Cable Forum - View Single Post - [Merged] CR3-Feedback & Questions in Here Please.

magpie · 19-05-2004, 21:56

Having had LCR3 for 2 weeks now, I feel it's about time I wrote a review. Having lived in Manchester up until December, I'm in the fairly unique position of having used CR2, BCR3, v5 and now LCR3.

First thing I noticed after the update (I saw it happen) was a little window showing my favourites and settings being transfered (including 'default scart control ON', despite the warning leaflet to the contrary). My previous favourites were indeed in the right order, but all the others seemed to be rather randomly arranged! (not a gripe - easily fixed)

Welcome screen out the way, I was prepared for the worst (ie BCR3 speed!). I pressed TV, and was pleasantly surprised. Whereas this would cause BCR3 to begin gradually painting the N&N bar to the screen, LCR3 waits until it knows exactly what to display before displaying any of it. This means there's a small delay before it appears, but it seems A LOT more professional. Sadly, this mode of operation doesn't extend to actually using the mini-guide, which behaves exactly like BCR3, only perhaps marginally faster.

Pressing channel +/- has a big improvement over BCR3. The channel is changed, and THEN the mini-guide is displayed, making channel changes as quick (if not quicker, tbh) than v5. Sadly, this doesn't seem to be the case when keying in a number, which is certainly slower.

Next - the guide. It is SO much better than v5 and BCR3. Having chosen a category from the menu, the channel names and times are painted onto the screen, and then, after a short delay, all the programmes themselves, all at once! Gone is the hideous CR2 and BCR3 trick of gradually displaying the programmes line by line. Displaying different channels or times is just as quick. (note, though, that there is no way of entering a time - you must start from 'now', or 'now+24hrs' etc. - however, moving around is generally fast enough for this not to be an issue).

Interactive is pretty much the same as ever (though the 'please wait' is orange and has no spinning circle, which was a surprise). After using interactive for a bit (especially TWTV), the speed of the whole thing becomes notably slower, eventually resulting in a 'Return to optimum performance' dialog (which is just a soft reboot). This has happened to me twice, with it crashing the second time instead of rebooting. I think this is the first time I've had to manually reset the STB all year - a testament to the stability of v5, imo.

Finally - on demand. Although the menu looks nice as a screenshot, I find it to be easily the slowest part of LCR3, gradually painting the events line by line. Otherwise, it does the job and looks good.

Anything else....? The overall look is nicer than the old pink (which never really bothered me anyway). The lack of a favourites or settings button on my remote makes accessing those features a bit more of a chore! The 'cycling through the letters to get to the name of the radio station' screen saver is a nice touch. The Favourites menu has the correct up to date channel names (never mind, BCR3 users

).

Overall, I have to say that I'm impressed. Throw in some ETV apps, and I'm sure most people would agree with me! However, without any of these, I can see why people could prefer v5 (which, imo, is better than CR2, BCR3 and even LCR3 as a no frills EPG). As different as this new software seems, this upgrade was really all about what goes on behind the scenes - I look forward to this being properly exploited.

And finally (really this time!), I'm afraid I've found some bugs, listed here in order of increasing annoyance!

When browsing channels using the mini-guide, the 'turn subtitles on/off' button only appears if you're looking at certain channels - surely this should depend on what channel you're WATCHING.
I've had the menu fail to respond to pressing select (as Grafton said above)
Sometimes, the mini-guide dissapears while I'm still using it (that is, still regularly pressing buttons).
My screen STILL goes blank at 1.10am, only now it's sometimes for upto 15 seconds, and is accompanied by the remote being completly ignored, the 'back' button being set to the channel you're watching, and the mini-guide listings briefly showing some other random channel.

Phew!... Enjoy

edit: spelling, and the bug Grafton pointed out.

19-05-2004, 21:56	#527
magpie Inactive Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Nottingham Age: 44 Posts: 112	Re: [Merged] CR3-Feedback & Questions in Here Please. Having had LCR3 for 2 weeks now, I feel it's about time I wrote a review. Having lived in Manchester up until December, I'm in the fairly unique position of having used CR2, BCR3, v5 and now LCR3. First thing I noticed after the update (I saw it happen) was a little window showing my favourites and settings being transfered (including 'default scart control ON', despite the warning leaflet to the contrary). My previous favourites were indeed in the right order, but all the others seemed to be rather randomly arranged! (not a gripe - easily fixed) Welcome screen out the way, I was prepared for the worst (ie BCR3 speed!). I pressed TV, and was pleasantly surprised. Whereas this would cause BCR3 to begin gradually painting the N&N bar to the screen, LCR3 waits until it knows exactly what to display before displaying any of it. This means there's a small delay before it appears, but it seems A LOT more professional. Sadly, this mode of operation doesn't extend to actually using the mini-guide, which behaves exactly like BCR3, only perhaps marginally faster. Pressing channel +/- has a big improvement over BCR3. The channel is changed, and THEN the mini-guide is displayed, making channel changes as quick (if not quicker, tbh) than v5. Sadly, this doesn't seem to be the case when keying in a number, which is certainly slower. Next - the guide. It is SO much better than v5 and BCR3. Having chosen a category from the menu, the channel names and times are painted onto the screen, and then, after a short delay, all the programmes themselves, all at once! Gone is the hideous CR2 and BCR3 trick of gradually displaying the programmes line by line. Displaying different channels or times is just as quick. (note, though, that there is no way of entering a time - you must start from 'now', or 'now+24hrs' etc. - however, moving around is generally fast enough for this not to be an issue). Interactive is pretty much the same as ever (though the 'please wait' is orange and has no spinning circle, which was a surprise). After using interactive for a bit (especially TWTV), the speed of the whole thing becomes notably slower, eventually resulting in a 'Return to optimum performance' dialog (which is just a soft reboot). This has happened to me twice, with it crashing the second time instead of rebooting. I think this is the first time I've had to manually reset the STB all year - a testament to the stability of v5, imo. Finally - on demand. Although the menu looks nice as a screenshot, I find it to be easily the slowest part of LCR3, gradually painting the events line by line. Otherwise, it does the job and looks good. Anything else....? The overall look is nicer than the old pink (which never really bothered me anyway). The lack of a favourites or settings button on my remote makes accessing those features a bit more of a chore! The 'cycling through the letters to get to the name of the radio station' screen saver is a nice touch. The Favourites menu has the correct up to date channel names (never mind, BCR3 users ). Overall, I have to say that I'm impressed. Throw in some ETV apps, and I'm sure most people would agree with me! However, without any of these, I can see why people could prefer v5 (which, imo, is better than CR2, BCR3 and even LCR3 as a no frills EPG). As different as this new software seems, this upgrade was really all about what goes on behind the scenes - I look forward to this being properly exploited. And finally (really this time!), I'm afraid I've found some bugs, listed here in order of increasing annoyance! When browsing channels using the mini-guide, the 'turn subtitles on/off' button only appears if you're looking at certain channels - surely this should depend on what channel you're WATCHING. I've had the menu fail to respond to pressing select (as Grafton said above) Sometimes, the mini-guide dissapears while I'm still using it (that is, still regularly pressing buttons). My screen STILL goes blank at 1.10am, only now it's sometimes for upto 15 seconds, and is accompanied by the remote being completly ignored, the 'back' button being set to the channel you're watching, and the mini-guide listings briefly showing some other random channel. Phew!... Enjoy edit: spelling, and the bug Grafton pointed out.