About BiggJ

There are many good arguments in this thread for why the PIP shortcut (picture in picture on the grid guide) needs to be restored.   It was a standard feature on the previous (older) platform and is available on most competitors' platforms...please don't discontinue what should be a STANDARD feature. The right button guide that some suggest is an "acceptable alternative" is useful for checking what is CURRENTLY on, but the grid guide makes much more sense when a viewer wants to look over program listings for several days or a week and quickly set recordings with the touch of a button on the grid guide. That takes some time...it's a real loss to not be able to view a PIP while doing it. The grid guide offers larger print for people like me who need it--the right-button guide does not--I have trouble reading it. The Accessibility Settings screen that is now programmed to the B shortcut button duplicates what we already could do quicker using the silver down arrow button--where we can toggle closed captioning on and off very quickly--AND while viewing our program. Most of what is displayed on the Accessibility Settings that comes up with the B shortcut screen is settings the user does not need to access over and over again--shouldn't SHORTCUT buttons be dedicated to the things a viewer does frequently? I have already offered all these reasons/arguments elsewhere in this thread and have received kudos from posters who agree with various of my points. But I returned to this thread tonight for a NEW reason. After we lost the PIP on the X1 grid guide, I switched to setting all my recordings inside the Xfinity StreamTV app or the Xfinity TV Remote app on my iPad. Now that Xfinity has been forced by a legal ruling to remove the capability of setting recordings within those apps, I am now back to having to do it from the grid guide on my TV screen. That means I will be spending fairly long periods of time setting my recordings within that grid guide...but I will be doing it while NOT being able to monitor what I am currently watching via the PIP.   Comcast, I notice in the thread about loss of the recording capability in the mobile apps for the foreseeable future that your customers are (mostly) not angry--they appreciate the upfront honesty about why we have lost that feature for now. Well, here is a golden opportunity for you to please your customers by giving us back the PIP shortcut so that during the months when we must set recordings on our TV screen, we can have the benefit of the PIP while we are doing it.   Pretty please? It's such an easy way you can reduce the sting of losing yet another feature and make your customers feel that you want to please them and give them greater convenience in using X1 features.   Thanks! ... View more

So today I discovered that the B button now brings up the accessibility options menu (for setting such things as closed captions). This makes no sense to me. I am one who uses the closed captions regularly, and I already can quickly toggle closed captioning (and other accessibility options) on and off just by pressing the down arrow and then "OK"...I do this numerous times a day because I want the captions on the screen while I am watching live or on-demand programs, but I want the captions turned off while I am viewing the guide (because the closed caption text covers what I want to read on the guide). Why would I want to bring up the entire settings menu when I already have the ability to toggle those accessibility features on and off with two quick presses on the down arrow button? What I REALLY want is to be able to continue watching my show while I am viewing the grid guide...without the PIP, I just don't get good use of the grid guide to view and set recordings for future shows.   If I want to make more permanent changes in accessibility options, I know I can just go to the settings icon and locate the accessibility menu. It's a total waste to use the B shortcut button to bring that whole menu up when I am not likely to need access to that menu on a regular basis. The A-B-C-D shortcut buttons should be used for functions the user will use on a regular basis--like multiple times each day/week. PLEASE put the PIP back on the B button!  I get the sense that these changes are being decided upon by people who don't know the full details of what was already available on the X1 remote!   I also don't like that the notifications area (left arrow on the remote) no longer lists my most recent caller ID activity...that was so helpful, especially to someone like me who has vision limitations.   I am a customer who appreciates so much of what Xfinity-Comcast offers...I love the Xfinity Stream app on my iPad, and I enjoy most things about the X1 platform. It does not promote customer good will to take away useful features...tying the B button to something that was already easily accessible while refusing to restore the PIP feature that was standard on the old platform prior to introducing X1 just makes me shake my head. Does Xfinity-Comcast want customers to be impressed with their offering? Taking away popular/useful features is more likely to make them feel that good will is not really a company goal. ... View more

I posted before about reasons why the use of the PIP with the B button was important for me. Let me add some additional reasons. For me, the full grid guide IS an accessibility feature as I have it set to display larger text. It's the only place where I can read program descriptions.   Also, the mini-guide shows only current shows...it's a tedious process to display upcoming  shows--I have to display  upcoming shows one channel at a time. What this change has force me to do is use TV listings on my iPad if I want to see what is on while continuing to watch the show. Also…, you have taken away a feature that we had in the old Comcast  prior to X1...it doesn't set well  that Comcast has elected  to take away a feature that was standard before I upgraded to X1. Please put it back! ... View more

Moving around in the mini-guide is TEDIOUS...the full screen guide is much preferred. I don't use the full guide only to see what is on, I use it frequently to read the program info for a show in the upcoming week and/or to set recordings for future days. That means I display the full guide for a fairly long time while I perform these functions...thus, the PIP is important if I don't want to miss the show I am currently watching.   It's also valuable to have PIP remain a toggle rather than a setting because the PIP hides program info that is also useful.   Finally, switching transparency to 1 might allow seeing the guide, but it would be hard on the eyes. Also, I keep my setting at 11 for that because that high setting makes it easier for my old aged eyes to read what is on the screen throughout the X1 features.   My suggestion: If Comcast needs one of the buttons freed up, try removing the A button's quick access to help. That is not something users access every day, all day like the B button PIP function. If I need to go to X1 help, I would be fine with having to use the gear icon to find it when I need it.   BTW, I, too, spent half an hour going through reset/refresh trying to get the B button function back. And at the same time, it seems the left arrow display of notifications stopped working...at least it did for me. I can no longer view recent caller ID on that screen.     ... View more

Exactly...when I am watching a show and see previews of an upcoming show, or even a promo for an entirely different show, the B button allowed me to go to the full guide, toggle on PIP, and move forward in the guide to set a recording for the next week. The mini-guide does not permit this, at least not easily. PLEASE restore the PIP function to the B button! ... View more

I used the B button all the time, too. I hope if Comcast doesn't restore the B buttom ability to toggle PIP, they will at least make PIP a default display in the guide mode. However, it would cover over the part of the guide display that gives the time/channel, which is also useful info. This was a backward step in features...please restore the B button as a PIP toggle! Thanks. ... View more