UPC Horizon Set Top Box trial

super_furry

Anyone know if it's possible to boost the wifi signal? My old modem worked perfectly all over the apartment but I can't get anything to connect to the Horizon box outside of the room it's in.

dak

Got my Horizon box a day early. Ordered it Tuesday and DPD attempted to deliver yesterday so I managed to pick it up from their depot yesterday evening.


Reading this thread I was a bit apprehensive about what I was letting myself in for but pleased to say hardly a single hitch so far ( fingers crossed). Set up took about 30 minutes and one freeze later it was working fine.


Really impressed with the difference between this box and any the crap UPC boxes of the past. It’s a huge step in the right direction and definitely as good as the sky one. Menus are easy to use and no problem navigating around the various options. Some posters had issues with the scrolling through the TV guide . The long press >2 seconds scrolls the menu down approx 10 stations but I do admit you have to have your timing spot on.


I retained my original Cisco router so you just set up a home network in client mode choosing the WIFI connection option. I was able to open the dlna server on my Nokia phone and stream pictures and video on screen from my phone. If you have a DLNA compatible device you don’t need the Twonky streaming software ( you have to ring UPC to get a licence key after you download it and it can be used on 5 devices.


Recording multiple programmes is very easy and the menus show loads of information about every programme. There is also a feature called “ find similar2 which looks good. If you are watching say top gear and select this option it will suggest “ fith gear” and other motoring programmes.


The app section has about 20 Apps loaded including local weather and the Irish tImes It also has U-tube but when I selected any video it said that it wasn’t available


In Summary: Very happy with this greatly enhanced UPC offering

Jellybean73

I received the pre-registration horizon box yesterday. I had received an email the day before it to give back the old receiver and modem and give them to the courier. He had an envelope ready to take the old equipment and he wouldn't give me the new box until I gave him the old equipment.

It is now almost 24 hours and I have utter contempt towards the horizon box. It is c**p. I hate it. I have a long list of problems with it. In fact, my hubby and I are sending it back. Box is now "dead". Woke up this morning and we had no broadband, tv or phone.

I hate the GUI, it is counter-intuitive.
Can't see any change in BB speed.
On demand is desperate

The old system is much better.

Don't bother trialling it. It is a rip off and frustrating.

We are waiting 40 mins on UPC waiting for assistance............... zzzzzzz
I will post IF we get help.

Jellybean73

Finally got an operator and he said he would get a technician to call back. He doesn't know when ......we refused and asked to stay on the line and talk to a supervisor. The operator said the supervisor is too busy.

This is a terrible service. Do not bother trialling this. You won't get good service.

totallegend

Jellybean73 wrote: »

I received the pre-registration horizon box yesterday. I had received an email the day before it to give back the old receiver and modem and give them to the courier. He had an envelope ready to take the old equipment and he wouldn't give me the new box until I gave him the old equipment.

It is now almost 24 hours and I have utter contempt towards the horizon box. It is c**p. I hate it. I have a long list of problems with it. In fact, my hubby and I are sending it back. Box is now "dead". Woke up this morning and we had no broadband, tv or phone.

I hate the GUI, it is counter-intuitive.
Can't see any change in BB speed.
On demand is desperate

The old system is much better.

Don't bother trialling it. It is a rip off and frustrating.

We are waiting 40 mins on UPC waiting for assistance............... zzzzzzz
I will post IF we get help.

Have to say, that is the exact opposite of my experience.

Courier dropped off the new box, didn't ask for the old box or router so they're still there if needed.

The new box is streets ahead of the old one, they are on different planets in terms of capabilities, set-up was a breeze and it's working perfectly since it arrived for TV, broadband and phone.

Maybe you just got a dud box?

Jellybean73

Operator stated "the supervisor is busy....you won't be able to speak to him any time soon" This service is horrendous.

Now I have a headache and no phone, no tv and no broadband and apparently he doesn't know "when" it can be resolved. His resolution was to send an email to the engineer section and it could be any time when we hear back. So we are left in the dark........ LITERALLY.

lar77

paulboland wrote: »

Hi Eamonn Will it be possible to connect Horizon Box to my own wireless Belkin N+ cable router and use the wireless from the belkin router to connect PC'S and iPhone,PS3 etc as I can do this at the moment with my upc scientific atlanta modem connected to Belkin router as when I got upc broadband originally I told them I don't want there wirelees router as I want to use my own in separate computer room this also covered phone connection from scientific atlanta modem
I know upc scientific atlanta modem cant handle 50mb and above

Yes, you can use your own router. I have my own router connected to the Horizon box. All my wireless stuff connects to my router but I can also connect to the Horizon WiFi (both are active although you can turn off the Horizon Wifi). I have yet to get twonky to work through my router though, if I want to stream files to the horizon box I need to connect to it's WiFi ... not sure if there is a way around it??

Jellybean73

totallegend wrote: »

Have to say, that is the exact opposite of my experience.

Courier dropped off the new box, didn't ask for the old box or router so they're still there if needed.

The new box is streets ahead of the old one, they are on different planets in terms of capabilities, set-up was a breeze and it's working perfectly since it arrived for TV, broadband and phone.

Maybe you just got a dud box?

I can understand that. It is obviously a dud box, but the attitude from the operator was horrendous. He could have replaced the box, but instead he said it could be a long time before we get a replacement. That means that we have no phone, tv or broadband and there is no timeline on when.

Krusty_Clown

super_furry wrote: »

Got the home install today and set it up with relative ease. Having problems setting up the Home Media however as it keeps saying there's no devices detected depsite the fact that my Mac is now connected to it and using it for internet - have Twonky installed too.

Not sure if you got this sorted, but I had exactly the same issue. In the end, I had to 'create a new network' (which does absolutely nothing, as I had already established the network in the router settings) and reboot. After rebooting the Horizon box could see my DLNA servers/devices.

garlad

Anyone manage to 'catalogue' their library?

My Horizon box found my synology NAS. But when I try and get it to catalog, or refresh catalog, nothing happens.

Have installed Twonky on NAS, and its currently scanning. Once complete I'll try that and see if there's any difference.

super_furry

lar77 wrote: »

Yes, you can use your own router. I have my own router connected to the Horizon box. All my wireless stuff connects to my router but I can also connect to the Horizon WiFi (both are active although you can turn off the Horizon Wifi). I have yet to get twonky to work through my router though, if I want to stream files to the horizon box I need to connect to it's WiFi ... not sure if there is a way around it??

Would using the old UPC Cisco modem as a router work do you reckon? Can't connect to the Horizon box's WiFi outside of the room its in reliably and this could be a quick and easy fix.

ballooba

I switched to the Cisco router about three months ago and only ever used it in bridge mode due to it's poor reputation. Prior to that I had an old Ambit cable modem with no WiFi capability (real stone age stuff) and a Linksys E1000 router running DD-WRT for routing the connection around the house. When I got the Cisco router I just plugged the Linksys router into it, using a "hack" to get the Cisco into bridge mode.

When I set up the Horizon box yesterday evening I just plugged the Linksys directly into Lan port 1 on the Horizon box. I haven't yet had time to see if this is causing any issues due to not having the Horizon box in bridge mode. Eventually I would hope to get rid of the Linksys router if the Horizon router is up to the job.

One thing that did occur to me yesterday is that provision of TV content is now a minority of the functions of the Horizon box. Does it make sense any more to have to it connected to the TV rather than where the phone/PC lives? It might make more sense to route the video to the tv through HDMI over LAN or if it was possible to stream directly over the LAN to Smart TV. I have raspbmc connected to the TV which i won't be getting rid of any time soon. It's used much more often than the UPC. The remtoe for the Horizon box is wireless, so it doesn't need to be in line of sight with the tv,

super_furry wrote: »

Would using the old UPC Cisco modem as a router work do you reckon? Can't connect to the Horizon box's WiFi outside of the room its in reliably and this could be a quick and easy fix.

I doubt it. It wouldn't have an Ethernet WAN port because it's a cable router.

Hoop66

I ended up having to basically order the new package from them. sounds pretty good - 100Mbit broadband and 110 channels for about a fiver more. We do get the two movies credit and €90 off the bill so I gues that's OK.

What really boils my piss though, is the muppets they have delivering the stuff. DPD sent me a text on Monday telling me they were going to deliver on Tuesday and if I wanted to reschedule I should reply with 1 for Wed/2 for Thu etc. I replied with a 2 for Thursday.

What did I find waiting for me when I got home last night, but a note from DPD trying they had tried to deliver that day.

Wankers.

Yes, DPD seem to unable to handle basic rescheduling. If UPC are reading this i would strongly recommend reviewing DPD as your sole courier.

lynchie

Anyone with similar issues to me?

- tv guide showing programme not available on lots of stations which means you cant see whats on next or later on?
- Unable to record all episodes of a series, just gives you an option to record one episode
- Crashing inside apps. Had the journal app loaded, then it disappeared and remote appeared non functioning. Standby and channel buttons on box didn't work. Had to power cycle it
- Wifi signal on box is crap compared to previous EPC 2425. Could get full signal in bedroom with old device, barely get a 1Mbps wirless signal now.

ballooba

Hoop66 wrote: »

I ended up having to basically order the new package from them. sounds pretty good - 100Mbit broadband and 110 channels for about a fiver more. We do get the two movies credit and €90 off the bill so I gues that's OK.

I nearly called a halt to the whole thing when the agent signing me up mentioned the new package and the associated cost, but then he explained to me that there is no new contract. I can revert to my old package at any time. I am out of contract in ten weeks, so 90 euro credit was a no-brainer for me when I can renegotiate in ten weeks.

Hoop66 wrote: »

What really boils my piss though, is the muppets they have delivering the stuff.

My experience with DPD has been great both times I have dealt with them for UPC stuff in the last few months. I have diverted the delivery to work both times and changed the date. No problems.

Lord Trollington

Anyone else have issues saying your box is not connected to UPC when they first connected it?

I have had this the last hour or so.

super_furry

ballooba wrote: »

I doubt it. It wouldn't have an Ethernet WAN port because it's a cable router.

Cheers. Would something like this work http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/9255090/Trail/searchtext%3EROUTER.htm ? I basically just need something that will give me a decent WiFi network because the Horizon's is so poor.

ballooba

super_furry wrote: »

Cheers. Would something like this work http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/9255090/Trail/searchtext%3EROUTER.htm ? I basically just need something that will give me a decent WiFi network because the Horizon's is so poor.

You're on the right track, although I am not familiar with that model. Basically the port on the back of that model that is bright yellow is the WAN port, it connects to one of the LAN Ports on the back of your Horizon box.

mcgovern

Lord Trollington wrote: »

Anyone else have issues saying your box is not connected to UPC when they first connected it?

I have had this the last hour or so.

Yeah, despite the screen saying wait 15 mins, and the manual saying an hour, I had it for just over an hour I'd say. It eventually went away and the setup process continued.
When I got it setup, I only had RTE 1 working then for about another hour, everything else was saying Unsubscribed.

coylerwhaa

Ordered the Horizon box on friday evening, It arrived yesterday & the courier took our old decoder\dvr.
Ran through the installation in about 15 minutes & everything was up & running. The phone took about an extra 5 minutes to activate but all 3 services have been running smoothly.
The box froze once while running thejournal.ie app so I don't know whether it was the app or the box that caused it. Restarted the box & it's been fine since.
So far am liking the UI, only issue I've come across is the inability to choose a specific day in the tv guide, even the ability to jump forward 24 hours would be a huge improvement on having to scroll forward.
The wifi signal is weaker then my old router but the horizon box doesn't have 2 external antennae which the router has so I'm not surprised, that said the courier didn't take the old router & the two are close enough to cable up & continue using the router.

super_furry

coylerwhaa wrote: »

The wifi signal is weaker then my old router but the horizon box doesn't have 2 external antennae which the router has so I'm not surprised, that said the courier didn't take the old router & the two are close enough to cable up & continue using the router.

How did you go about doing that? I have the Cisco EPC 3925 from UPC and being able to continue to use it would be ideal.

DUBLINHITMAN

super_furry wrote: »

How did you go about doing that? I have the Cisco EPC 3925 from UPC and being able to continue to use it would be ideal.

I thought they disable it from there end even if they don't take it
and if you want to keep the Cisco they charge you for it

xebec

Just had a look at my bill for this month, the credits for the Horizon trial appear as expected but the pro-rating on the bill is the most confusing I've ever seen! Pretty hard to tell whether I've been charged correctly or not, although the bill is slightly higher than I would have expected...

Inquitus

I have had the box a week now, it represents a massive improvement over the old boxes which were frankly shíte. I have had to turn it off and on maybe twice due to it hanging, but not for the past few days. Wifi works fine, though it would be nice if they enabled the 5Ghz band.

No complaints, Customer Service was good when it wouldn't work initially and no problems since, very happy with the product.

who_me

I called the number above to order box, and was told the trial is over since yesterday, capacity has been reached (even though I was accepted onto the trial).

I chanced my arm, and ordered through the website, so will see what happens. I'm not in a massive rush to get the box, but if I'm going to get it at some point anyway, I might as well get the account credit.

seanie27

by the way if anyone's been told your provisioning will be sorted in 48 hours... that's 48 working hours - 5 days.

bob11

Got my box today .. Installer arrived at 1, box up and running by 2.30 ..

Impressed with the responsiveness of the menu system ... It'll take a bit of getting used to the new menus and finding out where everything is ..

It's great for me that the remote is RF as my box location was "hidden" so my IR repeater gis-mo, that didn't really work is no longer needed ..
I'll have to keep an eye on the heat generated though ..

One thing that I found strange with the remote was the volume control .. On the old remote the volume control could work for the tv or upc box, depending on whether the upc or tv button were pushed first. On the new box, the volume control is programmed to only control the TV volume, so the tv has to be paired with the remote to control the volume ..

Changed my wifi name and password to match my old box, all done from the tv remote, (great having a qwerty keypad on the back )

Laptop logged in first time without the need to enter any password and all working fine ..

I had a problem with the phone, but turned out that my phone cable had a problem, new termination and now working ..

Wifi Speed in the same room as the box 53Mbps Down / 5Mbps Up (on the 50M plan), one floor up drops to 31M, 5M , 2 floors drops to up 25M / 5 M ..

Pretty good for my house really, considering that I have the horizon box in a cabinet in basement level ...

My installer took the old HD+ box and the modem, but everything working ok , so I was happy enough with that ..

All in all, pretty impressed so far ...

kave2

Anyone knows what login and password to use when connecting to router/modem of the horizon box?
Edit: never mind. Found it in manual. Admin, admin.

SitUbuSit

Hi all,

Before I got the Horizon box last week, I had the Cisco EPC3925 modem/router and had this bridged to my Netgear WNR2000, into which I had plugged my D-Link DNS-323 NAS.

When the installer installed my Horizon box last week, it was set as the main modem/router in my living room. However the wifi signal was not strong enough to go around the house and could not be linked to other rooms as the ethernet cables all merge downstairs in a cupboard. So the installer connected the Netgear WNR2000's WAN port to a LAN port on the Horizon box by a ethernet cable. This means we have two different wifi networks now. The one being sent from the Horizon box upstairs, and the one being sent from the Netgear router downstairs. So the Horizon box has an IP range of 192.168.192.1 onwards and the Netgear router has 192.168.1.1 onwards. Both work fine.

However, I would like to make these part of one single network for the following reasons

1. The current setup means changing wifi networks on devices all the time as we move around the house (as the signal is not low enough to completely go).
2. The NAS, when connected to the Horizon box can not be seen by devices connected to the Netgear router, when connected to the Netgear router can not be seen by the Horizon box.

Does anyone have advice on how to do this?

Thanks,

Séamus