›

I HATE the Comcast cable-box software "upgrade"

deejayohdeejayoh
edited November 2007 in Seattle Culture
rant
I came back from vacation and the b@st@rd thieves at comcast had "upgraded" my DVR software to this piece of crap that looks like an early version of compuserve, and runs about as fast. You can't even schedule shows for recording anymore without pushing about a thousand buttons.
/rant
Anyone else feeling the same way?

Comments

  • Ouch!Ouch!
    I agree with you 100%. Comcast's new software is NOT IMPROVED. We had a neighborhood outage of all Comcast services (TV, phone, Internet) that took Comcast techs a full week to solve. (Yes, it was very frustrating, but that's another issue). One of the visiting techs told us the reason for the software change was that the contract Comcast had with Microsoft was coming due and they didn't want to pay the money, so they decided to create their own software. He said that the employees had it installed on their cable boxes for about 8 months before it was introduced to the public, to try to get the bugs out. Obviously they didn't do the job, it's a horrible program that doesn't work half as well as the previous one. BTW, I threw out the condescending letter from the Comcast Head sympathizing with customers about the difficulties of learning their new technology. Blaming their customers because the program's a bomb is not good PR, IMHO.
  • rose-colored-coolaidrose-colored-coolaid
    I've never actually liked Comcast very much. Their entire promotional scheme where they tell people promotional prices with the goal that customers won't notice when their bill jumps has always rubbed me the wrong way. Isn't it great relying on monopolies to work for you?
  • perplexdperplexd
    I actually was one of the testbed customers when TCI first introduced cable broadband internet in West Seattle, before it was AT&T home, before comcast.

    My biggest problem with comcast has always been that they basically tried to make you install software you didn't need to drive you to their web portal and get the extra advertising dollars. Being a network admin, I always hated that because:

    a) their software screwed with my machine
    b) I actually found spyware/web tracker traces in it
    c) You don't need it at all, ever

    All this says to me: crappy company that is sales driven not good product that can stand on its own driven.

    Never used them for cable much though. I just use netflix to see what I want. I have kids now, so we find it is best ot to even have cable.
  • uwpuwp
    Has Verizon got FiOS in the area yet?
  • TheMightyQuinnTheMightyQuinn
    i just decided to customize the guide so it won't show channels I don't subscribe to. However I couldn't figure out how to do that!

    Anybody know?
  • Horror ArtistHorror Artist
    Not a big fan of Comcast, I wouldn't have cable at all except for the Internet package. I hope Clearwire continues to grow!
  • perplexdperplexd
    Clearwire won't grow until they decide to have a real service and support department. It's a great product but they need to get that part dialed in if they want to last.
  • EleuaEleua
    It really blows. There is absolutely no improvement in any of the features. Unfortunately, it's a monopoly out here.
  • aylesayles
    One of the things that I miss the most is the little jump backwards that the old system did. It corrected overshooting while fast forwarding.

    The new software is definitely a DOWNGRADE.
  • fasterfaster
    ayles wrote:
    One of the things that I miss the most is the little jump backwards that the old system did. It corrected overshooting while fast forwarding.

    The new software is definitely a DOWNGRADE.

    Time Warner's DVR software did this as well. As far as I can tell so far, TW's DVR was basically superior to Comcast's in every way. Even the HD was quieter.
  • fasterfaster
    Cool hack will let you add commercial skip (i.e. jump 30 sec) to the remote. Couple that with the "go back" arrow if you overshoot a bit and you can zip through a batch of commercials real quick.

    http://www.pdxtc.com/wpblog/archives/289
  • fasterfaster
    Don't know if anyone is reading this, but if you are (and you're the least bit technical) these links have some pretty cool information in them.

    http://www.dslreports.com/faq/dvr?text=1

    Lots of cool tips/hacks for the DVR. Even tells you how to grab stuff off the box and burn it to DVD.


    http://broadband.motorola.com/consumers ... ertainment

    Not quite as exciting, .pdf manuals for both the programming guide and the hardware itself.
  • deejayohdeejayoh
    faster wrote:
    Cool hack will let you add commercial skip (i.e. jump 30 sec) to the remote. Couple that with the "go back" arrow if you overshoot a bit and you can zip through a batch of commercials real quick.

    http://www.pdxtc.com/wpblog/archives/289

    this rocks. I programmed it to the + button on the PIP - since the PIP function doesnt work anyway (despite having 2 tuners in the box)

    I love that one. Comcast leaves it off the remote so they won't piss off advertisers. I feel like I'm getting back at them just a little. :twisted:
Sign In or Register to comment.