Trying to find the most user friendly way of navigating between channels

[Kleisthenes]

I recently bought a KDL-42W829B to replace our aging Sony CRT television and a digital set top box (STB). I’ve been trying to find the most user friendly way of changing from one favourite channel to another.

On our old STB, I was able to set up a circular list of our favourite channels and order them so that our most popular channels were bunched together. Then, by pressing one button on the STB control, you were put into the list and the channel currently showing was highlighted. You could then scroll to the desired channel and select the channel by pressing one button. I’ve been trying to set up something as near to this as possible on our new Sony TV, but I have struggled.

I have managed to create a list of our favourite channels in “Favourites 1”. However, the first problem is how to access the list with the shortest number of key presses on the control. The quickest I have found is to press DISCOVER which first displays “Top Picks” (whatever they are!) and then I can scroll down to reach “Favourites 1”. The next problem is that the list is not circular, the highlighted channel is simply the first in the list (not the channel currently showing), and I can find no way of ordering the channels in the list. All this means that, in order to select an HD channel, I have to scroll through many other channels from the beginning of the list in order to get to the desired channel.

I’ve tried using the Guide via the Guide button on the control but, because I can see no way of grouping our favourite channels together, there are similar problems in navigating between channels.

As a result, I have just about given up. I have now written a list of our favourite channels with their channel numbers on a post-it and stuck the post-it on the surface where we keep the control. And we now change channels by typing in the digits of the channel number. This is by far the most user friendly method I have found (and the quickest). But I feel it is quite pathetic to have to resort to this.

So far, I have been very disappointed with the user interface. I expected something so much better these days.

Any suggestions please?

[rooobb]

if you setup the fast zapping option in the system preferences, whenever you press the channel up/down button it appears a list of the channel on the right side of the screen in which you can choose to show all the DVBT channels or one of the 4 favorites. There you can scroll in a loop as you seems to look for!

[Anonymous]

Ahhh the bugbear of having more than 4 channels on a TV

As rooobb said above, switch on 'fast zapping'.  Also have a look at the 'Fast Zapping : Category Setup" as this may help put things into favourites etc. 

[Kleisthenes]

Thank you for the replies.  However, I can't find the fast zapping option on my TV.  Are you sure that my particular model (KDL-42W829B) supports fast zapping?

[Anonymous]

Ummm - thats a bloody good question....  My 2013 TV does   However, 2014 TVs do things differently and I dont have enough experience on a 2014 TV.

Unfortunately once again, the manual is less than helpful.  So.....  Going to have to get back to you on that one (unless another forum member can confirm or deny?)

What happens when you press the P+ or P- button on the remote control on a freeview channel?  Is it any quicker?

Cheers

[rooobb]

Unfortunately I have too an "old" 2013 model and it works like a charm. Let's see if any user with a 2014 model come up with an hint

[Kleisthenes]

Yes, my TV is a 2014 model.  And yes, there is no mention of fast zapping in the i-Manual.  I had already searched that.

You ask what happens when I press the PROG +/- buttons while on a Freeview channel?  It just goes to the next or previous channel in channel number sequence.  So, in general, it is definitely not quicker to change channel that way.

Just a thought.  Did the 2013 models have the DISCOVER app along with a DISCOVER button on the remote control?  If not, might the DISCOVER app have superseded the fast zapping feature?

[rooobb]

Discover is a feature of 2014 models only, I don't see why they should have canceled the fast zapping options...

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Hi there

I think myself and Rooobb may have inadvertantly confused things (due to our 2013 TVs).  I recieved this today from my contact in Sony.

"

it has been reworked and is now called "discover". You have to use the touchpad remote and can scroll through the channels:

As far as I can see fast zapping is no longer available as in 2013 model:

"

I think thats it really, that and the EPG (Guide).  So your right, the Discover as superseeded the fast zapping feature.

Cheers

[Kleisthenes]

Thanks once again for all the help.  I played around with DISCOVER a little more today and I became even more sure that it was indeed the "son of" fast zapping.

I have some questions about the use of DISCOVER but I think it would be more appropriate to ask them on a new thread.  The i-Manual is not at all helpful on how to use DISCOVER.

I don't have a touchpad remote control, but I can still use DISCOVER.  I'm not sure your contact is correct therefore, but maybe I have misunderstood you.