Buggiest hardware's software you've ever seen?
-
We have a Starchoice HD satelite receiver with a PVR built in. It just came out apparently in the end of last year and we are the classic early adopters, we had to wait 3 weeks before they had one they could send us when we ordered. Apparently it's built by and programmed by Motorola. It has more bugs than a bait shop. Nearly every major feature on it is riddled with bugs so bad that it barely functions for it's purpose. Starchoice acknowledged this and keeps saying an update is coming. Some of the funniest bugs are things that couldn't possibly be missed if the function was even tested once. For example the remote has a jump ahead and jump back buttons on it that allow you when watching a pre-recorded program to skip through commercials or do a quick rewind to see a replay etc. In the menu you can program the amount of seconds they will jump each way. The bug is that those fields are 3 digits and already set to 30 seconds forward and 10 seconds back, if you go into them there is no way to overwrite what is there so if you want 60 seconds forward and hit a 6 you get 306 seconds and can't enter any more digits! There are literally dozens of similar bugs that would have been caught by any idiot spending a single day on a couch running the thing. As a programmer I find it amusing to see these bugs and follow a hypothetical train of bad logic that led to most of them. For example it has two receivers in it, you can record one chanel while watching another or a pre-recorded item on it's hard drive. If you hit stop when watching a pre-recorded program, it also stops recording the program it was recording on the other built in receiver. If this is the best Motorola can do I suggest anyone here looking for work send them a resume, there are some real rookies working in that division obviously. Anyone else see hardware that's software was buggy beyond belief?
ahem.... http://www.codeproject.com/lounge.asp?msg=1386422&mode=all&userid=49221#xx1386422xx[^] Oops....whatta load of crap.....went back to the shop in the end, and think they were kinda expecting it, cos didn't even put a fight lol "Now I guess I'll sit back and watch people misinterpret what I just said......" Christian Graus At The Soapbox
-
Rama Krishna Vavilala wrote:
also sometimes the sound gets muted from the reciever.
When the DVR turns itself "on" to record it will automatically "mute" the audio. This "feature" is a precaution in case you've left your TV/Audio Reciever powered on. The trick for me was reprogramming the supplied multi-function remote to un-mute the DVR... by default the remotes mute button works only with the TV. :doh: "If the world should blow itself up, the last audible voice would be that of an expert saying it can't be done." - Peter Ustinov
Mike Mullikin wrote:
The trick for me was reprogramming the supplied multi-function remote to un-mute the DVR
Thanks for the tip. I always used to turn the power off and turn it back on when the DVR got muted.
-
We have a Starchoice HD satelite receiver with a PVR built in. It just came out apparently in the end of last year and we are the classic early adopters, we had to wait 3 weeks before they had one they could send us when we ordered. Apparently it's built by and programmed by Motorola. It has more bugs than a bait shop. Nearly every major feature on it is riddled with bugs so bad that it barely functions for it's purpose. Starchoice acknowledged this and keeps saying an update is coming. Some of the funniest bugs are things that couldn't possibly be missed if the function was even tested once. For example the remote has a jump ahead and jump back buttons on it that allow you when watching a pre-recorded program to skip through commercials or do a quick rewind to see a replay etc. In the menu you can program the amount of seconds they will jump each way. The bug is that those fields are 3 digits and already set to 30 seconds forward and 10 seconds back, if you go into them there is no way to overwrite what is there so if you want 60 seconds forward and hit a 6 you get 306 seconds and can't enter any more digits! There are literally dozens of similar bugs that would have been caught by any idiot spending a single day on a couch running the thing. As a programmer I find it amusing to see these bugs and follow a hypothetical train of bad logic that led to most of them. For example it has two receivers in it, you can record one chanel while watching another or a pre-recorded item on it's hard drive. If you hit stop when watching a pre-recorded program, it also stops recording the program it was recording on the other built in receiver. If this is the best Motorola can do I suggest anyone here looking for work send them a resume, there are some real rookies working in that division obviously. Anyone else see hardware that's software was buggy beyond belief?
What is it with satellite receivers being buggy? I have DirectTV Plus - the receiver with their version of a DVR. They used to have Tivo partnered, but I guess it became too expensive. Anyhow, I tape a couple of shows for my mother-in-law to watch when she babysits my son. I have Dr. Phil set to record as a series - every M-F at 10:00am. This week, the show has not been recorded. But, if I go to the program guide I see the little "R" that says it's set to record. Also, if I press the buttons on the remote too quickly, the system will hang and not respond for up to 5 seconds. I think this is the problem with using an off-the-shelf OS instead of writing a real-time system to handle this, withouth the OS overhead. I have to say that the UI is pretty good. Companies usually get this wrong. It's just that they spent 0 time in testing this because they had to get something out to replace Tivo. Regards, Brigg Thorp Senior Software Engineer Timex Corporation
-
We have a Starchoice HD satelite receiver with a PVR built in. It just came out apparently in the end of last year and we are the classic early adopters, we had to wait 3 weeks before they had one they could send us when we ordered. Apparently it's built by and programmed by Motorola. It has more bugs than a bait shop. Nearly every major feature on it is riddled with bugs so bad that it barely functions for it's purpose. Starchoice acknowledged this and keeps saying an update is coming. Some of the funniest bugs are things that couldn't possibly be missed if the function was even tested once. For example the remote has a jump ahead and jump back buttons on it that allow you when watching a pre-recorded program to skip through commercials or do a quick rewind to see a replay etc. In the menu you can program the amount of seconds they will jump each way. The bug is that those fields are 3 digits and already set to 30 seconds forward and 10 seconds back, if you go into them there is no way to overwrite what is there so if you want 60 seconds forward and hit a 6 you get 306 seconds and can't enter any more digits! There are literally dozens of similar bugs that would have been caught by any idiot spending a single day on a couch running the thing. As a programmer I find it amusing to see these bugs and follow a hypothetical train of bad logic that led to most of them. For example it has two receivers in it, you can record one chanel while watching another or a pre-recorded item on it's hard drive. If you hit stop when watching a pre-recorded program, it also stops recording the program it was recording on the other built in receiver. If this is the best Motorola can do I suggest anyone here looking for work send them a resume, there are some real rookies working in that division obviously. Anyone else see hardware that's software was buggy beyond belief?
I'd imagine the requirements didn't include anything beyond producing a spec sheet that could be compared to Tivo in some small way. Since most of these machines are build to be used by cable and satellite companies (whose only goal is to reduce competition), the idea that they be actually useful to the end-user doesn't even enter the picture. ----
Bots don't know when people die. --Paul Watson, RIP
-
We have a Starchoice HD satelite receiver with a PVR built in. It just came out apparently in the end of last year and we are the classic early adopters, we had to wait 3 weeks before they had one they could send us when we ordered. Apparently it's built by and programmed by Motorola. It has more bugs than a bait shop. Nearly every major feature on it is riddled with bugs so bad that it barely functions for it's purpose. Starchoice acknowledged this and keeps saying an update is coming. Some of the funniest bugs are things that couldn't possibly be missed if the function was even tested once. For example the remote has a jump ahead and jump back buttons on it that allow you when watching a pre-recorded program to skip through commercials or do a quick rewind to see a replay etc. In the menu you can program the amount of seconds they will jump each way. The bug is that those fields are 3 digits and already set to 30 seconds forward and 10 seconds back, if you go into them there is no way to overwrite what is there so if you want 60 seconds forward and hit a 6 you get 306 seconds and can't enter any more digits! There are literally dozens of similar bugs that would have been caught by any idiot spending a single day on a couch running the thing. As a programmer I find it amusing to see these bugs and follow a hypothetical train of bad logic that led to most of them. For example it has two receivers in it, you can record one chanel while watching another or a pre-recorded item on it's hard drive. If you hit stop when watching a pre-recorded program, it also stops recording the program it was recording on the other built in receiver. If this is the best Motorola can do I suggest anyone here looking for work send them a resume, there are some real rookies working in that division obviously. Anyone else see hardware that's software was buggy beyond belief?
My Dish Network PVR has some odd bugs. The weirdest is that if it doesn't get the nightly update, which happens at 12:05 am and the unit must be off (which means if I'm watching a late movie or show, the update doesn't happen) it eventually loses all program data. But it's still better than the crappy Motorola cable boxes I've had over the years. I've long concluded that Motorola sucks. Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine. - P.J. O'Rourke
-
What is it with satellite receivers being buggy? I have DirectTV Plus - the receiver with their version of a DVR. They used to have Tivo partnered, but I guess it became too expensive. Anyhow, I tape a couple of shows for my mother-in-law to watch when she babysits my son. I have Dr. Phil set to record as a series - every M-F at 10:00am. This week, the show has not been recorded. But, if I go to the program guide I see the little "R" that says it's set to record. Also, if I press the buttons on the remote too quickly, the system will hang and not respond for up to 5 seconds. I think this is the problem with using an off-the-shelf OS instead of writing a real-time system to handle this, withouth the OS overhead. I have to say that the UI is pretty good. Companies usually get this wrong. It's just that they spent 0 time in testing this because they had to get something out to replace Tivo. Regards, Brigg Thorp Senior Software Engineer Timex Corporation
Acutally, I worked on this project! My contract (not at DirecTV but a middleware supplier) on testing got finished earlier because DirecTV reckoned the trial boxes were working better than expected. There was an awful lot of testing but one problem is that we had to work with several box manufacturers (they look the same on the outside, it's a branding thing) which made the testing even more difficult. The tigress is here :-D
-
I'd imagine the requirements didn't include anything beyond producing a spec sheet that could be compared to Tivo in some small way. Since most of these machines are build to be used by cable and satellite companies (whose only goal is to reduce competition), the idea that they be actually useful to the end-user doesn't even enter the picture. ----
Bots don't know when people die. --Paul Watson, RIP
The biggest issue is keeping production costs down which makes the software very difficult - like NEVER letting Java do automatic garbage collection. The tigress is here :-D
-
What is it with satellite receivers being buggy? I have DirectTV Plus - the receiver with their version of a DVR. They used to have Tivo partnered, but I guess it became too expensive. Anyhow, I tape a couple of shows for my mother-in-law to watch when she babysits my son. I have Dr. Phil set to record as a series - every M-F at 10:00am. This week, the show has not been recorded. But, if I go to the program guide I see the little "R" that says it's set to record. Also, if I press the buttons on the remote too quickly, the system will hang and not respond for up to 5 seconds. I think this is the problem with using an off-the-shelf OS instead of writing a real-time system to handle this, withouth the OS overhead. I have to say that the UI is pretty good. Companies usually get this wrong. It's just that they spent 0 time in testing this because they had to get something out to replace Tivo. Regards, Brigg Thorp Senior Software Engineer Timex Corporation
I forgot to say - ring DirecTV up - all calls are recorded and go back for analysis. The tigress is here :-D
-
Must be motorola in general, because I have a motorola cell phone and absolutely hate it. Whoever "designed" the user interface needs to find a new job. Add to that the fact that the phone freezes if you are typing a text message and you hit the max characters allowed size. I actually had to take the battery out of the phone in order to get it to be usable again. Brian Van Beek Inside this room, all of my dreams become realities, and some of my realities become dreams. -Willy Wonka Read my Blog, I know you want to... [^]
Brian Van Beek wrote:
Whoever "designed" the user interface needs to find a new job.
Whoever "designed" this interface needs an urge to pee and a five-quick-steps-to-the-bowl toilet cover. Every day.
Brian Van Beek wrote:
Add to that the fact that the phone freezes if you are typing a text message and you hit the max characters allowed size
My Motorola didn't freeze, but it didn't have Java either.
Some of us walk the memory lane, others plummet into a rabbit hole
Tree in C# || Fold With Us! || sighist -
The biggest issue is keeping production costs down which makes the software very difficult - like NEVER letting Java do automatic garbage collection. The tigress is here :-D
That doesn't surprise me. Probably the biggest frustration i get from my (DishNetwork-branded) DVR is its habit of pausing while i'm in the middle of scanning through channels, then kicking back in just in time to throw a message on the screen over whatever i was starting to watch. Still nothing like as bad as the last (non-DVR) cable box i had. Scrolling through the menu was slow, and i mean slow in a way that brought back fond memories of the speedy scrolling of the PC-AT BIOS text-mode routines. ----
Bots don't know when people die. --Paul Watson, RIP
-
Must be motorola in general, because I have a motorola cell phone and absolutely hate it. Whoever "designed" the user interface needs to find a new job. Add to that the fact that the phone freezes if you are typing a text message and you hit the max characters allowed size. I actually had to take the battery out of the phone in order to get it to be usable again. Brian Van Beek Inside this room, all of my dreams become realities, and some of my realities become dreams. -Willy Wonka Read my Blog, I know you want to... [^]
Ooooooh, how happy I am to find another with the same opinion as I :-D I thought I'm the only one whose opinion is that the designer of Motorola cell phone needs some a**-kicking. :mad: I have been happily using Ericsson until I switched to Motorola V3X recently (just to get free calls on the plan). I love the sleek looks, but almost all the software included (notably the alarm, message, bluetooth activation) are mind-boggling or poor in functionality (compared to my 2 older Ericsson phones) and the address book is riddled with bugs (I can't edit a contact after setting e-mail). The Ringtone selection gets frozen on certain MP3 songs when I try to change it (the MP3s are working from the Multimedia software) and there are no free software/games included in the phone. Oh, and please Mr Designer, stop switching the locations of "Ok, Cancel, Yes, No, and Back" buttons. I'm not trying to exercise my fingers here, I'm just trying to use the friggin' phone! Edbert Sydney, Australia