# Very Upset with the New Box



## JeffGil173 (Apr 17, 2010)

Like many people I have been a loyal customer and supporter of TiVo. I have Comcast cable and I was never happy with the customer service so I decided to switch to Tivo. I bought the TiVo Series 2 Box and LOVED it. I didn't have a problem with it. A few weeks ago I decided to upgrade to HD and found out TiVo just released the new TiVo Premiere. Since then I have had A LOT of problems with TiVo.

1) I hear this is a common problem but the TiVo Freezes when often when I click on the menu guide. I have had to unplug and plug in my TiVo 3 times since buying it. Hopefully there is a fix for this soon.

2) I decided to switch my Menu from HD to SD. I switched it and 3 minutes later the whole TiVo goes to static. At first I figured it was my Cable Company but realized it was my TiVo. None of the buttons were working. I couldn't view the guide and the TVs in the other room without TiVo were working fine. 

Like many of you I am very displeased with this box as of now. I hope some upgrades come very soon that solve all these problems.


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## bkdtv (Jan 9, 2003)

Jeff,

Many TCF members have reported lockups or hangs within five minutes or so of switching from the HDUI to the SDUI. This is an obvious bug. It seems that a reboot is often (not always) necessary when switching between the two interfaces.

My suggestion is to reboot immediately after you switch from one UI to another to avoid having to pull the plug later.


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## weatherlover1 (Apr 7, 2010)

Yes when I switched from the HD to the SD IU it rebooted a few minutes later and has worked fine since. The only other issue I am having is if I am watching a HD program and recording one at the same time. It will freeze for a minute or so and then reboot. It could be a hard drive issue I have been told and I need to call about that but other wise SD has worked fine for me.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Prior to this update I had switched from HD to SD several times with no adverse affects on my seven units. So it seems like it would be inconsistent since it has not affected any of my boxes when switching to SD.


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## raker (Jan 20, 2003)

Please do your best to avoid bringing negativity to this forum. This is a place where we can trumpet the greatness and future capabilities of Tivo. If you stay positive and look forward to the potential the box has to offer your bugs, lockups, and frustration will melt away. Don't judge the box as you use it now. If your family or friends give you the stink eye as it locks up and you have to pull the plug to reboot and wait, turn it around on them and call them negative. Inform them that there are people who don't have problems with their Tivo and they're the ones who have this positive vibe going on. You should be thrilled with how fast the SD version is. Inform them as a early adopter you expected this kind of performance and are willing to wait out these small problems. Tivo has fixes on the way. When? Soon. How soon? Soon enough.

Reinventing the DVR is tough work. The implementation team is probably still decompressing from the release. 

Stay positive, write only glowing reviews and hang in there.


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## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

raker said:


> write only glowing reviews and hang in there.


No dissent, eh?

This is not an official TiVo forum. If members are unhappy they have every right to report their poor experiences. If you have wonderful experiences and no issues you can certainly post about that as well.

Telling people they should be happy and look forward to what the box may (or may not) do for them in six to twelve months is not going to make people with lots of issues feel better.

What will make them feel better is having a TiVo box that works properly.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

raker said:


> Please do your best to avoid bringing negativity to this forum. This is a place where we can trumpet the greatness and future capabilities of Tivo. If you stay positive and look forward to the potential the box has to offer your bugs, lockups, and frustration will melt away. Don't judge the box as you use it now. If your family or friends give you the stink eye as it locks up and you have to pull the plug to reboot and wait, turn it around on them and call them negative. Inform them that there are people who don't have problems with their Tivo and they're the ones who have this positive vibe going on. You should be thrilled with how fast the SD version is. Inform them as a early adopter you expected this kind of performance and are willing to wait out these small problems. Tivo has fixes on the way. When? Soon. How soon? Soon enough.
> 
> Reinventing the DVR is tough work. The implementation team is probably still decompressing from the release.
> 
> Stay positive, write only glowing reviews and hang in there.


I've only had one instance of a lockup on five of my boxes, all withing 10 minutes of each other. The HD UI has been peppy for me and the SD UI is certainly faster than the S3/TiVoHD.

If I have an issue I post about it, but so far the only major issue I've had has been with the naming of my Premieres and with the CSR changing my Media Access Key.


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

bkdtv said:


> It seems that a reboot is often (not always) necessary when switching between the two interfaces.


Curiously, I often see the intro video when switching between SD and HD menus, almost as though it were rebooting (but it's not).

I'm mostly sticking to SD... I switched to HD to check out 14.1c, but it didn't seem any different. I really like the HDUI, but it's still too slow and buggy.


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## raker (Jan 20, 2003)

jmpage2 said:


> What will make them feel better is having a TiVo box that works properly.


I absolutely agree with you.


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## moguitars (Apr 4, 2010)

raker said:


> Please do your best to avoid bringing negativity to this forum. This is a place where we can trumpet the greatness and future capabilities of Tivo. If you stay positive and look forward to the potential the box has to offer your bugs, lockups, and frustration will melt away. Don't judge the box as you use it now. If your family or friends give you the stink eye as it locks up and you have to pull the plug to reboot and wait, turn it around on them and call them negative. Inform them that there are people who don't have problems with their Tivo and they're the ones who have this positive vibe going on. You should be thrilled with how fast the SD version is. Inform them as a early adopter you expected this kind of performance and are willing to wait out these small problems. Tivo has fixes on the way. When? Soon. How soon? Soon enough.
> 
> Reinventing the DVR is tough work. The implementation team is probably still decompressing from the release.
> 
> Stay positive, write only glowing reviews and hang in there.


Now THAT was funny. Thanks Raker! You just gave me a good laugh while my Tivo Premier was restarting after a freeze. Oh, I'm sorry... I meant while I was enjoying my computer after my wonderful Tivo intelligently recognized that I was watching too much TV.


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

raker said:


> Please do your best to avoid bringing negativity to this forum. This is a place where we can trumpet the greatness and future capabilities of Tivo. If you stay positive and look forward to the potential the box has to offer your bugs, lockups, and frustration will melt away. Don't judge the box as you use it now. If your family or friends give you the stink eye as it locks up and you have to pull the plug to reboot and wait, turn it around on them and call them negative. Inform them that there are people who don't have problems with their Tivo and they're the ones who have this positive vibe going on. You should be thrilled with how fast the SD version is. Inform them as a early adopter you expected this kind of performance and are willing to wait out these small problems. Tivo has fixes on the way. When? Soon. How soon? Soon enough.
> 
> Reinventing the DVR is tough work. The implementation team is probably still decompressing from the release.
> 
> Stay positive, write only glowing reviews and hang in there.


Please tell me this is sarcasm.

I didn't see anywhere that this forum is only for positive comments.

As negative comments go, I thought the original message was objectively written with little editorial negatively that others do often add. Yes there are some that go way to negative. I don't think this was one of those instances.


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## raker (Jan 20, 2003)

Gosh hate to say it, but yes, it was sarcasm. But it was _positive_ sarcasm.


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## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

raker said:


> Gosh hate to say it, but yes, it was sarcasm. But it was _positive_ sarcasm.


My sarcasm detector is broken (again).


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## KungFuCow (May 6, 2004)

raker said:


> Please do your best to avoid bringing negativity to this forum. This is a place where we can trumpet the greatness and future capabilities of Tivo. If you stay positive and look forward to the potential the box has to offer your bugs, lockups, and frustration will melt away. Don't judge the box as you use it now. If your family or friends give you the stink eye as it locks up and you have to pull the plug to reboot and wait, turn it around on them and call them negative. Inform them that there are people who don't have problems with their Tivo and they're the ones who have this positive vibe going on. You should be thrilled with how fast the SD version is. Inform them as a early adopter you expected this kind of performance and are willing to wait out these small problems. Tivo has fixes on the way. When? Soon. How soon? Soon enough.
> 
> Reinventing the DVR is tough work. The implementation team is probably still decompressing from the release.
> 
> Stay positive, write only glowing reviews and hang in there.


Seriously?

Wow.. you must be the ultimate Tivo fanboy.

"Do not write negative reviews about the beta software that was sold to us. Hold out hope that much like the analog bug for the TivoHD's, this will (hopefully) someday be fixed."

Just when I thought Id seen it all..........


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## KungFuCow (May 6, 2004)

jmpage2 said:


> My sarcasm detector is broken (again).


Mine must be too.......

It would have been easier to detect if there werent actual people on this forum who, while they dont go to these lengths, come close.

Whew.....


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## raker (Jan 20, 2003)

This is a quote from a thread taken from Engadget- the thread is referencing the Blackberry storm mobile phone...



> If there's one two things we love, it's hearing RIM's own Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis open their gaping traps. While the former was sufficiently panned back in January for exclaiming that buggy smartphone software was simply the "new reality," his partner in crime may have just done him one better. In a recent sit-down with Laptop Mag, Mike was specifically asked to address that aforementioned quote. His response? "That's our first touch product, and you know nobody gets it perfect out the door. You know other companies were having problems with their first releases." If you're struggling to translate that into layman speak, allow us: "Tough luck, early adopters!"


Of course I understand a phone is a phone and a reinvented DVR is a reinvented DVR. But the focus of the sample was they knew the product was buggy, "nobody gets it right the first time". That accepting the problems was part of the "new reality".

Sorry. I ain't taking that course. This shouldn't be accepted as the "new reality".

I can live with release delays. I can choose to wait or buy another product. But...I put faith in the company to release a product that has the most minor of bugs.

Sorry If I am negative. I am. I waited in anticipation and read everything I could find about it.

I am not lowering my expectations. I expect them to put out a product I can crow about.

Gosh darn it, I am not paying my hard earned money to be a beta tester.


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## ewilts (Feb 26, 2002)

raker said:


> Gosh hate to say it, but yes, it was sarcasm. But it was _positive_ sarcasm.


I thought it was a work of art.

I'm still hoping that now that they've reinvented the DVR they'll go back and actually fix some of the critical bugs in the Series 3.

I've come to understand that the monthly service fee is actually not for service. It gets you the same guide data that you can get for free from some other DVR implementations (WMC anybody?) and gives TiVo the revenue it needs to develop new hardware. It's not for actually making the product we paid money for work. Lockups requiring the user to pull the power plug are considered acceptable collateral damage for the wonderful DVR/advertising platform we've paid for. It is okay on the Series 3 so why should it not still be okay on the Premiere?


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

raker said:


> Gosh hate to say it, but yes, it was sarcasm. But it was _positive_ sarcasm.


Thank god. I must have read/heard too many Tea Party rants that were less absurd than your post.

I do take the written word a bit too literally at times. Thank god for "" or I might take too many things the wrong way.

Anyway you got me. I must admit that at first I thought you were serious. It seemed out of place in this thread. Then the more I read it, the more it seemed a bit over the top. (Just a bit.) I mean it really is not that far off from some other stuff that was meant to be taken seriously.

Anyway, touche'!


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## LordNelson (Mar 10, 2009)

Seems like many of us are discovering bugs that should have been found in testing. (I'm on IPL #3, not counting initial setup.) I wonder if someone was under the gun to meet an artificial delivery date and shipped before it was ready for prime time. I'm a big Tivo fan and I probably would have been happy to be a beta-tester, I just would like to have been asked.


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

waynomo said:


> ...I must admit that at first I thought you were serious. It seemed out of place in this thread...


A sad commentary on what this "Community" forum has turned into.


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 28, 2002)

LordNelson said:


> Seems like many of us are discovering bugs that should have been found in testing. (I'm on IPL #3, not counting initial setup.) I wonder if someone was under the gun to meet an artificial delivery date and shipped before it was ready for prime time. I'm a big Tivo fan and I probably would have been happy to be a beta-tester, I just would like to have been asked.


No wondering necessary. They absolutely shipped this to meet some kind of hard marketing deadline. The box is FAR from ready. Worst. TiVo Launch. Ever.


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## raker (Jan 20, 2003)

I take your post as implying that unless we all conform to to some comfy feely good stepford wife type of interacting we are less of a "community"? If that's the case, sorry, I won't conform to _your_ vision of community.

Get in line. Conform. Obey. All is well. This is the new reality. Take your soma. Wait for the firmware fix.


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## MichaelJHuman (Aug 3, 2005)

props for raker's post. Hilarious.

I am uo to lockup #4. I switched to SD interface. Hopefully...that will solve the lockups.

Maybe they will get around to fixing this thing someday.


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## r11roadster (Oct 24, 2006)

I would have to disagree that this is the worst launch ever. I got the S3 on launch. the first unit kept loosing random blocks of channels. got a replacemnet unit. it lost different blocks of channels. approximatley 4-5 months out they finally fixed it with a software/firmware patch. The premier UI seems to lock up but at least I am not loosing recordings this go around. FWIW I have only had one hard lock of the UI.


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## curiousgeorge (Nov 28, 2002)

r11roadster said:


> I would have to disagree that this is the worst launch ever. I got the S3 on launch. the first unit kept loosing random blocks of channels. got a replacemnet unit. it lost different blocks of channels. approximatley 4-5 months out they finally fixed it with a software/firmware patch. The premier UI seems to lock up but at least I am not loosing recordings this go around. FWIW I have only had one hard lock of the UI.


We had 3 S3 units at launch and they were all stable and usable as advertised. The HD UI of Premiere is not. The frequency of showstopper lockups is not even close to acceptable. We dialed back to SD UI and are STILL getting occasional lockups.


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## r11roadster (Oct 24, 2006)

Maybe my lack of issues with the premier is making up for the S3 crap I went through. Karma and all that...


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## ZeoTiVo (Jan 2, 2004)

raker said:


> Get in line. Conform. Obey. All is well. This is the new reality. Take your soma. Wait for the firmware fix.


Moxi would never ask you to do that


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## MichaelJHuman (Aug 3, 2005)

My S3 worked GREAT pretty much all the time


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## r11roadster (Oct 24, 2006)

MichaelJHuman said:


> My S3 worked GREAT pretty much all the time


Well my experience was different

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=318365
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=331495&page=3
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=324647&page=5
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=318365&page=5


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

jmpage2 said:


> My sarcasm detector is broken (again).


I believe the problem is in a poor implementation on the forum of the [sar] and [/sar] tags, we need to alert the forum admins.


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

raker said:


> I take your post as implying that unless we all conform to to some comfy feely good stepford wife type of interacting we are less of a "community"? If that's the case, sorry, I won't conform to _your_ vision of community.
> 
> Get in line. Conform. Obey. All is well. This is the new reality. Take your soma. Wait for the firmware fix.


I just saying that when the expected and accepted post is rife with negativity, yes, it doesn't make this community a pleasant place to visit. If you're dissatisfied with the performance of your TiVo, return it. Unless you have some sort of masochistic streak that you can't shake?


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## T1V0 (Jun 14, 2006)

dianebrat said:


> I believe the problem is in a poor implementation on the forum of the [sar] and [/sar] tags, we need to alert the forum admins.


why even report it?

they'll just admit to the problem, hope everyone forgets about it and release a new forum to take its place

moxi rulez


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## RoundTuit (Dec 29, 2006)

Most of my professional career involved developing imbedded software (1965-2003). I can tolerate a few bugs and reboots because I know these will eventually be fixed. However, I have more serious concerns about the poor performance and the appearance that very little attention has been paid to this aspect. I have little confidence that enabling the 2nd core will solve the performance issues or that we will see any significant improvement in the near future. I hope they prove me wrong.

I have been a TiVo customer since Series 1. At this point, I am very disappointed and unimpressed. Also, the fact that TiVo reversed my Fat Wallet rebate is a real slap in the face and shows that TiVo has no respect for early adopters and long term customers.


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## callejon (Jan 3, 2009)

I haven't bought the premiere yet. I've been holding off until people say what the 14.1c update fixed. Any improvements? Should I hold off for a while?

Thanks

PS Raker, loved the comment. I didn't even need my sarcasm detector for that one.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

RoundTuit said:


> I have been a TiVo customer since Series 1. At this point, I am very disappointed and unimpressed. Also, the fact that TiVo reversed my Fat Wallet rebate is a real slap in the face and shows that TiVo has no respect for early adopters and long term customers.


The only people they reversed were the ones who didn't meet the terms at the time of their order. Now if you have proof on the day you ordered that the offer included upgrades instead of new customers only I would definitely take that up with TiVo and Fat Wallet.


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## dewd2 (Feb 22, 2010)

innocentfreak said:


> The only people they reversed were the ones who didn't meet the terms at the time of their order. Now if you have proof on the day you ordered that the offer included upgrades instead of new customers only I would definitely take that up with TiVo and Fat Wallet.


Not true... I was not a customer prior to my purchase and they messed mine up (originally gave me credit for 3, then removed 2).

I have to wait until next week for FatWallet to investigate (3 weeks has to pass).


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

dewd2 said:


> Not true... I was not a customer prior to my purchase and they messed mine up (originally gave me credit for 3, then removed 2).
> 
> I have to wait until next week for FatWallet to investigate (3 weeks has to pass).


Well you are the first person then I have read that wasn't an upgrade. They still gave you partial credit though over the accounts who were zeroed out which is what I was referring to.


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## JeffGil173 (Apr 17, 2010)

For those who helped me with my problem, I thank you. It's good to know this is happening to other people and are known issues. Hopefully Tivo will fix these problems soon. 

I know they "fixed" the freezing of the menu when you click the Tivo button with there latest update. 

I say "fixed" because I just clicked my Tivo button and the whole screen froze and went black. I had to reset it. Has this happen to anyone yet?

Lastly I understand people don't want negativity to this forum. I understand that, nobody likes the negative person. However If I can't express my feelings about Tivo on a Tivo forum where am I suppose to? I am a HUGE Tivo fan and can go on and on about the positive things about Tivo but that wont fix any of my problems.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

What version do you have? If you have 14.1c, you need to email Margret at TiVo per this post


TiVoMargret said:


> The update fixed the lockup related pressing the TIVO button and getting stuck on TiVo Central with the video playing in the corner, but no response to any of the remote control buttons. I have not seen any additional reports of this since the update.
> 
> I have had two reports of a crash after switch from SD to the HD menus immediately after the update. We are tracking these down. Please reboot after you switch to HD menus and you should be fine.
> 
> ...


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## JeffGil173 (Apr 17, 2010)

innocentfreak said:


> What version do you have? If you have 14.1c, you need to email Margret at TiVo per this post


Thanks. I do have the 14.1c


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

JeffGil173 said:


> ...Lastly I understand people don't want negativity to this forum. I understand that, nobody likes the negative person. However If I can't express my feelings about Tivo on a Tivo forum where am I suppose to? I am a HUGE Tivo fan and can go on and on about the positive things about Tivo but that wont fix any of my problems.


While you can find some answers here from experienced TiVo _users_, I wouldn't get my hopes up about getting an official reply from TiVo _employees_. See the footnote in this image:









TiVo employees do pop in from time to time to share bug fixes, new releases, and although rare, a reply directly to specific TCF user post, but then seem to be promptly run off with personal attacks. I really can't blame them from not wanting to share with such poor treatment and lack of civil discussions. 
[/soapbox]


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## RoyK (Oct 22, 2004)

orangeboy said:


> While you can find some answers here from experienced TiVo _users_, I wouldn't get my hopes up about getting an official reply from TiVo _employees_. See the footnote in this image:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Umm if you are going to catagorize that exchange as a personal attack then start it here.

The gentleman said to ding them for something they actually promised. i accommodated him. With his own words and video.

No attack there. Nothing uncivil in the entire exchange.

You may classify the hoisting of an individual by his own petard as a personal attack. I don't.


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

RoyK said:


> Umm if you are going to catagorize that exchange as a personal attack then start it here.
> 
> The gentleman said to ding them for something they actually promised. i accommodated him. With his own words and video.
> 
> ...


No Roy, it's not all about you. Unless you alone made comments of this nature:



TiVoPony said:


> ...but it's also been asserted that I don't tell the truth, am not to be trusted, that I'm a 'marketing puke'...


I don't believe you made any comment about 'marketing puke'. If I could edit Pony's post to include only the last paragraph, and skip his direct reply to you, I would. But I can't.


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## RoyK (Oct 22, 2004)

orangeboy said:


> No Roy, it's not all about you. Unless you alone made comments of this nature:
> 
> I don't believe you made any comment about 'marketing puke'.


Then I request you find the comment that used those words and link to it instead of a reply addressed to me. I do not use those kinds of words.
Thanks


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

RoyK said:


> Then I request you find the comment that used those words and link to it instead of a reply *[partially]* addressed to me. I do not use those kinds of words.
> Thanks


FYP. I believe Pony's direct reply to you ended when he commented that he wanted to share (definition: to tell (as thoughts, feelings, or experiences) to others) his reason "you don't see much of the old TiVo gang online here anymore".

I will not and can not find all of those comments. It is not my intention to single out the individuals who made those comments. Pony made a good summation of what _he_ read in regards to comments about him, and I can only cite one post in the Blue Moon thread for one of those comments with which he referred. Pony took the high road and didn't name individuals who made the comments, nor will I.


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## jim111 (May 17, 2007)

waynomo said:


> Thank god. I must have read/heard too many Tea Party rants that were less absurd than your post.


Amen, Brother Wayne.


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## ZeoTiVo (Jan 2, 2004)

JeffGil173 said:


> For those who helped me with my problem, I thank you. It's good to know this is happening to other people and are known issues. Hopefully Tivo will fix these problems soon.
> 
> I know they "fixed" the freezing of the menu when you click the Tivo button with there latest update.
> 
> ...


agree, and your post that I quote was not 'negative' but constructive and detailed. There is criticism (ok), constructive criticism(helpful) and negative(just wanting to rant and attack - so UN-helpful we even lost contact with a TiVo rep who was working with folks in a thread on a premiere issue.)

Please keep up the helpful posts.


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## wyro (Sep 25, 2002)

the Thumbs up, thumbs down, play, play, play trick fixed my freeze on the black screen.


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## sghrush (Mar 8, 2005)

jmpage2 said:


> No dissent, eh?
> 
> This is not an official TiVo forum. If members are unhappy they have every right to report their poor experiences. If you have wonderful experiences and no issues you can certainly post about that as well.
> 
> ...


Ditto!


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