UPC Horizon Launched

ciaran75 · 14-08-2013 11:33am

was trying to view videos stored on my Synology NAS drive last night, when i went into Devices it was not listed. It has a direct network cable into the Horizon box.

Is there anything i need to do get it to be picked up?

Has the 1000 file limit been fixed yet?

Cheers,

sweetie · 14-08-2013 11:51am

are the packages set in stone. My current spend is 73 for phone, hd max and 50mb broadband. I dont want to lose any channels but 150mb (horizon complete) is dearer way too much speed?

who_me · 14-08-2013 12:02pm

grimm2005 wrote: »

Well everyone has their own experiences with the box but personally I don't think it's that harsh tbh. While missed recordings are much less of an issue then they used to be, that's pretty much the only major improvement imo. It's still quite laggy in places but the biggest minus that makes it imo worse then the previous box is the UI as a whole. Too many 3D menu type transitions and button presses for what should be simple things. Big thumbnails and text instead of having an interface where you can quickly browse through channels and see whats on later without disrupting your viewing.

The guide is also hopelessly broken. No way of quickly seeing whats on days in advance and scrolling is completely broken. Also On Demand is a nightmare to use as they don't list content, just give big thumbnails which is no use if you quickly want to find a certain programme (something which the search feature should alleviate but it doesn't).

There's more but this is quickly turning into a bit of a rant lol so I'll stop there. I really wanted to like this box and had very high hopes it'd be a saving grace for UPC as their broadband is second to none and all they needed was a TV service to match but for now it seems Sky+UPC seems to be the only way to go to get the best of both worlds. There's some great potential for it but the software and interface just isn't up to scratch but I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt as I was in a trial but now that it's now public I have doubts there's going to be any great update to overhaul the interface.

I think it's a bit much to say scrolling in the guide is completely broken - that means you can't scroll, period.

It's actually a lot better than the old Cisco box in that regard (or at least, it's a lot better than mine was!). The Cisco EPG took 5-10 seconds to appear killing the picture and sound as it did so. And there was a 2-3 second delay when moving between channels in the Guide, and maybe more when switching pages. The Horizon box is much better than that.

The ability to preview in the Guide is very handy (so you can see at what point a film/programme is at before switching) Continuous scrolling IS problematic - in that it's too sluggish starting & stopping - but it's nice being able to key in a channel number to jump to that point in the Guide. I don't think the scrolling lag/latency is due to the preview, since the channel list has the same sluggish behaviour.

The Horizon box certainly still has it's problems, but I think you'd need some rose-tinted googles on to think the Cisco one was a lot better.

grimm2005 · 14-08-2013 12:46pm

who_me wrote: »

I think it's a bit much to say scrolling in the guide is completely broken - that means you can't scroll, period.

It's actually a lot better than the old Cisco box in that regard (or at least, it's a lot better than mine was!). The Cisco EPG took 5-10 seconds to appear killing the picture and sound as it did so. And there was a 2-3 second delay when moving between channels in the Guide, and maybe more when switching pages. The Horizon box is much better than that.

The ability to preview in the Guide is very handy (so you can see at what point a film/programme is at before switching) Continuous scrolling IS problematic - in that it's too sluggish starting & stopping - but it's nice being able to key in a channel number to jump to that point in the Guide. I don't think the scrolling lag/latency is due to the preview, since the channel list has the same sluggish behaviour.

The Horizon box certainly still has it's problems, but I think you'd need some rose-tinted googles on to think the Cisco one was a lot better.

Well the feature is there but it's pretty unusable unless you don't mind it stopping miles after where you wanted it to stop. When I want to get to a channel I just go one by one rather then scroll otherwise you'll just spend more time getting back to the channel you wanted but it passed. Also when pressing the up/down buttons to browse the guide, the response on the box is pretty laggy. I'm not sure if this is to do with the remote using wifi as opposed to an IR sensor to connect with the box or a software issue that's fixable.

The guide does load up faster alright but when you're in there, it's a slog to use. I'd happily take away the PIP previews for a zippier interface.

We still have an older box in another room, not sure if it's the Cisco one (small black "mediabox") but while it still isn't a pleasure to use by any means, it's much less of a trek compared to the Horizon box.

I think the major problem with the horizon box is they're trying to do way too much with apps, home network streaming etc. They should really focus on having a clean, easy to use, responsive UI before looking into all of that. I think most customers want something that works well, is easy to use and isn't buggy. They're trying to outdo Sky with features when they should be focusing on usability first.

smellmepower · 14-08-2013 2:15pm

Was offered one of these when I rang up to get the BT Sports channels today,was slightly interested but the general consensus here seems to be that it's not worth the extra money.

Why can't UPC ever produce a decent user friendly stb?

who_me · 14-08-2013 2:27pm

grimm2005 wrote: »

Well the feature is there but it's pretty unusable unless you don't mind it stopping miles after where you wanted it to stop. When I want to get to a channel I just go one by one rather then scroll otherwise you'll just spend more time getting back to the channel you wanted but it passed. Also when pressing the up/down buttons to browse the guide, the response on the box is pretty laggy. I'm not sure if this is to do with the remote using wifi as opposed to an IR sensor to connect with the box or a software issue that's fixable.

The guide does load up faster alright but when you're in there, it's a slog to use. I'd happily take away the PIP previews for a zippier interface.

We still have an older box in another room, not sure if it's the Cisco one (small black "mediabox") but while it still isn't a pleasure to use by any means, it's much less of a trek compared to the Horizon box.

I think the major problem with the horizon box is they're trying to do way too much with apps, home network streaming etc. They should really focus on having a clean, easy to use, responsive UI before looking into all of that. I think most customers want something that works well, is easy to use and isn't buggy. They're trying to outdo Sky with features when they should be focusing on usability first.

Oh, I agree the 'hold button' scrolling is bad, don't get me wrong. But do you remember how sluggish the Cisco box EPG was?* The Horizon box as it is is still far, far better.

I don't think the PIP is the reason for the sluggishness, as the channel list (which doesn't have PIP) seems to have the same behaviour. You could be right about the remote being the cause Is it actually using Wifi? I thought it was Bluetooth.

I don't have any problem with the inclusion of apps, given you can easily not use them. But I agree the menus layout could be simpler, more consistent, and easier to get out of!

(* ah, I just saw you mentioned a small black box - the Cisco one was a biggish box about the same size as the Horizon box. So I'm guessing you were using a different UPC box. The Cisco EPG was very slow, hence my comments).

The_Valeyard · 14-08-2013 6:06pm

Oh dear god its gone live and the trial is finished.......we shall see :P

icdg · 14-08-2013 6:44pm

smellmepower wrote: »

Was offered one of these when I rang up to get the BT Sports channels today,was slightly interested but the general consensus here seems to be that it's not worth the extra money.

Yeah, this is my bug bear. Its nearly €17 difference between my current package (Fibre Power Max) and the nearest Horizon package (Horizon Complete). Even taking away the HD fee for €5, what's my extra €12 buying me? When it boils down to it, the ability to record four programmes at once. That's it. A recording clash happens to me maybe once every three months or thereabouts. Its not worth €144 pa to fix.

While the techie in me would love Horizon for the quite lovely EPG it offers, for the moment, I won't be rushing to order it. The price will have to come down. At the moment if I were to give UPC that extra money it would be for BT Sport, not Horizon.

0ph0rce0 · 14-08-2013 7:57pm

The scrolling side bar is muck.

The cisco hd box, Press ok and scroll left or right through the channel list is whats needed here on this box.

Also missing pressing the back button to go to the last channel i was on.

dalkiadave · 14-08-2013 8:05pm

Why cant they have a sections epg not a copy of skys but something a little more functional. Even the cheapest saoir view box has a catagories guide???

paulboland · 14-08-2013 8:48pm

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

The scrolling side bar is muck.

The cisco hd box, Press ok and scroll left or right through the channel list is whats needed here on this box.

Also missing pressing the back button to go to the last channel i was on.

Live tv button on remote will go to the last channel viewed press it once or twice to switch between last channels viewed

Mimikyu · 14-08-2013 9:36pm

This post has been deleted.

Stab*City · 14-08-2013 9:40pm

I got the horizon box today and I'm still trying to get it setup after I had to do a factory reset. Right now I'm looking at a screen that says your horizon box is not connected to UPC. But I already had it working earlier. Same setup followed after the reset.

Tiosabas · 14-08-2013 10:09pm

Problems so far on day 1 for Horizon box: Repeatedly getting signed out of PSN.
ipods and iphone devices are very sluggish while browsing. Youtube works intermittently.
Speedtest.net returns anything from under 1mb/sec to 50mb/sec over WIFI. I know WIFI is not the way to do speedtest but thats a fair bit of variance.
Browser hangs intermittently, this occurs for all devices at the same time.
Some TV channels have black bars on the left and right sides so you are stuck with a square picture no matter what picture mode the TV is in.

uPnP is enabled anyone have any ideas for the above problems?
Much appreciated.

paulboland · 14-08-2013 10:39pm

Tiosabas wrote: »

Problems so far on day 1 for Horizon box: Repeatedly getting signed out of PSN.
ipods and iphone devices are very sluggish while browsing. Youtube works intermittently.
Speedtest.net returns anything from under 1mb/sec to 50mb/sec over WIFI. I know WIFI is not the way to do speedtest but thats a fair bit of variance.
Browser hangs intermittently, this occurs for all devices at the same time.
Some TV channels have black bars on the left and right sides so you are stuck with a square picture no matter what picture mode the TV is in.

uPnP is enabled anyone have any ideas for the above problems?
Much appreciated.

If you don't want black bars settings picture
Stretch picture

Note if watching a HD channel and program is 4.3 it will still show black bars

Wireless with apple devices

Horizon router
Try changing channel to 1 or 6 or 11
Set bandwidth to 20 MHz only
Set 802.11 to mixed mode G/N
Set upnp and multicast to on
This is done by login using web browser
192.168.192.1
User name admin
Password admin

Apple iPhone 4 and below are not great for wireless

If you have a seperate wireless router
Belkin/Buffalo/Asus
that can be set up as wireless access mode use seperate router it as this is best for apple devices

If your PC or Laptop is wireless G
You will have poor wireless speed when using with horizon

Horizon needs all devices to be wireless n for best results with no wireless G devices been used

Homeplugs can solve poor wireless signal and you have a wired connection in any room with a power socket

Playstation 3 is wireless G
Best if you use wired connection only to horizon
Always use cat 5.e or cat 6 cables only

Note your pc or laptop also needs wired connection to have gigabyte connector
10/100/1000
If you only have 10/100 you won't get speeds above 80mb

Tiosabas · 14-08-2013 11:39pm

paulboland wrote: »

If you don't want black bars settings picture
Stretch picture

Note if watching a HD channel and program is 4.3 it will still show black bars

Wireless with apple devices

Horizon router
Try changing channel to 1 or 6 or 11
Set bandwidth to 20 MHz only
Set 802.11 to mixed mode G/N
Set upnp and multicast to on
This is done by login using web browser
192.168.192.1
User name admin
Password admin

Apple iPhone 4 and below are not great for wireless

If you have a seperate wireless router
Belkin/Buffalo/Asus
that can be set up as wireless access mode use seperate router it as this is best for apple devices

If your PC or Laptop is wireless G
You will have poor wireless speed when using with horizon

Horizon needs all devices to be wireless n for best results with no wireless G devices been used

Homeplugs can solve poor wireless signal and you have a wired connection in any room with a power socket

Playstation 3 is wireless G
Best if you use wired connection only to horizon
Always use cat 5.e or cat 6 cables only

Note your pc or laptop also needs wired connection to have gigabyte connector
10/100/1000
If you only have 10/100 you won't get speeds above 80mb

Thanks for the suggestions. I have tried the wireless settings but dont see any improvement.
Using an IP5 which keeps dropping off the wifi completly. Browsing while on wifi is very unstable.
I will try home plugs for the PS3.
Getting upto 145mb(wired) on the PC but I'm not convinced, browsing seems sluggish on the PC too.

Obviously tried stretching the picture the picture size does not change. All Nick/Boomerang channels and some others

Edit: ah video settings>stretch thanks

Hendrickp · 15-08-2013 9:48am

Can anybody confirm if i can use the Horizon Box for a wired internet connection to my PS3 while also keeping my wireless connection for all other devices through the technicolour router/modem???

nakano3153 · 15-08-2013 4:06pm

Hendrickp wrote: »

Can anybody confirm if i can use the Horizon Box for a wired internet connection to my PS3 while also keeping my wireless connection for all other devices through the technicolour router/modem???

yes you can.

Hendrickp · 15-08-2013 4:12pm

nakano3153 wrote: »

yes you can.

Thanks.

derek4567 · 15-08-2013 6:18pm

Has anyone notices no pictures on e3 on the horizon box

Stab*City · 15-08-2013 6:27pm

Where do I find the default user/password to login to the router with a browser?

0ph0rce0 · 15-08-2013 6:30pm

Stab*City wrote: »

Where do I find the default user/password to login to the router with a browser?

192.168.192.1

user: admin

pass: admin

Stab*City · 15-08-2013 7:11pm

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

192.168.192.1

user: admin

pass: admin

Thanks. Next problem I have is my Xbox 360 refuses to connect to the wifi. Anyone any ideas? I logged into router and everything is default. Only thing I did was enable upnp

paulboland · 15-08-2013 9:25pm

Stab*City wrote: »

Thanks. Next problem I have is my Xbox 360 refuses to connect to the wifi. Anyone any ideas? I logged into router and everything is default. Only thing I did was enable upnp

Make sure your using wpa/wpa2
Default is wpa2
Use wpa/wpa2

Security settings wireless
Mixed mode is G/N

Bandwidth 20 MHz only

Upnp
Multicast
Set both to on
Default there off

Login using a web browser
192.168.192.1
User name admin
Password admin

Also ssid change its name keep it simple and short
Password keep it simple use uppercase and lowercase and numbers

Hendrickp · 16-08-2013 8:59am

nakano3153 wrote: »

yes you can.

Hendrickp wrote: »

Can anybody confirm if i can use the Horizon Box for a wired internet connection to my PS3 while also keeping my wireless connection for all other devices through the technicolour router/modem???

Still having trouble with the Horizon box and connecting my PS3 to a wired connection and a wifi connection. Im going through the whole setup function on the box but it wont make a connection to the internet on either. As mentioned above, has this got anything to do with the fact i have the broadband already coming through the tecnhicolour modem/router? Or is there something else that im not seeing that i need to do to get the broadband working on this box as i've seen on this site alot of people having major problems with this box.

Stab*City · 16-08-2013 9:16am

All working well now.

M.J.M.C · 16-08-2013 9:45am

I spent a lot of time reading about Horizon here and now that I have it I thought I'd share some things I didn't see mentioned.

-Moving from Sky to Horizon very very happy with it
-Was concerned the interface would be slow like the old upc boxes but its great
-Sky interface is SLIGHTLY faster but Horizon has more info and I wouldn't call it slow or slugish at all.
-When you first set it up,TV takes a few minutes to start,but it takes a few hours for the internet to work (at least for me,dont waste time trying to troubleshoot this just let it work away)
-The box itself is very nice
-The front display where it shows what channel you have on, can be dimmed down or brightened
-You can set your SSID and some other WiFi and Network settings from the tv itself which is handy
-I have my box in a shelf below my tv in the corner of the house,WiFi works just as good as the last Thompson box all over the house. No issues with WiFi.
-When the box is powered on you can hear the fan start (like a regular pc) but after that, noise is not noticeable at all. My sky box sounded like a server room at times.

Ur[s]uS · 16-08-2013 10:36am

Sappy404 wrote: »

Just heard about this product today. I was looking to get the new Setanta package but was put off when I saw there was no online access and the BT channels weren't available in HD. But it looks like I can stream different channels to a browser from the horizon box, and one poster above listed the sports channels in HD. Can someone with the service please confirm this is the case?

The x2 BT Sport channels are definitely available in HD.

Ben D Bus · 16-08-2013 11:53am

Mine arrived a little over 30 minutes ago.

Everything is set up and working already

All the TV channels I checked are available and the HD channels are fine.

Speedtests have varied depending on device (all on wifi) but got about 90Mbps on a wireless n laptop and a 12ms ping.

I thought I got a telephone handset included but the setup leaflet says otherwise. So I don't actually know if I have a working telephone number! That would be a new service for me as it wasn't available a few weeks ago (when ordering Horizon it said I can avail of the phone service)

Beef · 16-08-2013 2:22pm

You'll need to sort your own handset. I was an existing customer and thought if I upgraded to the max bundle I'd get a handset - but no... I'll get a cheap phone in argos or tesco and see. I contacted upc on twitter to get my phone number.

UPC Horizon Launched

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