Thread: VOOM STB Version 7.26 (2.30): Features/Bugs/Requests

Let's use this thread for reporting new issues and feature suggestions only. Please, do not post any questions here. Use other threads for discussion of specific issues.

VOOM STB Version 7.26 (aka Software version 2.30)
Version 7.26 (released on November 16, 2004) is the latest VOOM STB software version. It has introduced some new features and addressed several important issues.

New features introduced in 7.26 (since 6.20)

1. Caller ID display.
2. Quick Settings screen ("*" button) for enabling Caller ID and Closed Captioning.
3. Super-DMA capability.
4. Internal changes for future PPV functionality and DVR compatibility.

Issues Addressed in 7.26 (since 6.20)

1. The PG now displays 3 lines of program description
2. Program name with quotation marks is now displayed on the Info screen
3. Yellow "Add to Planner" icon no longer stays on screen
4. Temporary screen black-out and/or DVI synchronization loss when switching channels - no longer happens
5. No sound (or no picture) after switching channels - fixed

New Issues (in 7.26)

1. Caller ID does not always work, or sometimes shows previous caller.
2. Frequent lockups when connected to the phone line.
3. PIN Code may not work after the version update.
4. Unable to enter the Installation Wizard ("The Dreaded Wizard Trap")

5. Hidden OTA channels re-appear after reboot

Important Outstanding Issues

1. Occacional problems with Closed Captioning (not fixed completely)
2. Stuck pixels after navigating through the Program Guide
3. Problems with HD Audio & Video Test
4. PG Navigation does not always preserve the Channel Selection
5. The OK button does not always select the program in the Surf Bar
6. Black screen after exiting System Settings
7. Vertical colored line in the middle of the screen on (all) SD channels (picture)
8. The Program Planner occasionally fails to switch channels
9. STB reboots when switching certain OTA channels in Massachusetts.

Issues reported in 6.20, which are not yet verified in 7.26

1. The STB spontaneously turns on at night
2. Lockup when rapidly switching channels (improved, but not fixed completely)
3. Wrong channel number shown
4. Channel number displayed in the PG without channel description
5. Unable to hide the last channel when the OTA map consists of 11 channels

VOOM STB Version 7.0B (aka V00.02.10)
Version 7.0B (released on October 6) is a maintenance update. No new noticeable features imtroduced. Most changes are internal, that had to be done in order to enable future PPV functionality and for compatibility with the upcoming DVR. Certain previously reported bugs are fixed, but not all of them.

Issues Addressed in 7.0B

1. The PG only displays 2 out of 3 lines of program description
2. Program description with quotation marks is not displayed
3. Yellow "Add to Planner" icon stays on screen in certain cases

New Issues (in 7.0B)

1. Temporary screen black-out and/or DVI synchronization loss when switching channels
2. Lockup when switching resolution with the red button

VOOM STB Version 6.20 (aka V00.01.20)
Version 6.20 (released on August 12) is an update that fixes a couple of important issues discovered in version 6.10

Issues Addressed (since 06.10)

1. Semi-transparent Surf Bar
2. Frequent break-ups on all satellite channels after tuning to a weak OTA station

New Issues (in 6.20)

1. Occasional lockup when checking signal strength of a weak OTA station

VOOM STB Version 6.10 (aka V00.01.10)
(Most of this also applies to version 6.00 which was shipped with some STBs in July)

New features (introduced since 05.68)

1. Installation Wizard
2. OTA channel scanning
3. Channel List (capability to hide OTA channels)
4. Resolution selection through the menu
5. The Program Guide now starts on current channel (but only when "All" is selected)

Issues Addressed (since 05.68)

1. Temporary screen black-out or "snow" effect when switching channels (improved but not fixed completely)
2. Microstutter/frame drop on all channels, including OTA
3. Closed Captioning (improved)
4. Black screen after pressing WATCH in Configuration
5. Wrong Polarity Displayed in "manual tuning"
6. Program Planner does not work with PlayboyHD: the STB locks up

New Issues (introduced in 6.00 and 6.10)

1. Semi-transparent Surf Bar in certain cases.
2. Frequent break-ups on all satellite channels after tuning to a weak OTA station
3. Unable to hide the last channel when the OTA map consists of 11 channels

VOOM Issues that are not software related

1. Video noise (“sparklies”) on certain SD channels, e.g. 403.
2. Occasional sound and video dropouts on various channels.
3. Occasional Black screen during the program on various channels.

Feature Suggestions
(This list is far from being complete. Please post your additional requests in this thread)

1. Discrete power on/off IR codes for programmable remotes
2. PG should always start on current channel, including Favorites and Themes
3. Search feature for the PG (by name or partial name)
4. Ability to scroll the PG one line at a time
5. A full-screen option in PG
6. One-button PG (instead of VOOM+OK)
7. Satellite channels that are not subscribed should not be shown (except for PPV)
8. An option to have transparent menus to help avoid burn-in
9. Ability to enter sub-channels (e.g. 5-3)
10. Ability to un-lock channels (parental control) for several hours
11. Program planner should allow for daily or weekly repeats
12. Multiple Favorite lists (?)
13. A semi-native resolution mode, where only 720p is converted to 1080i
14. On-screen CallerID display

Previous software versions and related threads
Voom Box Version V00.05.68. Bugs/Problems/Feature Requests
Voom Box Version V00.05.5c. Bugs/Problems/Feature Requests
Voom Box Version V00.05.08. Bugs/Problems/Feature Requests

P.S. This thread was originally created for version 05.68, but many of the issues, observations and feature suggestions posted in it are still relevant in 6.10 and 7.0B. So, instead of reposting them all over again, let's continue this thread. I have deleted all messages that are no longer relevant and have edited the first posting of this thread to reflect the latest released version. A copy of the original 05.68 thread is saved here for historical purposes.

The occasional no-sound (or sometimes no-picture) issue after switching channels it is still not fixed completely. Switching channels back and forth usually resolves this problem.

Originally Posted by soledade

Sean,

What problem are you seeing with video output (number 3 on your list)?

Carlos

The main function of this is to adjust over/under scanning on the video output. Do not know if it's channel independent or one setting will work for all channels. Anyway, after clicking "return and save", you may think that the setting you have chosen was saved but after hitting the "watch" button or "back" button to go back to watch the program, you find that the new setting was never saved.

I see no problems with this reciever or remote now since the update. I would suggest that the voom channel menu should bring one back to the current channel position in the channel list rather than starting from the beginning each time. And a previous channel feature in the programming would be cool for those of us buying improved remotes.

OK, this is a good one! I've been hunting this bug for some time and finally it is caught! If you want to see it, follow the steps below. But hurry up! I will be displaying it only till midnight on Saturday!

This is a really ugly-looking bug! And yes, you can actually see it! It looks like a worm (or a snake) with a white head and a black tail. And it is very scary, especially for those of us with LCD TV sets! (Stuck pixels is our worst nightmare...) Fortunately the bug seems to be harmless, unless you leave it on-screen for a long time

I think I've seen this bug before. And others reported it too. But this is the first time I can reliably reproduce it. Too bad I haven't caught it on April 1. Would've made a good joke...

Symptoms
On some occasions after closing the PG window with the WATCH button, I see groups of stuck white and black pixels on the screen. They stay on even if I switch channels. Bringing the main menu with the VOOM button clears them. I think this problem is caused by a mistake in the STB software that is responsible for clearing the screen when the WATCH button is pressed in the PG.

Steps to reproduce the problem
(Note: this works on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays only! So, try this right away!)

1. Switch your STB to the 1080i mode.
2. Open the on-screen Program Guide by pressing VOOM and then "OK".
3. Note the word "Today" above the program grid.
4. Scroll the program list to the right until the word "Today" changes to the word "Sunday".
5. Press WATCH. A group of pixels will remain on the screen in the area where the end of the word "Sunday" was displayed.

Stuck pixels are also caused by certain program descriptions in the Program Guide. I noticed that some long descriptions ending with a letters "o" and "s" in the PG occasionally leave a group of white pixels in the middle of the screen when you press "Watch". The pixels are left-overs from those letters. I was able to reproduce this, but couldn't figure any pattern...

Enjoy!

Symptoms
In the Program Guide some program titles include text with double-quotes. This text is not displayed in the Info screen. I don't know if this is a bug, or it's done by design, but in some cases the result might be confusing (see example below).

Steps to reproduce the problem
1. Open the PG.
2. Navigate to Sunday 4/4 8 PM on channel 125 RAVE.
3. Note the program title: Rave in Concert "The Branford Marsalis Quartet..."
4. Press INFO button. Note, that the title name does not contain the name of the quartet. In the PG this is not a big problem, but in the Surf Bar it is somewhat confusing to read the following:
Rave in concert.
See and hear the musical scope of this Grammy-Award winning tenor saxophonist. Produced in High Definition. (Which saxophonist? - the name is missing!)

Although its been requested before, I would like to request it again:

Please discrete power codes for voom box.

Thanks,

No idea, since that was the only time I've used it.

Does anyone know if there is a way to make the Planner "power-on" be the default? It seems like this should be the default anyway.

Feature requests:

1. Please make the main guide begin at the currently viewed channel, not always starting at channel 100. I know that the surf guide does this, but it takes too long to view one channel at a time. And I think this has already been requested, please make the guides transparent, or at least make it an option. Both of these requests should be able to be handled easily in the system settings.

2. The guide needs a lot of work. It should cover at least 2 hours on a single screen with the time increments marked, as well as an indicator showing the user where he is in time currently.

3. The guide should be a single button hit that does not require hitting the "Voom" button first. I know there are ways around this, but it should work this way by default. "Guide" and "menu" should be two independent buttons.

4. Assign a "clear screen" button somewhere. This is desperately needed, as it is a royal pain to keep using the "back" button over and over again until the screen is cleared.

Bug report:

1. S-video output sync signal needs work. It does not sync up properly to an InFocus X1, yet 6 other s-video sources have synced up properly, so I have to assume that something is funky with the Voom box's sync.

2. High definition output from the component outputs is not being scaled correctly by the Voom box, requiring aspect ratio adjustment from the display device. Once again, all other HD sources display correctly on the same projector, so I must assume that something is awry with the Voom 1080i signal.

Edit: It looks like this is not a bug after all, but is actually very poor engineering. Voom is assuming that every HD display device is formatted 16:9, and this is simply not the case. Front projectors, for example, come both in 16:9 and 4:3 varieties, and Voom needs to provide a control that selects the aspect ratio of the display device, and then allows the user to control the AR from there.

3. IRD still locks up for no apparent reason.

4. Some channels blacked out, but returning to them makes them appear.

5. Pixelization on channel changes still needs to be addressed.

6. Audio dropouts still need fixing.