New EPG coming to Sky+HD - Beta about to launch

Following the release of new EPG's for sky itilia and sky deutchland (excuse spelling). sky UK are launching a beta test of a new EPG software. The following boxes that users have are going to be part of the beta test.

Update – New release for 1TB & DRX890

The entry period for beta tester application is over unfortunatly....I was late to post it here - apologies. The actual beta software has yet to launch due to higher demand (i can only guess) but it should be soon.

http://helpforum.sky.com/t5/Sky-HD/Update-New-release-for-1TB-amp-DRX890/td-p/365299

More to come hopefully - Ill post what i can when its released (im not sure if beta testers are allowed to post pics or details but ill check that out - I dont work for sky by the way)

thebrush

Hi,

Hope this won't affect the"card Trick" ?

Cheers
Damo

aye - was reading that thread earlier - not sure as of yet. sky havent sent the beta to any beta tester as of yet so we just dont know. personally i think the new epg wont affect it but cant say for certain until i test the baby out :P so to speak

thebrush

Cheers, Keep us posted(pardon the pun:D) Please.

No problem - the release of this new software has been delayed for the next 7-10 days due to high demand so we wont have much news here for a short while

simonckenyon

does that mean they will stop referring to the current epg as "new"?

simonckenyon

simonckenyon wrote: »

does that mean they will stop referring to the current epg as "new"?

It might - all depends on how successful it will be....i wont have it until the end of the week or the start of next - its a complete cosmetic upgrade anyways plus a few new or altered features which we wont know until the beta has been downloaded to the box

gtg60

The enhanced Sky Guide will be gradually rolled out to all of the Sky+HD boxes with the exception of Sky+HD boxes manufactured by Thomson

Interesting, was it just the very first HD models that were Thomsons or were some later models made by Thomson too?

It could be down to hardware - we cant tell as of yet. the epg will be a new look from what i am told. with semi transparent elements to its graphics - it is an epg face lift with added features so it will be interesting to see if it runs well on boxes or if its too resource heavy for the older ones....

thomson did the earlier models - the first models to be tested are the 890 amstrad and the 1tb amstrad (1TB & DRX890 - this brand is actually owned and produced by sky)

id wish they would release the damn update though so i can see if it is any good :P

Kurn

Is there any screenshots around, or too early?

None as of yet - the beta has been delayed for 7-10 days due to high demand and that delay was announced last friday so - waiting i am - ill post screenshots once i get it and its ok to do so

Got the final PM today folks so I should receive it tonight....Ill post a basic review of it tommrow and ill see about getting permission to post pics of it up as well

gtg60

warlikedave wrote: »

Got the final PM today folks so I should receive it tonight....Ill post a basic review of it tommrow and ill see about getting permission to post pics of it up as well

Great stuff, I assume you have a UK card to try out the 'Card Trick' on it?

Well I have the old Thomson model, guess as usual Sky will leave me behind.

Deleted User

Deleted User wrote: »

Well I have the old Thomson model, guess as usual Sky will leave me behind.

Its looking that way but there could be a later release for it its the drx 890 and the 1tb box from amstrad who get this beta anyways.... as for the card trick - ive lost my uk tv card so thats put a spanner in the works ill see if i can find it in the mean time

gtg60

Whereabouts in the South East are you? PM me if you don't want it on a public forum.

gtg60

gtg60 wrote: »

Whereabouts in the South East are you? PM me if you don't want it on a public forum.

North east wexford Near Arklow

1dave

so it wont affect any sky + hd box that is out there now at any time. the reason i ask is i have an irish blue recording card.

1dave

1dave wrote: »

so it wont affect any sky + hd box that is out there now at any time. the reason i ask is i have an irish blue recording card.

Ye have to sign up to the beta in order to receive it so no it wont affect anyone who didnt volenteer for it on the sky.com forums

Many thanks to gtg60 for prepping a FTV card to be sent to me by the way. Thank You and hopefully the card trick will work

http://mythen.ie/newskyhdepg/015.jpg
http://mythen.ie/newskyhdepg/016.jpg
http://mythen.ie/newskyhdepg/017.jpg
http://mythen.ie/newskyhdepg/018.jpg
http://mythen.ie/newskyhdepg/019.jpg
http://mythen.ie/newskyhdepg/020.jpg

Camera doesnt do it justice - since its an old iphone 3g lol anyways they are the basic pics. Only recieved this in the last 5 minutes

- It runs well...no lag so far
- Very crisp
- Transparent mini epg when viewing the channel in big screen

- One small bug found so far is that when mini tv is off it is supposed to show 13 channels on the guide however it remains at 8

I have to delve into it a bit more....:P

energy1942

Two things I would like to know does it affect the card trick & I am getting the knew Sky+HD 1TB box installed early next week will this new epg be there allready?

metron

Any new options in the new EPG?

Would be great to be able to pillar-box 4:3 content into a 16:9 frame so when using 1080i in the display settings it doesn't stretch 4:3 content. Anyone know if this has been added?

gtg60

metron wrote: »

Any new options in the new EPG?

Good point, is it just a new pretty interface? Or will have some new useful features?

The beta is not available to anyone - only to people who have already signed up. It is possible that this epg will be available by august but that is a small educated guess

not much new options in terms of setup and epg interaction so far....it centainly leans towards more cosmetic and fewer new functions. am still playing around with it so apologies if i dont have all your answers :P

- so far it doesnt appear it was changed in regards to settings and viewing 4:3
- epg sections like entertainment plus others have thumbnails when first selected in epg
- there are less details in the system area - probably because it is a beta
- recording/series link/reminders seem to be the same
- live pause/rewind/fast forward logos have changed and look the better for it
- am yet to test the card trick with this new beta...hopefully ill have an answer for ye tommrow

energy1942

warlikedave wrote: »

The beta is not available to anyone - only to people who have already signed up. It is possible that this epg will be available by august but that is a small educated guess

not much new options in terms of setup and epg interaction so far....it centainly leans towards more cosmetic and fewer new functions. am still playing around with it so apologies if i dont have all your answers :P

- so far it doesnt appear it was changed in regards to settings and viewing 4:3
- epg sections like entertainment plus others have thumbnails when first selected in epg
- there are less details in the system area - probably because it is a beta
- recording/series link/reminders seem to be the same
- live pause/rewind/fast forward logos have changed and look the better for it
- am yet to test the card trick with this new beta...hopefully ill have an answer for ye tommrow

That sounds like it will not be available on my new Sky+HD 1TB box when I haved it installed next week, however the most importent thing I need to know is whether the card trick will work are not.

energy1942

energy1942 wrote: »

That sounds like it will not be available on my new Sky+HD 1TB box when I haved it installed next week, however the most importent thing I need to know is whether the card trick will work are not.

It wont be available to the general public - only beta testers who signed up so you will have the normal epg and I cant test the card trick as of yet

Just an FYI - If ye want - ye can request pics of any particular element of the new epg and ill post them up

Omar C

warlikedave wrote: »

Just an FYI - If ye want - ye can request pics of any particular element of the new epg and ill post them up

Hey dave,

Would you please put up the following Pics for me thanks, any idea's when it going to be rolled out fully.. :):)

Please can we have a screenshot of the settings menu? Also, the options menu pages.

You have given us the main menu - now I would like to see the others. Also, what is in the 0/0/1/select part now?

I am also interested to know if the SR can be chagned from either 22.0 or 27.5 or is it now expanded properly?

If you would not mind putting more screenshots up of the other menus that would be most appreciated.

Many Thanks

Omar :pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac:

Omar C

Omar C wrote: »

Hey dave,

Would you please put up the following Pics for me thanks, any idea's when it going to be rolled out fully.. :):)

Please can we have a screenshot of the settings menu? Also, the options menu pages.

You have given us the main menu - now I would like to see the others. Also, what is in the 0/0/1/select part now?

I am also interested to know if the SR can be chagned from either 22.0 or 27.5 or is it now expanded properly?

If you would not mind putting more screenshots up of the other menus that would be most appreciated.

Many Thanks

Omar :pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac::pac:

http://www.irishupandcomingmusicscene.tk/wordpressgaming/?p=201

All pics and some details are there - the SR is stuck at either 22.0 or 27.5 Ill be posting more imagery up - what other facets did you have in mind? The box setup menu is still accessed by Select settings and then 0/1/select

Hi - Using a guide and a card and loads of advice from gtg60 (thank you very much ) I have tested out the card trick using a Scottish UK FTV viewing card. Using the guide I added the relevant channels which are partially determined by the region your viewing card covers to the "other channels section" and proceeded to step 2

Step 2 from gtg60's guide:
Plug out your Sky HD box.
Remove your normal Sky card and insert the UK card.
Plug back in the box and turn it on.
Once the channels have loaded up remove the UK card and insert your normal one.



WHAT WORKS

It worked: EPG showed the channels as it would some sharing epg numbers but all viewable - please see pics.

Series link works well.

Live Pause works for the most part - it froze the box on the first occasion and i had to do a hard reset but after that it is working although it can be a bit sluggish to respond on channels that we added to the epg using above method.

Red button seems to work on added channels

Full 7 day epg as well



ISSUES

Recording wont work. When i set a recording to start now or the next program even - it prompts for a clash even though there is no clash. this only happens for the channels added via the FTV card - even added channels that dont share an epg number - gtg60 has shared that the new boxes (1TB and DRX890 amstrad boxes) may take a day to rectify this problem within itself



OVERALL

Im still testing all aspects so hopefully i can get it working completely. Please feel free to ask any questions

EPG PICS

http://mythen.ie/newskyhdepg/cardtrick01.jpg
http://mythen.ie/newskyhdepg/cardtrick02.jpg
http://mythen.ie/newskyhdepg/cardtrick03.jpg
http://mythen.ie/newskyhdepg/cardtrick04.jpg
http://mythen.ie/newskyhdepg/cardtrick05.jpg
http://mythen.ie/newskyhdepg/cardtrick06.jpg
http://mythen.ie/newskyhdepg/cardtrick07.jpg

A lot of Credit goes to:

gtg60 for the thorough guide, the ftv card and all the pm's and advice without which i would not have been able to complete this experiment.

Overall Review so far: http://www.irishupandcomingmusicscene.tk/wordpressgaming/?p=201

energy1942

This sounds like it may mean the end of the card trick.

energy1942

energy1942 wrote: »

This sounds like it may mean the end of the card trick.

Well it works except for the recording so far - we shall see - as gtg60 said it might rectify itself over the next day....

energy1942

warlikedave wrote: »

Well it works except for the recording so far - we shall see - as gtg60 said it might rectify itself over the next day....

If it turns out you cannot record it effectivelly renders the card trick meaningless as we have known it.

JustAddWater

Can you search for DVB-S2 FTA channels now? Or would that be a firmware upgrade?

energy1942

energy1942 wrote: »

If it turns out you cannot record it effectivelly renders the card trick meaningless as we have known it.

for recording it could yes - for everything else like reminders and epg it works well so far

JustAddWater

JustAddWater wrote: »

Can you search for DVB-S2 FTA channels now? Or would that be a firmware upgrade?

No you cant - i can only surmise that sky dont want people accessing dvb-s2 HD content that is only available for sky uk customers

gtg60

energy1942 wrote: »

This sounds like it may mean the end of the card trick.

No, no, you're jumping to conclusions. From what we can see the 'Card Trick' still works i.e. it puts the UK channels on the Irish EPG.

warlikedave does report though that he is having issues with live pause and recording, this is not that unusual, I have seen this happen with people before, generally it settles down after 24 hours and everything works as expected. We should be in a much better position to judge this time tomorrow.

I have just reset the box and added a few more channels and then had a hunch :P:P - i got the recorder to work on bbc parliament but when i went to record bbc scotland 1 which shares an epg slot number i got a recording clash and every channel tested since has had the clash even the bbc parliament channel

even pressing backup after the clash and with the record symbol on the epg - i go to access it in the planner and it wont even let me select it

I am going to reset the box again and test recording only on channels that dont share epg numbers and see if that is the issue....

http://mythen.ie/newskyhdepg/cardtrickrec01.JPG.jpg
http://mythen.ie/newskyhdepg/cardtrickrec02.JPG.jpg



One note - my box is in single feed mode since i dont have a second feed from the lnb at the moment so that in itself might solve the problem....ill get back to ye shortly folks....

So much for that - i managed to get it recording and it still is but i cant view the channel (blue screen) plus my planner is now blank - ive stopped the recording - planner stilll blank and it wont record any of the added channels on the epg....

So - im gonna leave it for 24+ hours and test it again

muffler

Surely you would need the 2 feeds?

muffler

muffler wrote: »

Surely you would need the 2 feeds?

Nope ye can record a program in single feed mode...ye just cant change channels. The dual tuner allows you to view another channel while recording another channel or record two shows and watch another channel thats on the same transponder and polarisation. I dont have a second cable to plug into input 2 so im using single feed mode

So if i want to record the savage eye which is on now i can do so but i cant change channel. I can put the box in standby...anyways ye get the point

greendom

I think testing results will be more reliable with the dual feed.

greendom

greendom wrote: »

I think testing results will be more reliable with the dual feed.

It still should allow a single feed to record....plus not everyone has two feeds. No harm in testing both and i would if i could but i cant. Recording on single feed mode is as reliable as dual feed mode when it comes to normal channels...we shall see anyways in terms of the card trick

Omar C

warlikedave wrote: »

Well it works except for the recording so far - we shall see - as gtg60 said it might rectify itself over the next day....

Hey dave,

Can you please help me i was your pictures on boards.ie of the card trick can you please help me get it on my sky boxes @ home i have 1 tb with hd sub & standard HD box aswell.

greendom

greendom wrote: »

I think testing results will be more reliable with the dual feed.

Omar C wrote: »

Hey dave,

Can you please help me i was your pictures on boards.ie of the card trick can you please help me get it on my sky boxes @ home i have 1 tb with hd sub & standard HD box aswell.

Ive pmed ye in response to your pm

UPDATE ON CARD TRICK

The recording issue has not resolved itself. the viewing clash is still persisting....so it seems that the beta does not allow recording in single feed mode and I cant test dual feed mode but I suspect it would not make a difference (an opinion/educated response) since I can record any program on the normal non modified epg channels in single feed mode.

So: Card trick Analysis On SKY+HD Box in single feed mode with Beta Picasso Software (they dont use darwin anymore):

YES: EPG Addition of Channels SD and HD
YES: Reminders
YES: Series Link
YES: Live Pause and rewind/fast forward

NO: Recording is a fail on a single feed box when trying to record on ADDED CARD TRICK CHANNELS anyways - yet to be tested on dual mode but I dont hold much hope... Ill keep trying different stuff in the mean time and see that I can do

NOTE that recording on normal NON card trick added channels works perfectly in single feed mode.


UPDATE ON BETA EPG

Reports of epg bugs, observations and some basic info:

1 - Channel Listings in EPG view can take up to 90 seconds to load - it is an intermittent problem been experienced by others - confirmed as a bug

2 - People will notice a slightly longer period of blue screen while switching channels - sky have clarified that this is an addition to ensure proper channel sync with the box, sound, visual etc all synced up for best viewing performance

3 - Planner items have disappeared but hard drive space has stayed the same - a soft or hard reboot fixes this but it is a bug

4 - Sky beta testers number above 400 according to sky and there is a good level of feedback coming through to the dedicated forums that sky have for this beta

Any questions - feel free to ask :P

http://www.irishupandcomingmusicscene.tk/wordpressgaming/?p=201
http://www.mythen.ie/wordpressgaming/?p=201

1dave

If i take it the card trick wont work, can sky update my box automatically? Is there some way i can keeping the recording feature or is it just a matter of time b4 it goes.

1dave

1dave wrote: »

If i take it the card trick wont work, can sky update my box automatically? Is there some way i can keeping the recording feature or is it just a matter of time b4 it goes.

The card trick works for everything except:

actual recording on the channels ADDED by the card trick. When the beta is over and the full release of this epg announced - ye wont be able to stop it...maybe ye could say to sky that you dont want to be updated but i doubt they will allow that. This beta is 1TB box and drx 890 amstrad boxes only so it will be a while before we see a full release - august maybe...i cant be certain.

This only a beta and its limited to 2 types of boxes so we cant be sure as of yet in regards to effect on other boxes plus the final release date.

greendom

Hey Warlike, have you tried it with a dual feed yet or have you heard of anyone who has ?

greendom

greendom wrote: »

Hey Warlike, have you tried it with a dual feed yet or have you heard of anyone who has ?

I dont have two cables from any one location in the house unfortunately - i cant understand why it wont work though. i can record perfectly on any channel besides the ones added via card trick. Live pause works on those channels though so the skybox is saving a buffer on those channels when paused.

I dont know anyone who has a dual feed sky+hd box with the new software in ireland