# TiVo's most annoying feature



## MikeKaz (Mar 11, 2006)

I've searched the forums here and (unless I've missed it) I cannot believe nobody else is ticked off by this. 

What really bugs me about TiVo is this: when I want to set up the recording of a show that exceeds the limits of the parental controls (P/C) that we have implemented, it requires that I enter the P/C code (which I'm saying right now is not necessarily a bad thing), but then it turns off the P/C (for what, four hours?) as part of the deal.

The show I just set up to record might not be on in the next four hours, or four days even; what's up with taking this extra step I didn't request? Now I've got to navigate through my menus, drilling down to turn P/C back on! Annoying!!!  :down:


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## HotStuff2 (Feb 21, 2005)

Bah...I think "Parental Controls" and the V-chip are useless. Raise your kids right, and you won't need to worry about things like this.  Why is it that people today want to relegate teaching their children right and wrong (and following rules) to something or someone else?


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## windracer (Jan 3, 2003)

MikeKaz said:


> Now I've got to navigate through my menus, drilling down to turn P/C back on! Annoying!!!  :down:


It's been a while since I played with Parental Controls, but if memory serves, instead of drilling down through the menus again, can't you just press the Info button to bring up the channel bannel, and then arrow down to the padlock to re-lock the TiVo?


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## TiVoPony (May 12, 2002)

MikeKaz said:


> I've searched the forums here and (unless I've missed it) I cannot believe nobody else is ticked off by this.
> 
> What really bugs me about TiVo is this: when I want to set up the recording of a show that exceeds the limits of the parental controls (P/C) that we have implemented, it requires that I enter the P/C code (which I'm saying right now is not necessarily a bad thing), but then it turns off the P/C (for what, four hours?) as part of the deal.
> 
> The show I just set up to record might not be on in the next four hours, or four days even; what's up with taking this extra step I didn't request? Now I've got to navigate through my menus, drilling down to turn P/C back on! Annoying!!!  :down:


You'll like the new TiVo KidZone feature that's coming this summer. It'll fix this problem for you, and offer you a lot more control and choice over what your kids watch.

Pony


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## dirtypacman (Feb 3, 2004)

Sounds neat TivoPony thanks for spilling the beans


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## MikeKaz (Mar 11, 2006)

TiVoPony said:


> You'll like the new TiVo KidZone feature that's coming this summer. It'll fix this problem for you, and offer you a lot more control and choice over what your kids watch.
> 
> Pony


Great, if it works like you say. I'm looking forward to it.


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## MikeKaz (Mar 11, 2006)

windracer said:


> It's been a while since I played with Parental Controls, but if memory serves, instead of drilling down through the menus again, can't you just press the Info button to bring up the channel bannel, and then arrow down to the padlock to re-lock the TiVo?


Okay, so now that you mention it, I think I knew that. I'll try to change my habits, but the point is: if I want to record something four days from now that exceeds the controls, that doesn't necessarily mean I want the controls turned off NOW.

But thanks for taking the time to make my life easier on the "undoing what shouldn't have to be undone" front.


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## MikeKaz (Mar 11, 2006)

HotStuff2 said:


> Bah...I think "Parental Controls" and the V-chip are useless. Raise your kids right, and you won't need to worry about things like this.  Why is it that people today want to relegate teaching their children right and wrong (and following rules) to something or someone else?


Nothing personal, HotStuff2, but "bah" right back at you. He's five years old, is only now in the early stages of learning to read (but knows his way around the TiVo remote way too well) and my wife and I do record some stuff that we'd rather he didn't watch yet.


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## bryan314 (Nov 17, 2004)

HotStuff2 said:


> Bah...I think "Parental Controls" and the V-chip are useless. Raise your kids right, and you won't need to worry about things like this.  Why is it that people today want to relegate teaching their children right and wrong (and following rules) to something or someone else?


Not useless. Most of the time I leave the Controls off but when my wife and I go out for the evening we turn them on before the babysitter gets there. She knows enough not to put an inappropriate program for our son. But there are programs that are taped that I wouldn't want her to get into even if it was accidental.


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## PhillyGuy (Mar 12, 2006)

HotStuff2 said:


> Bah...I think "Parental Controls" and the V-chip are useless. Raise your kids right, and you won't need to worry about things like this.  Why is it that people today want to relegate teaching their children right and wrong (and following rules) to something or someone else?


I agree. If they don't watch the shows on your TV, they will watch them somewhere else.


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## lasergecko (Mar 13, 2003)

PhillyGuy said:


> I agree. If they don't watch the shows on your TV, they will watch them somewhere else.


Actually, no, at least not in our house and thousands others, I suspect.

We have two TiVos. The one in the theatre has digital cable and HBO. The one in the bedroom is just plain RF in. The vast majority of households don't have TiVo at all, so they don't have to worry about a three year old accidentally pulling up an autopsy documentary or something like the opening to the second episode of Big Love. That simply cannot happen on the unit in our bedroom since it cannot receive any of the movie channels, so he can't just "watch them somewhere else" since he's not old enough to figure out MRV.

There's a BIG difference between having un-enhanced TVs in the house and having an easily and instantly accessible harddrive to play back all kinds of inappropriate things at the touch of a button. The "raise your kids right" and similar statements about relying on technology are cop-out, extremely broad brush stroke, answers that don't apply in this day and age when there is more content, more easily accessible than ever. We're not talking about sneaking to someone's house at night to watch Skinemax; we're talking about preventing a toddler or kindergartener from seeing something he shouldn't accidentally. There's no way you can "teach" that.

Of course, we could just prohibit him from using TiVo completely, but then he wouldn't be developing as quickly as he is. I've never seen a child so motivated to learn numbers and letters so quickly, but when he's wanting to learn how to spell "Smurfs", "Rocko", and "Dora" so that he can better control his world, he's a learning machine. He can already operate the surround sound amp better than any of the women-folk in the house since he knows the volume has to be at "-33" before turning on the Gamecube. If I ever hear the GameCube melody blasting at ear tickling levels throughout the house, I know my son wasn't the one who turned it on while the volume was still at the TiVo's level of -12!  He may know nothing about place value, but he knows when he's gone too far and which way to turn the knob to reach his destination.

While I hate the censorship oriented group with which TiVo partnered, I hope the Kids Zone feature fixes the problems and annoyances of TiVo's parental controls.


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