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[JustinChase]

will TV ever have  progress bar like every other DVR I've ever used?

I would VERY MUCH like to be able to fast forward thru a recorded TV program and see the video move along with the indicator on the progress bar, with varying speeds.

using the {ctl} - {Shift} - Arrow  to skip 30 seconds at a time is not very user friendly, nor does it work terribly well.  I pretty much always want to skip multiple commercials, which requires several actions like above, and if I do this 4 or 5 times in quick succession, the first one happens, then shows the program for a second, then skips again and usually ends up in the middle of another commercial.  I have no idea how far it's skipped, how much further I need to go, or sometimes I have gone too far.

Additionally, it takes nearly as long to skip forward as if I hadn't skipped at all.  (okay, exaggerated, but it still takes 30 seconds to skip 180 seconds)

this is just not a good solution, which is probably why no other DVR system uses this method to advance or rewind programming.

I know MC uses its own format (I don't know the reason for it), which might be why this solution is required, but I HIGHLY suggest this be changed.

I am canceling my cable very soon, and there is just no way my wife will tolerate this on a daily basis, which means I'm going to have to find another TV solution, which I'd rather not do.

[JimH]

Consider the Media Center Remote (ad above).  Right arrow skips 30 seconds.  4 presses on the right arrow, and you're 2 minutes ahead.

Also take a look at what happens if you use up or down arrow to get the on screen display.

[JustinChase]

Yeah, it's not so much that I have to use the keyboard vs. a remote (I can program any remote to do the same thing), it's that it's a poor design.

It has a big lag after you press the buttons, skips and starts as it happens, and has no visual indicator of what's going on, then just drops you into the video with no way of knowing how far you've skipped ahead.  Sometimes it doesn't recognize all of the presses, and only skips once or twice, so I wait until the commercial ends, only to find another one following it.

I would much prefer if it just worked like every other DVR device/program I've used; show the image moving forward while it's moving forward, with a visual indicator of where I am in the program, and allow different speeds of forward and rewind.

this let's you see what's being skipped, and once the program comes back hitting play rewinds a bit, based on teh forward speed you'd used, and you usually get within a few seconds of the program you wish to return to.

This is just a MUCH better way of doing it, and would help Media Center gain recognition/appreciation as a proper DVR, which is just isn't currently; unfortunately.

[Yaobing]

Have you tried CTRL + Arrow (without SHIFT)?

[JustinChase]

I just tried it (again?) and it does show the program while fast forwarding, but as I click the arrow a second (and third) time, it just seems to delay the time between showing me frames (I can't tell if it's actually moving forward any further between the frames (longer time) as I do this,) it just increases the lag.  I clicked 3 times (shows 100x) and the delay between rendering frames increased to about 8 seconds between showing me frames.

I clicked just the right arrow (thinking this would just take me back to play) and the time display showed 0:00/Live, which made me think it enacted the play command, but the video just hung; and seems to have actually just hung MC altogether.  it's been 5 minutes and nothing has begun playing yet.

Unfortunately, this is not a better solution

Still hoping for a better option/action

thanks to you both for the prompt responses.

[rpalmer68]

I agree a location bar is much easier to see at a glance than numbers like we currently have.  We have one in the popup info bar at the top, but it would be nice to have one at the bottom as part of the OSD when using a remote/keyboard to seek.

The MC TV  OSD looks pretty dated, but I guess these things are low on the protiry list at the moment.

[raym]

Have you tried CTRL + Arrow (without SHIFT)?

Hey Yaobing, the problem I have with this seek method is that the elapsed/remaining time indicator in the OSD does not update NOR does it stay on-screen during seeks. The only video format that seems to support this is DVD. All CTRL + ARROW seeks should behave as they do for DVD playback.

On a related note, if you arrow down in the OSD to the "Position" menu and hold down the right or left arrow to seek, the times also do not update in this instance.

I think the location bar idea is a good one for ALL video formats and the reason so many other similar apps employ this approach. In the interim though, keeping the OSD on-screen and updating the time during seeking would greatly improve the current situation.

Cheers.

[billy10388]

Hey Yaobing, the problem I have with this seek method is that the elapsed/remaining time indicator in the OSD does not update NOR does it stay on-screen during seeks. The only video format that seems to support this is DVD. All CTRL + ARROW seeks should behave as they do for DVD playback.

On a related note, if you arrow down in the OSD to the "Position" menu and hold down the right or left arrow to seek, the times also do not update in this instance.

I think the location bar idea is a good one for ALL video formats and the reason so many other similar apps employ this approach. In the interim though, keeping the OSD on-screen and updating the time during seeking would greatly improve the current situation.

Cheers.

I also think so.