Vote Now! Top Feature Request!

[jkirk]

Originally Posted by rakeshagrawal

jkirk, I don't think bigbird999's data changes anything we've said about integration up until now. TV is still the priority. But, we also know that there are a number of TV-specific features (like displaying television while in the program guide) that realistically will only happen when we move Beyond TV to a more flexible UI infrastructure. So don't lose all hope here.

good to know but that is not exactly what i was asking. i know snapstream has been keeping an eye on the forums now for a while to either get guidance on features, bugfixes, etc. now does this info bigbird pointed out make this info less important, more important, or no significant change in the viewpoint of snapstream in general.

[rakeshagrawal]

The forums have always played an important role for us when it comes to getting feedback from users -- bigbird's analysis doesn't really change that.

[jkirk]

thanks for the clarification

[ZetaVu]

Looks like QAM has overtaken BM integration. Also looks like CC is almost at the bottom. Maybe you could combine CC with other basic tv features (PIP. EPG ilivetv) and combine the augmentations (colored guide and wildcard recordings), BM (fixes and integration) and recording options (QAM, firewire, DVB).

using these 4 choices

recording format - 39%
BM - 33%
tv features - 14%
Augmentations - 14%

[cfaslave]

o.k. for all of you who want QAM and want it on BTV, you might be interested in this thread about a new card called HDHomeRun.

No guarantees that QAM and BTV and HDHomerun will all do what we want it to, but it makes sense to vote on the sellers website to let them know there are a lot of BTV users out here so they continue to plan BTV support. Go vote there now - ya never know....

Brent

[Eric3a]

Interesting to see that MCE is no-ones Favorite despite probably being the most common! (I have MCE on a machine that came with it, and haven't even started it once!!!!)

Eric

[Khris]

I'm trying to migrate my parents away from MCE, however BTV doesn't support the dual tuner card that Dell sells in all their systems!!

[Brett]

Originally Posted by ZetaVu

Looks like QAM has overtaken BM integration. Also looks like CC is almost at the bottom.

Actually, the winner is quite different if you look at just forum member votes. Unfortunately, the poll above allows "guest" to vote, and they can easily abuse the system. I have pasted the vote percentages for just members with the "overall" one in parathesis. I think the winner is quite clear, leading by more than double on its own:

BM Integration/BTV Plugin Support: 36% (27%)
QAM Recordings: 15% (30%)
DVB Support: 9% (5%)
Firewire Recording: 8% (5%)
Record Show w/wildcards: 6% (11%)
EPG with LiveTV Window: 6% (5%)
BM Bug Fixes: 6% (4%)
Dual-Tuner PIP: 5% (6%)
True CC: 5% (4%)
Color-Coded Guide: 4% (4%)

I guess this could be looked at two ways.
1) A few people abused the system to bump QAM up there -OR-
2) "Potential" customers are interested in QAM, and "current" customers are interested with integration.

In summary:

Forum Members vote:
Interface Improvements: 52% (Integration, BM Bug Fixes, Color-Coded Guide, EPG w/LiveTV)
NEW Recording Sources: 32% (QAM/DVB/Firewire)
NEW PVR/TV Features: 16% (PIP/True CC/Wildcard Recordings)

Members & Guest vote:
Interface Improvements: 40%
NEW Recording Sources: 40%
NEW PVR/TV Features: 21%

Umm... so yeah, not sure what all of this means. Its pretty raw data, and can clearly be pushed around to say pratically anything. But it appears quite obvious that in general the community is less interested in "new" PVR/TV features, and more interested in improving the interface and recording sources.

-Brett

[ZetaVu]

I still flaw the pick one system, vs a weight system where I could stress how much or my vote goes where. I'd put 40% to fix BM, 30% to CC, 20% to integration and 10% to firewire. If people could vote that way, you might get a true weighed preference.

[Fonceur]

Originally Posted by ZetaVu

I still flaw the pick one system, vs a weight system where I could stress how much or my vote goes where.

Probably need to have 3-5 polls, clearly labelled with the First choice, Second choice, etc... And either prevent the guest(s) from voting or make sure only one vote is allowed. Might need to use a different poll system than what is included with the forum software.

[bits]

Does anyone know what percentage of active forum members there are in comparison to the overall number of people that use BTV? My guess would be somewhere around 10-15% maybe even less. If my assumption is correct then a realitively small number of users are trying to influence SS decisions.

My point is that the data derived from polls on forums like this one often can not be taken at face value.

I also think controls for insuring one vote per person should be implemented.

[cfaslave]

Originally Posted by bits

My point is that the data derived from polls on forums like this one often can not be taken at face value.

I think that has been mentioned by Rakesh and others already. Of course a webpoll is not totally representative of the population of BTV users, but that doesn't mean its not usefull. The theory would be that the most hard-core users or "involved" users are on these forums and their vote would be represented. I agree that guests should not be able to vote. It should be locked down to registered forum members only to be even close to accurate.

Man, if I had known I could - I would have voted 100 times more for BM/BTV integration

[ZetaVu]

Users active on the forums are the ones most interested in btv/bm development, and as such will tend to also play a leading role in product adoption, member support, and develoment. Quite frankly, anyone who does not post on forums probably has little opinion on btv development. Using this logic, sending an email survey to all participants probaly gets a lot of indifferent responses with little urgency, and the results will not have the same passion attached to them as survey results from the forum. Also, forum posters tend to be far more knowledgable of the products, and the possibilities for features.

And of course I have issues with blanket form surveys that tend to ask questions designed to get the answers people want to hear.

So, I would suggest if we really wanted to get a valid response on developmental priorities, SS send an email to ALL registered users, with a link to a web page containing the survey. Then anyone with an opinion can go there, log in, and vote for what they feel is important. Set it up like a forum page so people can post comments, thus giving newbies a chance to catch up on the discussion.

Now, don't do this unless you are interested in following up, because there is enough aggravation with people getting what they feel are priorities ignored while what they feel are lesser priorities are pursued instead.

This survey, in its present form (although biased by alleged "cheaters" will provide feedback to how much SS is in tune with their forum community. That is something I consider critical to their survival.

[Brett]

Originally Posted by ZetaVu

Users active on the forums are the ones most interested in btv/bm development, and as such will tend to also play a leading role in product adoption, member support, and develoment. Quite frankly, anyone who does not post on forums probably has little opinion on btv development. Using this logic, sending an email survey to all participants probaly gets a lot of indifferent responses with little urgency, and the results will not have the same passion attached to them as survey results from the forum. Also, forum posters tend to be far more knowledgable of the products, and the possibilities for features.

You could not have said this any better! Summed up: We know what is best for them

So, I would suggest if we really wanted to get a valid response on developmental priorities, SS send an email to ALL registered users, with a link to a web page containing the survey.

Actually, I believe the best way to do this is to have the survey popup on the BTV screen. As long as it only takes 1 minute to complete and can be done by a remote, it would get the MOST feedback from the people who actively use the product.

Now, don't do this unless you are interested in following up, because there is enough aggravation with people getting what they feel are priorities ignored while what they feel are lesser priorities are pursued instead.

This is unfortunate, but true. As it happens the group of users is largerly diverse, so satisifying absolutely everyone is just not possible. They eventually will do the right thing, its just a matter of prioritizing resources. As someone pointed out this forum only represents a very small fraction of a fraction of active BTV users.

This survey, in its present form (although biased by alleged "cheaters" will provide feedback to how much SS is in tune with their forum community. That is something I consider critical to their survival.

My understanding is this survey has sparked quite a bit of discussion at HQ. Take it for what its worth

-Brett

[Brett]

Originally Posted by cfaslave

It should be locked down to registered forum members only to be even close to accurate.

I am following up with the proper folks to get this done going forward. I may remove the guest votes from this poll as well... not sure.

-Brett