Forum Discussion
Optik-Kate
TELUS Team Member
TELUS Team MemberTELUS TV Feature Updates - Ongoing
Dear Neighbours,
We’re experimenting with different formats to assure you we’re listening and working on improvements to the TELUS TV platforms. We have frequent releases designed to tackle th...
100% agreed and it's the argument I made when they first introduced this.
The box business is fine maybe for seniors and a nice remote but most people want to use there apple tv, Sony tv, fire stick, that's the future they don't want to rent boxes like it's 1990 but telus is stuck in the past. Even there channel packages they split up into a million tiny packages is from the 1990s and outdated.
One of my biggest issues that beside the poor bitrate issue contributing to picture quality everyone has complained about for years is the poor GUI in the app. Most smart devices only have a few buttons and I hate the "live guide" I like the full guide but it's excruciating difficult and poorly designed to bring it up on these devices easily without there remote guide button.
But most people I know like me choose Telus simply because they have an app that works with smart devices every home has (minus fire stick). And that's what people want to use things like apple tv, not a 25 dollar cheap android box Telus sells.
And to that point I recently had a friend with a family of 5 switch to Telus from shaw for no other reason then the app. They have apple TV's all over the house and I told them they can just use the app and they were sold. Telus imo should be focusing on the app and software development for these devices.
Nobody is going to pay to rent 5 android boxes from Telus anyway but if you can use an apple tv, Sony tv, Nvidia shield and other things already in everyone's homes you have a much better chance of getting the customer to sign up.
Call it hubris or can't see the forest for the "app" trees.
Perhaps they hired a bunch of twenty-somethings...you know...the "know-it-all's"😉
Totally agree if they paid even a little attention to the app they could have an excellent app any consumer could run on a smart device but Telus seemed to put the bare minimum effort into any thought navigating the app with a smart device remote with limited buttons.
Like I said I had a friend switch to Telus simply because they have an app they can use on smart devices throughout his home already installed and the family is familiar with. But Telus seemed to do the opposite and focus entirely on their own box and own hardware remote and pushing customers to use there generic android box, rather then just taking a bit of time to make the app easier to use.
I mean we were discussing how the latest update for the box provided proper dynamic range output for standard and hdr color and apple TV's and Nvidia shields have had that for years.
I just don't understand the direction trying to focus so much on their own android box. You still need a box to provide to some customers I get it, but the app is the future and accessible to any human with a smart device. Telus customers in house holds of more then two people will likely use the app any way because nobody is going to rent and pay for tons of Telus boxes when an app is available on a smart device already in their home.
- I agree with the comments. My biggest issue with using the Apple TV Telus app is no previous channel button or shortcut button for the traditional guide. I mean how hard is it to add a previous and guide shortcut button on the play /pause screen?
Indeed!
All progression requires familiarity and some intuition when it comes to apps, devices and equipment. Cell phones over past decade as an example.
The manufacturer/provider just needs to build in the associated form and function to operate, whereby the UI doesn't require an AV tech diploma to operate the point and click.
If you want to make the argument about tech savvy people my parents in their 70s don't want to switch from old optik to these boxes for that reason. It's the same os as there Sony android TV just geared toward Telus with a remote.
I don't really agree as smart streaming devices are way more accessible and used by house holds not just younger tech savvy people.
Nobody is saying to get rid of the boxes also the Telus android box runs the same os as my Nvidia shield they look identical. The only difference is the remote.
I don't think anyone is saying get rid of these cheap old school android boxes but they should really focus on the app and software development side that can reach millions of homes easily.
For what it's worth, Shaw's cable offerings are not as good as Telus nor is their app. I think it is a tough ask for a corporation like Telus to move away from box support to app support since a large amount of their user base are not technically savvy.
Younger people are not even considering paying for cable TV, but put them money into streaming apps and sharing same.
I think the solution is not perfect, but after a long wait, they have improved the Telus Android Box as they promised to do.
Although I will say navigating the app on smart devices are ok, my biggest issue is how convoluted it is to get to the full guide on a streaming device. Most of the functionality works fine and I'm good with it on my Nvidia shield android device. It just does not have a guide button on the remote and Telus made the UI unnecessarily difficult to get to the full guide on a streaming device with a few buttons.
But otherwise I don't miss or use Telus cheap android box at all. I had a power supply go on one and just removed it because I never bother to switch to it.
Exactly and it's why they need to make the UI better. My friend and myself are different from you though while the remote is easier on Telus boxes Nvidia shield or apple tv are more powerful devices, there snappier, they work better across many apps and they have massive companies and departments behind them, and they are all over customers homes already, that outweighs the inconvenience with using the remote.
However that was also my point is Telus needs a seriously overhaul on the design for these devices with certain button limitations because it's not well thought out at all for millions of smart streaming devices to navigate.
I was using the Apple TV app exclusively until they fixed the main issues with the android box. The problem with the Apple TV app is that their remote is not effective when navigating the app.
Interesting commentary on Shaw (Rogers).
Debating punting Telus. Will do more research.
Maybe a situation "better the devil you know..." type thing
