Bluesky is not worth the money

[svenghali]

I recently went for the Bluesky “deal” and I wish I could go back to the old Gateway.  The previous PVR and remote had faster response, better programmed buttons and superior picture quality. There is a lag with Bluetooth, fast forward/rewind is laggy, puts a big arrow in the middle of the screen, disappoints all around. How is this an improvement over the previous technology. Yes, the “free for me” guide is excellent but it does not make up for the downside. On demand shows are the worst because the resolution and speed both drop, so really, why would I want to watch shows that are not 1080. 

Will it ever get better? I am locked into this for 2 years now.

[rickatk]

I am surprised you are not happy with the picture quality in VOD. My experience has been the picture quality is excellent, better than the older HD boxes.

The fast forward works well, the arrow in the picture is an use interface thing and is consistent in BlueSky.

BlueSky is Shaw’s platform of the future and I am sure improvements will continue. I have been a BlueSky subscriber for a while now.

[svenghali]

Well, you are fortunate. That has not been my experience.

[rickatk]

Sounds like there is still some work to be done on your gear setup. Perhaps a service appointment for a complete review of your service from the pole to your BlueSky terminals and even your TVs. The Shaw techs are very good, at checking your connections, tightening down everything, testing throughput, adding amplifiers and configuring your TVs.

You should not be “Stuck” with a service you are unhappy with.

[svenghali]

Techs have been out twice. Nothing more to be done. Maybe there will be firmware updates in the future.

[wickedfairy]

I’m enjoying it.

 What arrow? Do you mean the lightning bolt? That’s so you can flip through very quickly. I like that function. 

The one thing i dont like is say ive had a channel on for awhile, I can no longer just hit record to watch what I missed. There might be a “restart from beginning” but that’s just for on demand with no FF feature. When you select record it only starts recording at the point you selected this. Pointless. 

[rickatk]

wickedfairy wrote:

I’m enjoying it.

 What arrow? Do you mean the lightning bolt? That’s so you can flip through very quickly. I like that function. 

The one thing i dont like is say ive had a channel on for awhile, I can no longer just hit record to watch what I missed. There might be a “restart from beginning” but that’s just for an demand with no FF feature. When you select record it only starts recording at the point  you selected this. Pointless. 

Yes...Lightening bolt. I don’t use the PVR function very much preferring media libraries. What you describe, getting into a show half way...would be a good feature. 

The few shows I have selected on PVR are amazingly pristine in appearance and sound. 

[wickedfairy]

I don’t know how to do reply to’s.

Anyways, what I’m saying about the recording a show that’s already in progress, is that  you could do that before. I could with my other cable box I had, before changing to bluesky, I think you could with gateway as well according to what I read on here. Now I have to resort to searching “other times” so I can find one to record in its entirety.

the remote could use a redesign . It’s looks the same upside down apart from the blue mic button. I have to check where that is before operating it, so I’m not hitting the wrong one. In the dark, the blue doesn’t light up like the rest of them do. However I do find it  handy that the remote illuminates upon picking it up. 

[nascardog]

I too miss being able to record an entire show that I stumbled on half way through.

One upside to this is there is less wear and tear on the hard drive not having to constantly record content from all six tuners because it's not sure which tuner the show may be on.

[wickedfairy]

Yes that part is good, having the recording show up on all.

One annoying thing I stumbled upon this winter, following several power outages; my main TV power source died and my main Bluesky portal powered off. So I thought “at least I can still watch tv in my bedroom”, but you can’t unless the main one  is working. So if the main goes .... it’s all out of service.