Fibe STB and Remote shortcomings

[jzanin]

I moved all my residential services (tv, internet, landline) to Bell a couple months ago. For the most part, I am happy. The fiber internet is sweet, and I am getting used to new channel lineup and figuring out where all my fave channels are now located.

BUT THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT I HATE HATE HATE!!!!

1 - why isn't there a clock display on the set top box???? (Your competitor's box has one, and it is super convenient)

2 - why, in the name of all that is reasonable, is your "slim remote" not capable of switching inputs on the TV?????

I am a pretty easygoing customer, An LED clock might add and extra $2 to the cost of the STB.... Adding INPUT SELECT function to the remote is simply a matter of programming it accordingly. Maybe you have to add an extra button - so the cost goes up by a few pennies... SMALL PRICE TO PAY TO MAKE THE REMOTE 100x MORE USEFUL!!!!!

As any seasoned marketing professional will attest, it is the "little things" that differentiate a mediocre product (such as your current STB and Remote) from a GREAT product (I will say that your competitor has you beat there).

How about fixing the issue and distributing some new hardware??

[AlexS]

1. it's already on the screen and led lights need electricity. it adds up since most ppl don't turn off the box when not using it. 2. switch to other device = more potentials to lose revenue for Bell lol

btw which competitor r u referring to?

[jzanin]

Hey Alex - I would actually WANT the clock LED to stay on all the time - just like the box I had when I was with the competitor (actually - you had the option of leaving the clock illuminated, or you could disable it via one of the settings options. That is the sort of customization that the Bell boxes are sorely missing).

As for the competitor, I dare not speak their name on this board, but let's just say that I think of them whenever I watch a Toronto Blue Jays baseball game!

[Lyphe416]

I"m curious what you thought of Rogers .. as I've been mulling a move 'to' them.  I find it frustrating that Bell, who is supposed to be the premium service provider, does not have anything to compete with Rogers voice.  My GF has Rogers, and its great to simply press the voice button and ask the TV to show you whatever you are looking for.  Were you forced to Bell or did you make the move because you were frustrated with Rogers?

[jzanin]

Good afternoon Lyphe.

As much as Rogers used to annoy me, I personally feel that their PVR boxes (I was still on their Digital VIP tier - the PVR boxes had their own internal hard drives, etc) were easier to use, and the overall User Interface was much more intuitive and easy to navigate. I never had any of their interactive voice units - I think those were available only with their "Ignite" tiers - I never switched to Ignite because I didn't want to lose my in-home (non-cloud-based) PVR functionality, nor did I want to learn a new channel lineup...

I went to Bell mostly because they installed fiber in my neighbourhood, and they had some pretty sweet sign-up promotions. I still hate the fact that none of the channels are where they should be, so I can't just flip to the channels I like by memory (I gotta use the on-screen guide to find it first), and I really dislike the lack of a clock on the set-top box and the lack of an "input select" button on the remote.

If voice recognition is really that big of a desire, why not try an Amazon Firestick as a compromise?

In all truthfulness, once my promo pricing expires, it will be a very very tough decision as to whether I stay with Bell or not.... Having had 1Gbps service for a few months now, I can say that for an average household, it isn't necessary... I was doing just fine with 150 Mbps service... but at least it sounds cool when I tell people that I have fiber service at home.

[AlexS]

R u using Bell’s Satellite tv dvr?

[jzanin]

I believe the model i am using is called the Home Hub 4000 (which is the fiber modem + whole home router + landline interface) and then each TV has its own set top box which communicates wirelessly to the home hub.

[AlexS]

oh I meant the digital video recorder. Satellite Internet is expensive and Bell doesn't provide that lol

[jzanin]

I have the 4k whole home PVR. It works fine - I just wish it had a clock display on the front!

[AlexS]

Can't believe rogers' old dvr could beat bell's 2016 one on some aspects!