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I have been trying out the R v50 for the last few days. Here are my observations/comments:
Touch pad: This is a substitute for the arrow keys and page up/dn keys. It is not like a graphical cursor key that one cam move diagonally across the screen (like a mouse on a laptop w a trackpad). So, one cannot go directly to an icon on, say the DVR|Recorded Programs screen. One has to swipe left/right or up/dn to step to the desired icon.. or bid swipes up/dn to go page up/dn.
Conclusion: R v40 with buttons to do this directly is more convenient.
Voice control: (this should really be Voice input). The quality of voice transcription is pretty good (except for international channel program names
But this is helpful only when entering a string for the Search function. Voice control is clunky for playback control (saying Pause.. rewind 10 seconds .. fast forward ..STOP..Play is awkward and gets old really fast!!). The VCR controls and the skip back/ahead buttons on R v 40 are way easier to use to control the exact place to playback.
Conclusion: R v40 is has better user experience except when entering strings.
Rant: the problem is exacerbated by not having a cheat sheet of voice commands that the system accepts. I guess the user is expected to play around (like with Siri ?) to "discover" what the system can do. So, one is left wondering .. Should I say .. Goto CNN ...or .. Find CNN.. or .. channel up.. or ..show CNN..
It is easier to type 200.
Please help me like this remote. And re-hire the folks who designed R v40!!
Aloke
Touch pad: This is a substitute for the arrow keys and page up/dn keys. It is not like a graphical cursor key that one cam move diagonally across the screen (like a mouse on a laptop w a trackpad). So, one cannot go directly to an icon on, say the DVR|Recorded Programs screen. One has to swipe left/right or up/dn to step to the desired icon.. or bid swipes up/dn to go page up/dn.
Conclusion: R v40 with buttons to do this directly is more convenient.
Voice control: (this should really be Voice input). The quality of voice transcription is pretty good (except for international channel program names
But this is helpful only when entering a string for the Search function. Voice control is clunky for playback control (saying Pause.. rewind 10 seconds .. fast forward ..STOP..Play is awkward and gets old really fast!!). The VCR controls and the skip back/ahead buttons on R v 40 are way easier to use to control the exact place to playback.Conclusion: R v40 is has better user experience except when entering strings.
Rant: the problem is exacerbated by not having a cheat sheet of voice commands that the system accepts. I guess the user is expected to play around (like with Siri ?) to "discover" what the system can do. So, one is left wondering .. Should I say .. Goto CNN ...or .. Find CNN.. or .. channel up.. or ..show CNN..
It is easier to type 200.
Please help me like this remote. And re-hire the folks who designed R v40!!
Aloke
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1749 views
Sorry, can't help you there! I hate it as well, pretty much for the same reasons. And we're not alone.
As you know, you can still use the 40 perfectly fine. For me, I have the 52 model. I love it. Compact like the 50 but with buttons AND a number pad. Rarely use the 40 any more, like that one, too.
https://www.mydish.com/support/remote-control-overviews
I will give Dish credit. They do at least try. But they pretty much fall short on the whole user experience or interface with some of their products. Remotes being at the top of the list. These new ones do suffer from crammed-in-ittis. Difficult to "feel for some buttons, have to learn though. And a lot of people hate the fact that one of the most common buttons, the DVR button, is tucked in the middle of other buttons. Instead of being out on its own, easier to thumb. One problem is that when you get this small in size you have to make compromises like one button having dual purposes. Oh well.
Fun Fact: If you want to have some giggles, speak "sh*t snacks" as a search term and see if America's favorite Canadian pops up in the search results. Seriously, when I am bored I pretty much just do dumb stuff like speak "knock flipper" or stupid, odd phrases like that simply to see what Dish serves up to me in the results. Or curse words, but ran those dry already.
So, I guess the 50 does have at least one redeeming value.
A
These are minor 1st world problems, but I was disappointed after all the markrting hype about the "voice control remote". It is not easy to come up with a good UI, but hopefully, Dish can keep improving the software side and documentation.
Aside: I haven't found a good voice interface (except in the movie Her
). There is a threshold of perfection needed that is hard to achieve. The voice recognition and UI has to be perfect (near perfect is not good enough) where one can speak and expect (without the need to verify!) the correct interpretation and execution. It will gradually become irksome if one has to check after speaking if the command was correctly interpreted and carried out. That's why most people I know give up on Siri etc after the initial novelty has faded. The same will happen to R v50.
Yes. Typo. I meant 52.
These are minor 1st world problems, but I was disappointed after all the markrting hype about the "voice control remote". It is not easy to come up with a good UI, but hopefully, Dish can keep improving the software side and documentation.
Aside: I haven't found a good voice interface (except in the movie Her
). There is a threshold of perfection needed that is hard to achieve. The voice recognition and UI has to be perfect (near perfect is not good enough) where one can speak and expect (without the need to verify!) the correct interpretation and execution. It will gradually become irksome if one has to check after speaking if the command was correctly interpreted and carried out. That's why most people I know give up on Siri etc after the initial novelty has faded. The same will happen to R v50.
D
H3, two 4K Joeys. Dish sent me a voice remote for free as part of the deal to come back to Dish from Directv. Long story, but we ended up with 3 voice remotes/50s. So we have a 52, 3 50s, and two 40s.
I thought the voice remote would be very cool, especially for my wife, who is technology challenged. Frustrated trying to figure out how to do something? Just say it! And the search capabilities are cool, for example, just saying Kansas City Royals or General Hospital or Hill Street Blues brings those up.
However, after more playing with it, I realize that the "cool" factor is wearing off, and I really just want to push a button to do what I want. It's not that big a deal to hit the search button and enter what you're looking for. In fact, it's nice to see the recommendations pop up as you are typing in your search.
It IS better than the 52, IMO, just because the 52 is lacking things like a "Stop" button. But the reason I like it better than the 52 that came with the H3 is more about the deficiencies in the 52 than it is how great the 50 is. And I find my wife keeps reaching for the 40.
Perhaps there are things the voice remote does that are easier/better than the 40? But I haven't yet found any significant advantages over what I can do with the 40.
So for now, we will end up ordering a 3rd 40 for the H3, and probably have 3 50s and a 52 in a box of unused remotes. (If anyone wants a deal on 3 brand new 50s, let me know.)
I thought the voice remote would be very cool, especially for my wife, who is technology challenged.
Frustrated trying to figure out how to do something? Just say it! And the search capabilities are cool, for example, just saying Kansas City Royals or General Hospital or Hill Street Blues brings those up. However, after more playing with it, I realize that the "cool" factor is wearing off, and I really just want to push a button to do what I want. It's not that big a deal to hit the search button and enter what you're looking for. In fact, it's nice to see the recommendations pop up as you are typing in your search.
It IS better than the 52, IMO, just because the 52 is lacking things like a "Stop" button. But the reason I like it better than the 52 that came with the H3 is more about the deficiencies in the 52 than it is how great the 50 is. And I find my wife keeps reaching for the 40.
Perhaps there are things the voice remote does that are easier/better than the 40? But I haven't yet found any significant advantages over what I can do with the 40.
So for now, we will end up ordering a 3rd 40 for the H3, and probably have 3 50s and a 52 in a box of unused remotes. (If anyone wants a deal on 3 brand new 50s, let me know.)
TFLEV
Time for another AWESOME video from TFL Electric Vehicles!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvCXgeUJXS0
Direct YouTube Link - Geely E5 (EX5) First Drive: Meet The Toyota RAV4 of China!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvCXgeUJXS0
Direct YouTube Link - Geely E5 (EX5) First Drive: Meet The Toyota RAV4 of China!
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Staff member
Pub Member / Supporter
Cutting Edge
The TPN Map Excel Presents all DIRECTV Channels:
Understanding the TPN Map
Making Sense of the TPN Map Display Conventions
National (50-States or wide/NAT+PR beams)
Local (Local-Into-Local or narrow/Spot beams)
Local (Local-Into-Local or narrow/Spot beams)
Additional tabs provide:
OTA the (Over-The-Air) Database
VOD (Video On_Demand) Records
Offline Records
Engr Records
Net Decoder a graphic presentation of all satellites and transponders
VOD (Video On_Demand) Records
Offline Records
Engr Records
Net Decoder a graphic presentation of all satellites and transponders
Domestic Satellites
@99W...... D11, D14
@101W.... D16
@103W.... D12, D15
@110W.... D5
@119W.... D8
@99W...... D11, D14
@101W.... D16
@103W.... D12, D15
@110W.... D5
@119W.... D8
Understanding the TPN Map
Making Sense of the TPN Map Display Conventions
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Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68733 Replies
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2684098 views
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
Over the past year I have been tracking the changes on Western Arc. The past 3 months have had a lot of changes that I posted in the other MPEG2 Western Arc shutdown thread. Now that 129 is (basically) out of commission, here is where Western Arc stands. This is just a national channel list, (no local channels) based off what I can see and what others have contributed. Thanks to everyone who has helped me come up with the locations of some of the channels – I would try and list all of you out, but I know I would forget someone! As has been suggested in other parts of the forum, it would be great to collect the spotbeam data for those who could contribute!
A couple of pieces of info:
When I talk about number of channels on a transponder, all my numbers are unique channels – for example, channel 101 and 199 are the same channel mapped to two different numbers, but in terms of space, only takes up 1 channel worth of bandwidth on the transponder.
Finally, I have to give Dish a ton of credit. When it was 110/119/129, Dish had 82 transponders they were using – it took a lot to get it down to 50 transponders and figure out where all the pieces were going to go. What are the things they did to get there? Here are the things I saw:
A couple of pieces of info:
- Out of the 64 transponders between 110/119, there are currently 50 transponders that Dish is licensed to use. 22 are Spotbeams, 28 are ConUS transponders (14 transponders are licensed to DirecTV and Dish doesn't have access to them)
- Those 28 ConUS transponders are divided as follows:
- 10 are dedicated to National HD channels (ESPN, CNN, Disney Channel, etc). Dish is maxing out at 16 HD channels per transponder (note – in an earlier post I said there was one transponder with 17 HD channels, that was an error on my part. When I double checked my listings, one channel changed transponders). Before the transition, there was a maximum of 14 HD channels per transponder.
- 1 transponder is dedicated to adult content
- 2 are a mixture HD PPV Movies/4k channels
- 3 are set aside for HD Sports channels that are only on for live games (NBA League Pass, the PAC 12 alternate channels, some PPV events, etc); 3 SD PPV Sports Channels are there as well.
- 7 are for SD and/or music channels. Dish is maxing out at 26 SD channels per transponder thus far on the SD transponders.
- 5 transponders on 110 I have no channels listed but Dish operates. (they are labeled as ConUS on my chart below) There are other things that could be on those transponders, like RV Distant Networks, internal testing channels, etc, that I can't see. They might be able to be used for additional content, but I am not sure exactly what is on those transponders.
When I talk about number of channels on a transponder, all my numbers are unique channels – for example, channel 101 and 199 are the same channel mapped to two different numbers, but in terms of space, only takes up 1 channel worth of bandwidth on the transponder.
Finally, I have to give Dish a ton of credit. When it was 110/119/129, Dish had 82 transponders they were using – it took a lot to get it down to 50 transponders and figure out where all the pieces were going to go. What are the things they did to get there? Here are the things I saw:
- During this migration from 129, Dish converted 7 ConUS transponders on 119 into Spotbeams – that is how they ended up fitting on all the HD locals that used to be on 129. (for those interested, TP 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 are the ones that used to be ConUS on 119 that are now Spotbeam)
- Removed almost all SD duplicate channels that are offered in HD
- Converted remaining SD channels from MPEG2 to MPEG4
- There are also 2 subtle things that changed from the HD channel perspective
- At the beginning of the transition, Dish decreased the number of PPV Movie channels – prior to this transition the PPV channels HD PPV movies were 502-522; now they are 502-517.
- At the beginning of April when MLB, NBA, and NHL regular seasons were all going on at the same time and this transition began, there were a ton of games "joined in progress" for the HD feeds. That wasn't common since the days before the full time HD RSN's. The reason for that was prior to the transition, Dish had 4 transponders set aside for HD Sports – 2 transponders was the bandwidth set aside from the HD RSN's before Dish dropped the RSN's, then 2 transponders were for alternate channels. Now we are down to 3 transponders for HD sports.
250 Replies
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65990 views
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsr0owJQjdM
Direct YouTube Link - Whiskey Pick: Sideshow Lincoln Straight Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsr0owJQjdM
Direct YouTube Link - Whiskey Pick: Sideshow Lincoln Straight Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
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TWiT Tech Podcast Network
Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nexbqNPK4g
Direct YouTube Link - Siri Recap & Live Reward Come to watchOS Beta
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nexbqNPK4g
Direct YouTube Link - Siri Recap & Live Reward Come to watchOS Beta
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
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Lon.TV
Time for another AWESOME video from Lon Seidman of LON.TV!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnP5FbLWFXM
Direct YouTube Link - Here's How I Code My Own Apps with AI Tools
The Official LON.TV Website
Lon on Facebook
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnP5FbLWFXM
Direct YouTube Link - Here's How I Code My Own Apps with AI Tools
The Official LON.TV Website
Lon on Facebook
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Pub Member / Supporter
Not sure saving $24/year is worth it unless you're a hardcore Philo user. I'll stick with monthly.
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Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
Cheap, just the battery. Working or not.
Anybody got anything they'd just as soon get rid of? They look like this:
Anybody got anything they'd just as soon get rid of? They look like this:
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iJustine
Time for another AWESOME video from iJustine!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CQKExcti5Og
Direct YouTube Link - Buying a Car Online: Truth or Lie?
The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CQKExcti5Og
Direct YouTube Link - Buying a Car Online: Truth or Lie?
The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!
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