FiOS TV: Getting Started With Interactive Media Guide 1.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Contents Purpose of This Document.............................................................................................................. 3 What’s New in 1.9 .......................................................................................................................... 4 How Do You Know What Level of the IMG You Have? .............................................................. 5 STBs Supported by 1.9 ..................................................
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Purpose of This Document Over the six years plus that FiOS TV has been available there have been many changes in the software used to control the set top boxes. With the new 1.9 release of the Interactive Media Guide (IMG), many new capabilities have been introduced. This document is my attempt to provide hopefully useful advice on customizing and using the new release.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 What’s New in 1.9 Here is a partial list of the new capabilities included in 1.9 (this list is from Joe Ambeault’s Release Notes on the Verizon at Home blog: http://forums.verizon.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 How Do You Know What Level of the IMG You Have? Using the FiOS TV remote control: Menu Settings System Information Release 1.9 Build Number 10.95 This is the current information for 1.9 on a QIP7232 DVR; it may display differently on other STBs. The current information for 1.9 on a Cisco STB is Build 12.40.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 STBs Supported by 1.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Initial Setup Note: I think a number of the options available are different between the HD boxes and the SD boxes; since I don’t have any SD boxes I have no way to verify what options are available on them. Probably the most important settings in the HD STB are the type of TV that is attached, the Video Format you want to use, and the Graphic Settings which control how the Guide and Menu are displayed, so I am covering them here first.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Additional Settings Below are some key settings in the Menu that I think you should review and decide how you want the IMG to work. I am not covering all settings and options, just the ones I think are particularly important or new; I highly recommend that you take the time to look through the entire Menu on your set top box, you may find some great capability you didn’t know existed.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 recording and as high as 10 minutes for a three hour recording. You cannot set the interval yourself. Chaptering only works directly on the DVR, it does not work from an STB using the multi-room feature. Note: Verizon is apparently having difficulties in some areas getting the thumbnails to consistently display. However, even when the thumbnails are not visible the chaptering function itself still works and the time intervals are displayed, at least for me.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 FiOS Mobile Remote: Allows you to use your smart-phone as a remote control device for the DVR in place of using the real remote control. You can do pretty much anything with this app that you can do with the real remote. One advantage to using this app is that the smart-phone does not need to be aimed at the DVR because it is using your home wireless network to access the DVR.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Interactive TV, Modes, and Recommendations: As far as I can tell, these options interrupt your viewing when you use the Guide and I see no value in any of them. I have them all disabled or turned off. Guide Highlight: Fixed Focus: When moving forward or backward time-wise, all visible channels are shifted. I prefer this option. Flexible Focus: When moving forward or backward time -wise, only the focused channel is shifted.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Stretch: The STB leaves the resolution at whatever you have the Video Format set to (720p or 1080i). SD channels are displayed full screen. Picture quality is usually somewhat degraded. With this setting I experience a big delay when switching between HD and SD channels using an HDMI connection. Video Sharpness: Allows you to set the sharpness of the displayed SD picture. It offers a range from 1 (softer) to 5 (sharper). The default is 3.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 The New Guide With 1.9 the Guide offers many new features.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Full Guide – Classic View on HDTV: Full Guide on SDTV connected to HD STB: Note: This picture is from a 10+ year old tube-type TV and actually looks worse here than the image on the TV, I guess because of the screen refresh rate and my low resolution digital camera.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Mini Guide on HDTV: Guide Legend on HDTV: I find the new Guide format to be very readable and a big improvement over the Guide in 1.8. Other people’s opinions vary.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Exploiting FiOS TV Favorites When Verizon introduced the original Interactive Media Guide (IMG) to replace the Interactive Programming Guide (IPG), many people, including me, were disappointed that it was no longer possible to remove channels from the Guide to create a customized list of channels to view when using the Guide button on the remote.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Press 500 to go to the first HD channel in the list (in my case, it will actually jump to 504, my first channel after the non-existent channel 500) Press 9999 to go to the bottom of the list Step 2: Set up how you want the Guide and Favorites buttons to work This step must be done from the remote directly on the STB. Two buttons on the remote control work together to display the Program Guide: the Guide button and the Favorites button.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 The net effect of the above is that by default I see my favorites when I hit the Guide button, but I can easily change that to all channels or Favorites 2 at any time by hitting the Favorites button (Note: if you change which list is displayed and then exit the Guide, the next time you hit the Guide button it will display the list you were last viewing). I encourage you to try it with various settings and see which technique you prefer.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Recording Programs on the DVR Scheduling Recordings There are a variety of ways to record a program: From the Guide From the Menu While watching a program live From Search From a computer via the internet From a smart phone or other remote device Scheduling a Recording from the Guide While focused on the program you want to record: 1. Press the REC button once to record that episode. 2.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Manual allows you to schedule a recording without forcing you to choose a “program”; instead, you pick the channel and you pick the start and end times without depending on any entry in the Guide or the program being found in a search. Scheduling a Recording While Watching a Program Live Press REC. Very similar to scheduling a recording using the Guide, but you will be offered a slightly different set of options if you press REC a second time.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Chaptering (works only on the DVR) Chaptering is one of the nice new functions in 1.9. For recorded programs it provides thumbnails so you can easily move through a recording quickly to find the spot you want. While watching the recorded program, press the Up Arrow to see the thumbnails. Use the Right and Left Arrow buttons to move quickly through the thumbnails until you reach the spot you want. Use the Down Arrow to resume viewing the recording at the desired spot.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Using the Verizon Remote Control With the Guide Using the Full Guide Button Guide Up Arrow Down Arrow Right Arrow Left Arrow Ch + (page) Ch – (page) Next Previous Forward Rewind Numbers Info Favorites Options BB Record Exit Action Start the Full Guide. Pressing it a second time displays the Channel Guide. Move to next lower numbered channel. Move to next higher numbered channel. Move the Guide forward 30 minutes. Move the Guide backward 30 minutes.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 For Watching Live TV Note: While watching live TV on the DVR or on an STB if the Multi-Room feature of the DVR is active, you can also use various buttons relating to recording programs and playing back recordings. Using these buttons will be covered in the next section. Watching Live TV Exit Return to live TV from any of the IMG screens. OK Generally selects an option from one of the IMG screens displayed by using one of the buttons described below.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 For Controlling the DVR Note: The Next, Prev, Fwd, and Rew buttons also work while watching live TV on the DVR as long as you have first gone backward toward the beginning of the program (ie, used the Prev or Rew buttons). Recording a Program, Watching a Recorded Program, Watching a Live Program Next Prev Fwd Rew REC FiOS TV Normally skips forward “n” seconds where “n” is defined in the Menu. However, if recording has been paused, advance one frame at a time.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Using Remote DVR from Smart Phone or Tablet(?) (I think this topic might be appropriate, but I use Remote DVR only from My Verizon on the web, so I have no experience to base any comments or suggestions on. If someone can provide some information I will be happy to include it here, and credit them.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Using Video on Demand VOD offers free and fee access to a large number of programs, including: Free broadcast and cable channel TV programs from ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, FX, HDNet, TBS, and others. Movies for a fee. Premium channels – free if you subscribe to that service. A variety of other free content, include some movies. Flexview You access VOD by pressing the On Demand button on the remote.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Some Additional Hints and Tips for FiOS TV (Any suggestions for other topics?) Connections Between the STB and the TV There are several different connection methods that can be used to connect your STB to your TV. The installer will have made the connection, but he might not make the best connection available, you may have some problems with the initial setup, or you may change your TV or STB and need to re-do your own connections. So here are some simple suggestions.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 However, other drives can be used, although Verizon will not help if you experience performance or compatibility issues. You can find more information in the eSATA external hard drives section of the FiOS FAQs: https://www22.verizon.com/fiostv/web/unprotected/HelpFAQ.aspx Any drive must connect to the DVR using an eSATA connection (not USB). The drive will be formatted when attached to the DVR (any data on the drive will be erased).
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 1080i before sending it to the TV. If you want, you can change the STB setting so the original resolution is passed directly to the TV and not changed by the STB. Why might you want to use native pass through? Some people feel that the picture they see on their TV is better if it is viewed at its “native” resolution, and they want the best possible picture. Other people, like me, cannot see any difference.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 5) Once all options have been set the way you want, press the Power button to save your settings. 6) Press the Power button to turn the STB on to resume normal operation. There are other settings available in the User Settings menu, but most or all can be set much more conveniently using the IMG. Caller ID on TV I have had Caller ID on TV for more than two years. I have found it to be very reliable, but it has stopped working maybe 4 or 5 times in that time.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Reboot STB Set Top Box Auto Correction Network Diagnostics Auto-fix Common DVR Issues plus others. If you are having connection issues, picture quality issues, missing channels, etc, running one or more of these tools may fix your problem. Self Diagnostics: This tool will test various STB connectivity conditions and your service options and provide a report. If Failed is reported anywhere you have an issue that needs to be addressed.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 A Few Final Comments I hope you have found this document useful. It is certainly not a complete explanation of all of the capabilities of FiOS TV. I encourage you to explore the various settings and options so you get maximum benefit and enjoyment from the service. If you are interested in more information on FiOS TV, here are some possible sources: Channel 131 on your TV shows short videos on using various features.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 Glossary (looking for suggestions for additional entries) BPON: Broadband Passive Optical Network. Capable of 622 Mbps download and 155 Mbps upload. Each BPON fiber is split using an optical splitter to serve 16 or 32 users. DAC: A DAC is a grouping of VHOs that share a Digital Addressable Controller.
FiOS TV: Getting Started With IMG 1.9 IMG: Interactive Media Guide. The Verizon software that controls the STB. Pixel: Picture Element. The smallest addressable screen element. It is the smallest unit of a picture that can be represented or controlled. SD: Standard Definition. Display resolution at something lower than a High Definition resolution (seriously, there are multiple Standard Definition formats). The picture is normally displayed in a 4:3 format. SDTV: Standard Definition Television.
