- Get your #baseball cap on! MLB Extra Innings is on free preview until May 5th. ^eo
On-screen ordering, colour coding & more: Rogers enhances Quick Start menu
August 12th, 2010 a 2:39pm
If you’re a Rogers Digital Cable customer in Ontario, you may have already started to notice some new features to the Quick Start menu. We’re rolling out five new enhancements to improve your viewing experience, so let’s get to the details.
GET MORE TV: Easily add programming packages by remote control
Let’s say you want to watch Entourage on HBO Canada but you don’t currently subscribe to the package containing this channel — no problem.
Now you can order more than 50 packages or channels (including The Movie Network, Super Channel, the HD Speciality Pak, adult channels, sports, multicultural programming and more) by clicking on GET MORE TV on the Quick Start menu and following the on-screen steps (see image below). The new channel or package will be automatically added to your account, so no need to call our Customer Care centre.
You can also use this new feature by clicking on the channel itself and following the on-screen steps to order.
White, Green & Grey Channels: Quickly see what you are authorized for
All channels within the Quick Start menu are now colour coded so you can quickly and easily see what you’re authorized for and how to get it if you’re not:
- White channels: Subscribed to and able to watch.
- Green channels: Not subscribed to, but you can subscribe through the Quick Start menu’s GET MORE TV.
- Grey channels: Not subscribed to, but you can subscribe through Rogers.com or 1-888-Rogers1.
Other Quick Start menu Enhancements
- My Favourites: All channels that you have set as a favourite will be available from My Favourites within the What’s On section of the Quick Start menu.
- IPG Program Info: Pressing INFO on any channel link within the Quick Start menu will display the most current program information for that channel.
- Channel Preview: Pressing the right arrow on any channel link within the Quick Start menu will tune to the channel within the right video window. To view as normal, press OK/SELECT.
How do I find the Quick Start menu?
Most customers will find it when they first hit the GUIDE button. If you re-sequenced your remote, simply hit GUIDE twice to find it.
You can learn more about these enhancements by visiting this site or by clicking What’s New on the menu’s home screen.
Have you tried out any of the new features? What would you like to see added in the future?
Richard Bloom is a regular contributor to Redboard.
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Is this “ADD NEW CHANNEL” feature protectable via a PIN? I’d be very concerned about children being able to add channels by themselves.
These Quick Guide improvements aren’t bad things in themselves, but they really ignore the major problem with Rogers cable boxes, which is the absolutely antiquated interfactive program guide. What do I want to see? Significant improvements to the IPG including16x9 display, search, hiding of nonsubscribed channels, clear listing of series scheduled for recording on the PVR versus individual episodes, and a colour scheme that does not leave me reaching for sunglasses.
I have one year left on my bundle contract. If there is not a significant improvement in the quality of user interface available to Rogers customers, I will be switching to another service when my contract is up and taking my internet and cell service with me. I don’t say that as a threat but rather as a measure of my dissatisfaction with what is available to me.
Hi David.
Nice to hear from you again.
The GET MORE TV functionality is indeed protected by your box’s PIN — the same PIN that comes up before PPV and Rogers On Demand purchases.
With regards to other IPG features, while we can’t comment on specifics at this time, we are currently working on enhancements to the guide. And, the greying out of non-subscribed channels is currently available on our new Cisco Explorer 8642HD PVR.
Thanks,
Richard.
If only you could let us rent those babies…
Hello Robert. You can rent the 8642 but only in the 160 GB model. On the website it doesn’t specifically say, but it is available for rental at some Rogers Plus Stores. Call your local store and ask if they have it in stock.
Instead of quick start stuff, how about some IPG upgrades like a HD guide and search
Hey Colin,
As noted above, we’re currently working on enhancements to the IPG but don’t have anything to announce at this time.
Richard.
When are you going to fix the channel navigation? It is very difficult trying to find when a specific show is on. If i wanted to find out when Entourage was on I would have to go into the guide, sort alphabetically, select “E” and hit page down about 45 times. Since the menu is so slow it will continue to scroll through pages after I have stopped pushing page down, pass the show I was looking for and I will have to wait for it to finish going down and then scroll back up.
When are you going to fix things like this?
Hi MrMiGu.
I appreciate your concerns. As noted elsewhere in the comments section of this post, while we don’t have anything yet to announce right now we are currently working on enhancements to the IPG.
Richard.
just put channel 302 for HBO canada
I know “My Favourites” will be a welcome feature (btw, the linked site doesn’t have all the above info… yet). On the other hand, it would have been wishful thinking on my part that one could ‘remove’ packages through this menu. Anyhoo, nice improvements!
Hey Robert,
Thanks for checking it out and for passing along your feedback!
Richard.
While I appreciate any upgrade this seems little more then a shallow attempt by Rogers to sell more stuff to subscribers then a meaningful improvement. I really wish Rogers would stop wasting resources on the Quick Menu and actually improve the Program Guide. Nobody I know in my circle of family and friends even looks at the Quick Menu as they’ve all re-sequenced the order back to the Program Guide.
Hey Gerald,
Hopefully you’ll be able to check out the new-and-improved Quick Start menu soon, we’d love your feedback!
In terms of the IPG, we’re currently working on enhancements and will announce something as soon as we can.
Cheers,
Richard.
Great. But can I cancel a channel without calling in yet?
Hi Andy,
At this time, you do need to call us at 1-888-ROGERS1 to remove channels.
Richard
I can’t access the Quick Start menu at all – pressing Guide once, brings up the Guide, pressing Guide twice brings up the guide and then exits the Guide. Any ideas?
Hi Sara.
Sorry to hear you’re having difficulties. I’ll reach out to you directly to learn more.
Richard.
Any word on when Quick Start & TV Caller ID will be available on the 8642?
Hi Jared,
Nothing to announce at this time but we are working on it. Hope you’re enjoying the 8642!
Richard.
To be honest I find the quick menu quick annoying. 99% of the time I just want to see the regular guide rather than having to press Guide twice to access it.
Hi J.
Good news: you can change the order so that the Guide appears first. Check out this post on RedBoard where we walk through step-by-step on how to make the IPG appear ahead of the Quick Start menu: http://redboard.rogers.com/2010/we-listened-how-to-customize-the-order-of-the-quick-start-menu/
Richard.
Thanks, this was helpful!
I absolutely agree that the IPG needs an upgrade and I am currently looking into switching providers as a result. For Rogers to have ignored this for so long and instead focused on changes to services that are aimed getting more money for customers is proof that Rogers is solely focused on selling product rather than customer satisfaction. I’m just simply tired of being forced to scroll through hundreds of channels I don’t subscribe to in order to find programming on channels I do pay for. The limitations of the PVR are equally painful considering how much it costs to have it.
I hear you. I gave my 30 days’ notice last week. The IPG is very 90s and Rogers has been promising to update it for well over 5 years now. I have had enough. And now look at the nice new feature of the quick start guide, another method of getting more money easily and conveniently from the customer. Funny you can’t remove services without going out of your way and calling but you can add anything you want online and via quick start in a few seconds. Yet we still have to press down 97 times when searching for a show called “Entourage”. With the amount of money we pay for this fee and that fee you would think they would actually listen to their customers?
We canceled our Rogers cable services a year ago (and convinced several friends to do the same) solely because of the guide’s horrible interface. After four years of becoming more and more frustrated with it, we found ourselves watching less and less cable TV – and buying shows on Blu-Ray or DVD or downloading instead. Infinitely more convenient!
Rogers has been telling us since 2006 they are working on “enhancements” to the guide, but from Richard’s comments it sounds like it’s still a long way off. I don’t doubt that it’s a big task, probably involving the hardware maker and arcane underlying software, but a bit of clarity and honesty would go a long way to convincing customers of the sincerity of your promise to improve this core feature.
We’d re-activate cable and probably buy a few packages with this fancy new Quick Start feature if the IPG were redesigned!
So is there an anticipation for this ot be lauched to customers in New Brunswick. It seems we are left behin on allot of the enhancements that happen to the IPG
Hi Darren,
With regards to ordering programming via your set-top box, you can do that right now if you live in Fredericton, Moncton, Saint John & St. John’s. We do not have a specific date for when that will be available for customers not living in those areas.
For the other functionality, they are not available to customers in Atlantic Canada at this time since they are based on the Quick Start menu and that service is only available in Ontario.
Cheers,
Richard.
Darren, trust me (not to mention thousands of other annoyed Rogers’ customers) the Quick Start Menu bring discussed is no enhancement whatsoever.
I’d take the simple ability to search for a program over this waste of time any day. You’re lucky, if you want to search for a show, you simply type it in. In Ontario, there IS NO SEARCH FUNCTION on Rogers’ PVR if you can believed it.
Say I want to watch/record the new show “Rookie Blues” but don’t know when it’s on. I have to go into the IPG, scroll down to “R” then scroll through EVERY show that begins with “R” alphabetically until I get to where it should be in the list. But that only checks for today. Say it’s not on today. I have to go back into the IPG, change the date to tomorrow, scroll down to “R” again, then scroll through every show beginning with “R” again! If it’s not on tomorrow, I have to change the date to the next day, and repeat the entire process again! I have to do that for every day of the week until I finally stumble upon the listing for the show, or my fingers are bloody stumps and I give up.
Just trying to locate a show on the Rogers’ IPG often takes, literally, HUNDREDS of button presses. So, please, don’t wish for what we have!
Hi. I just picked up the new 8642 HDPVR and it seems it does not support all the features you mention here. NO Quick Start Menu. No ordering. No Call Display if your a Home Phone Subscriber. I had all these features with my 8300, but lost them now.
How come your newest PVR does not support these features?
(By the way put my name down as a long time subscriber that also feels the guide search function of the PVR is really useless. Compared to the search on the Bell PVR Rogers is about 15 years behind.)
Hi Allan,
We’re currently working on the launch of the Quick Start menu and Caller ID on the 8642 series of boxes. You can expect to see them later this Fall and we will be communicating the changes to you ahead of their launch.
We are also working on new features to improve the overall guide and search features on all of our Scientific Atlanta and Cisco boxes. Stay tuned for news of those changes in the next couple of months.
Cheers,
Richard.
Are these new menu enhancements supposed to be automatic? We can’t see any of them.
Hi Sash06.
Sorry for the delay. Yes, they should be active on your set-top box, unless you’re using the 8642 HDPVR. The Quick Start menu isn’t available for that device at this time.
Richard.
When will these enhancements come to Atlantic Canada???
Hey Scott,
Check out my response above to Darren.
Richard.
Let’s say my dad wants to watch setanta sports, NO PROBLEM not have a phone or computer? subscribe channels and packages from quick start’s, GET MORE TV option
we also wanted super channel WWE 24/7 ondemand and anime network ondemand i love get more tv and oh! i wanted the movie network with HBO canada and mpix
It’s really quite sad how behind Rogers is; while you are putting out this ‘feature’, comcast and others in the USA are offering iPhone/iPad apps to control their DVR (including real time programing guide on the device).
Hi Scott,
Thanks for your feedback. Check out my response above to Allan that talks about some upcoming changes to our Scientific Atlanta and Cisco boxes in the next couple months. We’re looking forward to providing another update soon!
Richard.
I keep hearing for years “Rogers is working on the IPG & we have nothing to report”. Yet, Rogers has made several changes to the IPG and none of them are what the customers want & repeatedly ask for … enhanced search, IPG displaying subscribed channels only, recording of seasons etc. I also don’t like how the PVR isn’t intelligent enough to figure out when the show actually starts & stops, so you end up missing the conclusion of the show. I know of other PVRs provided through Rogers competitors where this isn’t a problem.
All I see is these “enhancements’ we keep getting are solely to improve ways for Rogers to show us what else we can buy from them. Problem is, I’m really starting to lose interest in what they are currently providing to me, why would I want more?
I have to agree. I just switched to Rogers mostly because of the Super Sports Pack which B*ll did not offer and I have to say that the IPG is absolutely horrible. Ron is right on the button the software is out there just get it and lets not stay in 90′s with the current IPG. The processor could also be much faster.
I can’t access the Quick Start menu at all – pressing Guide once, brings up the Guide, pressing Guide twice brings up the guide and then exits the Guide. Any ideas?
Hey Allan,
I’m going to reach out to you via email to learn more. Are you using the 8642 HDPVR? If so, the Quick Start menu does not work on that device at this time.
Richard.
I’m currently living out my final 30 days with Rogers. Time to switch to competition, and this outdated IPG/PVR is a large part of my decision to do so.
A sales person representing Rogers (and not an actual Rogers employee, funny enough) called me yesterday. I explained my concerns about the box, and highlighted the fact that I’m tired of sifting through hundreds of channels I don’t subscribe to or watch in order to find shows/channels that I do watch. He claimed that there was a feature on the box to do this. This isn’t actually true, is it? He suggested I call the tech department, but I’m 99% sure this isn’t an option. Can you verify this Richard?