# Are the rest of us ever going to get SkipMode?



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

So it's been 2 months since SkipMode was released to the SF and Chicago markets, what about the rest of us? 

If they need to charge a fee for it then so be it. I just want it. I'm sick of having inconsistent abilities from one room to the other. And I can't just replace my Roamio Pro with a Bolt as there is no equivalent.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

I can help you out. Send your Bolt my way. I wouldn't want to see with different devices. It's the least I could do.


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## PSU_Sudzi (Jun 4, 2015)

Dan203 said:


> So it's been 2 months since SkipMode was released to the SF and Chicago markets, what about the rest of us?
> 
> If they need to charge a fee for it then so be it. I just want it. I'm sick of having inconsistent abilities from one room to the other. And I can't just replace my Roamio Pro with a Bolt as there is no equivalent.


I haven't heard any more news other than speculation here. I would love to have it too.


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## SomeRandomIdiot (Jan 7, 2016)

Considering that other posters in the SF DMA report that they DO NOT HAVE SKIPMODE, are there any Forum Members in SFO or CHI that ARE NOT ON COMCASTthat have skipmode?


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## geodon005 (Mar 10, 2004)

I switched to WOW! in December and can verify that SkipMode is working on my newly recorded shows (works like a charm, in fact).


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## jlac839 (Nov 7, 2004)

I'm in San Jose, CA using OTA (Roamio Basic) and skipmode is available to me (and it works).


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## PSU_Sudzi (Jun 4, 2015)

TiVo support on Twitter responded to me that there are no current plans to roll out nationwide.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Booooooooo!!!!!!! 

Come on TiVo. Charge us a fee if you need to have the feature paid for. I'll pay for it. I just want the functionality. 

At the very least can you enable SkipMode when streaming from a Bolt to a Roamio. That would help a little. (although I'd still prefer SkipMode on the Roamio recordings too)


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## NJChris (May 11, 2001)

PSU_Sudzi said:


> TiVo support on Twitter responded to me that there are no current plans to roll out nationwide.


 So I guess I need to move.


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

You guys must really, really hate commercials. I think I'll keep pressing the skip button a couple of times rather than move to a different (and incredibly expensive) city. Been doing that since the dawn of the video recorder, guess I can do it a little longer.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

I am with Dan - SkipMode is a great feature and once you use it you get real addicted to it real fast. I watch a few shows that don't have it and really wish they did. It is more than just getting rid of commercials most of the time it works so well you can use it and end up without any break in the show, which improves most shows, just like if you watching via a DVD or commercial free streaming service.


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

I love it too. I used it on my Dish Hopper for years and on my WMC system after that. I'm just not willing to move to get it ;-) As long as I can still use my thumbs, I'll survive.


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## jay427 (Jul 23, 2008)

I'm ready for it as well. I kinda of wish I did not read this forum, I would not have known about it otherwise!


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

mdavej said:


> You guys must really, really hate commercials. I think I'll keep pressing the skip button a couple of times rather than move to a different (and incredibly expensive) city. Been doing that since the dawn of the video recorder, guess I can do it a little longer.


For me the biggest advantage is the avoidance of spoilers. When FFing, or using Skip, you will sometimes ruin a show by going too far. Shows like The Biggest Loser and @Midnight usually announce the winner as soon as they return from commercial, so even skipping just a few seconds too far can ruin it.

Having to only press 1 button and getting back to the show, without having to deal with over correction, is also really nice.


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## PSU_Sudzi (Jun 4, 2015)

mdavej said:


> You guys must really, really hate commercials. I think I'll keep pressing the skip button a couple of times rather than move to a different (and incredibly expensive) city. Been doing that since the dawn of the video recorder, guess I can do it a little longer.


I'm not willing to move for it, just hope it's rolled out to us at some point. Not gonna lose sleep over it.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

atmuscarella said:


> I am with Dan - SkipMode is a great feature and once you use it you get real addicted to it real fast. I watch a few shows that don't have it and really wish they did. It is more than just getting rid of commercials most of the time it works so well you can use it and end up without any break in the show, which improves most shows, just like if you watching via a DVD or commercial free streaming service.


But it is only a few more button clicks.😝

Seriously, the skip is a great feature. Always on target. No need to pay attention to get the right number of slips forward or time FF. Just one button and Bam!


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

TonyD79 said:


> But it is only a few more button clicks.😝
> 
> Seriously, the skip is a great feature. Always on target. No need to pay attention to get the right number of slips forward or time FF. Just one button and Bam!


 :up:


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## heifer624 (Jul 12, 2009)

Dan203 said:


> Booooooooo!!!!!!!
> 
> Come on TiVo. Charge us a fee if you need to have the feature paid for. I'll pay for it. I just want the functionality.
> 
> At the very least can you enable SkipMode when streaming from a Bolt to a Roamio. That would help a little. (although I'd still prefer SkipMode on the Roamio recordings too)


HECK NO  Don't charge me an additional fee! Tivo take care of ALL your current customers and grandfather us in. IF you've just got to charge an additional fee do it to NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY. That's the least you can do for loyal customers.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

I definitely REALLY like skip mode.. Though, total anecdote, I seem to be seeing a lot more 'cut too close' jumps IN after a commercial.. Too long for an 8 second skip back, so I manually rewind to make sure I didn't miss anything. The VAST majority of the time I didn't really miss anything, a few times it jumped into the first spoken sentence..

(This is ignoring the one HUGE error with the premiere of Bordertown already mentioned.)


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

mattack said:


> I definitely REALLY like skip mode.. Though, total anecdote, I seem to be seeing a lot more 'cut too close' jumps IN after a commercial.. Too long for an 8 second skip back, so I manually rewind to make sure I didn't miss anything. The VAST majority of the time I didn't really miss anything, a few times it jumped into the first spoken sentence.. (This is ignoring the one HUGE error with the premiere of Bordertown already mentioned.)


I wonder how the skips are tagged. If they are strictly time, clock drift could cause a problem. Or delays in the system for local channels or cable systems.

I haven't seen a skip that cuts it too close yet. Of course it also depends on the shows.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

TonyD79 said:


> I wonder how the skips are tagged. If they are strictly time, clock drift could cause a problem. Or delays in the system for local channels or cable systems.
> 
> I haven't seen a skip that cuts it too close yet. Of course it also depends on the shows.


Dan had already indicated (or theorized?) that it's tied to closed captions.

Scott


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

HerronScott said:


> Dan had already indicated (or theorized?) that it's tied to closed captions. Scott


Which can be messy.

Interesting.


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## reneg (Jun 19, 2002)

HerronScott said:


> Dan had already indicated (or theorized?) that it's tied to closed captions.
> 
> Scott


I don't believe it's a theory. US Patent: 8,146,130 among others


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## modnar (Oct 15, 2000)

I'm with you, Dan. I keep checking this forum hoping to see an update and just wonder why the test is regional or what issues could be keeping them from rolling it out wider.

I asked @TivoSupport on Twitter when they plan to roll out outside of SF and Chicago and got this response:


> Since we are still testing in those areas, we do not know when or if it will be applied to other regions.
> If the test goes well, we'll announce it at that time!


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

heifer624 said:


> HECK NO  Don't charge me an additional fee! Tivo take care of ALL your current customers and grandfather us in. IF you've just got to charge an additional fee do it to NEW CUSTOMERS ONLY. That's the least you can do for loyal customers.


Since this feature requires humans to mark the breaks it has a constant cost which was not considered when they sold us our Roamios. If they have to charge a fee to make it economically viable I'd be willing to pay it. They never had to releae it for Roamio units at all. They could have kept it a Bolt inly feature and forced us all to upgrade our hardware if we wanted it.


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## Megamind (Feb 18, 2013)

modnar said:


> I'm with you, Dan. I keep checking this forum hoping to see an update and just wonder why the test is regional or what issues could be keeping them from rolling it out wider.


Count me as another user who has been monitoring this forum hoping for news on a wider rollout for Skipmode. I am optimistic it will come in time.

Also, while I understand Dan's reasoning for and willingness to accept a fee for this service, I tend to view adding this capability as more of a customer retention issue. There are a lot of options out there and Skipmode would definitely give TiVo an advantage that few, if any, currently have. Like many here, I made a significant investment in my Roamio Pro w/Lifetime and expect the device to be fully supported until newer technology (such as 4k/UHD) moves beyond what the hardware will support -- something which is clearly not an issue with Skipmode. For me personally, limiting this feature to the (ugly) Bolt would be a huge disappointment and increase the odds that I'll look a little harder at my options the next time I'm looking for an upgrade.


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## Durfman (Nov 19, 2001)

I suppose I would be willing to pay for it, but it doesn't really make any sense. They are already collecting and serving the data for Bolt, so what's the real difference in adding Roamio users?

I suppose it could be server capacity. Lord knows TiVo struggles in that area.


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## heifer624 (Jul 12, 2009)

Dan203 said:


> Since this feature requires humans to mark the breaks it has a constant cost which was not considered when they sold us our Roamios. If they have to charge a fee to make it economically viable I'd be willing to pay it. They never had to releae it for Roamio units at all. They could have kept it a Bolt inly feature and forced us all to upgrade our hardware if we wanted it.


Guessing the $600 I just shelled out for a Pro is not good enough. Just maybe they will be kind enough to throw me the 'ole skipmode bone. Where exactly from what TIVO source did you get that it "requires humans to mark the breaks"?


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## modnar (Oct 15, 2000)

heifer624 said:


> Guessing the $600 I just shelled out for a Pro is not good enough. Just maybe they will be kind enough to throw me the 'ole skipmode bone. Where exactly from what TIVO source did you get that it "requires humans to mark the breaks"?


From: https://support.tivo.com/articles/Features_Use/SkipMode 


> A dedicated team of TV-enthusiasts watches popular shows as they air and note where programming resumes after commercial breaks. This information is applied over the programs by the TiVo service as soon as it is available.
> The actual program itself is never altered and the commercials remain in the recorded programming, where you can rewind and watch them at your convenience.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

heifer624 said:


> Guessing the $600 I just shelled out for a Pro is not good enough. Just maybe they will be kind enough to throw me the 'ole skipmode bone. Where exactly from what TIVO source did you get that it "requires humans to mark the breaks"?


A Bolt with Lifetime costs a minimum of $900. They raised the price on lifetime and eliminated all discounts when the Bolt was released. So obviously they think that lifetime is worth more then you paid for your entire unit.

Back in the old days they charged an extra $100 for MRV and TiVoToGo functionality. They did that for a year before they finally decided to make it free for everyone. And in Aus/NZ they continued to charge for that functionality even with their version of the S3. So it's not unheard of for them to charge extra for extended functionality.

Don't get me wrong, I'd rather have it free. But I'm willing to pay for it if I have to.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

reneg said:


> I don't believe it's a theory. US Patent: 8,146,130 among others


Interesting to see the time between filing the patent (2009) and when they deployed a feature that uses it!

Scott


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## heifer624 (Jul 12, 2009)

"requires humans to mark the breaks" sounds pretty far fetched to me. Especially for 20 networks. I would believe that it's probably initially marked by some patent hardware/software and then maybe a human decides if those marks are within normal commercial time boundaries.


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## foghorn2 (May 4, 2004)

Honestly for us skipmode would be nice to have, but realistically we dont watch hardly any of the channels/shows skipmode would be activated for.

We realized this when we had the Hopper previously.

Crapper and $h1Tm0de- not really needed here!


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## heifer624 (Jul 12, 2009)

If they pay the same fee as I do in SanFran and Chicago and they have it and I don't... It's a problem.


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## modnar (Oct 15, 2000)

heifer624 said:


> "requires humans to mark the breaks" sounds pretty far fetched to me. Especially for 20 networks. I would believe that it's probably initially marked by some patent hardware/software and then maybe a human decides if those marks are within normal commercial time boundaries.


I think that's definitely fair, but still requires human intervention in some way.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

heifer624 said:


> "requires humans to mark the breaks" sounds pretty far fetched to me. Especially for 20 networks. I would believe that it's probably initially marked by some patent hardware/software and then maybe a human decides if those marks are within normal commercial time boundaries.


I can tell you from experience that there is no automated method for detecting commercials that is 100%. They may use automation to mark the potential position and a human makes the final decision, but I guarantee it takes at least a couple minutes per show. I believe the representative from TiVo who did the AMA here a couple months ago even confirmed that it's only partially automated.


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## SomeRandomIdiot (Jan 7, 2016)

Dan203 said:


> I can tell you from experience that there is no automated method for detecting commercials that is 100%. They may use automation to mark the potential position and a human makes the final decision, but I guarantee it takes at least a couple minutes per show. I believe the representative from TiVo who did the AMA here a couple months ago even confirmed that it's only partially automated.


Out of curiosity I took 3 hour long shows and using manual commands to see how long it would take to mark a 60 minute show to the frame from scratch manually.

In all cases I could do it under 5 minutes.

With assisted automation, I would think this time could be cut in half....or less.

If 2 people could do 20 channels in 1 hour manually, or 1 person do 20 in 1 hour automation assisted, I really do not see this as a major labor intensive cost.

1 person working an 8 hour day could do it automated assist for 20 channels.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

The trick is that it is done almost live. I see the skip often within 2 minutes of a show ending. That means they are doing it while the show is still playing. That would mean less efficiency than doing show after show in a production line.


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## Rey (Oct 6, 2015)

heifer624 said:


> "requires humans to mark the breaks" sounds pretty far fetched to me. Especially for 20 networks. I would believe that it's probably initially marked by some patent hardware/software and then maybe a human decides if those marks are within normal commercial time boundaries.


This is how Dish does it with their Hopper and the prime time channels.


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## heifer624 (Jul 12, 2009)

Rey said:


> This is how Dish does it with their Hopper and the prime time channels.


Dish only does 4 networks.

From their website:

_Commercial skip feature is available at varying times, starting the day after airing, for select primetime shows on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC recorded with PrimeTime Anytime._


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## Rey (Oct 6, 2015)

heifer624 said:


> Dish only does 4 networks.
> 
> From their website:
> 
> _Commercial skip feature is available at varying times, starting the day after airing, for select primetime shows on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC recorded with PrimeTime Anytime._


That's why I said prime time.


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## sbiller (May 10, 2002)

Count me as another Roamio Pro user anxiously awaiting Skip Mode in my area. I agree with the poster who mentioned this is a customer retention issue. I would be willing to pay a one-time fee, say $29.99, to enable skip mode on my account. I'm hoping TiVo enables it without a fee. If they decide to keep it Bolt only it will be very disappointing.


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## Rey (Oct 6, 2015)

sbiller said:


> Count me as another Roamio Pro user anxiously awaiting Skip Mode in my area. I agree with the poster who mentioned this is a customer retention issue. I would be willing to pay a one-time fee, say $29.99, to enable skip mode on my account. I'm hoping TiVo enables it without a fee. If they decide to keep it Bolt only it will be very disappointing.


This is how I feel as well. One time fee would not be a problem for me as there's no way I'll ever purchase that ugly looking thing that is the Bolt.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

Dan203 said:


> If they need to charge a fee for it then so be it. I just want it. I'm sick of having inconsistent abilities from one room to the other. And I can't just replace my Roamio Pro with a Bolt as there is no equivalent.


Didn't Margret mention something about a six tuner Bolt coming in 2016 with a huge hard drive? If so, I think they will sell a ton of these to enthusiasts like us. After having SkipMode on my Roamio and Minis for a while now, I've grown to absolutely love the feature. I'd replace my Premiere XL with a Bolt in a heartbeat, but there is no way I'm paying all that money for only four tuners. Plus, the Bolts are kind of weird looking and don't nicely fit in a stack of components.


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## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

I have done what I could to avoid commercial interruptions for decades using external black boxes, ReplayTV Dish Hopper and soon TiVo Roamio.
I pre recorded shows on multiple VCRs and would FF over commercials.
This was necessary because it would be days and weeks at a time of long hours working the space program.

In the late 70's I started with black box Commercial Skip for my VCR and got several other versions over the next few decades.

Then in 1999, I got my first DVR, the ReplayTV, and the deciding factor for me was that it skipped Commercials.
I was in Heaven again. 
I loved it. 
Then they started stripping out the commercial skip feature in their later models.

I got TiVos for my other house. 
No commercial skip. 
No Joy in Mudville.
I had a DVR but always compared it to ReplayTV and TiVo came up short by a wide margin.

I then Switched to Dish Network who were working Commercial Skip and they also had Brazilian TV for my Wife to watch her TeleNovelas.
Dish Started work on the Hopper and I got it early.
I could only get Commercial skip after midnight, so I waited to watch the PRIMETIME shows Commercial free. 
BUT IT WAS ONLY THE SHOWS ON 4 NETWORKS BETWEEN 8PM AND 11PM.
All the Primetime shows on four network channels could be recorded automatically on one tuner.

I do not know if it was my unit or just some units that could record 4 networks outside of Primetime on one tuner, but I could.

Now I am in an Oceanfront condo that will not allow Dish Satellites dishes on the Roof. 
So I got TiVo and Comcast. 
I gradually replaced the free 3 HOA SD Cable tuners with CableCards that could get all the HD and Premium Stations and put them in new TiVos. I got a TiVo Roamio Pro from WeaKnees with 12TB.
Non I have a great system that has QuickMode, new Cannel Logos on 5 HDTVs.

THE ONLY THING I AM MISSING IS SKIPMODE.
Until then I will be FF3ing shows in QuickMode to bypass commercials.
George


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

TonyD79 said:


> The trick is that it is done almost live. I see the skip often within 2 minutes of a show ending. That means they are doing it while the show is still playing. That would mean less efficiency than doing show after show in a production line.


This. Even if they only took say 3 minuted per show to mark. If you had a single employee doing all 20 channels then it would take the entire hour for all 20 shows to get marked. Meaning some would not show up until and hour after they aired. Since we know from experience that the data shows up within a few minutes of the airing they must have more people working on this then just 1 or 2. I'm betting it's at least 10, maybe more.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

Dan203 said:


> This. Even if they only took say 3 minuted per show to mark. If you had a single employee doing all 20 channels then it would take the entire hour for all 20 shows to get marked. Meaning some would not show up until and hour after they aired. Since we know from experience that the data shows up within a few minutes of the airing they must have more people working on this then just 1 or 2. I'm betting it's at least 10, maybe more.


More likely. They are doing 20 channels. And I'd bet they are doing it in some time of chunk. Say Heroes starts. At the 45 minute mark or so they mark what they have then mark the last breaks at the end.

Somewhere between real time and an immediate pass for a show.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

That seems complicated. I could see the automation system scanning the show as it records, then the human verifying/adjusting after it's finished though. Still would take more then 1 person to accomplish. Even if it only took 1 minute per recording there is no way all 20 channels would have data posted within a couple minutes of airing if one person was doing all 20 channels.


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## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

How about a team of 20, one per channel, 
working 8 hours from 4PM to Midnight.

I assume this team watches their assigned channel their whole work shift.
They press a button or some such mechanism to mark the beginning and end of commercial breaks.
there must be a few extra people on hand to cover bathroom breaks, lunch breaks, sick days, rest periods, etc.
a 21st person then gathers the data and applies it to the previous show.
and his backup on the secondary team probably can operate as Dan Suggests.

Since it is an 8 hours a day seven days a week, there must be a second team to work the days off.
so they could stagger the primary group's days so they could minimize the extra number needed in the secondary team.
The secondary team could be as few as 10 people.

I am very surprised that this process is not automated and it is possible that the process is partially automated and 
the viewers enter the commercial marks while watching TV and the Computers do the incorporating into the recorded shows and sending them to the TiVos.

Since Bolt's Commercial Skip already works, this operation must already be in place all over the country or 
in at least one place probably in the East where they can get the first showing of National Shows on the 20 National Channels.

The whole group including managers and supervisors is probably 33 to 50 people.

The is all a WAG (Wild A.. Guess).
Or as we used to say a SWAG (Scientific WAG).



Dan203 said:


> This. Even if they only took say 3 minuted per show to mark. If you had a single employee doing all 20 channels then it would take the entire hour for all 20 shows to get marked. Meaning some would not show up until and hour after they aired. Since we know from experience that the data shows up within a few minutes of the airing they must have more people working on this then just 1 or 2. I'm betting it's at least 10, maybe more.


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## gweempose (Mar 23, 2003)

zerdian1 said:


> The whole group including managers and supervisors is probably 33 to 50 people.


Like you, I'm merely speculating, but I think it's highly unlikely that TiVo has a team anywhere close to that size dedicated to SkipMode. If it was really that large of an endeavor, I doubt the feature ever would have seen the light of day.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

I thought the SkipMode people were volunteers..?


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## BlackBetty (Nov 6, 2004)

Is the issue a time zone issue? TiVo would need people on the east coast to mark shows as they air? Maybe it's more of a logistics issue for why this isn't national right now.


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## DigitalDawn (Apr 26, 2009)

The folks manning the TiVo booth at CEDIA did confirm that the SkipMode system is a combination of automation and actual people. 

After talking to various TiVo techs and insiders at the show, I got the feeling that everything is almost completely automated and the people are only used to make sure that the automation doesn't make a mistake -- if it does they correct it.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

Didn't I read somewhere that they want to go fully automated? Or was that speculation? 

My memory isn't what it used to be. Or I think it isn't. I can't recall.


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## modnar (Oct 15, 2000)

BlackBetty said:


> Is the issue a time zone issue? TiVo would need people on the east coast to mark shows as they air? Maybe it's more of a logistics issue for why this isn't national right now.


It's available nationally on Bolt already.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

Dan203 said:


> That seems complicated. I could see the automation system scanning the show as it records, then the human verifying/adjusting after it's finished though. Still would take more then 1 person to accomplish. Even if it only took 1 minute per recording there is no way all 20 channels would have data posted within a couple minutes of airing if one person was doing all 20 channels.


Just think of those wonderful jobs -- getting bleary eyed from hours of reviewing commercial cuts. I wonder if they could get Americans to do it (fast and accurately -- for low wages)? 

Obviously the networks aren't going to welcome this. I wonder if they might take countermeasures such as adjusting scene breaks, etc., to foil the automated detection?


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

dlfl said:


> Just think of those wonderful jobs -- getting bleary eyed from hours of reviewing commercial cuts. I wonder if they could get Americans to do it (fast and accurately -- for low wages)?  Obviously the networks aren't going to welcome this. I wonder if they might take countermeasures such as adjusting scene breaks, etc., to foil the automated detection?


You just described a lot of jobs in tv and radio.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

Rob Helmerichs said:


> I thought the SkipMode people were volunteers..?


Not based on the job postings.



BlackBetty said:


> Is the issue a time zone issue? TiVo would need people on the east coast to mark shows as they air? Maybe it's more of a logistics issue for why this isn't national right now.


They had a job posting where they were hiring staff in North Carolina to watch TV last year and the speculation here was this was for Skipmode tagging.

It looks like they are hiring "Media Tagging Specialists" now in San Jose as well based on the job posting below.

Media Tagging Specialist (San Jose, CA) (This position is part time, contract to hire) Guided by the belief that consumers should not have to work to find relevant content the content should find them. Digitalsmiths (a TiVo company) provides an industry leading video discovery platform, offering personalized search, recommendations, social discovery, mood discovery, sports discovery and a business console for all connected devices. Digitalsmiths is looking for a Media Tagging Specialist who will be responsible for the live creation and tagging of time based metadata. The Media Tagging Specialist reports directly to the Media Operations Supervisor. The candidate must be comfortable working in a fast paced, process driven environment and should consider no task too big or too small.

Main Duties:

Watching video content (such as television shows and movies)

Tagging required content metadata

Quality assurance of tagged metadata

Interesting that they also have a job posting for an RF Hardware Engineer. I wouldn't think they would need a dedicated engineer for remote control design?

Scott


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

Reviewing commercial cuts doesn't jump right out to me from that job description, although I can't think of what else they're doing either.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

zerdian1 said:


> ............
> So I got TiVo and Comcast.
> I gradually replaced the free 3 HOA SD Cable tuners with CableCards that could get all the HD and Premium Stations and put them in new TiVos. I got a TiVo Roamio Pro from WeaKnees with 12TB.
> Non I have a great system that has QuickMode, new Cannel Logos on 5 HDTVs.
> ...


Get a couple of Bolts and you will have Skipmode. Weaknees has 8TB Bolts so with two Bolts you will have more tuners and more recording capacity than the 12TB Roamio Pro.


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## gonzotek (Sep 24, 2004)

dlfl said:


> Reviewing commercial cuts doesn't jump right out to me from that job description, although I can't think of what else they're doing either.


Here's another job listing from Durham, NC. It's mentions hours between 3:30p-12:30am..Sounds like real-time/prime-time viewing and strongly implies SkipMode to me.


Spoiler



Media Tagging Specialist (Part Time, Evenings) 
Digitalsmiths - Durham, NC
Media Tagging Specialist (Durham, NC)

(This position is part time, contract to hire)

Guided by the belief that consumers should not have to work to find relevant contentthe content should find themDigitalsmiths (a TiVo company) provides an industry leading video discovery platform, offering personalized search, recommendations, social discovery, mood discovery, sports discovery and a business console for all connected devices. Digitalsmiths is looking for a Media Tagging Specialist who will be responsible for the live creation and tagging of time based metadata. The Media Tagging Specialist reports directly to the Media Operations Supervisor. The candidate must be comfortable working in a fast paced, process driven environment and should consider no task too big or too small.

Main Duties: 
 Watching video content (such as television shows, movies, etc.)

 Tagging required content metadata

 Quality assurance of tagged metadata

 Timely completion of all tasks and special project assignments in an efficient manner

 Other duties as needed between the hours of 330pm-1230am.

Job Requirements and Qualifications:

 Must be available to work a flexible schedule

 Must be available to work at least 2-3 weekends a month

 Must be available to work on holidays and during inclement weather

 High School diploma; experience or education in media/video industry a plus

 Ideal candidate will have broad knowledge and passion for television and movies

 Must be independent, organized, proactive and reliable with a willingness to pitch in wherever needed

 Strong work ethic and attention to detail

 Must be able to anticipate and solve problems under pressure


http://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=d9...edium=organic_listings&utm_campaign=affiliate


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

dlfl said:


> Reviewing commercial cuts doesn't jump right out to me from that job description, although I can't think of what else they're doing either.


This sure seems like it's describing that function to me - "live creation and tagging of time based metadata".

Scott


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## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

I might trade in a Basic for a Bolt, 
But I prefer to wait for the BOLT PRO next Fall.
If the SkipMode is going to Make it to the Roamios NationWide, 
then I will not need a Bolt, Until I want to Watch 4K Streaming Video.
I am in no rush to do that.
I have a 5K 27" Monitor that I have watch some 4K videos on,



aaronwt said:


> Get a couple of Bolts and you will have Skipmode. Weaknees has 8TB Bolts so with two Bolts you will have more tuners and more recording capacity than the 12TB Roamio Pro.


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## CrashHD (Nov 10, 2006)

TonyD79 said:


> But it is only a few more button clicks.😝
> 
> Seriously, the skip is a great feature. Always on target. No need to pay attention to get the right number of slips forward or time FF. Just one button and Bam!


Reminds me of the time I skipped over Steve Harvey's announcement of the winner. I had to back up and rewatch twice to make sense of that.


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## PSU_Sudzi (Jun 4, 2015)

zerdian1 said:


> How about a team of 20, one per channel,
> working 8 hours from 4PM to Midnight.
> 
> I assume this team watches their assigned channel their whole work shift.
> ...


Probably also some to do quality control.


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## RoamioJeff (May 9, 2014)

Dan203 said:


> Are the rest of us ever going to get SkipMode?


Yes.


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## HD_Dude (Sep 11, 2006)

RoamioJeff said:


> Yes.


Why use a dozen words, when one will do just fine?


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## boilerjt (May 20, 2014)

RoamioJeff said:


> Yes.


I sure hope so, even though it may take years for Rochester, MN to get it.


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## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

The TiVo Tech Rep said they did not know but they went and talked to the SkipMode person and they say it is rolling out in waves now.
TiVo still says SkipMode will roll out nationally.
And I should have it in my zip code in SouthEast Florida soon, but they do not know when.


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## wtkflhn (May 12, 2006)

zerdian1 said:


> The TiVo Tech Rep said they did not know but they went and talked to the SkipMode person and they say it is rolling out in waves now.
> TiVo still says SkipMode will roll out nationally.
> And I should have it in my zip code in SouthEast Florida soon, but they do not know when.


 Well, I have decided I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for it (sigh).


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## NashGuy (May 2, 2015)

RoamioJeff said:


> Yes.


And?


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## modnar (Oct 15, 2000)

zerdian1 said:


> The TiVo Tech Rep said they did not know but they went and talked to the SkipMode person and they say it is rolling out in waves now.
> 
> TiVo still says SkipMode will roll out nationally.
> 
> And I should have it in my zip code in SouthEast Florida soon, but they do not know when.


"Talked to the SkipMode person" might be their term for a bathroom break...


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

modnar said:


> "Talked to the SkipMode person" might be their term for a bathroom break...


Hah!

I'm sure few of you remember when multi-room viewing was rolled out on the Series 2. It seemed to take forever from the announcement to actual general availability; compared to that experience, waiting a few months for something we were never promised in the first place doesn't seem so bad.

And yet, like Dan203, I can hardly bear to wait for Skip Mode.


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## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

I loved MultiRoom viewing in ReplayTV & TiVo Series 2.



ej42137 said:


> Hah!
> 
> I'm sure few of you remember when multi-room viewing was rolled out on the Series 2. It seemed to take forever from the announcement to actual general availability; compared to that experience, waiting a few months for something we were never promised in the first place doesn't seem so bad.
> 
> And yet, like Dan203, I can hardly bear to wait for Skip Mode.


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## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

I loved MultiRoom viewing in ReplayTV & TiVo Series 2.

IT WAS THE GREATEST THING, AT THE TIME, SINCE SLICED BREAD.

The only problem, I remember, was that you had to wait until the show was complete before you could watch it in the other room.

With the current Roamios you can watch a show in any room with a TiVo Roamio or Mini as it is being recorded on another TiVo.



ej42137 said:


> Hah!
> 
> I'm sure few of you remember when multi-room viewing was rolled out on the Series 2. It seemed to take forever from the announcement to actual general availability; compared to that experience, waiting a few months for something we were never promised in the first place doesn't seem so bad.
> 
> And yet, like Dan203, I can hardly bear to wait for Skip Mode.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

wtkflhn said:


> Well, I have decided I'm not going to hold my breath waiting for it (sigh).


Which is a good idea when waiting for TiVo to roll out features. At least based on past history.


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## andyw715 (Jul 31, 2007)

zerdian1 said:


> The TiVo Tech Rep said they did not know but they went and talked to the SkipMode person and they say it is rolling out in waves now.
> TiVo still says SkipMode will roll out nationally.
> And I should have it in my zip code in SouthEast Florida soon, but they do not know when.


So whats the deal? Sound like some server capacity issue?

Does anyone have details on the workflow?
The data gets pushed to the Roamio's when its available? To all the devices at once?

If thats the case it would be smarter to ask for the data when the programming is being watched (hours/days after recording)

I'm guessing this isn't an issue with the Bolt due to a relatively small Bolt user base. Where as the Roamio base is much larger.


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## RoamioJeff (May 9, 2014)

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

"Don't make me pull this car over."


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## davezatz (Apr 18, 2002)

Has anyone tried changing their service provider or OTA market to the "good" ones to see if they get SkipMode? Or away from those markets to see if they retain SkipMode?


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## PSU_Sudzi (Jun 4, 2015)

davezatz said:


> Has anyone tried changing their service provider or OTA market to the "good" ones to see if they get SkipMode? Or away from those markets to see if they retain SkipMode?


Would changing your zip code suffice and running setup again?


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

PSU_Sudzi said:


> Would changing your zip code suffice and running setup again?


I'm sure nobody from TiVo is going to answer the question; I'm also sure that no one not from TiVo can answer the question. If someone tries and fails, it won't prove anything because lots of people in the trial areas are complaining they don't have it. Who among us is willing to disable their recordings in order to test this hypothesis for the rest of us? The next question would be whether one loses Skip Mode when they set their zip code back to the correct value?

Me, I'm just going to (impatiently) wait for Skip Mode to appear.


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## heifer624 (Jul 12, 2009)

PSU_Sudzi said:


> Would changing your zip code suffice and running setup again?


http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10746791&highlight=#post10746791


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## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

This could be info for SkipMode.
But it also describes the people doing the Suggestions at the top of TiVo Central.
I really like some of the collections that they have been running like the James Bond Box Set, Star Wars Box Set, 2016 Golden Globes, 
Always, Alan Richman, T.Hanksgiving, TiVo's Top Christmas, Academy Award Nominations, WGA's 101 Funniest, The Real History of SciFi, etc. 
I REALLY THINK THIS IS A GREAT SERVICE. 
I think that this is the group doing this for us.
I APPRECIATE IT!



gonzotek said:


> Here's another job listing from Durham, NC. It's mentions hours between 3:30p-12:30am..Sounds like real-time/prime-time viewing and strongly implies SkipMode to me.
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

If you really think about it, this is a fantastic strategy. TiVo needs to think about diversification and other revenue streams outside of DVR sales.

Purchasing Digitalsmiths and using the metadata internally is only the very first step. Once the process and organization is in place, this metadata will become a marketable commodity for TiVo...


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## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

I found a number of Job openings at TiVo Subsidiary:

DIGITALSMITHS

http://www.digitalsmiths.com/about/management/

Engineering: Software Platform, Service Delivery, UI
Senior Software Engineer	(Req. #3423)	Full-Time	Durham, NC
Senior Software Engineer	(Req. #3572)	Full-Time	Durham, NC
Software Engineer - Implementation	(Req. #3408)	Full-Time	Durham, NC
Solutions Engineer	(Req. #3452)	Full-Time	Denver, CO

Manufacturing, Customer Support, IT
Media Operations Team Lead (Part-time, Evenings)	(Req. #3428)	Contractor	Durham, NC
Media Operations Team Lead (Part-time, Evenings)	(Req. #3501)	Contractor	San Jose, CA
Media Tagging Specialist (Part Time, Evenings)	(Req. #3427)	Contractor	Durham, NC
Media Tagging Specialists (Part-time, Evenings)	(Req. #3502)	Contractor	San Jose, CA

Marketing, Sales, Product Management
Sales Manager (Denver, CO or Durham, NC)	(Req. #3318)	Full-Time	Durham, NC

This is part of the description of rate SW Eng. about Digialsmiths SW:

Digitalsmiths' software engineers develop cutting-edge, industry leading technologies which are helping to define the next-generation of digital media solutions. Our projects are creating new opportunities for the digital media industry with regards to search, recommendations and navigation. The role is a Senior Software Engineer position that reports directly to Engineering Management. The Engineering Services Senior Software Engineer is responsible for working directly with our customers to design and implement high performance solutions that leverage our products to enable our customers to enrich the user experience. Senior Software Engineering candidates should have a Bachelors or Masters Degree and at least 5 years of experience, ideally utilizing open-source tools, in a fast-paced environment.

The Exciting part about this is that DIGITALSMITHS is growing and expanding the Volume of SW work they are doing.
Hopefully, we will see the benefits of this in future new capabilities.
I do not think this SW expansion is just to continue the SUGGESTIONS in TiVo or the SkipMode Problems in Helping get SkipMode to all the Roamios.
This is the type of personnel you bring in when you want to do something new and different in a few years down the road.

SO TIVO HAS A BRIGHT FUTURE IN STORE FOR US WITH NEW FEATURES AND CAPABILITIES.

It may be for new TiVo Bolt and Roamio Capabilities or maybe some new Boxes or Add-ons.


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## jonw747 (Aug 2, 2015)

"A dedicated team of *TV-enthusiasts* watches popular shows"

Gotta wonder why they used those words rather than TiVo employees? Using unpaid volunteers to create a service they profited from would be pretty dodgy.


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## samccfl99 (Sep 7, 2013)

RoamioJeff said:


> Are we there yet?
> 
> Are we there yet?
> 
> ...


Just using the quote, no offense to the person above.

Really, why is this an issue? We should all know how to use the buttons to skip the commercials. I hardly watch ANYTHING live, including news, and it does not bother me a bit. Maybe if I could see it work, I might like it. Who knows.

*I JUST DO NOT UNDERSTAND...*


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

samccfl99 said:


> Just using the quote, no offense to the person above.
> 
> Really, why is this an issue? We should all know how to use the buttons to skip the commercials. I hardly watch ANYTHING live, including news, and it does not bother me a bit. Maybe if I could see it work, I might like it. Who knows.
> 
> *I JUST DO NOT UNDERSTAND...*


Are you saying it's not a really nice feature? Yeah, I'm sure most of us here use either the FF or the 30 skip button, but you have to concentrate on what you're doing and then maybe have to adjust to get to the beginning of the next segment. It's a lot simpler to just press one button and voila you're there.


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## samccfl99 (Sep 7, 2013)

UCLABB said:


> Are you saying it's not a really nice feature?


If I could see it in action in my living room and it really does work correctly all the time, of course I would like it, but I read that it is only on certain shows/channels, etc (has that changed?). Who knows when it will be in S Fla??? It is obviously taking a long time for them to roll it out to everyone. Also if it has anything to do with the Tivo servers, then I think all bets might be off...LOL.


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## reneg (Jun 19, 2002)

jonw747 said:


> "A dedicated team of *TV-enthusiasts* watches popular shows"
> 
> Gotta wonder why they used those words rather than TiVo employees? Using unpaid volunteers to create a service they profited from would be pretty dodgy.


I'd say contractors, not employees.


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