UPC Horizon Launched

Tazzer · 20-08-2013 2:12pm

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Used to happen a lot on recordings, but think there was a fix as I haven't had it happen in a good while.
I found if you just stop and start from beginning (do not resume) it would be ok.

timmer3 · 20-08-2013 2:19pm

i currently have an Apple TV2 box, with XMBC to watch stuff from the NAS. watch movies from iTunes and don't have a netflix account. i hate the old UPC box and never really use it anymore. what with random channel switching to the "info" channel, and a wojus user interface... I tried UPC on-demand but thought it was a bit crap, the RTE player only gives you a small selection of what's available, so as good as useless in my book. it also makes a loud fan noise when switched on, and even when on standby it is noticable in the room.

could anyone say if there are major feature gaps if i ditch the ATV2 box and go with Horizon? i download most tv series etc, rent the odd movie online, and watch the odd bit of "live" telly. i gather the Horizon box can load videos from NAS, can it play music from a network music library? i assume since it can pick up HD telly channels it can also play HD video over the network? (the ATV2 box scales everything down to 720p which is a bit annoying)

last question... with the horizon box in standby, does it make any noise? thanks!!

who_me · 20-08-2013 3:32pm

I'd keep the AppleTV (for Home Sharing if you use that, and Airplay). Most current NAS devices should feature a DLNA server, and the Horizon box has a DLNA client so they should work together for movies or music, even if the interface is a bit... meh. I don't know if the Horizon scales the content it streams over DLNA, but I'd guess it wouldn't.

The Horizon box is very noisy when initially switched on, but then is almost completely silent at all other times - in my experience.

timmer3 · 20-08-2013 4:38pm

found an interesting answer to my own question from another forum. i'm going to hold out for a few months and see if anything improves. i never record 4 things at the same time anyway

if it could play blu-ray discs then that would be something, a truly all-in-one home media set-up.

quarryman · 20-08-2013 4:49pm

timmer3 wrote: »

found an interesting answer to my own question from another forum. i'm going to hold out for a few months and see if anything improves. i never record 4 things at the same time anyway
if it could play blu-ray discs then that would be something, a truly all-in-one home media set-up.

That post is from 5 months ago though. Have things not improved since then? I would have thought the TV UI would have improved a bit?

Mearings · 20-08-2013 5:30pm

timmer3 wrote: »

found an interesting answer to my own question from another forum. i'm going to hold out for a few months and see if anything improves. i never record 4 things at the same time anyway
if it could play blu-ray discs then that would be something, a truly all-in-one home media set-up.

Your quote from another forum is dated 1.4.13, I would expect many of the Horizon box faults are now fixed.

Apologies to quarryman for missing his similar earlier post.

timmer3 · 20-08-2013 6:06pm

@quarryman @Mearings, thanks for pointing this out, hadn't spotted that.
i think i'll have to see it in action before going ahead. to be honest i'm happy enough with my current media set up because i so rarely switch on the UPC box. it's ultra-low-power, silent, and easy for the rest of the family to use. i might let horizon bed in for a few months anyway, i'd expect a software update after the first few months of the system being out 'in the wild'. appreciate the replies.

Mearings · 20-08-2013 6:52pm

timmer3 wrote: »

@quarryman @Mearings, thanks for pointing this out, hadn't spotted that.
i think i'll have to see it in action before going ahead. to be honest i'm happy enough with my current media set up because i so rarely switch on the UPC box. it's ultra-low-power, silent, and easy for the rest of the family to use. i might let horizon bed in for a few months anyway, i'd expect a software update after the first few months of the system being out 'in the wild'. appreciate the replies.

If I thought that the Horizon box was better than the Cisco HD box particularly in regards to EPG (slow & no sound) + series recording (not to be trusted) + unable to record radio programs, I would order it, despite €45 'loyalty charge'.

who_me · 20-08-2013 7:06pm

Mearings wrote: »

If I thought that the Horizon box was better than the Cisco HD box particularly in regards to EPG (slow & no sound) + series recording (not to be trusted) + unable to record radio programs, I would order it, despite €45 'loyalty charge'.

I don't follow what you mean about the EPG - the Horizon EPG is much quicker and smoother than the Cisco's (even though the continuous scrolling is still too slow), and you can preview channels before switching. And both the Cisco & Horizon EPGs play the video & sound in the background, is that not working for you?

who_me · 20-08-2013 7:14pm

Weird issue last night - the Horizon's wifi network was incredibly weak (Wifi Explorer listed the signal at 7%) and I couldn't connect even though I was less than 2m away. Tried restarting both the Mac and the Horizon box, and the network would briefly appear with a strong signal, before plunging back down to 7%.

So, I tried plugging in a cable and.. no luck. I couldn't even ping the Horizon box when the Mac was plugged directly into it. However, both my iPhone and another Mac plugged in via Homeplugs worked ok. I assumed my Mac was hosed, but when I brought it into the office today it connected to the network instantly. I don't know if the issue is the Mac or Horizon, but they (suddenly!) don't play nice together.

Mearings · 20-08-2013 7:27pm

who_me wrote: »

I don't follow what you mean about the EPG - the Horizon EPG is much quicker and smoother than the Cisco's (even though the continuous scrolling is still too slow), and you can preview channels before switching. And both the Cisco & Horizon EPGs play the video & sound in the background, is that not working for you?

I am using a UPC/Cisco tv box. I find that when I press Guide I lose sound & vision of the program I'm watching for about 10 seconds.
I'm glad you say Horizon box is better in this respect. I'm edging towards change.
A question: At present I pay €5 pcm for hd programs, do I continue to pay this with Horizon?

Mimikyu · 20-08-2013 8:50pm

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jamesnp · 20-08-2013 9:32pm

Nice set up, just got it today. Very happy with it so far.

Any word on a web interface?

-jp

coldfire1x · 20-08-2013 10:08pm

On the back of the remote (with keyboard) there are coloured buttons. I am thinking if its anyway possible to program these button to behave like old remote coloured buttons.

I am really missing the one click delete recording like it was possible with the blue colour button on the old remote. It was quite handy to delete few recording with just one click.

Also it seems like this box does not have its own volume, I mean it has fixed volume. Not entirely sure about it. I programmed the tv keys too quickly. So volume keys were controlling the tv volume. Today I did a reset of the remote. After that the volume button does nothing.

Anyone who are yet to program their remote for tv, can you please try your volume button? Does it work?

Meesared · 20-08-2013 10:19pm

coldfire1x wrote: »

On the back of the remote (with keyboard) there are coloured buttons. I am thinking if its anyway possible to program these button to behave like old remote coloured buttons.

I am really missing the one click delete recording like it was possible with the blue colour button on the old remote. It was quite handy to delete few recording with just one click.

Also it seems like this box does not have its own volume, I mean it has fixed volume. Not entirely sure about it. I programmed the tv keys too quickly. So volume keys were controlling the tv volume. Today I did a reset of the remote. After that the volume button does nothing.

Anyone who are yet to program their remote for tv, can you please try your volume button? Does it work?

Yeah the Volume is only meant to work for the TV, and its not possible to reprogram the colour keys on the back.

paulboland · 21-08-2013 12:53am

Captain Morgan wrote: »

No HD is included as standard with the Horizon packages.

Does anyone know if UPC will enable 5GHz on the boxes? Have they mentioned it at all?

I asked that question a few months ago
5 Ghz won't be enabled for now
It's not used by upc in Ireland

Mimikyu · 21-08-2013 1:07am

This post has been deleted.

PGL · 21-08-2013 10:40am

jamesnp wrote: »

Any word on a web interface?

-jp

When I initially spoke to the loyalty dept about Horizon TV box they told me you could brouse any website. Was very disappointed to discover this is not the case, when my box was eventually up and running yesterday.

Does anyone know if / when a web browser app will be available on the Horizon TV box?

cheers!

jameshayes · 21-08-2013 11:31am

Probably been asked before but....

Does the new horizon box have an integrated modem in it? or do we still use our old modem? I have my home phone near my modem, not near the TV, in this set up, will I have to connect the phone to the horizon box?

quarryman · 21-08-2013 11:54am

jameshayes wrote: »

Probably been asked before but....

Does the new horizon box have an integrated modem in it? or do we still use our old modem? I have my home phone near my modem, not near the TV, in this set up, will I have to connect the phone to the horizon box?

Just one box, modem is internal:

who_me · 21-08-2013 11:55am

Mearings wrote: »

I am using a UPC/Cisco tv box. I find that when I press Guide I lose sound & vision of the program I'm watching for about 10 seconds.
I'm glad you say Horizon box is better in this respect. I'm edging towards change.
A question: At present I pay €5 pcm for hd programs, do I continue to pay this with Horizon?

Ah, sorry.

Yes, the Guide comes up in about 1-2 seconds, without any pause in the sound as the Cisco had. Much nicer than the Cisco's EPG.

The only drawback is the 'continuous scroll' (i.e. holding up/down to keep scrolling), it's about as bad as the Cisco. Hold the button, and nothing happens for 2 seconds, then it starts scrolling... when you release it keeps scrolling for 2 seconds so you zoom past the channel you were looking for. Typing in a channel number to jump to that point in the EPG, and then tapping to move up/down a few channels works better.

who_me · 21-08-2013 12:01pm

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Very disappointed, given how cluttered the 2.4GHz band is now. I can pick up about 15 Wifi networks from my apartment, there aren't really any gaps in the 2.4GHz channels left. Then i check 5GHz and there's a huge swathe of unused spectrum there.

Mimikyu · 21-08-2013 12:30pm

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Meesared · 21-08-2013 1:12pm

PGL wrote: »

When I initially spoke to the loyalty dept about Horizon TV box they told me you could brouse any website. Was very disappointed to discover this is not the case, when my box was eventually up and running yesterday.

Does anyone know if / when a web browser app will be available on the Horizon TV box?

cheers!

Cant see it happening, would take too much programming to make one work, then you have the limited controls too

PGL · 21-08-2013 1:38pm

Meesared wrote: »

Cant see it happening, would take too much programming to make one work, then you have the limited controls too

in my ignorance I am v surprised to hear that in this day and age, web browsing is impossible on this piece of kit.....:(

ciaran75 · 21-08-2013 2:34pm

does anyone know why we don't have SKY 1 HD on channel 114, LIVING HD on channel 124 and other HD channels not substituted in like we have now for RTE 2 HD (102) and BBC 1 HD (109)

On horizon everyone has HD as standard so there should be no need for the HD channels to be at 140 onwards on the EPG, ie. should only have a single SKY 1 channel not two, one in SD and one in HD

jamesnp · 21-08-2013 2:38pm

ciaran75 wrote: »

does anyone know why we don't have SKY 1 HD on channel 114, LIVING HD on channel 124 and other HD channels not substituted in like we have now for RTE 2 HD (102) and BBC 1 HD (109)

On horizon everyone has HD as standard so there should be no need for the HD channels to be at 140 onwards on the EPG, ie. should only have a single SKY 1 channel not two, one in SD and one in HD

I think it's because those channels actually broadcast different programmes in the HD and SD versions. RTÉ Two HD, TG4 HD, BBC One HD all the same regardless of HD version or not.

-jp

Loughc · 21-08-2013 2:38pm

Can anyone tell me is the remote control for Horizon any better than the current one for the digi box. The current digi box is horrific.

Meesared · 21-08-2013 2:53pm

Loughc wrote: »

Can anyone tell me is the remote control for Horizon any better than the current one for the digi box. The current digi box is horrific.

In what way are you looking for it to be better?

Meesared · 21-08-2013 2:54pm

PGL wrote: »

in my ignorance I am v surprised to hear that in this day and age, web browsing is impossible on this piece of kit.....:(

Not impossible, just impractical, in usability and development terms

padzer · 21-08-2013 3:53pm

Can anyone tell me if i get a horizon box, how much is it for an additional multiroom horizon box?

Cant find it on their website for some reason.

Thanks.

sweetie · 21-08-2013 4:22pm

they are only giving one horizon box per household

srteve · 21-08-2013 4:55pm

Can anyone share whether or not they can change (and how they did it) the DNS settings on the Horizon Box?

Mimikyu · 21-08-2013 5:18pm

This post has been deleted.

who_me · 21-08-2013 6:19pm

Hey, have people who were on the Horizon trial change their bundles? If so, how did the 'post-trial' bundle compare with the trial bundle?

I received an email saying they'd be in touch, and have some unanswered calls on the phone (never use it, it's usually disconnected, so it could only be from UPC). Not sure whether to follow up on it or not!

VictorRomeo · 21-08-2013 8:17pm

Loughc wrote: »

Can anyone tell me is the remote control for Horizon any better than the current one for the digi box. The current digi box is horrific.

My biggest struggle with the remote is that it's RF (for the Horizon) and not IR. This means that I cannot programme my universal remote and place the stock remote in a drawer along with my vast collection remotes.

Personally I think it's too fussy for a 'new gen' device like this.

The remote could be my dealbreaker.

who_me · 21-08-2013 8:22pm

VictorRomeo wrote: »

My biggest struggle with the remote is that it's RF (for the Horizon) and not IR. This means that I cannot programme my universal remote and place the stock remote in a drawer along with my vast collection remotes.

Personally I think it's too fussy for a 'new gen' device like this.

The remote could be my dealbreaker.

Well, the box supports some functions via IR, you can certainly turn the box on, change channels, browse the menus etc. using an IR remote. I have the a Harmony 1100 and it's what I use almost exclusively now. It's not bad, but it's a pity they couldn't add support for just a few additional buttons (Info, Live TV etc.)

I wonder if the scrolling problems in the EPG are related to the remote?

The qwerty keyboard on the reverse is handy though for searches.

qvsr46ofgc792k · 21-08-2013 9:56pm

Loughc wrote: »

Can anyone tell me is the remote control for Horizon any better than the current one for the digi box. The current digi box is horrific.

I take it you are looking for a less "techy" answer then what was given. I assume, like me, you hated the cheapness, look, feel and slowness of the UPC remote?

Well I love the new horizon remote, at first I was like WTF, state of this thing. But using it it soon became obvious the major benefit, it so easy to use, even in the dark, no fumbling around trying to remember buttons. Simple.

Its fast to react, no lag. There's no stretching around bending your arm around furniture trying to connect with the box. Im a big Sky Remote fan and this tops it.

The_Valeyard · 21-08-2013 10:51pm

Lola Scrawny College wrote: »

I take it you are looking for a less "techy" answer then what was given. I assume, like me, you hated the cheapness, look, feel and slowness of the UPC remote?

Well I love the new horizon remote, at first I was like WTF, state of this thing. But using it it soon became obvious the major benefit, it so easy to use, even in the dark, no fumbling around trying to remember buttons. Simple.

Its fast to react, no lag. There's no stretching around bending your arm around furniture trying to connect with the box. Im a big Sky Remote fan and this tops it.

Are you using the same remote as me??

Blazer · 22-08-2013 8:14am

Anyone have another modem bridged upto this?
I currently have the standard upc modem with another router bridged to it and my NAS connected to it.
With the standard modem I was able to allow port forwarding etc to allow me to connect to my NAS outside...does the horizon box allow this?

Zascar · 22-08-2013 1:48pm

Guys how big is the box it comes in? Will it fit in a backpack? I'm getting it delivered to work but I'm on a motorbike. Is it huge? Thanks

quarryman · 22-08-2013 2:02pm

It's pretty big. Fitting it in a backpack would be pushing it.

VictorRomeo · 22-08-2013 2:17pm

who_me wrote: »

Well, the box supports some functions via IR, you can certainly turn the box on, change channels, browse the menus etc. using an IR remote. I have the a Harmony 1100 and it's what I use almost exclusively now. It's not bad, but it's a pity they couldn't add support for just a few additional buttons (Info, Live TV etc.)

I wonder if the scrolling problems in the EPG are related to the remote?

The qwerty keyboard on the reverse is handy though for searches.

Mine is not a Harmony. I can't even 'learn' from it. It also does not have a code to add my AV receiver to it instead of the TV. I'd be happy I suppose if I could use it to control volume, on/off and source select.

Has anyone been able to configure their remote to work with an amp/receiver/home cinema kit?

rommy · 22-08-2013 4:33pm

I ordered this today im on the thompson 150m and its a flyer hardwired but the wireless range is crap on it i hope i made the right choice getting this box reading through here makes me think ive made the wrong choice..........

M.J.M.C · 22-08-2013 4:41pm

rommy wrote: »

I ordered this today im on the thompson 150m and its a flyer hardwired but the wireless range is crap on it i hope i made the right choice getting this box reading through here makes me think ive made the wrong choice..........

Don't worry, I was on the 150 same as yourself and was worried about the wireless.
It has been flawlesss since I got it a week ago, in fact wireless signal is better upstairs. Mind you my house the walls aren't solid concrete but its been great so far,zero issues.

who_me · 22-08-2013 5:21pm

Zascar wrote: »

Guys how big is the box it comes in? Will it fit in a backpack? I'm getting it delivered to work but I'm on a motorbike. Is it huge? Thanks

About 4 pizza boxes stacked on top of each other</highly unscientific>

who_me · 22-08-2013 5:23pm

Well, fixed my Wifi issues by doing a factory reset on the Horizon box. My Mac suddenly stopped picking up the Wifi network, if I turned Wifi off and on again it would see the network for a second before it disappeared again. It could see other networks ok, and other devices could connect to the Horizon, but the Mac & Horizon wouldn't work together even after restarting both.

who_me · 22-08-2013 5:28pm

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Worth mentioning - the Horizon router seems to have the 'good neighbour' functionality built in.

I.e. if you have the 20/40MHz channels turned on (for the additional speed) in the 2.4GHz band, there's a greater likelihood of interference. If the Horizon box detects interference, it'll disable the 40MHz mode to prevent it. You may be able to get around this by trying different channels, but in my case it worked one day and not the next.

VictorRomeo · 22-08-2013 5:31pm

Wireless signal on mine seems slightly better range than on my Cisco.

Zascar · 22-08-2013 9:01pm

I ordered mine today, delivery tomorrow. I just got a text from DPD saying I need to give back my existing box. Is this correct? What if I don't have it? I don't have the original box etc, can I just chuck it in a bag? What did u guys do?

UPC Horizon Launched

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