Will the EPG issue ever be addressed?

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  • This issue has got to be damaging their business. it is being widely reported/condemned in every forum the box gets a mention. A lot of very unhappy people and rightly so considering the price point

  • This issue has got to be damaging their business. it is being widely reported/condemned in every forum the box gets a mention. A lot of very unhappy people and rightly so considering the price point


    Agreed. MYTVOL is the only reason to get this box right now, and with the EPG issue + price , it makes it even more of a tough sell. The touted Android 7.0 support on this box has been terrible. Kodi works alright, I will give it that, but other apps like Netflix & Amazon Prime video are essentially useless. Netflix is capped at 480P for some reason, loads the mobile web interface which makes it hard to control, and crashes constantly. Amazon Prime video isn't capped at 480P, but once again, loads the mobile interface which makes it difficult to navigate, and almost every time you back out of a video it crashes. It's pretty sad that a Mibox which is $69 dollars and can be picked up at any Walmart works 100 times better. I've used the Z7+ long enough now to understand it's just not worth it, and personally am returning it. Since it's been made obvious by lack of statements or updates that the EPG issue isn't going to be fixed any time soon, I really can't justify the cost of the Z7+. Not to mention, I'm sure that if the EPG issue does ever get resolved, by that time Formuler will already be pushing a successor to the Z7+. I'm going to switch to a MAG 256 for the time being for IPTV with a functional EPG, and will use my old Mibox for Prime Video, Netflix, and Kodi. I wanted to upgrade to an all in one solution, and was hopeful the Z7+ was the answer to that, but it's obviously just not there yet.

  • Too funny, an Admin who defends themselves rather than trying to provide customer service as an employee of Fomuler. Wonder how long that would last in the real world as sales drop off.


    Either way - all the excuses around how hard this fix is are quite pathetic if free apps like ProgTV and Perfect Player have already figured this out.


    The supplier I bought from no longer offers the Z7+ because of the complaints, and others I reached out to are saying the same.


    Keep posting here peeps, let’s get this sorted out as a priority.


  • No doubt that this box isn't worth the money that we paid for it. There are many boxes with a much less buggy Android implementation, and can cost 1/2 to 1/3 the price. The only reason we bought these boxes at such a high premium is because of the user experience that MyTVOnline gives... But even this app has been buggy since the box came out. With features randomly breaking (e.g. timeshift) and the issue with EPG slowness existing for over a year on their previous devices, there's no doubt in my mind they are bleeding customers. With Perfect Player and ProgTV getting much better, and they can run on much more powerful Android TV devices, there soon will be no reason to buy a Formuler or Dreamlink box. I am a software developer as well, and the issues that we are complaining about are not a difficult solve at all. I can loop through several thousand items and write to RAM in a matter of seconds. I hope that this company understands that this is not acceptable, and works dillegently to resolve any issues that their customers are facing.

  • Hi,


    I totally agree, keep the thread going, reply everyone, keep posting! Absolutely disgusting service with how this manufacturer has blatantly ignored us. We paid hard earned money on this piece of crap.


    This box has such potential but the EPG has frustrated me so much with the mytvonline app. The most recent firmware update and mytvonline update are neglegable in features and really appear to have made minimal to no difference, in fact I personally notice a step back as mytv launcher always fails on startup now.


    My amazon fire stick performs much better overall and costs a fraction of the z7+. Kodi or my IPTV providers APK loads the guide INSTANTLY!


    I am also a software developer, this is not rocket science as others have said, but maybe the technical team at formuler are incompetent (fire those ppl and get ppl who can fix this, reality check) and not capable of such a trivial change. Maybe the architecture of this device or mytvonline app was flawed from the beginning and requires a full rewrite? We don’t know as there is no communication.


    I also agree the lack of communication is totally inadequate, formuler customer service is a prime example of how to alienate its customers and run a company into the ground.


    For people who suggest to spend 15-20 mins in the morning to load the app... REALLY??? Give your head a shake, that’s utterly ridiculous (posts like that make me think you are associated with formuler and biased, so absurd) I would be ok with turning the app on in the morning and letting it load the EPG for 15 mins (still slow and ridiculous) but it’s better then scrolling through each screen on my favourites and waiting 15-30 seconds for 5 channels to load. Btw I have 150 MBs speed (this is not slow due to my internet connection).


    Also as other threads have described I have the issue where when I put my device in standby mode after spending time loading the EPG, sometimes the device will not turn back on, I have no choice but to unplug and then plug the device back in thus losing all my cached EPG (great job there as well formuler).


    Maybe my response will get me blocked from this forum, not sure... but the truth hurts. I hope we get a fix but based on the prior Administrator response in this thread and them getting all defensive on a PM that someone else mentioned, this tells me they are not concerned about there customers and ensuring they are happy.


    I want to be an advocate for the z7+ but at this current time I just cannot. My patience is wearing thin and I may abandon this device very shortly.


    Keep posting please.

  • I agree , anyone defending this is obviously associated with formuler perhaps a vendor or they have that much money and free time on their hands waiting for an EPG to load fills a void in their lives. Come on now this is not a 20 quid box made from old phone parts sold by a back street electronics shop via eBay ... ironically my back street 20 quid box made from an HTC desire 1 works better! Each day I fire up this formuler rip off and no updates are found to fix this problem I will complain to formuler and the UK company that sold it to me.

  • For people who suggest to spend 15-20 mins in the morning to load the app... REALLY??? Give your head a shake, that’s utterly ridiculous (posts like that make me think you are associated with formuler and biased, so absurd) I would be ok with turning the app on in the morning and letting it load the EPG for 15 mins (still slow and ridiculous) but it’s better then scrolling through each screen on my favourites and waiting 15-30 seconds for 5 channels to load. Btw I have 150 MBs speed (this is not slow due to my internet connection).


    I am not affiliated with Formuler at all. Just a user like yourself. I had a Dreamlink T1 before I bought this box. It had the same issue of course as its built by the same developers.


    I agree that the problem is annoying. I'm not trying to minimize the issue, just offering a possible workaround for those who like the UI, like the ease of use, like how simple it is for their less tech friendly wives and kids but can't get around the EPG. My wife is home all day, watching this box. She could NEVER run kodi or Perfect Player or Prog TV. If those were my only options for IPTV, I would still have a legit sub!


    She hates the slow loading EPG as well. She complained about it all the time. So, I started loading it fully every morning while having my coffee. I have timed the process. While some providers are faster than others...and as I said, at least one is instant...it can take upwards of 30 seconds to load a single page of content. That's a ridiculous amount of time for 5 channels! I agree with all of you. I would love to see it fixed.


    For me, though, this is the best available box for my family, so I need to find a way to make it work for us while waiting for a solution that may or may not ever come. I've explained how I do it and it works for me.

  • @manosteel9423 stating that the issue is non-existent on certain subs is a little misleading and implies that the issue lies with the sub and not the box. This is simply not the case -- please show me one sub where the EPG loads instantly. We all know that our current subs load instant on other IPTV apps, so that should be the bar we are setting for MyTVOnline. Appreciate the workaround, but that solution is not going to work for the majority of users.

    • Official Post

    Official statement, here it is.


    Quote

    EPG will be improved in the MYTVOnline release that will come middle of March (Test phase) and soon after that the official release.



    My personal opinion:
    I never told this is not big issue, it is and very annoying on top. I use this box also and not only for tests, so i want to endeavour that this box works at end perfectly. Will it be? Who knows, i hope so and try my best to proceed all needed informations to proper people so they can make it possible. Is it not good enough or fast enough, then i can`t help you, sorry to say.
    I understand each one here and his frustration in case of EPG issue, i really do, but i think some of them don`t care what i or Formuler write, each word will be instantly ripped. How ever, to get personal, heat up the air or try to be provocative will not change anything and make it only worth. In past i closed threads for much less and i don`t want to do this with this thread.

  • Official statement, here it is.


    [quote]EPG will be improved in the MYTVOnline release that will come middle of March (Test phase) and soon after that the official release.


    Thank you for the feedback. Your response is appreciated. I am hopeful there will be a SIGNIFICANT improvement. Time will tell.


    There is nothing personal here from me at least. Business is business. You have taken my money for a premium box, now I am asking for quality services so I can utilize it.


    Your opinion of “improved” and my opinion of “quality” is subjective, but we (your customers) will surly let you know what “improvement” we see.


    how long is the test phase? How much duration is between test phase and official release?


    Thank you.

  • @SAM - Thank you for the official response and ballpark timeline to properly set some expectations for your high-paying customers. Truly. While I wish it was a shorter timeline and a more definitive 'yes it will be fixed in this way' type of response, I'm just happy to get any kind of information at all and frankly I was not expecting some. Thank you.


    It would be nice to know the typical timeline between test phase and official release, however.

  • @SAM yes thank you for pushing Formuler for a response. I and others mean no personal offence towards yourself and we acknowledge your help and responses and we are grateful. We do know that you can only tell us what you are told. Our frustration is aimed at Formuler! and it is a shame we have had to saturate the board with our persistent and heated tones of frustration as I like many, have worked hard to pay out a premium for such a device so from Formuler so we expect that amount of money to provide first class after care. Again you are just the go between so please take no offence from anyone.


    Hopefully this update will remove the problem and create the worlds first all round super box! let's hope so

    • Official Post

    Timeline between beta phase to official release are always 1-2 Weeks. So the official release should be expected end of March. If the problem can be located earlier then the beta and official release will also come earlier but we should focus on end of March. The S series are also managed from same team and this becomes also EPG optimisation now, in first case DVB EPG and with MYTVOnline benefit both S and Z series. The EPG data "call" for MYTVO must work normally like on other boxes and if possible better, then its optimised fully.
    How ever, we should also not forget, from Provider to Provider are big differences how they work, use of protocols, configs, limitations etc. This all reflects on the box if not fully supported from provider, but i agree EPG must work on most normally and this is the point. For now is EPG DVB for S Series and MYTVOnline EPG on prio 1.


    @All
    All is fine and like i already written i understand fully how you all feel and believe me if i say, Formuler too. Normal discussions with appropriate words and requests will always accepted and considered, even wise criticism will be taken but all other are just non-productive. Community can only prosper if all sides Users, Board and Formuler work together. All will be good, stay optimistic :smiling_face:

  • @manosteel9423 stating that the issue is non-existent on certain subs is a little misleading and implies that the issue lies with the sub and not the box. This is simply not the case -- please show me one sub where the EPG loads instantly. We all know that our current subs load instant on other IPTV apps, so that should be the bar we are setting for MyTVOnline. Appreciate the workaround, but that solution is not going to work for the majority of users.


    There is only one service that I have ever used that had a virtually instant loading EPG with any of these boxes. Like I said, I'm not certain of the rules for these forums about naming services but this service is very popular in the US and Canada and is one of the original stalker based services. I last used them last summer with my old Dreamlink T1, so I can't speak to how they are now, but assuming nothing has changed on their end, EPG was there immediately with them. Unfortunately, picture quality was lacking so I never went back to them.


    Other true stalker based services that I have tried also tend to load better than xtreamcodes services. In many cases, like I have said before, the stalker based services will load the entire EPG with the exception of the current time slot. What I mean by this is when you open the EPG, you can see the next program scheduled to play, but have to wait for the current show to populate.


    I don't understand why there are these differences between the services and how they work. I am just passing along the information that I have gathered in my extensive testing of dozens of services over the past 12 months or so with one of these boxes.

  • @manosteel9423, if using the XtremeCodes way of grabbing data is inefficient, then why does the EPG work almost instantly for these same services on MAG boxes -- or even the similar BuzzTV XPL 3000?


    Even if Formuler could not solve the issue on their end because of the inefficient methodology of how they have to pull the data, maybe Formuler should look into using the XMLTV method that many other apps use as a supplementary data source -- which simply involves downloading an entire XML dump of the EPG for the previous week, and the next couple of weeks. Then, it's simply one big network call, instead of hundreds of small calls.


    Also, do you mind PM'ing me the name of that provider? I'd like to do some testing on my end.