# Collections - An easy way to record new fall shows



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Not many people realize this feature exists, and since we're likely to see a lot of people moving up from S3 units, where the feature wasn't available, to the Roamio I thought I'd start a thread about it.

In the Browse section there are these things called Collections. These are lists of programs based on various criteria, some of which are actually maintained by real humans. These collections can be setup to auto-record just like a Season pass.

This time of year there is a collection for New Fall Shows. By setting it to auto-record you'll get all the new shows without having to manually keep track of when they start, what night they're on, what channel they're on, etc... If you decide you like a show it's easy to add a real SP for it from the My Shows list. (you can even do this from a remote TiVo or Mini)

Typically what I do is I set up the collection to record. By November I decide which shows I like and set SPs for them, then I cancel the collection. It works great for discovering new shows without having to wade through the guide or keep track on a website like Futoncritic.


----------



## JohnnyO (Nov 3, 2002)

As someone moving up from a Series 3, I thank you!


----------



## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

also, others have mentioned using an autorecording wishlist for the keyword 'pilot'. (and/or maybe premiere?)


----------



## tom22 (Nov 4, 2010)

Dan203 said:


> Not many people realize this feature exists, and since we're likely to see a lot of people moving up from S3 units, where the feature wasn't available, to the Roamio I thought I'd start a thread about it.
> 
> In the Browse section there are these things called Collections. These are lists of programs based on various criteria, some of which are actually maintained by real humans. These collections can be setup to auto-record just like a Season pass.
> 
> ...


Hey .. now that is something pretty cool !

One of the things I've loved and come to rely on since 2000 and my 1 set, (upgraded again in 2006) is TIVO Suggestions. I would say half of the Shows I watch come from TIVO suggestions (and thats been so for 13 years)

If I upgrade.. will I be able to fine tune TIVO suggestions myself. Like for example.. can I tell it I like Pac Ten and SEC football games and have it prioritize its choices to reflect my input preference?

Also... is there anything tied to the Romaio box that makes the TIVO selection a bit smarter.... I mean.. you certainly have access to gross data on what football games have been selected by the most TIVO users.. I've had the TIVO record something like a Army vs Nevada St game when a huge rivalry game between 2 unbeaten teams that's earned a prime time slot national broadcast. I mean.. TIVO selections is doing me a "favor" by recording anything at all.. sort of.... I sort of rely on it to pick me good programs and when it fails like that it.. well its like a servant that doesn't deserver a raise (TIVO has made us Kings of our TVS.. thats where the servant technology comes from)


----------



## brianric (Aug 29, 2002)

Dan203 said:


> In the Browse section there are these things called Collections. These are lists of programs based on various criteria, some of which are actually maintained by real humans. These collections can be setup to auto-record just like a Season pass.


Thank you.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

tom22 said:


> Hey .. now that is something pretty cool !
> 
> One of the things I've loved and come to rely on since 2000 and my 1 set, (upgraded again in 2006) is TIVO Suggestions. I would say half of the Shows I watch come from TIVO suggestions (and thats been so for 13 years)
> 
> ...


Collections are different then Suggestions. Collections are basically lists of programs based on specific criteria they have in common, such as 4 start movies, new fall shows, etc... that you can either manually browse or setup to auto record like a Season Pass.

Suggestions are controlled by thumbs. When you give thumbs up or thumbs down to a show that's what effects the suggestions engine and determines what it records. Every time you setup a new recording or SP that show is automatically given 1 thumb. If you want to weight your suggestions to a specific type of program you should find those programs and give them 2 or 3 thumbs, and if there is something you don't like then give those programs thumbs down.

There was some information a while back that TiVo might start using aggregated data to compare you to other users and then use that data to effect suggestions. However I'm not sure if that ever actually made it into the product or not.


----------



## tom22 (Nov 4, 2010)

Dan203 said:


> Collections are different then Suggestions. Collections are basically lists of programs based on specific criteria they have in common, such as 4 start movies, new fall shows, etc... that you can either manually browse or setup to auto record like a Season Pass.
> 
> Suggestions are controlled by thumbs. When you give thumbs up or thumbs down to a show that's what effects the suggestions engine and determines what it records. Every time you setup a new recording or SP that show is automatically given 1 thumb. If you want to weight your suggestions to a specific type of program you should find those programs and give them 2 or 3 thumbs, and if there is something you don't like then give those programs thumbs down.
> 
> There was some information a while back that TiVo might start using aggregated data to compare you to other users and then use that data to effect suggestions. However I'm not sure if that ever actually made it into the product or not.


That could be useful.

My Tivo's have had Keyword searches to find shows that contained a key word. I never really figured out how to use that effectively though...mostly I think because I didn't really get any sort of notification of when something was recorded because it fit my criteria. I wasn't any huge deal.. I don't expect everything.. but I sort of expect continual iteration on features....maybe that one was cumbersome and better served with the groups... or is it still there on the Roamio ?


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Wish Lists are still there. Collections are similar to Wish Lists except the shows that end up in the list are controlled by TiVo.

This is the next iteration of what they use to call Guru Guides. Basically the list is maintained by someone at TiVo, or some algorithm on their server, and your TiVo just records anything on the list it can find in your local guide. Collections are a lot more accurate then Wish Lists because they can be based on criteria that are not exposed to us via Wish Lists.


----------



## jaredmwright (Sep 6, 2004)

TiVo Elite here, trying to add the collections presents an error. It looks like it did add the season pass, but since it takes so long to add, I presume it times out. Anyone else have this issue? Thinking more about a Roamio in the future to get improved performance, but waiting until they work out all of the small issues and follow through with an app eco system.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

jaredmwright said:


> TiVo Elite here, trying to add the collections presents an error. It looks like it did add the season pass, but since it takes so long to add, I presume it times out. Anyone else have this issue? Thinking more about a Roamio in the future to get improved performance, but waiting until they work out all of the small issues and follow through with an app eco system.


I had the same problem on my Elite, but it did add and has since scheduled a few recordings, so it appears to be functioning.


----------



## dwatt (Jan 11, 2007)

mattack said:


> also, others have mentioned using an autorecording wishlist for the keyword 'pilot'. (and/or maybe premiere?)


Is there a way to get the year added to the keyword "pilot" wishlist? That way it only finds only this years new shows. Otherwise you get a long list of shows about airplanes or their operators as well as new shows/reruns going back many years.


----------



## tom22 (Nov 4, 2010)

Dan203 said:


> Collections are different then Suggestions. Collections are basically lists of programs based on specific criteria they have in common, such as 4 start movies, new fall shows, etc... that you can either manually browse or setup to auto record like a Season Pass.
> 
> Suggestions are controlled by thumbs. When you give thumbs up or thumbs down to a show that's what effects the suggestions engine and determines what it records. Every time you setup a new recording or SP that show is automatically given 1 thumb. If you want to weight your suggestions to a specific type of program you should find those programs and give them 2 or 3 thumbs, and if there is something you don't like then give those programs thumbs down.
> 
> There was some information a while back that TiVo might start using aggregated data to compare you to other users and then use that data to effect suggestions. However I'm not sure if that ever actually made it into the product or not.


The aggregated data factor would help filter TIVO suggestion picks better... as long as it didn't overide content preference. i.e. Tom would like a college football game.. lets pick the one 3 out of 4 other people who watch college football are watching.. but not "we usually give Tom science shows when there is available time but nearly 1/2 the nation is watching this basketball game.. maybe we'll ignore Tom's thumbs downs to basketball and give it to him anyway .

As to the suggestions.. yes it's been getting my thumbs up over the years but it has been having a hell of a time learning two very simple things :

- I like documentry crime shows like "coldcase files" but I never never want fictional dramas about the same topic... .. i

- I never never never want it to record feature movies for me (when I come back to my TV after not watching for 4 or 5 days I like a nice list of 30 or 40 shows in suggestions with hopefully a couple gems.. damn movies aren't only not what I want to watch but they also take up more space reducing my choices)

Being able to thumbs up Documentary three times and thumbs down Drama three times would be great (or a place to go online)

Three thumbs down to Feature Film category would also be great(they show the little Star rating for movies.. they must have a variable that disntiguishes a movie from anther show)

Again.. I have a series 3 .. I guess there is a chance there was a feature on the premier and now the Roamio that might have helped give suggestions a bit more to go on ?


----------



## mdscott (Jun 26, 2002)

Thanks Dan - much appreciated.

mds


----------



## Doh (May 18, 2001)

How are they different from Guru guides? Are guru guides still available for older units?


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Doh said:


> How are they different from Guru guides? Are guru guides still available for older units?


I think they replaced Guru Guides. I haven't owned an older unit in a long time so I'm not sure if they're still available on older units or not.


----------



## mdscott (Jun 26, 2002)

Guru Guides still available on S2 boxes (so I assume without checking on S3) -- TiVo Central/Find Programs/Kids Zone & Guru Guides.

There is limited choice with some overlap with Collections. Not surprisingly the UI leaves much to be desired.

michael


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Dan203 said:


> Not many people realize this feature exists, and since we're likely to see a lot of people moving up from S3 units, where the feature wasn't available, to the Roamio I thought I'd start a thread about it.
> 
> In the Browse section there are these things called Collections. These are lists of programs based on various criteria, some of which are actually maintained by real humans. These collections can be setup to auto-record just like a Season pass.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the info!! I'll need to check it out.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

mdscott said:


> Guru Guides still available on S2 boxes (so I assume without checking on S3) -- TiVo Central/Find Programs/Kids Zone & Guru Guides.
> 
> There is limited choice with some overlap with Collections. Not surprisingly the UI leaves much to be desired.
> 
> michael


Do they have a Guru Guide for new Fall shows?


----------



## mdscott (Jun 26, 2002)

Dan203 said:


> Do they have a Guru Guide for new Fall shows?


They do not. Some of the shows may be contained within the LA Times or Miami Herald recommendation Guides - but I am not knowledgable enough to tell for sure.

michael


----------



## mntvjunkie (May 13, 2009)

I don't think the Guru guides have been updated for a long time, but I may be wrong on that as I don't use them.

Back when the S3 was still considered current, they did used to have Guru guides for things like Christmas specials, etc. but looking at them on my current S3 I only see the same guides I saw 3 years ago when I looked.


----------



## HazelW (Dec 6, 2007)

I am trying to find "collections" on my XL4 with SD menus, but it does not seem to be there. Do I need to switch to HD menus to find it? If so, will the sp still be there when I go back to SD menus?


----------



## Devx (Jun 1, 2006)

HazelW said:


> I am trying to find "collections" on my XL4 with SD menus, but it does not seem to be there. Do I need to switch to HD menus to find it? If so, will the sp still be there when I go back to SD menus?


Yes, and the SP should not be different between HD and SDUI.


----------



## takeagabu (Oct 7, 2007)

I found this and got excited until it started recording everything and I realized you can't alter the collection. If I could customize the collection by removing new shows that I don't want to see, then I would actually think it's useful.


----------



## Crrink (Sep 3, 2002)

takeagabu said:


> I found this and got excited until it started recording everything and I realized you can't alter the collection. If I could customize the collection by removing new shows that I don't want to see, then I would actually think it's useful.


Agreed - my solution has been to create SP's for the shows I want to keep, and delete shows I don't from the ToDo list. In a few weeks, once all the SP's are set up, I can cancel the collection.
Not perfect, but good enough, I suppose.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Crrink said:


> Agreed - my solution has been to create SP's for the shows I want to keep, and delete shows I don't from the ToDo list. In a few weeks, once all the SP's are set up, I can cancel the collection.
> Not perfect, but good enough, I suppose.


This is what I'm doing. It's still much easir than finding all the new shows and. Creating season passes. I figure by the end of October I will know which shows I want to keep watching.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I'm finding that this collection isn't picking up all the new shows, so I'm still forced to go through the guide and set stuff up manually.  Oh well it's a good backup in case I miss something, but would be nice if it actually included everything.


----------



## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

In kmttg I implemented a "Season Premieres" tab that actually does a good job looking for new or returning show Premieres. It actually combs all the guide data (12 days forward by default) looking for episode and other information to figure it out. Since it can be time consuming you have to limit the channels for it to use for the search, but I use it all the time to find new shows. When search completes it shows you all new Premieres along with indication of which ones you have SPs for already on any of your TiVos. You can then schedule SPs right from the table on 1 or more TiVos for the ones you are interested in.
I run it once every few days to show me all new Season & Series Premieres so I don't have to research elsewhere on what the new shows are.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

That's interesting. You just cram all sorts of functionality into that program don't you?


----------



## NJguy (Sep 11, 2013)

As a new TiVo user I want to thank you for this post. Very useful. I was going through trying to see when all shows were on and set up a recording for them. THis makes it simple!


----------



## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

Dan203 said:


> That's interesting. You just cram all sorts of functionality into that program don't you?


 Yes the "Remote" tab has all kinds of things RPC related - well beyond what the iOS/Android apps can do. Basically almost everything useful I found that can be done via RPC is there in some form or another.


----------



## Devx (Jun 1, 2006)

For those using the collection, remember that there are new shows premiering all the way into November for the fall season so it may be necessary to keep it around for a while.



moyekj said:


> Yes the "Remote" tab has all kinds of things RPC related - well beyond what the iOS/Android apps can do. Basically almost everything useful I found that can be done via RPC is there in some form or another.


Definitely well above and beyond the apps. I may need to give kmttg a try, the season premiere feature sounds especially useful. :up:


----------



## dave13077 (Jan 11, 2009)

How do you cancel a collection? I have tried all the menus and for the life of me can't figure it out. I went into the collections menus and I can't find a way to cancel the new fall shows collection.


----------



## Goober96 (Jun 28, 2005)

dave13077 said:


> How do you cancel a collection? I have tried all the menus and for the life of me can't figure it out. I went into the collections menus and I can't find a way to cancel the new fall shows collection.


They're at the bottom of the Season Pass Manager.


----------



## Icarus (Jun 15, 2002)

The "New Shows" collection doesn't have anything upcoming. Why did they stop updating that one? It recorded anything that was "new". (ie, not a rerun).

-David


----------



## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

There's something called Midseason Premiers. Would that do it?


----------



## Icarus (Jun 15, 2002)

waynomo said:


> There's something called Midseason Premiers. Would that do it?


I'm subscribed to that one too. by the name, it seems like it will only get you the first new show not all of them, like the old "New Shows" did. but I don't see any way of telling.

"New Shows" was great. Wish they would keep updating it.

-David


----------



## Icarus (Jun 15, 2002)

waynomo said:


> There's something called Midseason Premiers. Would that do it?


Despite the name, it does seem to be recording "new" episodes, not just the first one. That's good.

-David


----------



## Icarus (Jun 15, 2002)

now that one is dead  Every few months I have to search on how to find collections again. There's no summer replacement yet. If anybody notices one, please post it here.

-David


----------



## javabird (Oct 13, 2006)

Icarus said:


> now that one is dead  Every few months I have to search on how to find collections again. There's no summer replacement yet. If anybody notices one, please post it here.
> 
> -David


I was hoping there would be one for the new summer shows, and I've also been checking the "What's New" collection, but nothing yet. Last night I noticed the pilots for 2 new shows I've been anticipating didn't show up in What's New (Crossbones and The Night Shift).

I have a Wish List for keyword: Pilot that does not auto-record and I'm still relying on that and then manually add SP for shows. I tried adding a keyword "2014" but it didn't work for some reason because then nothing showed in the list at all for some reason.


----------



## Marron (May 15, 2014)

Dan203 said:


> Not many people realize this feature exists, and since we're likely to see a lot of people moving up from S3 units, where the feature wasn't available, to the Roamio I thought I'd start a thread about it.
> 
> In the Browse section there are these things called Collections. These are lists of programs based on various criteria, some of which are actually maintained by real humans. These collections can be setup to auto-record just like a Season pass.
> 
> ...


Didn't know about this. THANKS!


----------



## javabird (Oct 13, 2006)

javabird said:


> I was hoping there would be one for the new summer shows, and I've also been checking the "What's New" collection, but nothing yet. Last night I noticed the pilots for 2 new shows I've been anticipating didn't show up in What's New (Crossbones and The Night Shift).


I had hopes when I first saw this "What's New" collection but it isn't kept updated at all. Very disappointed. If this is meant to be a "curated" list then the curators aren't paying attention. (I've seen lots of other collections pop up over the summer but the "What's New" section unfortunately appears to be dormant.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

javabird said:


> I had hopes when I first saw this "What's New" collection but it isn't kept updated at all. Very disappointed. If this is meant to be a "curated" list then the curators aren't paying attention. (I've seen lots of other collections pop up over the summer but the "What's New" section unfortunately appears to be dormant.


They should come out with a new one soon that includes the new shows coming out over the next few months.


----------



## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

dwatt said:


> Is there a way to get the year added to the keyword "pilot" wishlist? That way it only finds only this years new shows. Otherwise you get a long list of shows about airplanes or their operators as well as new shows/reruns going back many years.


Just use pilot/premiere record 'new only'.. then you'll only get a few wrong, for shows without guide data.


----------



## javabird (Oct 13, 2006)

mattack said:


> Just use pilot/premiere record 'new only'.. then you'll only get a few wrong, for shows without guide data.


Great idea.


----------



## Icarus (Jun 15, 2002)

mattack said:


> Just use pilot/premiere record 'new only'.. then you'll only get a few wrong, for shows without guide data.


"pilot" worked pretty well for me.

"premier", not so great .. lots of "new" "premier league" soccer games.

Thanks for the suggestion.

With a few additions/changes to wishlist programming we wouldn't need the collections for new fall and spring shows. (Also some additions like being able to include ratings for movies would be great.)

-David


----------



## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

premiere, not premier.

I use both words, in an 'or' type wishlist.


----------



## Icarus (Jun 15, 2002)

mattack said:


> premiere, not premier.
> 
> I use both words, in an 'or' type wishlist.


duh on the spelling. Thank you.

I had to look up the OR thing, use thumbs down to make both title keywords optional, I think that did it.

Thanks again.

"pilot" worked for Legends last night on TBS.

-David


----------



## hdtvnovice (Feb 11, 2006)

Finally got my roamio pro set up with the correct cable card firmware with comcast and then saw this topic about using collections to auto record all the new fall tv shows instead of setting up season passes for them wright away. Went to collections but nothing is there about new fall sho ws so am i too early? ALSO set up wishlist with keyword pilot and premiere and nothing coming up that way either. I know some new shows afe available to record so am i too early. Thanks for any advice on this matter.


----------



## Icarus (Jun 15, 2002)

there's a lot of entries in "upcoming" but most are pilot reruns, so not going to be recorded. There's a few pilot/premieres in my list that will be recorded, but it's not much, Utopia and Ellen Degeneres. It's recorded a few Pilot/Premieres already, from cable channels.

If you're not seeing anything in upcoming yet for that wishlist, then you might need to give it a day or so to get all the guide data.

-David


----------



## hdtvnovice (Feb 11, 2006)

Do not see many replies to my inquiry about using collections and or wishlist with the year 2014-15 in it to see if that would work.I would just like to know if any one thinks they will have it this season for recording shows . I have been checking both collections and wishlist for the past ten days ,so far nothing and i know that there are already some new fall shows in the guide to be recorded. please let me know what anybody here thinks is a solution to this.


----------



## hdtvnovice (Feb 11, 2006)

Just had a brief chat session with a tivo rep named eric and after did some checking said he did not know when collections for new fall tv shows would be available.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Well that sucks, this was very useful the last few years.


----------



## hdtvnovice (Feb 11, 2006)

I called tivo about an hour ago and talked to a rep and asked him about collections and why no new shows coming up on my wishlist for new fall shows with pilot and premiere in it and he said maybe not put in the new os . He then said maybe was not put in the new os.I also asked him why my wishlist for new fall shows with pilot and premiere new shows only did not show anythig yet and he said he would put in request for that also.


----------



## skid71 (Mar 20, 2013)

I've been checking Collections the past few days as this seems like the best approach for us to use. A little disappointing that nothing has appeared yet.


----------



## cherry ghost (Sep 13, 2005)

"Pilot" Wishlists aren't showing new shows yet because there aren't any in the guide yet. Give it a few days.


----------



## Icarus (Jun 15, 2002)

"Fall Television" collection is there and it seems to be doing the right thing so far.

I checked again after the TiVo email blast about Fall TV shows, which I think was towards the end of last week.

It did get some errors when trying to schedule it, so I deleted it and tried again.

-David


----------



## ellinj (Feb 26, 2002)

how the heck do you stop a collection from recording? I have the new fall television collection and can't even find it in the collection list.


----------



## ellinj (Feb 26, 2002)

ellinj said:


> how the heck do you stop a collection from recording? I have the new fall television collection and can't even find it in the collection list.


Never mind. Found it in the season pass list. Killed it there


----------



## tlrowley (Jun 10, 2004)

*BUMP*

Anyone heard anything about a collection feature for this fall? My old one is still there, but doesn't match anything.


----------



## PSU_Sudzi (Jun 4, 2015)

tlrowley said:


> *BUMP*
> 
> Anyone heard anything about a collection feature for this fall? My old one is still there, but doesn't match anything.


All of the fall shows from the major networks are listed under the browse feature.


----------



## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

I still have the old collection and it continually is picking up new shows. I haven't checked for the new fall season yet. I don't think the shows show up as quickly as they do in the guide. (speculating here) I'd give it a few days.


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

waynomo said:


> I still have the old collection and it continually is picking up new shows. I haven't checked for the new fall season yet. I don't think the shows show up as quickly as they do in the guide. (speculating here) I'd give it a few days.


It's normal. Thursday the Tuesday files were indexed. Tomorrow the Thursday files will be indexed. etc.


----------



## tlrowley (Jun 10, 2004)

Thanks, guys, I'll try being more patient - not a strong suit, I guess


----------

