should run more efficiently on our boxes.  Not sure I'll be holding my breath on this one...

[thedommer]

Is the Rogers HD8600 old? It is painfully slow...

We JUST setup rogers HD with the full HD package but we are using the cable ox and it is so slow! I cant seem to find anything online about what boxes are available and rogers site has nothing on box rental prices and whats available to rent. 

When they set it up they didn't even use an HDMI cable so at first it wasn't even inn HD. Very strange but I used one of my own HDMI cables and it is in HD now but SO SLOW to change channels. 

So is this box actually one offered with Rogers now or did we get some sort of old box?? What box should we be using. I googled 8600 and see people complaining about it in 2015 so I am very surprised that our "new" box is from technology over 3 years old. I would be fine with that if it wasn't so . slow. 

[Gdkitty]

Yeah, if you just got set up.. not sure WHY they set you up with that box..

The Nextbox 3 (the 9865), is the more current version of the PVR.. and its a TON faster.


I would call back in and complain, and see if they can swap out  your 8642 for a 9865

[thedommer]

Interesting. I had a feeling something was wrong. Doesn't seem very competitive to give a box that old to a new HD setup. In fact its SLOWER than the SD box we had thats over 10 years old.

The icing on the cake was that they didn't even hook it up with HDMI. It was running at standard definition through coaxial. I will definitely be calling them up. 

[thedommer]

Also just to clarify. I have the 8600HD NOT the 8642. These threads were merged together for some reason confusing the answer. Would I still ask rogers for the 9865 or is there a non-PVR version? Also were we supposed to get a PVR version. I assume thats more expensive. We don't need it. I'm just really confused about what we are supposed to get because this box is garbage.

[57]

---

@thedommer wrote:

1. I cant seem to find anything online about what boxes are available and rogers site has nothing on box rental prices and whats available to rent. 

2. So is this box actually one offered with Rogers now or did we get some sort of old box?? What box should we be using. I googled 8600 and see people complaining about it in 2015 so I am very surprised that our "new" box is from technology over 3 years old. I would be fine with that if it wasn't so . slow. 

---

1. Actually, they do - see the following link. They don't list the exact model numbers, but I'll explain more in point 2 below :

https://www.rogers.com/consumer/tv/hardware

2. The 8600 is a "hobbled" 8642 (Nextbox 2.0) that disables the PVR portion of the box. This box is very old and slow.  However, since Rogers is going to be changing to the newer IPTV technology later this year, they're re-using/repurposing the older boxes and not supplying anything "new" (except 4K).  Even the latest 9865 HDPVR (Nextbox 3.0) is now almost 5 years old (although it works fine).  The 8642/8600 is a few years older than that, but is slow. Another non-PVR is the 4642 which you may wish to try.  It's also old, but it may be faster.  You may wish to ask for one of the new 4K boxes, which should be faster. The 4K non-PVR is the CAV10242 and the 4K PVR is CAV10455.

[thedommer]

Thanks for this! amazed they even rent out the Nextbox 2. As a new user my first through was "Bell might be better then this". Such a terrible slow user experience. Will be trying the Nextbox 3. Hopefully a lot better. 

[Gdkitty]

I mean i can understand having them for legacy people who still have them, some for swapping out, etc
But for new users.. should be always be the NB3 now.

The NB3 is definitely MUCH better.
I would say in general at least 3x faster? There is pretty much no lag at all when pressing buttons, menus, etc.
Depending on the 8642 you got.. the NB3 may have more storage on it as well.
Also has 8 tuners.. can record up to 8 things at once! (or record 7 watch one live)

[mfait]

Yes the NB3 is faster and better, but only comes in PVR version.

NB2 2 had 2 versions of the box.

8642 was the HD PVR version

4642 was the HD non-PVR version

If you just want an HD box it appears that they are now only giving out the 8600, which appears to be the 8642 without the PVR functionality (and probably with the hard disk removed).  The reason for this is that most likely they ran out of the 4642 and either can't or don't want to get more.

They must be getting a lot of 8642 returns that they are refurbishing into 8600 boxes for those that only want HD, without the PVR.

Since the 8642 and 4642 are essentially the same hardware it is highly unlikely that the 4642 will perform any better than the 8600.