Virgin Media Software Updates

So since last week, when eveyrthing broke for a day, they've updated the software on the boxes.

The now and next banner and several other bits of on-screen tat are now translucent like the iPlayer.

In on demand, the old style colourful play/ff/rew thing has been simplified into a small icon and a neat timer.

Meanwhile in Music on Demand there are now playlists with skip. You can use 1 and 3 to go back and forth between songs instead of having to use fastforward and the song title appears in a neat and tidy little caption up top.

I presume the translucency is a Samsung only feature.

In addition, the whole system seems far quicker, perhaps due to the removeal of several old boxes off the network a few months back?

Hopefully this playlists feature will pave the way for chapters in tv shows, or at least a nice "skip 5 mins" button.

No translucency here, but I do have the new on-demand navigation and Playlists, although I'm a bit disappointed that you can't create your own. Even though the coloured navigation has gone you can still use up, down, left and right to navigate which is good. a +5 minutes/10minutes etc would be great

No increase in speed here but it does work a lot better than it did before the last big software update about 6 months ago. It crashes far less and never loses it's EPG data

(I'm using an ex-Telewest Pace box)

My now/next isn't translucent (on a Samsung box), but other random UI elements are - the dialogue that asks if you're sure you want to exit an on-demand stream, for example.
It hadn't occurred to me that I haven't had a blanket 6am/No Programme Information crisis in a few days - perhaps that isn't just mere coincidence!

Have you rebooted recently luke? Mine hasn't but my mate's *was* translucent but now is not since his reboot. He has the slightly older samsung box sans the virgin logo.

Although the EPG stabalised a lot with the last big update I still have the occasional problem with having to press i twice before the info comes up properly.

Yep, I get that too.

I've tried rebooting my box (not needed to do that for ages it's so stable now!) and all the graphics are still solid

If you have the pace box it might not do translucency. I was told by the (press red) iPlayer people that the shoddyrific atlanta one can't do it either. Is iPlayer translucent for you?

oh and does everyone else have that STUPID massive iplayer graphic appearing for them with the baubles?

Likewise with my Scientific Atlanta box which was recently replaced. I was sure that my set top box was such an old design I would get something a bit more flash when it died.

Imagine my disappointment when the chappy arrived with the same model of box. He didn't give me a new remote control either, and the battery cover keeps falling off mine.

The swine.

try claiming that the modem light goes off at random and on demand fails, that's often a sure fire way to get the samsung.

meanwhile, I just checked by box, and they've turned off translucency.
I suspect its because it looked a bit shoddy when the tv went black between channels and then it went see through again. on demand stuff still appears translucent though.

Yes, I mentioned it in the BBC One thread - I'm sure you know about pressing blue to remove it.

Once again, Caps?

I was going to get a picture of some sort for the other thread, but it seems to have gone a bit funny, it's sort of broken up.

Sorry about the quality taken on my phone. Also sorry about size will try and resize later.

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c259/whiteside2005/DSC00251.jpg