Grid Guide is the commonly used term to describe the grid of information we’re all familiar with that have been available for TV listings for ages. Channels doesn’t have it and it’s a very common request.
It’s something that we’re still investigating. If this feature matters to you, vote for it and/or leave a reply to let us know how you feel.
That would be great!
Marco
This is the one thing that stops me using Channels 24/7, the current channel listing is a pain to scan and work out whats on.
Something like this would be incredible... 
We also stoped using Channels becouse of no grid guide, wife couldt coupe with it, and now we use MrMC and Tvheadend server!
So strongly suggest a Guide lising 
Klaus
+1
Would be great to have Grid Guide 
Grid guide is somewhat of a standard (for better or worse). I say if it isn’t cost prohibitive (license/patents) to go ahead and add it with the dvr. I know I would use it to record.
A proper EPG would be great. I really don’t like the thumbnail view.
Yes a planner view is needed for sure this was the main thing that put me off SD DVR
I like the grid mock-up you posted. But I feel that it needs to include program information (description, original date of air, season and episode number, etc.).
Grid guide is a fundamental part of the TV experience. Channels needs it in order to be a true cable box replacement.
Most newer services are actually adopting a toggle option that enables the user to have both, a quick thumbnail view for what’s on now & a guide view for what’s coming on later.(i.e. Comcast X1 software) It is hard to see how you integrate a DVR service that doesn’t at some basic level let you see future times/shows for scheduling purposes.
I am happy with the current view and would not want to loose it. But I also like the the FIOS Mobile App (now FrontierTV App for me). It has a tab for “Watch Now” which is pretty much what Channels has but with more filter options. They also have a tab for “TV Listings” which is the Grid Guide that others talk about with the same filter options. I think this is the best of both worlds and would make everyone happy.
The Filter and Sort Options are:
VIEW = All / Subscribed
HD = All / HD
CATEGORY = All / Movies / TV Shows / Sports / Kids / News
I disabled all but my HD Channels in the HDHomeRun Setup so that is not a big deal. And I only see Subscribed so that is not a big deal. But Category would be nice but not other things would be a higher priority for me.
The Sort is either Channel Number or Name. I normally only use Channel Number because I know them.
I think only having the “Search” option is limiting. Many times the title of the show I’m trying to record doesn’t match the name I think it should be. Special events, sporting events, etc. fall into that category sometimes. Also, much of the time time it’s nice to find out what’s on TV later tonight, tomorrow, etc. that I may want to watch or record.
Also, I agree with the other poster that looking for what’s on can be cumbersome at times, especially if the channel you want is not in your Favorites and you have many channels available. I can see an OTA setup being easier to navigate with a limited number of channels, but for those of us with cable it becomes a bit more difficult.
I understand there may be licencing fees for this so this may fall under the monthly fee category. This is something the average consumer has come to expect so adding this feature as an option is only going to grow your user base.
I could see something like a “shake to switch” option being useful here!
In case you have not thought about it. When I do the DETECT Channels (my.hdhomerun.com) it comes back with 390. Most of the channels are SD and Music. By clicking on each channel twice I can disable it. For my use case I was able to reduce my list of channels from 390 to 87. This 87 number is what shows up under All Channels and is much easier to scan thru. My Favorites are < 25.
I also miss this feature
You should take a peak at the PlayStation Vue interface, which includes a nice combination. The grid guide is flipped so the channels are horizontal along the top and time is represented vertically. A visual line shows the current time and makes it easy to visually see how far into each program it is.
Also a fan of the current method, but I know the one thing that is limited is “surfing” for what to watch or record later. My wife likes to looks at what’s going to be on later, see the episode details to determine if she wants to watch it. The current program views don’t allow for that, the are good for what’s on now to watch, and ability to search for what to record, but not for what’s on later today that I might want to watch…
I think some type of future glance at what’s one is needed. With (as Mike details) good filtering ability
The grid format is great for seeing what’s on next and for scheduling recordings (i.e. for the upcoming DVR). If the current tile based interface could handle that somehow, I would be fine without a grid based interface.
I am a fan of the grid guide, maybe if the, guide data was better in Oz, eg paid subscription with icetv then the current tiles would be better, but we often scan the guide multiple shows ahead which cannot be done with current app