Xumo Spectrum TV app needs some major improvements!

DSperber

My recent acquisition of three Xumo devices along with subscription to CloudDVR Unlimited service is exposing some really major deficiencies and under-designing of basic DVR-related functionality on the Xumo version of the Spectrum TV app.

Thankfully, the alternative version of the Spectrum TV app as implemented for my Android Samsung S21 Ultra phone is "built-out to perfection" for these same DVR-related functions. So I have now taken to falling back to using the phone instead of the Xumo when I want to look at Guide TV schedule, schedule one-off or series recordings, review/edit my existing recordings, etc.

—> THE XUMO "SPECTRUM TV" APP NEEDS TO BE ENHANCED, TO PROVIDE MISSING CAPABILITIES (which are already currently present in the Android phone version of the app).

(1) Existing scheduled recordings on the Xumo NEED TO SHOW CHANNEL NUMBER AND CALLSIGN, just like they do on the phone. This is critical and useful information to see onscreen when you are reviewing and double-checking upcoming scheduled recordings.

(2) The existing entries for scheduled recordings need to support some kind of "drill-down" to review "program information and details" (same as would be seen in the drill-down of Guide cells, revealing in-depth synopsis and other program information).

This is not at all possible in the Xumo version, as if you "press OK" on the selected program NOTHING HAPPENS!!!! The only place you can go from the onscreen presentation with a scheduled recording selected is to navigate-to and push either of the two buttons in the kiwer right corner, to either (a) cancel the episode or (b) edit the scheduled recording details.

So that's all you can do from here… cancel the recording, or change the recording. You cannot see WHAT IS THIS PROGRAM??? You have no idea what channel it is on, either channel number or callsign, and you cannot see anything about the program details (from Guide cell, maybe at least showing channel logo) which might help you identify what this program to be recorded is.

In contrast, the phone app provides a "3-dots hamburger menu ("more")" button on the right side of each scheduled recording's row. Each item's "row" is actually 2-lines tall, not just 1-line, so that the channel number and callsign can be displayed on the second line, underneath the program title on the first line. And off to the far right is the "3-dots (more)" button.

And if you tap on the 3-dots button you get a popup menu with even "more" choices for what you might now want to do. Depending on whether the recording row for the item refers to a (a) one-off recording or (b) series episode recording, thi popup menu will either be 3-lines tall or 4-lines tall.

These two alternative popup menus both offer the three common functions needed for ALL recordings, of: (a) manage recording… to "edit" the recordings settings, (b) cancel recording, .. and © GET MORE INFO!!! Yes, we might want to actually look at the detailed information for this scheduled recordings to be sure we know what it is, before making changes or canceling it!!!!! And "GET MORE INFO" presents the original GUIDE INFORMATION CELL DETAILS!!! Perfect!!

And so sure enough, if you tap on the "Get more info" on the phone the following information appears, which was actually from the Guide originally:

And even more wonderful, note that at the bottom of this "Get more info" presentation once again right here on this same drill-down screen are those same BASIC MUST-HAVE functional buttons for what you probably now want to do next (once you've now confirmed this is absolutely and definitely the program recordings you want to cancel or edit, OR EVEN MORE!!!) you can trigger those actions right here right now on this screen. You do NOT have to return back up to the recordings list, and once again tap the 3-buttons to once again get the popup menu on which these same buttons also appear and could have been tapped "blind".

In other words, this phone app has really been properly thought out and built and engineered… for user convenience and simplifying the needs and functional capabilities of the uses. Maximum information presented on 2-lines not just one, showing all the information the user wants to see at one time. All functions in buttons presented not just at a higher-level but also down at the next-lower drill-down screen leve.

—> SOMEBODY PLEASE REDESIGN AND ENHANCE Xumo-version of the Spectrum TV app. It is currently dreadfully clumsy and difficult to use for DVR users.

DSperber

NOTE: in light of my first post earlier in this thread, which complains about the channel number and channel callsign not showing up in the "scheduled recordings" list items when using the Xumo version of Spectrum TV app, it is obviously impossible to know WHICH OF THE CHANNEL-TWINS your recording was specified to be on, as the scheduled recording list would be visibly identical to the user no matter which channel number in the Guide row had been used to set the recording in the first place.

NOW EVEN MORE AWFUL… a "bug" in the Xumo version of the Spectrum TV app is revealed for my recording of the NLCS baseball playoff games, which are being carried primarily on TBS (and that means both 41 and 104), AND ALSO SIMULCAST ON TRUTV (and that means both 68 and 112). In particular the Guide information for each game appears the same no matter which of the FOUR guide cells you look at for the same game. Not fatal or really critical for the user, IF ONLY THE CHANNEL NUMBER WERE SHOWN ONSCREEN WHICH IT IS NOT!!!I The only thing you see is the channel logo, which unfortunately is the same for each of the two channel-twin numbers (which are different channel numbers but the same channel callsign and logos).

And so what's the bug??? Well, I set a recording on TBS 104 through that Guide row, pushing the RECORD button to confirm:

But when the next screen appeared to confirm my scheduled recording

it of course showed not the channel 104 of the recording. But remarkably it also did not even show the correct channel logo of TBS!! For some (bug) reason the incorrect channel logo of TRUTV which was also carrying the same game and used the same Guide cell info I guess, was presented !!!

And then even more distracting, looking back at the Guide after having set the recording for TBS channel 104, the red dot recording indicator SHOWS UP ON TBS CHANNEL 41 as well as 104!!!!! Doesn't show up to record on TRUTV 68/112, but it does show up to record on both TBS 41/104!

I don't know if I'm going to get two recordings on both channel 41 and 104, or just the one on 104 which is what I set. I will see. (it's all in the cloud anyway, so as long as I can play one of them and then delete one or both when I'm done I am satisfied)

Edward_T

Hello @DSperber;

Thank you for your feedback on the Spectrum TV app on the Xumo. I will pass on your suggestions on improvements to the Spectrum TV app on the Xumo to management.

DSperber

Thankfully, as I said way back when, the Android phone version of the Spectrum TV app was clearly designed and programmed by a "better group of engineers". Perhaps they were forced into being clever by the smaller screen real estate on a phone, or maybe they were just a better group of developers and more familiar with onscreen TV Guides and DVR-related functionality.

Whatever the explanation, the phone version of the app is much simpler and more intuitive and far more easy to use and satisfying to the user than the Xumo version of the app. It is even easier to use the onscreen Guide, which while it is still limited to only one FAVORITES list, does provide a very clever and easy-to-use "direct date/time GO-TO" control for horizontal direct-to-date.time-jumping.

So right away, just navigating to the correct horizontal date/time is a "breeze" compared to the indefinite and imprecise right/left-scrolling on the TV screen using the right-arrow (tap once repeatedly, or long-hold and guess about when to un-hold and then left/right correct as required) of the Xumo remote UI.

So I have now taken to doing my schedule browsing and recording schedule setup using the phone, rather than the Xumo with the deficient onscreen UI of the Spectrum TV app on the Xumo.

As an example I located a random program on CNN, using that very clever and effective date-time GO-TO control (where both DATE and TIME columns are separately scrollable up/down vertically like the spinning combination wheels on a padlock) to define your desired start time.

Of course note that the Guide shows channel log as well as channel number as well as program title.

And then I tapped on the program title cell, to drill-down to reveal program information details and presumably recording options as well.

Sure enough, date, time, channel logo, AND RECORDING OPTIONS… on this one drill-down screen. And even yet another "Get more info…" button, to produce an even more elaborate synopsis if that was of use to me.

But finally, when I then push the RECORD button I now am presented with a completely informative double-last-chance confirmation screen showing date, time channel callsign, channel logo, etc., for me to absolutely triple-check confirm before finally pushing the CONFIRM button to set the recording.

I know it's a phone, or a TV, and they are not the same. Fingers and taps, vs. remote and button pushes. But if the purpose is to provide Guide-review and guide-cell-DVR-scheduling and review/edit of the scheduled DVR recordings (be they one-off or series, or individual episodes within a series) the functions required for efficient and user-friendly DVR-related functionality should be well thought out and implemented.

And they should not be clumsy, inefficient, complicated, non-intuitive and or irritating. They should be easy to use and provide all tools.