Will the EPG issue ever be addressed?

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  • I think I can speak for everyone who's currently using the Z7+ when asking this. This was billed as a premium box when compared to similar products from competitors, yet its core function of streaming IPTV is quite hindered with the extremely slow loading of the EPG. We're all aware that a lot of other applications and devices out there are capable of a fast loading EPG, but I have yet to find an actual answer or explanation as to why MyTVOnline is unable to load the EPG on startup. You're obviously aware of the problem by now, and am sure you have heard the complaints. Is there a plan to fix this in the near future, or should we just give up hope and accept this as a permanent flaw? You offer my personal favorite application for IPTV when it comes to layout, presentation, performance, and features, but I'm constantly annoyed by this one simple problem every time that I use my Z7+ Can we please just get some sort of official statement regarding this and information on any plans to correct this in the future? Thanks!

  • I agree! we have spent considerable money on this box, essentially for this APP as it is not available for other devices. Other boxes out there way outperform this box such as Minix and Nvidia Shield for similar money but the selling point for the Z7+ is the iptv interface!


    This EPG issue has rendered my z7+ back in the box with potential for a return to the vendor I bought it from - I am waiting until the death in case Formuler finally speak publicly to its customers about this issue and how they are going to address it.


    I have tried 4 providers now all of which are top end and not your average 10 down he line reseller and I have tested them on STB EMU, Informir Mag 256, Perfect Player and Kodi PVR and the EPG loads instantly on all... This is a bug unique to the MTVOL app and HAS to be fixed.


    Please please formuler! sort this out! it is not something that needs months and months to address.

  • Agreed - If you’re interested in knowing the answer please post here...


    For the Fomuler folks..... seriously, how about answer? I wonder how many sales you are losing as Z7+ users won’t bother to recommend your products to anyone else due to the EPG problems.


    Can’t be rocket science, just fix it - or give us some sort of response!!!

  • My guess is that we will get the standard "it is our top priority and we are working on it" reply with no clear answer as to why it is the way it is or any resolution as to when it might be fixed. I PM'd the admins asking for simple ballpark guesses and assured them that it didn't need to be spot on, and they weren't even able to give me that. I think all z7+ owners, and those reading this considering buying one, should assume at this point that no quick fix is coming until someone from Formuler gives some kind of response. They refused to even guarantee me that it would be fixed in the next 6 months.


    For those thinking about buying the z7+ --- There is no perfect IPTV box out there (there would be if Formuler fixed the EPG issues here). If a speedy EPG is important to you, you probably should look elsewhere.

  • I've owned other boxes and they have similar issues. They really need to sort this issue out as its been going on for a long time. I am hopeful they will fix it eventually as updates to my other boxes were regular and they fixed every other issue apart from this one.

    • Official Post

    They refused to even guarantee me that it would be fixed in the next 6 months.


    Not they refused, i didn`t gave you the answer you wanted because i don`t know the date for fix! How can i guarantee you something what i by person can not fix, it`s Engineers work not my.
    Posts like this will be reason that i will in future never again answer on PM, by the way stays in my signature but nobody read.


    @All
    It`s reported and discussed internally, they search for solution. That`s what i can say.

  • I just don't get what the difficulty is. From a technical standpoint it should be quite simple. At the end of the day it's text based data we're talking here. At max, probably just a few MB's. Modify MYTVOL so the EPG pre-loads on boot, and enable local caching. They're essentially streaming the data on the fly, and on top of that in a very inefficient way. Even if I had to leave the EPG up in the foreground for the entire guide to populate, that would be way better. Yet Instead, I cycle through the guide and wait 15 seconds on each page for a whopping 5 channels to load at a time. To me, them not even addressing it gives the impression that they don't care about fixing it, or that they don't want to pay someone the money to do it for them. Keep this thread going and maybe we'll eventually get a response!

  • I would have to agree with everything that's been said here. The slow loading EPG is completely unacceptable for how much we paid for this box. I frequently coast around on multiple forums and Facebook groups, and when anybody asks whether or not they should buy this box I honestly have to tell them it's basically the best IPTV device I've ever used, but the slow loading EPG is a deal-breaker and not to buy it.

  • @SAM -- I don't think anything I said was out of context. I asked for very rough ballpark guesses, assuming that you are in contact with the engineers (do you not work with them?), and you did not give me an answer. I would think 6 months would be enough to fix ANY issue, especially one this visible. I'm sorry for calling you out here, but your response over PM changes nothing and there clearly are a bunch of other people looking for an answer. You can have your hissy-fit if you want though, but watch the overwhelming response here about this particular issue. Maybe relay that to your engineers and get them on the case a bit faster?


    Like others have said, I really don't get it. Every other app I have used pulls in the EPG data all at once and caches it. Is it really that hard of a change to make? In what world does it make sense to load EPG one row at a time on-demand. I'm a software engineer. This is simply nuts.

  • As I user, I agree with all of you that I would LOVE for this issue to get sorted out.


    However, for all those saying things like "It can't be that difficult"...and "Just modify it to do this or do that"...do you REALLY think that they wouldn't do it if it were that easy?


    Obviously, this is a more complicated issue than you believe it to be. I look at similar boxes from other manufacturers and I see a similar issue with those, so its not unique to MTVOL.


    I have tested dozens of providers and while the issue is consistent with most...it is especially vexing with xtreamcodes based services. Unfortunately, most providers fall into that category anymore. The true stalker based platforms don't have the same issues, or it is greatly reduced. Without naming names...because I don't know the board rules for naming IPTV providers...I have tested at least one stalker server that loads instantly in MTVOL and another that loads entirely with the exception of the current timeslot's program.


    For those of you that care to know, there are ways to minimize the impact of this particular issue. Personally, I have made a Favourites list for both of my current providers of all channels I know I could care to watch. Its roughly 250-300 channels depending on the provider. Every morning, I spend about 15-20 minutes loading the EPG for my primary provider. Once loaded, its good for the day, never needing to be reloaded.


    WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU SHUT THE BOX OFF??? You might ask?


    I'll tell you what happens...my EPG is cached and is still there when I turn it back on because I have set my box to power off to Standby instead of powering off.


    Honestly, I can live with the, at worst, 20 minutes I spend loading the EPG every morning while enjoying my first coffee of the day because the rest of the IPTV experience with this box is the best I have had with any program available for this hobby.

  • You want it fixed, yet at the same time it seems you're defending them for not doing so by believing it's a hard problem? Do I expect it to be fixed within a day? No, but how about a "Hey guys, we're aware of the problem and actively working to resolve it." They won't even give an answer as to whether or not they're ever planning on fixing it. This box has been out for months now. The consumers aren't the ones that billed this as being a "premium" box, Formuler did. If they want to call it premium, and also charge a premium, then support it like it is. Maybe they should pay a competent programmer to work on it for a couple of days and it would be fixed. Not only that, but they'd increase sales of the box as this is the primary reason it isn't being recommended to others, and in most cases from what I've seen, discouraged by current users. Personally, I've held onto this box so far in anticipation of a fix, but if I knew for sure they weren't going to, I'd sell it. I'll give it another month or so. After that I'm "downgrading" to a Mag which costs much less, yet is somehow capable of doing what this can't. Sure, this has a prettier interface and EPG, but if it doesn't operate correctly, does it matter?

  • All due respect, but I don’t have 20 minutes in my morning routine to scroll through an EPG favorites list one by one to load the guide for the next 24 hours. I wish I did and respect the fact that it works for you.


    But If the issue is truly that difficult, why can programs like ProgTV, Perfect Player, And GSE (just to name a few) all do it? And they barely charge anything, especially not the cost of a premium box.


    What I think bothers me the most is the lack of communication regarding the issue and apparent nonchalant mentality from Formuler.


    I use ProgTV on other android boxes in my home and it’s absolutely great. Not quite as wife-friendly as the z7+ and doesn’t have all the bells and whistles yet but it’s lightning quick. I emailed them about something the other day and got a response that night and within a week my suggestion was added to the latest beta. At this rate, ProgTV may end up adding everything MyTvOL has before Formuler fixes the EPG.

  • So Ok just say the EPG can't preload on boot, they just could never script that to happen... Why then can't it populate globally across all groups all at the same time? even if it took 5 minutes to complete? Why will it only populate page by page 4 or 5 channels at a time? that makes no sense. It takes 15 seconds at least per 5 channels and I have 100MBPs download speed! Why is it only pulling data for visible channels on the grid and not just pulling data for the whole list (s) in the background? That is possibly the one thing I can not figure out.


    It would be good for a Formuler DEV/ engineer to come on here and respond directly so poos SAM isn't taking the flack - at least some one technically skilled could publish reasons for the problem and we could all then make a decision... wait for the bug to be repaired, live with it or flog our boxes on and get a decent Mag 256 or high end android unit.

  • Here you go Formuler...


    "..... it should be a simple service. 1. DAT file, this contains EPG information for however long your EPG is set for (7 days, 30 days etc). 2. an EPG scraper service that updates the DAT file with forthcoming EPG data. 3. a housekeeping task to remove EPG data that is outside the scope of the EPG"

  • So Ok just say the EPG can't preload on boot, they just could never script that to happen... Why then can't it populate globally across all groups all at the same time? even if it took 5 minutes to complete? Why will it only populate page by page 4 or 5 channels at a time? that makes no sense. It takes 15 seconds at least per 5 channels and I have 100MBPs download speed! Why is it only pulling data for visible channels on the grid and not just pulling data for the whole list (s) in the background? That is possibly the one thing I can not figure out.


    It would be good for a Formuler DEV/ engineer to come on here and respond directly so poos SAM isn't taking the flack - at least some one technically skilled could publish reasons for the problem and we could all then make a decision... wait for the bug to be repaired, live with it or flog our boxes on and get a decent Mag 256 or high end android unit.


    For the bolded above...what is interesting is that it does with some providers. Like I said, I know of at least one provider where the EPG does just that. It fully populates across the entire channel list immediately. I have seen with other services where it will populate either the entire channel list or a large majority of the channel list entirely with the exception of what is in the current time slot...meaning that if its 5 pm when I load the portal, everything from 6pm on is loaded immediately but I have to manually populate the data for the 5-6 time slot.


    I'm no programmer. I'm not a computer technician or engineer. I don't understand all the intricacies of writing these scripts and from what I can tell, none of you people do either. So why is it so hard to believe that they are working on it but failing to make it work across all providers. I understand that ProgTV and Perfect Player and even kodi's Simple Client can download the entire guide on startup in a matter of a couple of minutes at most, but those programs are all using an m3u file for the EPG. MTVOL isn't. Its a different form of connecting to the portal. The ONLY stalker device that I know of that loads EPG right away is the MAG and they wrote the damned stalker programming for crying out loud. I'm sure they aren't exactly going to share how they are doing it with the Formuler team.


    I have no problem with any of you. You have the right to ask the question. You have the right to return or sell your boxes if you aren't happy. All I am saying is that I have been using one of these boxes for a year now and I'm pretty happy with it. To me, its far better than any android program, kodi addon, or other STB that I have found and I have tried almost all of them I think. I would love for them to find a solution to this problem, but it didn't keep me from buying this box and it won't keep me from recommending to others...with the caveat that they will have to do some work to load the guide every day.


    For all your sakes, I hope that somebody from the Formuler team gives you an answer to your question. I hope they come on here and say, one way or the other, whether its a problem they think they can eventually fix. I agree that the peace of mind of knowing one way or the other would be nice.

  • Simple response to this, don't release the box for general sale until extensively tested on a variety of portal based providers ensuring it's "bread and butter" functions work. Fact is, they have taken £100+ for a device that is not quite working to what is advertised, I should have not quite paid the full asking price then. You don't release a new car not knowing whether different road surfaces will make the wheels fall off. The fact that they are not responding to their clients is more annoying than the actual issue itself! The few android devs/ IPTV devs I have spoken with have all stated this should not be a big issue to rectify.

  • ProgTV has a beta version that uses Xtreme Code now rather than m3u. Takes a little bit longer to load than the m3u epg does, but once it does you have like 7 days worth of epg across all channels (and it allows archived content playback). I do not know the intracacies of stalker/xtreme/m3u, but I am a software programmer and I can tell you -- the kind of on-demand pull of the epg data on a channel by channel basis that MyTVOL does is a very flawed UI/UX design for any piece of software. You never want your end user watching a "spinning wheel" if it can be avoided -- and other programs prove that it can. Even the BuzzTV XPL3000 loads incrementally faster. I'm testing that as well and reported an issue --- for which they promptly replied within 48hrs and told me when that they plan to push an update next week that should fix my problem. Note that they didn't promise it would, but at least I got a response and estimate.


    The fact that this is a very visible (literally) issue and one that is highly complained about, should have Formuler all over it. It should be their #1 priority fix. But their lack of response seems to indicate that this issue, and in turn all of the users that it negatively affects, is not important enough to them to even give us a formal response with some kind of idea of timeline or even whether a fix will be made. In the software world, fixes are prioritized and planned for certain releases based on various factors. Yes -- development groups are always reluctant to share that information with customers because unforeseen things can sometimes throw a wrench into the mix and cause delays. But in this case, I think we all understand that and just want some kind of ballpark estimate so we can choose what to do ourselves.


    @manosteel - i do understand where you're coming from and appreciate your stance.

  • Here is the response they gave me. Dont hold your breath! im returning the unit while i can.



    Hi,
    Good morning.


    First, we sincerely sorry for all your inconveniences.


    Regarding your inquiry, currently we know that some users have inconvenience due to the EPG slowness of our products.
    However, if EPG speed is improved, it might make the other functions slower.
    So our technical team continues to look for a better solution.


    Even if it takes a little more time, we will release the patch version for this problem shortly.


    Thank you.