# (HYDRA) New font and guide need bigger size option



## hodl (Oct 30, 2017)

I upgraded my Bolt and Mini's yesterday. Shortly after I got a lashing from My old lady. She cant read the font on the guide. I have to admit, it's pretty small and without the color variations on show types it makes it more laborious searching for shows. We really need an option for making the Guide more viewer friendly. I dont care if it reduces the amount of channels on the screen. I appreciate all of you who like the new guide, I do too so i am not complaining, My wife is, and she will not use the Tivo or suggest it to friends if the guides only option is this small. Am I missing an option somwhere? Please dont say buy a bigger TV as that is nonsensicle. A larger formating option is all Im looking for.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

I haven't upgraded but from what I've read you aren't missing an option.

Scott


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## demon16v (Sep 14, 2002)

I'm in the same boat. I need to change the guide from 10 rows of channels to something like 6 or 7 rows. My mother in law is now having trouble seeing the channel guide with the text being so small. I must keep her happy to keep my wife happy, short of buying a new larger TV for her (she has a 42 inch).


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## idksmy (Jul 16, 2016)

Ditto on implementing a font option. Way too small.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

hodl said:


> Please dont say buy a bigger TV as that is nonsensicle. A larger formating option is all Im looking for.


A bigger TV is in the realm of possible. A larger font just isn't going to happen.


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## compnurd (Oct 6, 2011)

Yesterday the size bothered me. But after the last day I like it on all my sized TVs


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## samccfl99 (Sep 7, 2013)

Seems the women know better!!! I agree with them Totally...I DID NOT UPGRADE...


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## idksmy (Jul 16, 2016)

ej42137 said:


> A larger font just isn't going to happen.


And you know this how?


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## computersteve (Jun 10, 2016)

Totally agree on the font size  My mom, who has a seeing problem, can't read the text from far away at all


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

I've always wanted TiVo to have a larger font option in the guide and they have never implemented one. I doubt they'll start now.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

hodl said:


> I upgraded my Bolt and Mini's yesterday. Shortly after I got a lashing from My old lady. She cant read the font on the guide. I have to admit, it's pretty small and without the color variations on show types it makes it more laborious searching for shows. We really need an option for making the Guide more viewer friendly. I dont care if it reduces the amount of channels on the screen. I appreciate all of you who like the new guide, I do too so i am not complaining, My wife is, and she will not use the Tivo or suggest it to friends if the guides only option is this small. Am I missing an option somwhere? Please dont say buy a bigger TV as that is nonsensicle. A larger formating option is all Im looking for.


i still don't get it. To my eyes the font is much larger in Hydra than it was with the HDUI. From my Bolts, Roamio, and Mini in multiple setups(47" 2K set, 65" 4K set, and 82" 2K set).

I find it far easier to read text in Hydra and I can easily see the text from a much farther distance.


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## osu1991 (Mar 6, 2015)

I don’t have a problem with it. I have my Roamio OTA on Hydra and my Roamio Basic on cable and the old UI both connected to my 65in 4K. The font is slightly smaller in the guide on Hydra. 

I think the problem with Hydra for some may be the white lettering on the black background could be a bit brighter. It appears to be a bit brighter white and pop a little more on the old UI with the blue background.


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

Compare and contrast. These are a little old, but new font appears to be about half the size and weight of the old one. Not nearly as easy to read even on a big screen. I have a 55" and although it's readable, it's not as easy on the eyes as the old font. They still have plenty of real estate to make it bigger and more readable. Bright white instead of light grey would help a lot without increasing size.


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## samccfl99 (Sep 7, 2013)

computersteve said:


> Totally agree on the font size  My mom, who has a seeing problem, can't read the text from far away at all


I do not understand why the men are killing their moms and wives with this!!!! LOL.

OH, and the above screenshots...Good Grief...yes, that is the old, old and wonderful yellow before WHITE!!!!


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## Megamind (Feb 18, 2013)

mdavej said:


> Compare and contrast


The primary concern is the guide display, not the home page.


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

Megamind said:


> The primary concern is the guide display, not the home page.


Sorry, just skimmed the last few posts and saw font size. I'm actually fine with the guide font. It's a lot closer to what I was used to on Windows Media Center and Dish before that. Old UI had a lot of wasted space that's finally put to use in the new one.

Overall, I like the new UI a lot better than the old one. While there are still some bugs, there were a ton in the beta that got fixed. Many options would do nothing or crash the UI completely a few months ago. It's come a long way.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

mdavej said:


> Compare and contrast. These are a little old, but new font appears to be about half the size and weight of the old one. Not nearly as easy to read even on a big screen. I have a 55" and although it's readable, it's not as easy on the eyes as the old font. They still have plenty of real estate to make it bigger and more readable. Bright white instead of light grey would help a lot without increasing size.
> View attachment 31230
> View attachment 31231


Maybe it's rendered at a higher resolution then? Because I can easily read it from thirty feet away with the Hydra UI. But with the HDUI I could not read it from that distance.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

aaronwt said:


> Maybe it's rendered at a higher resolution then? Because I can easily read it from thirty feet away with the Hydra UI. But with the HDUI I could not read it from that distance.


I find the text to be brighter and sharper. The contrast from the background is very good.

I do understand, though, that some people have issues with different colors and it may not be universal.


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## mxfanatic (Jan 20, 2007)

I agree the fonts should be bigger.


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## mikeparksne (Aug 18, 2017)

demon16v said:


> I'm in the same boat. I need to change the guide from 10 rows of channels to something like 6 or 7 rows. My mother in law is now having trouble seeing the channel guide with the text being so small. I must keep her happy to keep my wife happy, short of buying a new larger TV for her (she has a 42 inch).


I agree. I could see them dropping a few lines out of the guide and bumping up the font a few points. Or add a grid option like 6, 8, 10 lines (viewer choice)


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

And I see, I’d want an option before they dropped lines. Maybe if they adjusted to the screen size in settings. I have a 65 inch TV about 10 feet from my optimal viewing position. Fonts are big enough. 

But then, even on my 32 inch in the bedroom they are big enough from the same distance because they are sharper.


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## JSearfoss (Nov 17, 2008)

I agree. Make it an option before dropping lines. I think the fonts in the guide are just right. In fact I think in a few of the screens the fonts could be a little smaller. Example, the INFO screen. The menu bar in that screen would take up less height if the fonts were a little smaller. Actually the bar could be made a little shorter and the fonts size kept the same. More like the guide line height.


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## timstack8969 (May 14, 2004)

I haven't Upgraded my Bolt+. I like my Live TV Guide. Will wait a littler longer.


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

Guide comparison 
On my 65" in 4K the new font is plenty easy to read and is a nice improvement.
But I concede that it may be worthwhile for TiVo to take the time to provide something similar to IOS/Windows/etc. and go through the trouble to support dynamic type for the text size so menus are easy to read on a variety of screen sizes and by a wide range of individuals vision.


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## rjrsouthwest (Feb 19, 2016)

I really like the new Hydra UI but have to agree the fonts are harder to read because they are smaller but the less contrast of the font to the background is making it much harder to read than the size. Allowing the user to select the font color and background color would easily solve the problem for most people.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

I think the new font and color are much easier to read and more pleasing on the eyes than the old font and color. And i can see it from a much farther distance. 

I tried my Roamio with Hydra at my GFs house this weekend. I connected it to her 32" TV. It was the same as from my larger TVs. I could see the text much more clearly and read from much farther away than from the old UI. EVen on the small 32" set.

And based on the comparison pics a few posts up, the Grid guide shows more info on each line and more lines. I definitely wouldn't want to go back to the old grid guide. Maybe that is why I can tolerate the new one?


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## Rkkeller (May 13, 2004)

MighTiVo said:


> Guide comparison
> On my 65" in 4K the new font is plenty easy to read and is a nice improvement.


After seeing this, the old UI looks cartoonish and so ecch. I love the new guide and fonts, maybe one of the best things I like about the update.


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

Rkkeller said:


> After seeing this, the old UI looks cartoonish and so ecch. I love the new guide and fonts, maybe one of the best things I like about the update.


It does indeed, the old looks built for 480p, Hydra seems a full leap to 4K!


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

I admit I've only played with it in person/watched demos at the event on Saturday.. but I personally LIKE that the font is a lot smaller and there are more rows.. I have a Tivo, I want to see as much info on the screen as I can.. without having to scroll up/down.. (If I could get rid of the thing that replaces the discovery bar, I would.. I'd probably even pay a one time fee to do it..)

But the other problems with the new UI will make me almost certainly not switch to it for a long time.. THIS ONE thing, smaller fonts, is one thing I have GREATLY wanted for a long time.

(I use Monaco 9 and Geneva 12 in various apps I use at work, and have my computer screen at 3200 * 1800 too..)


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## Shinsen24 (Dec 2, 2017)

MighTiVo said:


> Guide comparison
> On my 65" in 4K the new font is plenty easy to read and is a nice improvement.
> But I concede that it may be worthwhile for TiVo to take the time to provide something similar to IOS/Windows/etc. and go through the trouble to support dynamic type for the text size so menus are easy to read on a variety of screen sizes and by a wide range of individuals vision.
> 
> ...


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## MighTiVo (Oct 26, 2000)

Shinsen24 said:


> My problem is what your images clearly show. Not only is the font smaller, but it's light grey on a dark grey background. White on black would be ok.


A bolder font might also help those with difficulty readying it.

I have 65" OLED and it is plenty clear, even to my 50+ year old eyes that need, but don't wear glasses.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## petekrueger (Oct 19, 2015)

One more vote for an option to change the menu font size, or something similar. I like more info, but my wife doesn’t have as good eyes, so she needs it larger. There should be an option, not one-size-fits-all. If there is an option, can someone from TiVo reply and show us how?


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