Cox Cable revamps onscreen user guide

Zippier? Yes.

NASA-level, data-dizzying, what-button-gets-me-where-and-what-did-I-accidentally-just-screw-up nightmare?

No.

That's the verdict after the R-J was granted a Cox Cable preview of what could be called User Guide: The Next Generation -- its new onscreen information system and first such upgrade in 11 years for Southern Nevada viewers, rolling out Tuesday through June 10.

"The new features build upon the current features, so a lot of the functionality is the same," says Juergen Barbusca, Cox's communications manager, about the system covering program navigation/info, DVR recording and On-Demand access. "It's very intuitive for those familiar with the current guide to access the new features."

Before calling Cox and risking caller-on-hold hell on Tuesday, be advised: Not all customers will receive the software upgrade -- delivered electronically to your cable box without a visit from some version of Jim Carrey's cable guy -- at once. Customers will receive the new guide at different points over the next three weeks, depending on which models they have of boxes manufactured by Scientific Atlanta and Pioneer.

Your neighbor might be upgraded before you. You can have one home TV updated, while others won't be until later in the rollout. Mailed notices and recorded phone messages are alerting customers on when to expect the changeovers.

"We've got 16 models of hundreds of thousands of boxes, so we want to observe how the upgrades are being accepted, and it will be done in the overnight hours," says Barbusca, denying the implementation is a perk connected to Cox's recent rate hikes. "We don't want to be inundated at our call center, so we're doing it in a phased-in approach."

Among the nuts and bolts:

■ Searches: Titles can be accessed by selecting or punching letters of programs, actors and content genres into an onscreen keyboard. "In the old guide, the search capability was its weakest feature," says Tom Owens, telecommunication center supervisor. "We wanted to beef it up for a long time."

■ DVR: There's no extra disk space, but when the limit is reached, viewers can set automatic deletions. "You can prioritize what you want to keep first and what you want to delete," says Suzy Moore of Cox's production support department. "If you do run out of space, the stuff you care about least will be deleted." Viewers also can jump ahead to listings several days in advance by inputting a number and hitting the arrow key.

(Heads up: While rewinding and fast-forwarding, hitting the arrow key once now moves it at double speed, twice at triple speed, thrice at quadruple speed. Also, series recordings will remain active for seven days from the changeover date, then viewers must call up the listing, press "select" and it will reconfirm the ongoing recording.)

■ On-Demand: "In the past, you had to go to Channel 1 and slowly drill down into the content to get to what you wanted," Barbusca says. "We have some 8,000 titles, and they all have a channel number now. You'll find content now in the onscreen guide like any broadcast or cable network." Another feature enables viewers to skip around a movie in 15-minute increments.

■ Parental controls: Adult On-Demand content can be blocked from the program guide.

■ Tutorials: Onscreen instructions will be found at channels 100 (overall guide), 1411 (premium channels), 1051 (Free Zone) and 1652 (movies and events).

■ Enhanced look: The makeover is a pastel style -- soothing yellow and purple backdrops --with sleek graphics.

Bottom line: No NASA training required.

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.