Nextbox 3.0: quick way to return to resume recorded programs?

[stevense]

I admit it; I don't usually sit down and watch a recorded program all in one go, and I don't watch live TV much at all. I record it so I can skip commercials. As a result, I want to be able to stop and resume recorded channels easily.

The old Cisco PVR used channel 950 as the location for recorded programs in progress, and if you had the PVR set up to start up at your last channel, you could just fire up the TV/PVR and press "Play" and away you go. Fibe TV does the same with channel 999, but you don't even have to hit "Play"; it just resumes playing your show where you left off immediately.

The Nextbox 3.0 has channel 950 reserved for the PVR, but so far as I can see it doesn't actually use it for anything. It's just black. And to resume playing a previously recorded program now, I have to press "Menu" then arrow across to "Recorded programs" then Select to choose "My programs" then arrow down through my recorded programs (and if it's the program I recorded first, I have to go down through them ALL), then Select to choose the program and Select again to choose to Resume it. It could be worse, but not much, compared to being right there as it is with many other PVRs.

In fairness, I've done my homework and I do realize that the fault for this is with Cisco and not Rogers, who have essentially just done a light re-skinning of the Cisco STB menu system to brand it, but sheesh. Is there any chance that a future firmware update will fix this extremely annoying "feature"?

***Edited labels***

[Gdkitty]

Someone who has a NB2 maybe should check to see if it still does it (or can confirm, with the nightly reboot, etc).

As the NB3 and NB2 are technically using the same IPG level... it COULD be partialy hardware related as much as software.. something that for whatever reason, the software cant tell this hardware what to do.. or the hardware doesnt support it, etc.

[jimboden]

slimshady:

My NB 3 rebooted itself while I was watching a recording, plus I was recording something else at the same time. When it came back up, the recording picked up right where it left off.

[Gdkitty]

Personally I doubt it.

950 is reserved there for the older boxes playback, and the newer nextbox 2 and 3 both don't use it.
Both of them use an overlay for playing the recorded stuff, rather than a channel.

May be a major change in how it works to do it.
Now, they could possibly implement a better shortcut.

[jays77 · Accepted solution]

I don't have the nextbox 3 But from what I gather it is not a lot different form the 8642 HDPVR.

Can you not just press list on the remote, select the show you want and then select resume play?

I have never had to go through the menu.

[cheeco111]

best thing to get is netflix for programs, movies, bio's, etc.

[Gdkitty]

Jays77, yes it's the same.
The user was not wanting to do that. If you have a huge list of stuff can take a while to go through.
Think they were looking for a recently started sort of list like Netflix has, for ones you have started.

[stevense]

The "List" function isn't perfect, but it saves me quite a lot of time and button-presses. I have a Harmony remote, so I've moved "List" on the first screen of the display. I can now restart partially played programs with as few as three clicks. Not as good as one, but better. Thanks!

[jt-kanata]

Happy to hear I'm not the only one that used to use channel 950 to switch back to a recorded show. I do this a lot when I'm watching sports and other things and want to check on stuff.

Disappointed to hear these new devices don't work the same way 😞 Especially since I'm running an 8642 and the lag with button presses are extremely annoying.

[Kellybhoy]

Problem with the resume function on Explorer 4642HD box

I have a Next Box upstairs linked by wifi to an Explorer 4642 HD box downstairs. When watching a recorded program on the latter, and I want to interrupt the recording to watch another channel or another recording, when I return to the original recording it will not allow me to resume at the point where I pressed the stop button. I have to start watching the recording from the beginning again. What actually happens when I press stop is that the resume button appears for a few brief seconds then is replaced by the watch button. This was driving me crazy so I called Rogers. The rep on the other end tried to duplicate the problem on a machine at his end, and sure enough, it did exactly the same thing. After a few minutes experimentation he told me he had discovered that you can't resume an interrupted recording until at least 5 minutes into the program. That theory was easily dispelled, so we rebooted the box and everything was fine for about an hour then\it started misbehaving again. So yesterdayi'd had enough and took the box into Rogers in exchange for a brand new one. Guess what? Thenew onehas exactly the same flaw. I usually record more than one sports program at a time and I like to flip around from on recording to the next. This box simply will not let me do this. I amamazedthat thisproblem has not appeared on this forum before as it is clearly an inhererent system failure, since changing the box did not resolve it. What were the chances of me receiving 2 boxes with identical flaws, not to mention the Rogers support rep finding the same problem on his test box. Am I entitled to ask to exchange for a totally different model?

[57]

@Kellybhoy :  This "lack of resume" is a known issue with the Navigatr firmware. I'm not sure if it affects all PVRS as it doesn't seem to affect one of my 9865s, however, many people have reported the problem.  See the other issues in the following summary:

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

What you can do is hit the pause button before leaving the programme. This seems to work, especially for standalone PVRs. You need to be over two minutes into the programme, otherwise pause won't work either and you'll only have the option to restart.  I'm not sure if this (pausing) works for WHPVR setups.    

[Kellybhoy]

 Actually there doesn't seem to be an issue with the PVR itself (the NextBox). I believe I've  been able to resume while using the NextBox rather than the Explorer  4626. I am also almost certain I have tried using the pause button without success, but I will try again. What I find astonishing is that you say this has been a "known Issue" and yet Rogers continues to distribute these flawed boxes and charges customers as though everything is working as it should be.  Preventing me from interrupting and then resuming a program from where I left off is no minor issue for me, it is a major inconvenience, one that could easily cause me to switch back to Bell from whence I have just come. I wonder if Rogers cares?

[57]

The Navigatr firmware has to be one of the worst ever forced upon customers.  Rogers have fixed some of the more egregious errors, however, don't expect them to spend much more time and effort on it.  The fault doesn't lie with Rogers alone as it has to do with changes in ownership of the equipment manufacturers and firmware developers.

Rogers is currently putting all their TV efforts into their upcoming IPTV technology later this year (similar to Fibe), so don't expect any firmware updates to address this (resume) issue.  If Navigatr does get updated, I'll be pleasantly surprised. If you search this forum for "Navigatr" you'll find several long threads on this monstrosity.  At first it didn't even work properly and the problem list was much longer than it is now.  You can see the list of items that were fixed in the link I previously provided.

Of course, as always, each provider has advantages and disadvantages.

Let us know if pause on the 4642 works and if you don't hit pause on the PVR, does it still remember?  Thanks

[Kellybhoy]

Well, I spent all morning experimenting with recorded Olympic broadcasts, and here's what I found. The PVR (NextBox) allows me to resume using either pause or stop. In fact I don't even have to use pause or stop. I can switch to a different channel or even turn the TV off and it will resume where it left off. Using the 4246 box however is a totally different experience. For about an hour it worked perfectly, just like the PVR, then it started its usual nonsense, the resume button changing to "watch" before my eyes after about 4 seconds. Didn't matter whether I pressed pause or stop, or changed channels, or turned the tv off; same result, forcing me to watch the recording from the beginning.

[Kellybhoy]

Sorry, I keep mis-typing the number of the box I am complaining about . It is Explorer 4642HD.

[57]

What's the model number of the PVR?  8642 or 9865 or CAV10455?  You do realize that you can edit your posts?  (gear at the top right of the post)

[Kellybhoy]

The PVR is 9865HD.

[57]

Yeah, I also did quite a bit of experimenting with my two 9865s.  For me it works once after a reboot and then never again until the next reboot, at which time it will work once.  You should be pleased that your 9865 does remember. Mine do not. Initially one of them did, but it doesn't any more.  Perhaps it's because it now has more recordings on it, or it's longer since a reboot, whatever.

Since this problem arose, I have been using pause and do that all the time now - I have no more time to waste on the issue.  Too bad that doesn't work for your 4642 and WHPVR...  Remember when testing that you do have to have been watching for at least two minutes...

[57]

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@Kellybhoy wrote:

Using the 4642 box however is a totally different experience. For about an hour it worked perfectly, just like the PVR, then it started its usual nonsense, the resume button changing to "watch" before my eyes after about 4 seconds. 

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I would send a note to "Share a concern" regarding the issue.  Isn't one of the purposes of having WHPVR to be able to watch part of a programme in one room and watch the end in another?  If it doesn't work for the Rogers CSR, then at least you have corroboration of the problem.

https://www.rogers.com/consumer/contactus/share-a-concern

[Kellybhoy]

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@57 wrote:

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@Kellybhoy wrote:

Using the 4642 box however is a totally different experience. For about an hour it worked perfectly, just like the PVR, then it started its usual nonsense, the resume button changing to "watch" before my eyes after about 4 seconds. 

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I would send a note to "Share a concern" regarding the issue.  Isn't one of the purposes of having WHPVR to be able to watch part of a programme in one room and watch the end in another?  If it doesn't work for the Rogers CSR, then at least you have corroboration of the problem.

https://www.rogers.com/consumer/contactus/share-a-concern

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I agree, and thanks for the suggestion. I will do that.

[Kellybhoy]

Well, I took your advice and sent a message to "Share a concern" to explain the problem I was having with the resume/watch function. Someone (I think his name is Dave) from Rogers called me 2 days later and arranged for a technician to come to check out the boxes. The technician went into the electric panel and did something and suddenly everything worked as it's supposed to. I asked him what he did and he said he had "exchanged the filter". No idea what that means but both boxes have been working perfectly ever since. I can resume an interrupted recording after using the pause or stop buttons, or even after turning the tv off. So the 4642HD box is now functioning just like the NextBox PVR has always done. It's not often Rogers gets compliments on here, and I know they have only done what they are supposed to do, but I have to acknowledge their quick and efficient response to my message on this occasion. And thank you for your suggestion to contact them in this way,