# Why No Encoded Program Info?



## Emacee (Dec 15, 2000)

Tivo's program guide data is often out of date. I know it comes from Tribune Media but the on-screen program guide is often a day or two behind changes and updates on Tribune's Zap2It site.

Beyond that, networks frequently - regularly - deviate from their published schedules. Some cable networks are almost constantly off schedule with the endings of recorded programs cut off (unless you make manual adjustments). On regular networks, ballgames keep running over (they don't allow enough time in the published schedule) and later shows get pushed back. Monday night, CBS hit the pause button a show to do a news bulletin and then everything later got pushed back.

I have read that in Europe, DVRs use encoded program information to know what shows actually start and end, and they record based on the encoding - not the published schedule. WHY THE BLEEP DOESN'T TIVO DO THIS???

We pay a premium for the box and for the program guide subscription over the cost of a cable/satellite company DVR. Tivo adds some bells and whistles for time to time but they have not added something necessary to the essential function.

Further, I can go to a network website and find a copy of last night's shows (and earlier) to stream on-demand and watch on a desktop or mobile device. Tivo should provide an easy way to find and download shows I missed recording all or part of for any reason - just as Tivo recorded a way to record off-the-air broadcasts a lot easier than programming a VCR. Let's face it, off the air (or cable) recording is going to go away; on-demand is the future. If Tivo doesn't embrace it and incorporate it, Tivo and all DVRs will be as obsolete as tape and vinyl.


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

Emacee said:


> I have read that in Europe, DVRs use encoded program information to know what shows actually start and end, and they record based on the encoding - not the published schedule. WHY THE BLEEP DOESN'T TIVO DO THIS???


How would TiVo do that? The data would have to come from each channel, or from the cable system, not from TiVo. The system you describe can only work (assuming that it does) if there's a standard that everyone adheres to -- the channels encoding the data, the TiVo box decoding it.

In fact, there _are_ U.S. standards for this, but as far as everyone adhering to them, I don't think that's the case. As flawed as the Tribune data is, it still seems to be the best available, overall.


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## tomhorsley (Jul 22, 2010)

I had a VCR once that could display the info some channels encoded. Only a tiny percentage of channels included it, and even when it was included, it appeared to be tacked on as an afterthought and was based on the clock time and schedule, not what was really being shown, so if I program ran overtime, the program info would already be showing the info for the next program, and even when programs didn't run overtime, the broadcast and the program info systems were apparently run on different clocks that weren't in sync. The same was true for the time signal supposedly encoded in some channels (usually PBS). The clock source for it was apparently some engineer at the station checking his timex about once a month, and sometimes it would be weeks after daylight time changed before the time signal switched.


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