View Full Version : Trialing Original CR3
Jonathan David
03-01-2004, 13:50
As someone who has had experience participating in trials before, i am curious to know how ntl has trialed CR3.
Have you had access to E-TV apllications and games? Or has the trial been mainly about the new i-epg?
Thanks for any replies.
Jonathan
It's not being trialled yet, is it?
I think it might just be :)
http://forum.nthellworld.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3577
http://forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/t/86376/ds.html
It is being trialled.
Unfortunately thats all I can say.
It is being trialled.
Unfortunately thats all I can say.
Thanks for that dezzo. Tho you can say any more, it's good to know that somthing maybe happening, dare I say, Soon!!
I'm surprised that no annonymous screen shots have leaked out.
That's poor :P
Jonathan David
04-01-2004, 23:56
I supose NTL have a list of everyone who has the trial, so if any info is leaked they know who they might be able to blame.
Its a shame dezzo that you can't say anymore because i'm sure there are a few people here who would like to know what they can look forward to.
Whilst from a business standpoint we know that NTL and $ky are miles apart in terms of profit, it would be nice to believe that when it came to operating software that we were a close second rather then a distant last.
From what I've heard from employee's this software will be a lot better than Bromley's CR3 and will be a nice piece of software, prolly not as good as Sky's, but good never the less.
Ss when are we likely to see this then?
Can someone explain why this would be so different to the Bromley CR3 ??
Can someone explain why this would be so different to the Bromley CR3 ??
Because it's a totally different piece of software, in fact we shouldn't be naming it CR3 at all as that is not what the software is.
People are naming it CR3 as it's software that will allow us to do all the things that a CR3 box in ex-cwc world lets you do, Liberate 1.2, an iEPG, multi-screening etc. But in reality as well as giving us that Langley's new software will take us much further than what people on ex-cwc have currently got.
ex-cwc will get a release called MR2 which should be released whilst the Langley software is rolling out which will give them the same features as us and for once the two systems will be nearly aesthetically the same.
I might of got that all wrong, though ;) But basically we should stop calling it Langley CR3 because it's not. It will be something like Langley v6. or v.540 or something.
Ss when are we likely to see this then?
You know the answer... Soon
I reckon it's being called CR3 to make things easier for when the two systems are eventually merged. It's certainly listed as CR3 in the help screen.
At that time any upgrades will be to CR4 etc.
Might be totally wrong but that's how I see things.
Do ntl: intend to tell those in original areas about the new software before it is launched on channel ntl: for example? :)
themelon
05-01-2004, 23:28
From what I've heard from employee's this software will be a lot better than Bromley's CR3 and will be a nice piece of software, prolly not as good as Sky's, but good never the less.
It could be better..........Skys Software isnt actually very good, people always bang on about it but you need a decent spec box to run it properly, and it hasnt been substantially revamped for a number of years, still has flaws and issues with certain set top boxes, and a number of irratational features, like the EPG Taking you completely away from the tv........search and scan being pretty pointless, unless you could memorise a copy of the tv times knowing the program info yourself. I never used Skys EPG just the paper, I dont use ntls either but i dont like being taken away from the channel and listening to some ****e cheesy music like they play in a lift!!
People have to think that Sky have been developing this system since 1998 on a SINGLE platform, they have more financial resources, yet they still havent developed something that is all 'that' as some would have us believe! A lot of Freeview box manufacturers have infact developed far better EPGs themselves in a matter of months.
The need to bring back the cr2 subtitles function too, It seems freeview is the only DTV service where its easy to get subtitles by pressing a single button and no meddling in settings!
I don't think Sky can provide a EPG without taking you away from the channel. Can they?
No, they can't, or at least not easily. This is one of the major advantages of the cable way of doing things as opposed to satellite.
Why can't they? I thought it was due to the fact that they couldn't recieve two channels at once. But they got around this with Sky+?
So is it looking like we will get this update this month then?
Not exactly.
On cable, today's programme information is broadcast on every multiplex. This means that whatever mux you're tuned to -- that is, whatever channel you're watching -- you can browse the listings for all channels for today.
Conversely, on satellite, a mux will only carry programme info for the channels on that mux. This is a weakness of the satellite platform: because Sky has nothing to do with the broadcasting side of things, there's no way for them to put all the info on every mux. It's for this reason that you can't look for info on other channels on a Sky box -- you can look at the simple listings, but this is only because the box has stored that information in its memory. When you go to the Sky Guide, the box has to tune to a dedicated multiplex with all the listings on, which is why you can't get the picture at the same time, as you can on cable. Technically there's no reason why Sky couldn't put their own promotional video stream on whilst in the Sky Guide, but they choose not to. This is also the reason that cable switches to Front Row when looking at the listings for a future date -- this is the only multiplex that carries all the data for every day (it's possible to put it on all muxes, but it would be a waste of bandwidth).
When it comes to Sky Plus, the situation is a little more complicated. It's got two tuners, so technically it's possible to watch one channel, and use the second tuner to browse for listings on a second channel. Sky don't do this though, as they keep on tuner 'in reserve' for recording. This is the reason that they've had a problem getting the dual recording working for so long -- if you were recoding two channels, there's no way to get into the Sky Guide to check to see what you want to record later. I'm not entirely sure how they've got round this, but I suspect it's by using one of the tuners to download data from the Sky Guide channel while you're not using it, and then keeping this info in memory. If anybody knows, I'd be interested to find out!
Thanks, as ever Tristan your posts are very informative.
Thanks, as ever Tristan your posts are very informative.
Thank you, I'm flattered.
*sits back and awaits the reputation points ;)*
The_real_dj
06-01-2004, 22:18
I'm not entirely sure how they've got round this, but I suspect it's by using one of the tuners to download data from the Sky Guide channel while you're not using it, and then keeping this info in memory. If anybody knows, I'd be interested to find out!
When you are recording 2 programs sky guide only works for the next 2 days!! So i guess that the digibox can keep 2 days in memory and the rest is pulled from the broadcast!!
Cheers
DJ
huxleypiguk
07-01-2004, 19:16
Probably get it hammered to death in testing, roll it and then announce it. That way, they don't get all the "why haven't I got it" calls that announcements usually cause - people don't read the "launched on April 5th" bit of a release, they just read the "new bit coming" bit and then moan when they haven't got it - see Hants and Surrey Cable Modem release for details.....
Probably get it hammered to death in testing, roll it and then announce it. That way, they don't get all the "why haven't I got it" calls that announcements usually cause - people don't read the "launched on April 5th" bit of a release, they just read the "new bit coming" bit and then moan when they haven't got it - see Hants and Surrey Cable Modem release for details.....
Everyone should get a user guide before it launches because of some fairly major changes in the way certain things work on the remote control.
Everyone should get a user guide before it launches because of some fairly major changes in the way certain things work on the remote control.
I'm prepared to receive 'No Comment' :) , but is there any chance you can tell us what these major changes are? All I could think is if the 'TV' button now brings up the Now/Next bar, as in exCWC. Or perhaps the menu button now does something?
If you can get a high-res picture of either of the new NTL remotes, you should find it illuminating. They have the button names for both Langley and Bromley areas on. In this way it would be possible to guess which button on the'old' Langley remote will correspond to which function in CR3.
So, as an obvious example, the big button in the middle has both 'ok' and 'select' on it, so the current Langley remote's Select button will do what the OK button does on Bromley remotes.
If somebody with one of the new remotes could post how the buttons correspond, then I think that would be a great help :)
Okay, I've just looked up a picture for myself, and it appears I was mistaken. Only 3 of the buttons have two names on, and one of those is Select/OK! The other two are Menu, which corresponds to Text on the old Bromley remote, and Browse, which corresponds to 'i'. Interestingly, even the new blue remote uses the Bromley names as the 'main' ones.
So for those of you who want to know what button will do what in CR3, it'll most probably be like this (assuming the buttons do the same as they do for Bromley):
Audio, Internet and E-mail: unknown (possibly audio will jump to the start of the radio channels, and internet and e-mail will launch you into interactive, but I don't know).
TV: bring up, and remove, the new Now and Next bar. Also, exit from Interactive or e-TV app. Also makes red-button prompts disappear.
Volume +/-: Probably as at present. On the new remote, this controls the volume of the TV
Page up/down: for jumping one screen at a time through lists. Useful for setting favourites, and for bringing up the diagnostics.
Guide: brings you to a menu allowing you to select the 3-day TV guide, settings, TVOD or Interactive
Menu: no function
On Demand: Takes you to the PPV selection screen
Interactive: takes you into Interactive
Back: Quickly switches you to the last channel watched and back again. Acts like the browser 'back' button in Interactive. Exits from e-TV apps. Removes Red Button prompts.
Browse: brings up info for the current programme, or one you have highlighted on the N&N bar or TV Guide
Red button: Launches e-TV apps when prompted :D. Sets reminders when a future programme is highlighted on the N&N bar.
Yellow button: *should* quickly switch digital subtitles on and off on channels on which they are broadcast (was stongly hinted by Nigel on .com)
All other buttons do exactly as they do now.
A disclaimer: I've never actually used the Langley system, or even seen a 'shark' remote, so I'm pretty much in the dark. And of course NTL could decide to change everything for Langley CR3!
Jonathan David
07-01-2004, 21:33
From comments made on this thread, can we assume that CS are now being trained ready for the changes in software?
This could make a rollout due within the next two months???
Interesting comment fairly major changes made about changes in the actions of the remote.
My curiousity is now really high.
Did you not read any of the post just above? That pretty much details what each button will most probably do in CR3.
As I understand it Dezzo has been using a pre-release version of CR3 (as have other people) in a call centre. It doesn't necessarily mean training is yet being given to staff.
Jonathan David
07-01-2004, 21:44
Sorry Tristan, i should have said that most of what you described about the Langley remote already happens. Thats why i was curious. Sorry again for confusion
Any dates on this update which was due before world cup/before wimbledon/october/before christmas/January???
Don't tell me is it March now??
The incompetence of NTL bewilders me!
Well for a while now it's been Q1 2004 which according to posts on other forums should be the date for it to go live.
I would have to say it is worth the wait.
For just as long a while it has been 4 or 5 different times in the past couple of years. What makes you think the latest "plan" will be any different. They just want to keep us mugs paying the bills.
We'll see in the next 2 months.
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