IceTV killer features?

Discuss IceTV's EPG and Remote services here.

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nylon
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ICE TV benefits`

Post by nylon » Fri Jan 25, 2013 12:47

Hi all. I hope Ice TV isn't totally OT, but I'm wondering what its killer features are that make it indispensable to you guys. I've checked out their site and can appreciate keyword recordings, series recordings etc, but if they can't detect the start and end of shows are they much better than the free EPG that needs human judgement to pad start/end times?

Yes, Masterchef - I'm looking at YOU. How a pre-recorded show can "accidentally" run 15 minutes overtime requires a royal commission, I reckon.

And if two timer shows are already recording and an Ice show decides to record, what happens with the recording conflict if a human is not there to arbitrate?

[This is why I think the next Wiz - if there be one - needs quad tuners: with about 16 free-to-air channels now*, 2 concurrent recordings is as useful as a 2 lane freeway.]

I suppose I'm looking for a justification to spend even a discounted daily dollar for something the EPG provides, albeit with a little human skill needed.

P.S. I have two stacked DP-S1 units to alleviate the four-programs-recording-at-once problem, but still require a sophisticated piece of cardboard to flip either up or down to block one of the units' IR receptor...


* BTW - is there ANY way to remove channels like the damned shopping channels from the station list? I hate having to even scroll past them, let alone watch one.

Dr Dre
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Post by Dr Dre » Fri Jan 25, 2013 13:03

Set up a favourite list - make sure you select a channel from the list once you've set it up. You can exclude channels and sort in any order.

nylon
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Service list editing

Post by nylon » Fri Jan 25, 2013 13:20

Thanks. Too late, I remembered to check the Wiz instruction book where I found how to delete a station.

Those old paper books... I keep underestimating their persistent power!

prl
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Re: ICE TV benefits`

Post by prl » Fri Jan 25, 2013 13:34

nylon wrote:Hi all. I hope Ice TV isn't totally OT, but I'm wondering what its killer features are that make it indispensable to you guys. I've checked out their site and can appreciate keyword recordings, series recordings etc, but if they can't detect the start and end of shows are they much better than the free EPG that needs human judgement to pad start/end times?
IceTV has recently been adjusting some shows that regularly run late and/or overtime, but I think there's a limit to how much they can do.

Other than that, the features I get it for are series recording, keyword recording and remote programming, in that order.

I've paid a little over $1/week for my IceTV subscriptions by keeping paid up ahead far enough so that, except for my first subscription ,I've always been able to buy ad half price.
nylon wrote:Yes, Masterchef - I'm looking at YOU. How a pre-recorded show can "accidentally" run 15 minutes overtime requires a royal commission, I reckon.
Ha! That's nothing. A few years ago the final of Big Brother ran 50+min overtime.
nylon wrote: And if two timer shows are already recording and an Ice show decides to record, what happens with the recording conflict if a human is not there to arbitrate?
You can get sent an email (new feature, bugs now mostly ironed out) that the attempt to set a timer has failed. Otherwise you miss a recording. What did you expect might happen?

Timer conflicts can also happen when broadcast schedule changes mean that a setup that originally had no conflicts is brought into conflict by the change. With manual timer setting using repeating timers, though, you just find that you've recorded the wrong show.
...
P.S. I have two stacked DP-S1 units to alleviate the four-programs-recording-at-once problem, but still require a sophisticated piece of cardboard to flip either up or down to block one of the units' IR receptor...
There is a hack to change the code set of a Beyonwiz to any of the 8 available code sets. But you then need a remote that can work with the changed code set. The Beyonwiz BR-02 can do that. Otherwise with a Logitech remote, you can use the normal DP-S1 codes on one and the DP-P2 on the other and lie to Logitech about what devices you actually have.

Unfortunately, the hack cannot change the power toggle code embedded in the front panel microcontroller, so I used to use the front panel buttons for power-on.

nylon wrote:* BTW - is there ANY way to remove channels like the damned shopping channels from the station list? I hate having to even scroll past them, let alone watch one.
Favourites, as Dr Dre says.
Peter
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nylon
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Multiple Wizzes

Post by nylon » Fri Jan 25, 2013 15:07

Thanks. Peter.

As an alternative to the Magic Piece of Cardboard (MPC), I'm considering getting an anti-Wiz PVR... Apologies if mentioning non-Wiz gear is sacrilege here.

The Humax HDR-7500T is looking attractive at $389 (from the ICE TV site, with an optional "Lifetime" [i.e. five-year] Ice subscription)... with web abilities like Youtube, iView, Quickflix as bonuses.

I wish Beyonwiz would let us know if they were actually able to launch a new model, or if their 10 employees were just huddling in some Korean basement with casks of Tawny Port, hoping for the best.

I bought my second Wiz from dealspace largely as an organ donor for when my first Wiz starts coughing up blood. But I can't keep hanging onto Neanderthal technology unless it starts to do modern things like cook with fire, decode FLAC, and show Youtube onscreen.

Come on Beyonwiz. Talk to us!

prl
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Re: Service list editing

Post by prl » Fri Jan 25, 2013 15:19

nylon wrote:Thanks. Too late, I remembered to check the Wiz instruction book where I found how to delete a station.

Those old paper books... I keep underestimating their persistent power!
Favourites are more flexible. They also the order of the services in the LIST menu, in the Guide and the order that CH+/- takes you (so we group all the ABC services together, all the SBS ones, etc).

They're also in the manual :)

As for Humax, have a bit of a dig around in the Humax section of the IceTV forum. Despite its age and limitations Beyonwiz still looks like a more stable alternative as a PVR.

Also, Humax "lifetime" IceTV is no more than 5 years (clause 40), though I still think that's pretty good value.
Peter
T4 HDMI
U4, T4, T3, T2, V2 test/development machines
Sony BDV-9200W HT system
LG OLED55C9PTA 55" OLED TV

nylon
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Post by nylon » Fri Jan 25, 2013 15:36

Thanks again, Peter.

For those wondering how to quickly remove unwanted shopping [or other] channels from your service list...
Press the LIST button on your remote.
Select the unwanted channel.
Press the YELLOW button.
OK it. It's gone.

And as for the Humax: it may be less advanced than the Wiz in some areas, but if it's still being developed, it seems to be one step ahead of Beyonwiz which hasn't had a firmware upgrade in about 2 years.

nylon

IanSav
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Post by IanSav » Fri Jan 25, 2013 21:15

Hi Nylon,

Deleting services from the service list is not optimal. In fact this may not work if you have DCM (Dynamic Channel Management) enabled.

You are better off creating a Favorite Group and filling it with the LCNs you want to see in the order you want to see them. This list will *not* automatically change pending the actions of DCM.

Regards,
Ian.

nylon
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Post by nylon » Sat Jan 26, 2013 09:05

Thanks, Ian. I'll give that a try.

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