IGNITE TV vs CABLE/DIGITAL - IGNITE LOSES

[BorisYYZ]

Recently switched from Rogers cable/digital to Ignite, and I am very disappointed. So disappointed in fact, that I'll be switching back to cable, or even to Bell if Rogers played hard to get.
Here's why:
1. Guide - it covers the entire screen so you cannot watch the current program while searching - no option to change the Guide appearance
2. Guide - the font is ridiculously big, and there's no option to change it
3. Guide - channel line up makes no sense whatsoever, and while Rogers is not famous for this feature, the digital Guide allowed better visibility so the channel lineup, albeit nonsensical, was easier to navigate. Voice search is great but only if you know what you want to watch, which is not always the case
4. Picture quality - with the cable/digital you never experience picture quality drop except maybe if the cable is damaged or there's a big storm at source. Ignite relies on the quality of your wireless internet connection, and like any wireless internet connection, the quality of signal fluctuates. If there's any interference, if there are too many users, if your kid is playing a video game and his brother watching YT... In theory (and this is what Rogers will tell you) this should not affect you, but that's a blatant lie. It does affect the picture quality, oh yes it does. I can prove it. And as I write this, the movie on the TV screen went into the self initiated fast forward/pause/rewind mode for a few seconds. I'm alone in the room and no, the gremlins do not exist.
5. Power options - I like my TV to start on CP24. No option to chose power on channel with Ignite.
6. Connectivity with other devices - cable TV remotes controlled my Bose and Boston Acoustic soundbars, Sony and Hitachi TVs. Ignite remotes do not connect to any of these external devices so I still use the old cable remote and/or device remotes. Yes, these devices are not the latest models, I admit, but I don't think I should throw them in a dumpster or donate them and buy new ones just because Rogers cannot afford decent programmers?
7. Menus/Info/Apps - so you searched and you found the program you'd like to watch, a soccer game perhaps. Ignite will tell you all about the game, all the stats, tables, the colour of the goalies underwear, except HOW TO WATCH THE GAME, i.e. WHICH CHANNEL IS THE BLOODY GAME ON. This is a huge overkill, a grwat selling feature no doubt, but useless to the level of annoyance.
8. Channel subscriptions - be VERY careful with Rogers Sales offering the Ignite packages: when you start your TV you may find that some channels you used to have are gone, and you have to pay to get them back. I lost all HBO and TMN (now Crave) Channels and Rogers magnanimously offered them to me at 50% for the first 3 months.

There are some other smaller issues, but to round it up: I should have NEVER switched to Ignite, a HUGE MISTAKE! If you love watching TV, stick to the good old cable.

***Edited Labels***

[RogersAndy]

Hey @BorisYYZ,

Welcome to the Forums!

I'll admit as I first started reading this I was a little shocked ! But in all honesty I totally appreciate your perspective. It's important to know where we can improve and it's positions like the ones that you've provided that can help us do just that. So thank you, truly.

Regarding the picture quality concern that is certainly something we'd like to address with you. We'll be happy to review what options are available to you to improve your overall wireless experience. To do so, send us a private message @CommunityHelps and we'll have the ability to determine next steps. For more information on our Private Messaging system, please click here.

Also, regarding your final point, I'm sorry to hear that there was a mix up with your Crave+Movies+HBO Subscription! Definitely an oversight but I'm glad to hear that it's been addressed. Now that it's been added are you able to successfully access the content you were missing?

RogersAndy

[seadooxp30]

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@BorisYYZ wrote:

Recently switched from Rogers cable/digital to Ignite, and I am very disappointed. So disappointed in fact, that I'll be switching back to cable, or even to Bell if Rogers played hard to get.
Here's why:
1. Guide - it covers the entire screen so you cannot watch the current program while searching - no option to change the Guide appearance
2. Guide - the font is ridiculously big, and there's no option to change it
3. Guide - channel line up makes no sense whatsoever, and while Rogers is not famous for this feature, the digital Guide allowed better visibility so the channel lineup, albeit nonsensical, was easier to navigate. Voice search is great but only if you know what you want to watch, which is not always the case
4. Picture quality - with the cable/digital you never experience picture quality drop except maybe if the cable is damaged or there's a big storm at source. Ignite relies on the quality of your wireless internet connection, and like any wireless internet connection, the quality of signal fluctuates. If there's any interference, if there are too many users, if your kid is playing a video game and his brother watching YT... In theory (and this is what Rogers will tell you) this should not affect you, but that's a blatant lie. It does affect the picture quality, oh yes it does. I can prove it. And as I write this, the movie on the TV screen went into the self initiated fast forward/pause/rewind mode for a few seconds. I'm alone in the room and no, the gremlins do not exist.
5. Power options - I like my TV to start on CP24. No option to chose power on channel with Ignite.
6. Connectivity with other devices - cable TV remotes controlled my Bose and Boston Acoustic soundbars, Sony and Hitachi TVs. Ignite remotes do not connect to any of these external devices so I still use the old cable remote and/or device remotes. Yes, these devices are not the latest models, I admit, but I don't think I should throw them in a dumpster or donate them and buy new ones just because Rogers cannot afford decent programmers?
7. Menus/Info/Apps - so you searched and you found the program you'd like to watch, a soccer game perhaps. Ignite will tell you all about the game, all the stats, tables, the colour of the goalies underwear, except HOW TO WATCH THE GAME, i.e. WHICH CHANNEL IS THE BLOODY GAME ON. This is a huge overkill, a grwat selling feature no doubt, but useless to the level of annoyance.
8. Channel subscriptions - be VERY careful with Rogers Sales offering the Ignite packages: when you start your TV you may find that some channels you used to have are gone, and you have to pay to get them back. I lost all HBO and TMN (now Crave) Channels and Rogers magnanimously offered them to me at 50% for the first 3 months.

There are some other smaller issues, but to round it up: I should have NEVER switched to Ignite, a HUGE MISTAKE! If you love watching TV, stick to the good old cable.

***Edited Labels***

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Same here. I ended up switching to Ignite because of outdated cable boxes and reboots every time you click on onDeman channel and slow channel change in general. 

BUT what a mistake. I have micro disconnects every few days!

I agree with everything that you mentioned above.

I hope Rogers is looking at feedbacks here and start improving some of there features and issues otherwise I'll be moving away as well......

[Gdkitty]

1.  Yeah, that is one of the first thing I noticed.  Not necessarily a game  changer for everyone, but for some possibly yes.   I think thats why they have the mini guide.. but harder to see much more channels at one time, etc.

2.  This may be a personal preference.  One of the big complaints of the guide on the NB2 and 3 series boxes, was actually the font size.  It is much smaller than the previous SARA boxes, and many people (older, bad eyesight, etc?) that it was too small to read.

4.  Yes.  PQ is a lot more dependent on internet quality.
This is one thing, I dont think that the service should be installed WITHOUT the mesh network, etc PERIOD.  It should be mandatory, to get enough wifi throughout the house.  That being said, if the wifi and the internet is good enough, it shouldnt have an issue.   
We watch TV in the living room, where I also have my laptop gaming, my son on youtube, wife on phone games/facebook, and multiple other devices connected to it (not necessarily running anything).   So all of that through ONE wireless node (so a potential choke point), and do not suffer any quality issues with playback.
With the right setup.. should be fine.
The other 1/2 of this as well is the internet speed itself.   the min for this plan is the 150.  in theory, with all that running should be enough bandwidth.
I am running the 500.. so it has more than ample enough.

5.  There should be this option.  I know my wife has it set.  That it comes up to the weather network when turned on.
That being said, i think that it only comes up to it when the unit does fully 'power down' so to speak.  Generally if you turn it 'off', it doesnt turn off and stays on, just turns the TV off.  Only after the timeout period does it go off.


Not trying to switch you back or anything.  Just explaining my findings on these points.

No it not necessarily be for everyone.  But that could be said for any device or any service overall.
There are people who say they dont like, dont ever want DIGITAL cable and only ever wanted analog.
To each their own.

I think that anyone who is thinking of switching services (or providers) needs to go out and test it first.
Test it at someone else who has it, test it at the store (heck, even if you have to stay an hour at the store testing).

[BS]

A couple of comments on some of the differences.
 
Comcast X1 - which this model is based upon has a font size feature on the remote, so I guess it hasn't been pushed out to Rogers implementation - may come - keep asking for it, the feature can be set up obviously.
 
I can see that WIFI connectivity will always be a challenge by the very nature.  It can be improved and be more stable, but I would suspect that if you have your house wired with Cat 5e or 6 or better cabling that you will get more stability.
 
It is interesting in a way - years ago, Cable was pushed as the alternative to the challenges of poor service over the air, with no issues from weather, animals on our antennas, and here we are full circle relying on the stability of signal strength and interference.
 
The old boxes had issues with signal strength, but when it occurred it was mechanical due to switches or wiring in the system.
 
There are a couple of other things for me that wins hands down on the digital model (by the way, I haven't gone Ignite to try it, so I am relying on others).
 
I have movies stored on my box, some of which are over 3 years old now - sure the storage can fail and the design is such that we can't recover, but I haven't lost anything yet.  I can only keep things for a year on new platform.
 
The other thing is that for those channels on the start at beginning, I can't start over, but one feature we use a lot in our home is that mid stream of a show we are watching, we may decide we want to watch it again.  As long as you haven't changed channels, you can hit record and you have the whole show from where you started.
 
Of course there are pros and cons for either system, but for me, there is absolutely nothing that the new system offers me that I don't have on the existing digital and or would want. 
 
And the big kicker at the moment is that comparing my current packaging to the new system, and then add in the install costs, the requirement to rent boxes which I currently own, price for price it just is not worth it to me.
 
I am on fixed income, so pricing at the end of the day will always drive luxuries like TV watching.
 
Of course, I may not be able to keep the pricing I currently have and eventually, the existing digital may be gone, but if I have to pay more, I will just decide what I have to give up and in my situation, it won't be TV that will be staying in the budget.
 
So lots of comparisons can be made and for each individual their needs, their budget, and their preferences will drive the decision between price differences, features, product choice, and companies.  But for now, digital wins hands down for me.  But then again, I am older and have lived without TV for part of my life and been through all the changes, and still I plug a logitech pc speaker set with woofer into the back of the set top boxes and get great sound.  I guess I can't do that on the new boxes, so one more advantage to the old system for me anyway.
 
To each their own, but so glad that people are putting out these comparisons so I can make educated decisions when the time comes.
Bruce
 
 

[jays77]

"so pricing at the end of the day will always drive luxuries like TV watching."

@BSthat is an interesting post but strangely the sentence above is the one that intrigued me most.  Who would have thought that post 1950's TV would become a luxury, but it is quickly becoming just that for those of modest incomes.

It used to be that watching TV was the one form of entertainment available to most people regardless of income or stage of life.  Now more and more of my retired friends are having to start considering just how much television choice they can give up and still have the enjoyment and entertainment they have been come used to. 

I'm not yet ready to cut back from the package I now have, though I only watch a small fraction of channels available but they are spread out enough to ensure I stick with a package that includes dozens of channels I never watch. 

At present IGNITE is certainly not for everyone but may be an exciting choice for those who do want it.

[BS]

Thanks @jays77 for pointing out the irony in my statement.  I didn't even clue into the reality that I am now viewing my existing TV viewing as a luxury.

I think it is more that it is the extras that in reality I have always viewed as a luxury - I still remember as a young child not having TV because we were in Germany, then returning to Canada and having 3 channels from bunny ears.  Commander Tom show on Channel 7 when we were in Port Hope.

We went luxury about 5 years later - we moved from our consolular standup TV with the speaker below and got a large HIFI model with speakers on either side of the larger tube.  And we eve had a rotor on an antenna now.

Next we moved to GTA area and got cable free with our apartment (just part of the fees), and then was so thrilled when sears sold the cable tuner and could stop renting it from Rogers and then the TV's had the tuners in them.  Now that was luxury.

My first personal TV was 1 13" portable colour -- our first colour tv in the house and my mom got one for herself around that time too.  Again, luxury, clear channels, larger tube for my mom and splitting the cable to go to two rooms.  Yeh, I know we weren't supposed to do that in those days.

We still continued to have included cable with the apartment and when our daughter was born we got a VCR so we could go to sleep at our child's times, and still watch our shows.  And the VCR was the tuner - no tuner box anymore.

I got a free year with a decoder for some movie channel, but cancelled it once the special ended.

It was only 15 years ago that we had two tv's in our house as for the first time, we were in a house, not an apartment.  I have never been a bedroom tv watcher.  We were still on basic cable packages until VIP came along, and then we also added TMN HBO.  Now we were into real luxury - still on tube tv.

As prices increased, my income was too, but for the last 10 years I have been on disability income, and my wife lost her middle class professional job 3 years ago, and we have been able to lower the amount of TV features and channels and still afford, but not we are back to having to consider basic TV, full swing back to over the air, and over the top and live with less - that is kind of what I meant by luxury - I will always have some kind of TV in place, but the current Rogers/Bell, etc models are pricing me out of the "luxuries" and returning to the basics.

But yes, back in the 50's and onwards, all we needed was an antenna a local station, and a TV. For some that was too much of a luxury and eventually it became standard in all homes.  But fortunately, I am still in GTA, so if need, I can go back to unpredictable signals over the air and an antenna - I actually have one TV I have done it with for test purposes, but I know given the fact that the house next door blocks Toronto, I have to put the antenna on the roof.

For those who can have a broad range of choice, do enjoy whatever you choose, but like our cars of early days, an automatic transmission, a radio, power steering, etc, were luxuries in my family, TV can be viewed that way too.

Makes one think about needs versus wants.  fortunately, I have lived poor as an individual, within my own family and my parents family at various times in my life, so I know how to look at it this way.

Great point on the definition of "luxury".

Bruce

[OLDYELLR]

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@BS wrote:

Thanks @jays77 for pointing out the irony in my statement.  I didn't even clue into the reality that I am now viewing my existing TV viewing as a luxury.

I think it is more that it is the extras that in reality I have always viewed as a luxury - I still remember as a young child not having TV because we were in Germany, then returning to Canada and having 3 channels from bunny ears.  Commander Tom show on Channel 7 when we were in Port Hope.

We went luxury about 5 years later - we moved from our consolular standup TV with the speaker below and got a large HIFI model with speakers on either side of the larger tube.  And we eve had a rotor on an antenna now.

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Bruce, I'm older than you and grew up as a refugee in the U.K  in the 1950s. We never had a TV, but occasionally I'd watch at a friend's house. In Canada I remember a bunch of us gathering at a friend's house to watch Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show.  Our first TV was one I bought after I graduated university. Not wasting time watching TV was probably the reason I got decent marks in school. Living in rural Ontario I just got about 4 channels with rabbit ears, but later rented a tower and rotor for $5/month (this was the '70s) and got better reception. The cost was about on a par with what people paid for cable in town.  Fast forward to today, I'm paying close to $100/month for Rogers Cable. I guess I would consider that a luxury because that's what most people pay to have a cellphone, which I consider a luxury. My prepaid cellphone costs me maybe $4/month the way I use it. But then a lot of people spend $800 a month on booze or beer or a car and don't think of it as a luxury at all.

[BS]

@OLDYELLR  Thank you everyone for this short trip down memory lane and the history of TV and phones, and what are luxuries in our life.

It puts my situation in perspective and I know that I do have choices available to keep some luxuries (and at the end of the day, TV, and many other things remain luxuries as we adjust year by year to fixed income).  For those who have the money to spare, enjoy the new features as they come.  For now, I will enjoy the services I have, my phone will be down to your level soon as I am paying way more than I use now that I don't leave home very much, and as with all, when it comes time to look at the end of the current term, I will take it as it comes and decide what is luxury, wants, or true needs.

Thanks for the perspective all.

Bruce

[RedBerry11]

Hi I was recently quoted an incredible price of 180 with tax plus waived instalation fee. This was for 150 ignite Premeir hone phone. Canada wide long distance 6 calling features. The only part I do not like and will not make the switch because I noticed Premier with ignite has became 124 channels instead of 170 chanells and I saw some mention of being able to alternate channels every 30 days. Could some one explain this to me or us humble customers that are very happy with cable. The only way to get back the experience we had with regular cable is to upgrade. There are some great cloud perks though which steps ahead of Bell as usual. I would like to ask if remote setting of PVR is possible with Ignite? I also have noticed that the volume has been throttled back on the 3.0 and older Netboxes. Along with another noticeable lag on both boxes. 3.0 and older Netboxes.