# UPC Horizon - any good



## logarithm

Have heard there have been teething problems with the Horizon package.
Am currently on digital tv/broadband/phone package with UPC and am wondering if it worth changeing over to Horizon.Not much difference in price of Horizon and what I am currently paying for my package


----------



## Latrade

logarithm said:


> Have heard there have been teething problems with the Horizon package.
> Am currently on digital tv/broadband/phone package with UPC and am wondering if it worth changeing over to Horizon.Not much difference in price of Horizon and what I am currently paying for my package


 
For a first generation product I've not seen too much buggy behaviour. There have been a couple of crashes and issues, but nothing major. The best in class for DVRs and STBs would have been the Tivo and I think the Horizon is a much better product. It has all the benefits of the Tivo without some of the major pains (like slow response etc). 

On a test I liked it, it is great to have the all in one box and finally get rid of modem, etc and for existing UPC users, that insufferable nanosecond the remote gives you to put in the 3 digit number has gone. I never once ended up stuck on the UPC test channel while I tried to get the sequence right.

Having said that, still not sure about an upgrade. Like all DVRs the user interface and operating system is still poor when you compare it to the likes of iOS and Android. I don't know what's wrong with the developers at these companies, but I think they need to start again on the OS. 

I'd personally like to see UPC have moved to more of an Apple TV or Roku approach and breakout from the standard cable company model. Get some channel apps on there that you can subscribe to individually rather than this old fashioned batch subscription. That would have made me subscribe immediately. 

Miles better than anything else on the market (possibly globally) just as a DVR/STB, whether its worth the upgrade depends on whether you think you'd use it to its fullest. The larger storage and 4 HDDs is great, but I never really had that much of an issue with storage or conflict in recordings. It is much faster and responsive, especially if you're used to the old boxes, but like a new PC that will only have a wow factor for the first week or so.

I wouldn't recommend not upgrading, but for me I just wanted that bit more of a game-changer in the TV market rather than a nicer, faster STB.


----------



## huskerdu

A few people I know have reported that the wifi range is poorer than the separate cable modem that UPC normally supply.  If this is true, its a major flaw, if people end up having to get a wifi booster.


----------



## RainyDay

Latrade said:


> finally get rid of modem, etc and for existing UPC users, that insufferable nanosecond the remote gives you to put in the 3 digit number has gone. I never once ended up stuck on the UPC test channel while I tried to get the sequence right.


It's incredible that this completely unusable feature of the UPC boxes has been in place for so long. Do they every actually test the product with real users?


----------



## emo1965

*UPC Horizon admits issues*

I installed Horizon some 6 weeks ago and have yet to have a day without problems.

1. As already posted the wireless broadband is very poor, dropping occasionally as well.
2. Smart TV's and Horizon boxes are not compatible as quoted to me by UPC. I was asked to use a scart (most new smart's do not have scart), like a choke on a Ferrari!!
3.When I last rang UPC I was told that they had posted a public announcement through their customer services department that they are aware of some issues and are working to resolve them!
4. 8 weeks in now and I still am running Horizon with issues.
5. I am regularly ringing UPC to voice my annoyance, but it's not working.
6. I have been promised a retrospective credit once resolved.
7. When will it work??


----------



## Beo

I ended up cancelling Horizon because:

1. User Interface is a terrible user experience ... Yes it's shiny HD but the number of button presses to do simple tasks has doubled...try recording what's on TV...pops up a confirmation screen which you have to click to dismiss. I know what's on just record it!!

2. You cannot change the day..so to record something this day next week you have to scroll through 7 days of listings...on the old one you just press the blue button

3. To delete a series you have to manually delete every single recording...and of course there's a confirmation screen to dismiss on each delete

4. If you pause an on demand or player programme and unpause the sound can vanish

5. It actually randomly deletes recorded programmes

6. The fonts are tiny...as though the developer only viewed the screen from 1 foot away.

The overall experience is that the user interface gets in the way of the main purpose : watching, recording and browsing channels
There should be absolutely zero lag time between a button press and an action and minimal button presses...oh and the remote buttons are also tiny and badly laid out.

Going back to the old interface was comforting! Albeit with its woes of terrible lag time and erratic button behaviour...

Maybe I should have waited for a few more versions...


----------



## Sue Ellen

Previous thread on this subject with interesting point about checking out data usage before switching.

My hold back is because if one gadget stops working you could be left without broadband, phone and telly whereas 3 separate operations seem better.


----------



## AlbacoreA

Seems to have an issue with LG TV's 

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=86585027&postcount=7

I was very interested in it, but have held back seeing all the issues with it.


----------



## dub_nerd

I got it about a month ago and couldn't be happier. Was already a UPC customer so main change was the new software for controlling the telly. While it has some quite annoying features, it's far superior to the previous boxes in my opinion, with the main improvement being better responsiveness (although it's still sluggish on a couple of features). It's never going to be perfect, but it's definitely a step up. 

Also it's easy to forget that in a little over a decade we've come from Eircom trying to charge 120/month for 0.5 Mbps ADSL to wondering whether 70 quid is too much for 100 Mbps cable plus phone plus dozens of TV channels.


----------



## GDUFFY

I was out in DPD courier depot in Santry yesterday and got talking to two guys returning their Horizon boxes , both said wi-fi range was the issue.


----------



## galwegian44

GDUFFY said:


> I was out in DPD courier depot in Santry yesterday and got talking to two guys returning their Horizon boxes , both said wi-fi range was the issue.



I upgraded to Horizon last month and the wi-fi range was pathetic. I still have the Horizon box for TV but reverted back to the standalone router for broadband. Don't believe what the salespeople tell you. Very frustrating few weeks trying to get it sorted.


----------



## divadsnilloc

Does the new Horizon box have HDMI connectivity or scart?


----------



## dub_nerd

divadsnilloc said:


> Does the new Horizon box have HDMI connectivity or scart?


 
Both.


----------



## dub_nerd

GDUFFY said:


> I was out in DPD courier depot in Santry yesterday and got talking to two guys returning their Horizon boxes , both said wi-fi range was the issue.


 


galwegian44 said:


> I upgraded to Horizon last month and the wi-fi range was pathetic. I still have the Horizon box for TV but reverted back to the standalone router for broadband. Don't believe what the salespeople tell you. Very frustrating few weeks trying to get it sorted.


 
I had what I thought was Wifi range issues with the Horizon box, so I switched back to my trusty Cisco Wifi router that I had used without trouble for years before UPC ... and still had the same problems! I'm pretty sure it's Wifi interference problems. Compared to a few years ago when mine was the only router I could see with a Wifi scan, there are now twelve neighbour's Wifis visible. For the moment I've kept the Cisco as a Wifi bridge to the UPC box, but had to position it closer to the living room  ceiling to get trouble-free coverage around the house. If I have more problems in future I'll try playing with Wifi channels, though that hasn't been necessary so far.


----------



## Brendan Burgess

I just got a letter from UPC telling me that this is available on my modem.

I have no idea what it is and what the advantages over what I have at the moment are? 

Brendan


----------



## peteb

That what exactly is available on your modem?  Horizon is the the set-top box product that rolls your set-top box, router and previously required telephone black box into one nice shiny box.


----------



## Berni

The letters they're sending out are about their new Horizon Wi-Free service.
It is a second wifi network on your modem for visitors (who also have UPC) to use, without needing your password.

http://www.upc.ie/HorizonWiFree/


----------



## michaelm

Brendan Burgess said:


> I just got a letter from UPC telling me that this is available on my modem.
> 
> I have no idea what it is and what the advantages over what I have at the moment are?


If Wi-Free is enabled on your broadband router/Horizon box you can use your own UPC logon to connect to any Wi-Free signal anywhere . . likewise others can logon to your Wi-Free signal.  I disabled mine.


----------

