A little disappointed with my new Samsung 4K PVR

[distox]

After playing with my new Samsung 4K PVR for several days, I decided to make notes.

First, the good. This is a real nice piece of hardware. The video is excellent. The menus are sharp and fast. The response to any remote command seems instant. The guide is nice and the transport keys are very accurate. Even the recording capacity is fine and being able to record 8 channels at a time is great. But hardware is only as good as the software controlling it. 

Now, the bad. The firmware I am referring to is version 1.0.5.2. As far as PVRs go, I have tried many. Bell Satellite, TiVo, Starchoice, DTV, Channel Master Plus, Microsoft Ultimate TV and many more. They all have pluses and minuses and none are perfect. Here is a list of issues I have with the Videotron 4K PVR. 

1 - Missing. When creating a new program to record, the option of recording only new episodes and not repeat episodes is not available. Because of this, the pvr records old episodes that I have already seen. Sometimes, the pvr records multiple copies of the same show. Restricting the frequency option makes it no better than a manual timer. 
2  - Missing. The ability to see recording when the program is not in the Upcoming recordings list. This means I cannot delete a timer to a program that no longer airs. 
3 - Missing. Show names in the List of Recorded Programs when there is only 1 show. They appear when there multiple shows in a folder.
4 - Guide. Inconsistent names. Some series show the Season # while some don't.
5 - Guide. After setting the Channel Filter to Favorite, after a while it jumps back to All Channels by itself. 
6 - Guide. Sometimes when a program doesn't end or start on the hour or half hour, the yellow box jumps around back and forth and I can't select it.
7 - Bug. When forwarding in 4X, pressing the jump forward several times results in the picture freezing.

The rest of my issues are with programming options. No English weather channel in the Basic Package. BBC Canada not in HD while Skynews is. Under certain circumstances paying twice for channels. And not being able to buy Superstations 1 at a time. 

[JFrancoisD]

Hello Distox!

We have sent you a private message in order to assist you more effectively with those issues.

[distox · Accepted solution]

So I talked with the guys from Videotron about my review and they said they are working on a software update that will address some if not most of my issues. They couldn't give me a firm date but said it will come soon. I'm looking forward to that. In the meantime, I have adopted a few habbits that helps me with my recorded shows. Almost all series have a season and episode number in the discription. I decided not to delete the latest episode of all the shows I watch so when I get a second eposide of the same show, I can tell if it is a new one by checking that information. Also, more than 1 episode lets me see the episode names.

[samrec]

Will you be kind enough to let us know when this update is deploiyed?

We recently acquired a 4k TV (cheapest I could find) and are considering in getting that terminal for it and send the HD pvr downstairs.

[VinhN]

Hello! For now, the 4K PVR is still running the same version. The technical support department will be more than happy to assist you if you have any questions or issues with your terminal. They can be reached out by phone at 1-877-380-2611 or by chat here: http://ow.ly/cmoQ3023die 

[distox]

samrec, I will update my review as soon as a new software version comes out. VinhN, he has not acquired a 4K pvr yet so he  probably won't experience what issues he will be faced with until he does.

[JoséeC]

Hi,

Please do not hesitate to send us your comments in due time.

JoséeC

[samrec]

And to make things worst, I have my 4k pvr delivered and installed on saturday.

To my surprise Videotron does not provides the unit with a 4K rated HDMI cable, so I habe to go get one. Which is not a problem, just a real inconvinience and odd that with such a high tech device and company this was a big oversight.

[JFrancoisD]

Hello Samrec!

The HDMI cable that is provided with the 4K PVR is indeed certified UHD (4K). There should be no need to obtain another one!

[distox]

Well, today I noticed the software  version changed from 1.0.5.2 to 1.0.5.3.  After a quick check I could not see much difference.  All my previous issues seem to be still present.  Anyone else notice a change?  Maybe after playing with it for a few days I will catch something. It seems that KTLA has been freezing here and there on recorded shows. I don't know if it had something to do with the change or something else is not right, again time will tell.

[samrec]

I noticed something odd last night. One of my chanels (651) does not longer shows on the guide but the unit keeps recording from it.  I have previously set it to record Marvel Inhumans and last night when I was trying to tune in to see it live it was not there nor did it showed on the upcoming recordings.  So I watched the show on 607 instead and recorded it too.  This morning, I got both recordings showing on my unit.

Really ackward, will need to reach out to tech support I guess.

[PatrickM]

Hi @samrec, 

There were several changes with channel positions in November in order to group the channels according to their theme and improve the browsing experience through the program guide. The ABC channel at position 51/651 was moved on November 1st and is now located at 86 is standard and 686 in high definition.

Let us know if you have any issue. Our technical support can also verify this in more detail. You can reach them at: http://www.videotron.com/residential/contact-us.

[distox]

Were the channel changes the result of the software upgrade from 1.0.5.2. to 1.0.5.3?  What other changes did the upgrade give us?  Is there a list of all the channel changes somewhere?

[PatrickM]

Hi @distox,

The change is at the program guide level and has no link with the firmware. Unfortunately, there is no list of the incoming channel changes available on your end but we certainly take note of this as a suggestion.  However, a notice is displayed sporadically on the channels scheduled to be moved two weeks before the change of position to notify customers.

For the 1.0.5.3 OS, it is mainly bug fixes to improve the performance of the device and reduce the occurrence of error messages.

[santorro]

I had problem with version 1.0.5.2 :OS freezing.  I still have the same problem with the version 1.0.5.3 Someone else here have got the same problems?

[distox]

For me, there seems to be a new freezing problem too. Sometimes when I hit the skip back button the picture freezes for about 5 seconds than resumes. The freezing I mentioned in my first post is still there.

[DanielD]

Hello santorro!   We have sent you a private message in order to assist you more effectively with those issues.

[distox]

Well, the firmware on my PVR has been upgraded once again to version 1.0.5.4 from 1.0.5.3 and once again I do not see any user available changes.  Anyone else get this upgrade and notice something I missed?

[distox]

Well, first of all, happy new year to everyone! Since I first started this thread, there has been 2 firmware updates. Neither of which addressed any of the issues I listed in my first post. So, who checked off the 'Solved' box? I had hoped that by now, something would have improved. Let's hope that the new year soon brings some improvements.

[NoobaTron]

Seems like little has changed.  I just recenctly had two Samsung receivers installed (one a 8x recorder and one a 2x recorder) as part of my television package and both default to the "All Channels" selection whenever I turn off the receiver.  When I turn them back on I must once again reselect "Favorite Channels" .  Very annoying .... my solution for now ... leave them turned on 24/7.