# Put a Character LCD on the front again



## flashedbios (Dec 7, 2012)

Instead of just lights, put a character LCD on the front like the DVD series 2 units or the Tivo Series 3 units. Also put buttons on the front to control the tivo, built in wifi, clear qam guide, integrated blu ray, integrated convert to iphone so you can put your shows on your iphone.


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## chrispitude (Apr 23, 2005)

Anything else?


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Those LED/OLEDs added cost without much value. I had both models of DVD units (Pioneer and Toshiba) and an S3 OLED and neither one of them were actually readable from across the room. Not even the clock. The same goes for the controls on the front. They had a few models of S2 units and the original S3 with buttons on the front, no one every used them. They were a waste.

Two of your other requests are part of the Roamio right now. All Roamio units have built in wifi, and the Roamio Plus/Pro units have a built in Stream which allows downloading shows to an iPhone. You can also add the iPhone capabilities to a Roamio Basic or any Premiere unit by buying a standalone Stream.

Clear QAM mapping is never going to happen, especially since most major cable companies are pushing toward eliminating all clear QAM channels. (there is a regulation in place that says as long as they don't offer analog version of the local channels they are allowed to encrypt them as well. All other channels are fair game)

Now a built in BD player, or even a USB add-on, is something I could get behind. As I said I had two TiVos with built in DVD and loved them. Being able to use the TiVo remote, complete with replay, for DVDs was great. Wish I could have the same for BDs.


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## JosephB (Nov 19, 2010)

chrispitude said:


> Anything else?


It should make coffee in the morning, too!


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## flashedbios (Dec 7, 2012)

I just miss having displays on the front of my electronics. seems like in the mid 90s they stopped doing that as a cost cutting measure, and instead moved to on screen interfaces. I still prefer to also have a VFD on the front of the unit. Just makes it look more complete and modern. Same with the buttons on the front. I don't know why the base romio couldn't stream to iphone. why do you need an extra piece of hard ware. I bet the TiVo stream is just a USB dongle that "allows" streaming in software. what a racket.


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## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

flashedbios said:


> I bet the TiVo stream is just a USB dongle that "allows" streaming in software. what a racket.


And you would be wrong...

The TiVo Stream is a dedicated, use specific, chipset used to compress and stream TiVo files to mobile devices (Limited to IOS at the moment.)

TiVo wanted to create an entry level unit and made a few decisions to get the price down to target. Removal of the built in Steam chipset was one of those decisions...

Want stream? You can purchase either the Pro or Plus Roamio models - or you can purchase the stand alone Stream device. It has been on sale at Best Buy for several weeks.

Relax...


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## tomhorsley (Jul 22, 2010)

Here's a thought: Write an android app to use the app interface API to display the current program info on the tablet screen, and put one of those cheap android knock-off tablets on the TiVo (perhaps attaching it with duct tape would be appropriate .


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## monkeydust (Dec 12, 2004)

I liked my s3's clock although I had to squint my eyes due to the brightness. Just increase the brightness next time. I have no clock in my living room now that I can read with the lights off.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

flashedbios said:


> I don't know why the base romio couldn't stream to iphone. why do you need an extra piece of hard ware. I bet the TiVo stream is just a USB dongle that "allows" streaming in software. what a racket.


iPhones/iPads can only play H.264 video, most broadcasts in the US are MPEG-2. So the TiVo Stream is an on the fly transcoder chip that can convert the MPEG-2 stream to H.264 so your iPhone/iPad can actually play it. The chip they are using is quite powerful allowing up to 4 streams to be transcoded simultaneously at about 2x real time, meaning an hour show takes about 30 minutes to convert. That's faster then most modern PCs can transcode even one stream. It's actually quite an impressive piece of silicone.


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## JosephB (Nov 19, 2010)

Not to mention part of the advertised functionality of the Stream is OOH streaming, and MPEG-2 content would be way too big for most people to push through their home connections and definitely too big to be useable on mobile networks and other low bandwidth situations like shared public wifi



Dan203 said:


> It's actually quite an impressive piece of silicone.


I bet they even put some silicon in there, too


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

JosephB said:


> I bet they even put some silicon in there, too


Pitfalls of depending on spell check. I spelled it wrong and then picked the wrong suggestion off the list.


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## Doit2it (Jan 3, 2006)

flashedbios said:


> clear qam guide


After reading this thread, I purchased this used M Card on eBay. I now have guide data on clear QAM for the limited QAM channels Xfinity provides via my TivoHD. Of course it varies by cable suppliers, so it's hit or miss. Be sure to buy a card that your cable provider uses, so the Motorola I purchased may not work on your cable network. Just *DO NOT* call your cable provider to activate the used card. Plug it in, do setup again, and voila'. But a $5 investment paid off for me.


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## Drmunk (Mar 9, 2007)

I do miss the clock from by old cable box and wish TiVo had one.


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## ScottUrman (Dec 22, 2004)

monkeydust said:


> I liked my s3's clock although I had to squint my eyes due to the brightness. Just increase the brightness next time. I have no clock in my living room now that I can read with the lights off.


We still have a lifetimed S3 going strong, just hit the info (or any other) button on the remote to bump up the brightness. I will definitely miss the display if and when we upgrade.


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## psmith1234 (Oct 3, 2010)

I would like to have the clock. Do not have one since retiring my VCR.


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## Davelnlr_ (Jan 13, 2011)

I have plenty of clocks, but actually miss the channel number being displayed. When I turn on the TV, it seems there is always a commercial on, so I have to hit guide to see what channel is playing.

Would also be nice if you could renumber the channels yourself. For example, local channel 4 broadcasts on cable channel 5 in SD, and channel 1005 in HD. I would like to be able to remap channel 1005 to channel 4.


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## PalmTrees (Dec 10, 2013)

psmith1234 said:


> I would like to have the clock. Do not have one since retiring my VCR.


Have you considered hanging a small wall clock nearby your entertainment center?


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Davelnlr_ said:


> I have plenty of clocks, but actually miss the channel number being displayed. When I turn on the TV, it seems there is always a commercial on, so I have to hit guide to see what channel is playing.
> 
> Would also be nice if you could renumber the channels yourself. For example, local channel 4 broadcasts on cable channel 5 in SD, and channel 1005 in HD. I would like to be able to remap channel 1005 to channel 4.


Just hit left on the D pad. That'll display the channel banner with the number. No need to bring up the guide.


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## caughey (May 26, 2007)

Perfect Clock for TiVo Viewing


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