New Telus Subscriber - Optik box issues

[beatlesfan]

I'm a new PureFibre Telus customer since April . From the beginning, the fast forward and rewind functions on recordings and live TV have not worked. I have four boxes, and have the same issue with all of them. I have been on many chats with Telus and a technician recently came, but advised me when he arrived that he had not received any training on my box and so likely could not help, which turned out to be true! Telus has given me the runaround saying that my issue has been passed onto their "Optik TV Escalation Team", whatever that means. Has anyone else run into the same issue and found a resolution for the problem? It is extremely frustrating as, of course, I am paying for a service I'm not receiving. It's also not a great introduction for a new customer.

I also have to reboot at least one of my boxes daily for a variety of reasons; e.g. live program I am watching is "glitchy", audio and video stop and start every few seconds, "sorry, there's been an error" message.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

[A-B]

Hello. We have a great catch-all thread here that may address these concerns. You can also post a reply there as well for our awesome resident expert @Optik-Kate to look into and/or pass along to our Optik team!

[Optik-Kate]

Hi @beatlesfan, do you have the new TELUS+ digital box?

The fast-forward and rewind is restricted on live streams due to broadcaster rights and restrictions, similar to all TV services. If you get a message on the top right corner that says "program cannot fast-forward beyond live point" or "beginning of stream is available", it is working as intended. Certain channels, the ones with a rewind arrow in guide, have the ability to restart the stream from the beginning.

For streams that are recorded, fast forward and rewind are both available. You can use the arrows beside the "app" button, or use the D pad. If it doesn't work, I'm curious if it's happening on all recordings or specific ones? Please share the recording show name. 

Lastly, is there a number that is shared when you get an error? Is your box connected to any bluetooth audio device?

[Bonnie119]

Why doesnt Shaw have all these issues??  I never noticed those restrictions when we had their service. Why are these problems encountered with Telus?  And please remind me of what is the upside of switching to Telus?  ?  So many glitches ,  such terrible  remote controls, I  no longer recall what were supposed to be the pluses?  I am seriously asking for an answer here. 

[Optik-Kate]

Hi @beatlesfan, fast forward and rewind for live streams are restricted due to broadcaster rights, this should be the same experience on other TV services as well. If you see a message on the top right corner that says "program cannot fast forward past live point", that is the intended experience. Some programs can be restarted from the beginning of up to 18 hours of airing, those programs will have a circular arrow on the guide. 

You have the ability to rewind and fast forward all of your recordings, the circular arrows on your remote beside the "app" button or the D pad will work. If you are unable to fast forward a recording, let me know if it's on all recording or a specific show, and we can troubleshoot further. 

In terms of glitchy audio and video, does the screen give you any details on what type of error it is (any numbers)? Do you have a Bluetooth device connected to the TV? 

[Optik-Kate]

I also noticed your comment in the bulletin board and it looks like you can fast forward and rewind, but you can't see the frames? The feature is called Zoetrope and it is something we're looking to release in the future.

[beatlesfan]

Hi @Optik-Kate,

Thanks for the quick reply.

I don't think I was clear in my previous post.

The issue I have, for example, is watching a live sports event and not being able to rewind in a conventional way to see how a goal was scored or a particular play developed. The circular arrows do rewind and fast forward, but do so in a "skipping" manner; i.e. the picture freezes while the rewinding or fast forwarding takes place in 30 second increments so I am simply guessing where to stop fast forwarding or rewinding. I do get the message "program cannot fast forward past live point", when I try to fast forward during live TV, which makes sense since there is nothing to fast forward to past live point.

The same thing happens in my recordings, which is also very frustrating. This was never an issue in my previous experience with Shaw and seems like a real step backwards since we have always had this functionality going back to the days of video recording. Past remote controls have had fast forward and rewind specific buttons and the experience has been the same as rewinding or fast forwarding a video tape. This is an issue with all recordings and is functionality that should be standard and available from day one. I was a Shaw customer for 30 years before moving to Telus and this was never an issue from the beginning of the PVR days.

Regarding the glitchy or stuttering audio and video, the screen does not provide any details on the type of error and there are no Bluetooth devices connected to the TV. I should note that this issue appears randomly at different times on all four of my TVs connected to Telus boxes and that the TVs are different brands and models.

Thanks again for your help.

[Optik-Kate]

Hi @beatlesfan Thank you for providing additional details, this is great feedback and I will share this with our development team. Zoetrope, a feature where it lets user see where they are jumping towards in a smaller frame is on our roadmap, but your feedback on being able to see how a play was developed as opposed to having a frozen screen while rewinding is helpful. We will add that to our list of improvements for the service. 

In terms of the error that you are experiencing, I would recommend reaching out to one of our agents to troubleshoot further. You can start a chat with the purple smiley box on the bottom right corner and request to speak to an agent, the wait time is typically faster than calling in. 

[beatlesfan]

Hi @Optik-Kate,

I have been on several chats with agents with no resolution. Again, I am very frustrated being a beta tester for Telus as that was not part of my service agreement and I am not being compensated for my time. Further, I am being charged full price while services are being "tested". I am additionally concerned that your "roadmap" is leading nowhere. A basic functionality has been missing since day 1. When you note that you have a "list of improvements", I can't help but think that as a new subscriber I have been the victim of a "bait and switch" sales ploy. Not impressed!

[beatlesfan]

Still no improvement since my post 4 weeks ago and no response from Telus! Still feeling like an unpaid beta tester.

[A-B]

Hey @Optik-Kate has there been any further word on this feature?