Time Warner Cable Still Wrestling With Set-Top Guide Bugs

MSO’s Navigator Software Reported to Cause Customer Issues In Ohio

By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 7/8/2008 4:30:00 PM

Time Warner Cable’s homegrown interactive program guide continues to cause grief for some customers, with problems reported in the Dayton, Ohio area after the MSO upgraded the guide there over the last two months.

The operator has been gradually rolling out the Digital Navigator guide to replace the Aptiv Passport IPG (now owned by Macrovision).

Complaints first surfaced last year in the three test markets for the software: Lincoln, Neb., Milwaukee and Kansas City, Mo. Issues with Digital Navigator reported at the time included spontaneously rebooting set-top boxes and loss of channels.

Some problems apparently are still lingering. According to a July 4 Dayton Daily News article, local Time Warner Cable customers have complained that the new guide is slower to change channels and has introduced other errors, such as delivering some channels only in Spanish.

Time Warner Cable spokesman Justin Venech, in an e-mailed statement, said: “When new technology is being implemented, it is not uncommon that some issues arise and need to be worked out. We continue rollout and expect to have these issues resolved in the coming months. We are confident our customers will find that the new services made available, as a result of this new guide, enhance their overall experience."

Venech did not provide details on how widespread the issues are, or whether the problems affect only specific models of set-top boxes.