HDHomeRun UI (20250314) feedback

[Cabal]

Clearly someone has put a lot of work into this, so I don't want to immediately dive into a negative response simply because it's different. However, I will offer a couple things that immediately jumped out at me.

1.) No channel numbers anywhere! If I'm coming from the Discover tab, I can't tell which of the 'Now Playing' baseball games is on the good ATSC 1.0 Fox, and which is on the busted ATSC 3.0 Fox. If I'm coming from the Tasks tab and looking at one of my series recordings, I can't tell which episodes of This Old House are 1080i on channel 18.1 and which are 480i on channel 18.2.

2.) In the Recordings tab, when clicking a recording that is a one-off and not part of a series recording, such as Seinfeld's The Strike ( ), it's showing me a lot of other episodes that will never be recorded or are relevant to my one-off recording. Yes, they exist because they're part of the show, but it makes it confusing.

I do like being able to edit an existing series recording, did that exist before? I was never able to find it, if so.

Thanks.

[nickk]

1.) No channel numbers anywhere! If I'm coming from the Discover tab, I can't tell which of the 'Now Playing' baseball games is on the good ATSC 1.0 Fox, and which is on the busted ATSC 3.0 Fox. If I'm coming from the Tasks tab and looking at one of my series recordings, I can't tell which episodes of This Old House are 1080i on channel 18.1 and which are 480i on channel 18.2.

It will play the highest priority channel, same priority as choosing which channel to record.
You can specify favorite channels (or disable broken channels) in the Settings menu Channels screen.
If you don't specify anything it will pick 1080i 8.1 over 480i 8.2 because 1080i is better.

I do like being able to edit an existing series recording, did that exist before? I was never able to find it, if so.

This is a new feature.

[Cabal]

1.) No channel numbers anywhere! If I'm coming from the Discover tab, I can't tell which of the 'Now Playing' baseball games is on the good ATSC 1.0 Fox, and which is on the busted ATSC 3.0 Fox. If I'm coming from the Tasks tab and looking at one of my series recordings, I can't tell which episodes of This Old House are 1080i on channel 18.1 and which are 480i on channel 18.2.

It will play the highest priority channel, same priority as choosing which channel to record.
You can specify favorite channels (or disable broken channels) in the Settings menu Channels screen.
If you don't specify anything it will pick 1080i 8.1 over 480i 8.2 because 1080i is better.

When setting up a recording for a show, I choose the channel manually, because I know which one I prefer. When playing something from the Discover tab, I have lost the ability to do that. In the case of PBS 18.1 and 18.2, these are different shows being played at different times, not the same show being aired in different formats at the same time.

If the inference here is that the user shouldn't need to know what source they're choosing, please reconsider. I don't think that's universally the case. As an extreme example, I have access to 3 different CWs - one in-market ATSC 1.0, one in-market ATSC 3.0, and one out-of-market. Believe it or not, I actually use them for different things at different times.

[emg60060]

As a HDHR3-CC user, I agree with Cabal on the lack of channel numbers. When browsing a sporting event, such as College Basketball, I want to know if an upcoming game I may interested in is on an encrypted channel or not. If not the number, can the lock image be "unlocked" for non-DRM channels?

[emg60060]

Another item is that I don't find it intuitive to delete a recording by having to use the right arrow key to expose the menu to delete a recording. An ellipsis would be helpful.

[Señor Bob]

I just took a look at 20250315 and this is not an improvement, to me. I often need to sort things by season and episode number, easy with the current version (20250211f), but not straightforward with 20250315. Please--leave the current user interface as it is.

If you want to offer this other interface, make it an opt-in option. But if you force this, it will make the user interface for discovering/programming things much less useful. This is not something I want.

[nickk]

I just took a look at 20250315 and this is not an improvement, to me. I often need to sort things by season and episode number, easy with the current version (20250211f), but not straightforward with 20250315.

The new UI sorts by Season/Episode.

The old UI required user action to sort by Season/Episode.

I am not following your concern regarding the new UI.

[Señor Bob]

The new UI sorts by Season/Episode.

The old UI required user action to sort by Season/Episode.

Yes, exactly. The old UI presents all the coming episodes on one screen. It is initially presented sorted by airdate, where all the coming episodes can be seen, along with what channels they will be on. One tap, and I can change the sort to be by season/episode in ascending order--all on the same screen. Tap it again, and I can make those episodes show up in reverse order--all on the same screen. Tap again, and I can see them sorted by episode title--all on the same screen. Seeing the channels is important to me as well, as I make a number of manual recordings. Sometimes a particular show will be broadcast by more than one station. Sometimes one of those stations is broadcast in HD (720p typically) while the other is broadcast in SD. I want to continue to have the option to specifically select which station to record from.

As mentioned, I make a number of manual recordings. Sometimes broadcasters don't always broadcast every episode of a series. Sometimes they hold back the first episode. A number of them don't broadcast the holiday themed episodes, except during the holidays. So I'm often looking for a specific episode, sometimes by episode number, sometimes by title. All of this is straight forward to look for, with the current user interface.

I am not following your concern regarding the new UI.

Consider this a different way. Presumably time and effort have been put into making this new interface. But also consider time and effort has been put into figuring out how to use the current interface by your users. As evidenced by other posts, expressing a similar sentiment about wanting to continue to use the current interface, forcing this new interface on users that don't want it, would be a disservice.

There is clearly the capability to provide both old and new interfaces, as evidenced by the current ability to switch back and forth between 20250211f and 20250315 through the Settings->Early access to features configuration option/toggle. So do both. Perhaps create an option under settings and call it Interface and then let users toggle between say Classic (20250211f) and Modern (20250315). Users that like the new interface will use it, and users that like the classic interface will use it--everybody wins.

[nickk]

Seeing the channels is important to me as well, as I make a number of manual recordings. Sometimes a particular show will be broadcast by more than one station. Sometimes one of those stations is broadcast in HD (720p typically) while the other is broadcast in SD. I want to continue to have the option to specifically select which station to record from.

The HDHomeRun DVR will record the 720p version by default. If you want to record the SD version you can still make a Record This Airing recording although I am not sure why you would want to record the SD version when the 720p version is available.

As mentioned, I make a number of manual recordings. Sometimes broadcasters don't always broadcast every episode of a series. Sometimes they hold back the first episode. A number of them don't broadcast the holiday themed episodes, except during the holidays. So I'm often looking for a specific episode, sometimes by episode number, sometimes by title. All of this is straight forward to look for, with the current user interface.

Tell the HDHomeRun DVR to "Record This Series". It will record each episode exactly once regardless of the order they are broadcast.

[Señor Bob]

The HDHomeRun DVR will record the 720p version by default. If you want to record the SD version you can still make a Record This Airing recording although I am not sure why you would want to record the SD version when the 720p version is available.

Sometimes the SD broadcaster has better signal quality, than the HD broadcaster. Sometimes its a choice between an ATSC 1.0 vs ATSC 3.0 station. Regardless--it's my choice. As mentioned I want to maintain the ability to choose for myself which channel gets recorded. The current user interface provides this. Put a different way, I want the ability to choose for myself where and when my recordings are made. I can do that with the existing interface without a problem. I don't want all of this hidden away and made to act as a black box.

Tell the HDHomeRun DVR to "Record This Series". It will record each episode exactly once regardless of the order they are broadcast.

That option works for me in some cases, but doesn't work for me in others. I need to select individual episodes to record. I can do that easily with the current interface.

The current interface works for me and I can do everything I want to do with it. Forcing the new interface on me, is a disservice.

As mentioned in my previous post, give the users the ability to use both interfaces.

[nickk]

Sometimes the SD broadcaster has better signal quality, than the HD broadcaster. Sometimes its a choice between an ATSC 1.0 vs ATSC 3.0 station. Regardless--it's my choice. As mentioned I want to maintain the ability to choose for myself which channel gets recorded. The current user interface provides this. Put a different way, I want the ability to choose for myself where and when my recordings are made. I can do that with the existing interface without a problem. I don't want all of this hidden away and made to act as a black box.

That option works for me in some cases, but doesn't work for me in others. I need to select individual episodes to record. I can do that easily with the current interface.

With the new interface you can specific specific channel-airings to record using Record This Airing, same as the old interface. The one difference is you can now multi-select airings/channels to record in one place under Record This Airing.

As mentioned in my previous post, give the users the ability to use both interfaces.

We cannot maintain multiple interfaces across all the platforms we support. We are paying close attention to feedback during this transition and will complete the transition for everyone this month.

[Señor Bob]

With the new interface you can specify specific channel-airings to record using Record This Airing, same as the old interface. The one difference is you can now multi-select airings/channels to record in one place under Record This Airing.

I'm seeing this ability now. Being able to multi-select is a nice feature.

But you have not addressed my other points, with regard to being able to see all the episodes on one screen and sort them in a different ways. Granted, you would not be able to see all the episodes together with the new interface, and instead have to switch around between season views. However, there does not appear to be any way to sort the episodes within a season view by episode number, airdate or title.

We cannot maintain multiple interfaces across all the platforms we support. We are paying close attention to feedback during this transition and will complete the transition for everyone this month.

Clearly you're providing both interfaces right now so this is not a technical limitation. Yes, maintenance would be a different matter. So if you're going to force this interface on the users, then at least insure that the new interface provides all the same capabilities as the old one.

In particular, what I see missing:

• Ability to sort
  • By channel
  • By airdate
  • By title
  • By episode number
  • By seasons (all season are reverse sorted in this interface)

• The ability to exit the view of the series from any point on the page. Currently you must scroll all the way to the top of the screen to hit the X icon/button. On closer inspection I see I can exit from anywhere, it's just the X button is not visible.

[nickk]

The ability to exit the view of the series from any point on the page. Currently you must scroll all the way to the top of the screen to hit the X icon/button. On closer inspection I see I can exit from anywhere, it's just the X button is not visible.

What platform are you on?

The X button should always be visible for use with a mouse or touch.
For devices that use a remote control you use the back button on the remote (or ESC on the keyboard).

[Señor Bob]

What platform are you on?

The X button should always be visible for use with a mouse or touch.

This is on an iPad.

Here is the view at the top of the page, with the X icon.


When I scroll to the bottom of the page, there's no X icon.


So, what about the ability to sort, as mentioned in previous posts?

[nickk]

This is on an iPad.

Here is the view at the top of the page, with the X icon.

When I scroll to the bottom of the page, there's no X icon.

Problem reproduced. It will be fixed on Monday.

So, what about the ability to sort, as mentioned in previous posts?

We don't plan to offer sort options for the episode view. The goal is to be less like a spreadsheet and more like the streaming services people are used to.