I’ve had my Scientific Atlanta HD DVR from Time Warner for several years. A couple friends of min recently got one too, and the first thing I noticed was that their user interface looked entirely different than mine. Obviously, their boxes were running a newer version of the SA Explorer 8300HD operating system. The interface was much prettier. The text was sharp, the colors were bright, and GUI images were less pixelated. I thought to myself, “wow – I wish Time Warner would upgrade mine to that.”
Last week, my DVR rebooted itself early in the morning. When it came back up, I discovered that it had been upgraded to the newest version of the Explorer OS. At first, I was happy about it, but now that I’ve had to use the thing for a week, I want the older version back. Remember how several sentences back I commented on how “pretty” the new GUI was? Well, that’s the ONLY thing that’s improved.
Here’s my complaints about the newer OS…
1) You can no longer use the “Source” button on the remote to choose your zoom options. So, if you’re watching a standard definition show, that’s in letterbox format, you can’t just hit the “Source” button to zoom in and fill the screen with the letterboxed image. (I understand that most of Time Warner’s customers won’t care about this issue, because they most likely have their box set up to stretch 4:3 pictures to 16:9, but I didn’t buy an HDTV to deform what I’m watching.)
2) Forward and Backward search speeds and delays have changed. The Search forward and backwards speeds are much slower. I used to click the >> button twice to “forward-wind” through commercials. Now, I have to click the >> button 3 times to get the same speed. Also, once I’ve gotten through the commercials, and hit “Play” when my show starts, the DVR will skip backwards many seconds sticking me in the commercials again. I used to be able to time it perfectly.
3) You can no longer scroll through your favorite channels in the Programming Menu by clicking the “Fav” button on the remote. Now if you do so, you’re removed from the menu, and clicking “Fav” changes the channel you’re tuned to.
4) Scrolling through the Programming Menu is MUCH SLOWER. I used to be able to scroll right and left at a quick pace to find a show several days ahead at a particular time to record. Now they want you to use the “Day” button on the remote where each time you push it, you have to put up with a “Please Wait” message that lasts for several seconds while it loads the schedule and re-buffers whatever is showing in the playback window.
So, in a nutshell – this OS upgrade appears to be another example of form over function. Sure the UI looks pretty, but functionally the new OS is severely lacking. It’s slow, and missing features that I used a lot. Please Time Warner, can I have my old OS back?