# DVR Commander for TiVo is looking for beta testers



## arantius (Jul 25, 2009)

Hi. I'm the developer of DVR Commander for TiVo:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.arantius.tivocommander

It's the Android app that was out before TiVo's official app was, on Android. It's still smaller, faster, and in my opinion better for many uses. I've been working on a new version with a whole bunch of new features. Enough that it would be a lot of help if people could help me make sure they all work right!

I'm looking for people with:

A) Any TiVo Premiere or Roamio device (not Virgin Media, sorry).
B) Any Android device (Gingerbread 2.3 or higher).

And the willingness to be a beta tester. Which means working with me to figure out bugs, which might mean sending me data and/or lots of mails back and forth when something doesn't work perfectly right. This is just a hobby project for me, so my resources are limited. Your help is appreciated!

Fill out: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/16LdmV4zr8VWcsMAbZ1XT5WNt5_DjQaypvIOI2AmyFng/viewform


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

You know, I forgot about your app and hadn't tried it in a while, so I just installed it on my Nexus 10. OMG, it is just so much faster than the horrible official app (especially on a tablet). It is incredibly funny to see your "hobby" app rated 4.3 stars and TiVo's tablet app rated 1.9!!

I wish TiVo would hire and pay YOU to work with a team to be the official app 

I don't use or care to use a tablet/phone much with the TiVo Premiere, anyway. But if you need testers, I am certainly willing to assist. I have a Nexus 10 (obviously) and an Evo LTE. Would love to see some additional functionality (to-do list, season pass), more on-screen info (like first air date), and alternate layout for tablets. Will Email you too...


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## Gadfly (Oct 27, 2007)

Any Windows RT version by any chance?

I would test the heck of it if you develope a Windows RT version.


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## arantius (Jul 25, 2009)

Gadfly said:


> Any Windows RT version by any chance?
> 
> I would test the heck of it if you develope a Windows RT version.


It's open source, feel free to fork and port. But no: I wrote this app so that it would exist, so that I could use it, for myself. I give it away for free. But I don't have a Windows RT device and don't want one. And I certainly don't want to spend the time to port it.


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

Gadfly said:


> Any Windows RT version by any chance?


Someone uses that? <Snicker snicker>

(Sorry, as a Linux user, I couldn't resist)


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## SugarBowl (Jan 5, 2007)

We have 2 kindle fires. But I can't find the app in the store.


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## LifeIsABeach (Feb 28, 2001)

SugarBowl said:


> We have 2 kindle fires. But I can't find the app in the store.


The Kindle Fire doesn't use Google's app store. It uses Amazon's app store which doesn't have as many apps. Try going to http://www.1mobile.com on your Kindle and installing their app and then use that app to search for DVR Commander for TiVo.


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## arantius (Jul 25, 2009)

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6784911/TiVoCommander017.apk

You can sideload this, for now. I can look into publishing on the Amazon app store once the new version is ready to go. Or apply for beta access to check out the new version now.


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

We have finished the beta testing! For some reason, Arantius didn't announce it, but he has placed a new version of DVR Commander for TiVo on the Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.arantius.tivocommander

You are in for a treat! He has added TONS of new features. For phone use, this independently developed and free app just blows away the official TiVo app. It has nearly all the same features but with added capability, is faster, and has no "scanning" crap when it is started. For tablet use compared to the official TiVo app, it is MUCH MUCH faster, has nearly all the same features, some added capability, and no scanning on startup, but doesn't use all the real estate as well.

If you have not tried it, you really should. Thanks, Arantius!!


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## WVZR1 (Jul 31, 2008)

:up:

It certainly does "work"! I spent very little time with it, so far "GREAT"!!!


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## Leon WIlkinson (Feb 13, 2000)

Ready to feed the hungry!!!!


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

Arantius,

This app shows as not compatible with my Pandigital Supernova (8 inch tablet running Android 2.3 with screen resolution of 800x600). Any ideas as to why?

Scott


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## arantius (Jul 25, 2009)

Publishing v18 was a late night thing. Yep, it's live. Yep, it's got a lot of new features and I'm proud of it. Thanks for the great review.

HerronScott: The connection to the TiVo is SSL encrypted, my testing showed that version 2.3.3 of Android was the first that included the right support for the particular encryption required, so that is the minimum version I indicated.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

arantius said:


> HerronScott: The connection to the TiVo is SSL encrypted, my testing showed that version 2.3.3 of Android was the first that included the right support for the particular encryption required, so that is the minimum version I indicated.


Arantius,

Thanks for replying. I've got both TiVo apps installed (the original and TiVo for tablets) and both function without any issues.

Any possibilities that I could test DVR Commander?

Scott


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## Jonathan316 (Jan 4, 2004)

Wow - your DVD Commander runs like a top on my Premiere! Great stuff. The Tivo andriod app is like using the Netflix streamer in Tivo - slow, clunky, darn near featureless, etc. The Tivo app can't even turn sideways on my phone. The DVRC is fast and handy as heck. Thanks for your dev work arantius! Good work.


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## wobly (Apr 17, 2004)

arantius, where can we find the v18 .apk? I am interested in converting it to a .bar file and installing it on a Blackberry Z10.


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## BP-isMe (Dec 16, 2003)

THANK YOU.

Any thoughts about conflict management with two TiVos?

Brad


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## wobly (Apr 17, 2004)

I installed it on my Blackberry Z10 this morning. (Thanks for submitting it to App World!) The install went fine. The settings afterwards were a little tricky. Luckily, you had great instructions on the front page. After adjusting everything in the settings...it didn't work. I closed the program and started it back up and it started working perfectly! The wife was kind of surprised when I was adjusting the Tivo through my phone. 
Great program! Thank you!


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## johnh123 (Dec 7, 2000)

Wow, great app. 100 times better than the tivo app - no exaggeration.


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## sficklin (Jul 18, 2013)

DVR Commander for TiVo I think is a fabulous program. I use it all the time on my Nexus 7 Android Tablet. In combination with TiVo App from Google Play I think DVR Commander ROCKS!! I'm disabled and going up-and-down the stairs is a real shore for me. But with the use of the DVR Commander for TiVo. I can schedule my shows, monitor my TiVo suggestions and my To-Do-List. The best thing I can also delete the shows once I've done with them. I have only two request. 1. Could you make it so that you can delete this from the recently deleted folder. 2. Could you also make a Windows Version for PC. My main computer has the TiVo Desktop Plus whereas I can transfer shows to my desktop. But if I could have a Windows Version, Wi-Fi of course I can have it on my Asus One Netbook.

Thanks for your time.
Sharon>^..^<


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

sficklin said:


> DVR Commander for TiVo I think is a fabulous program. [...]


It is nice. He just put out an update a few days ago, although it is just some bug fixes at this point.



> 2. Could you also make a[n MS-]Windows Version


That is not likely to ever happen.


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

sficklin said:


> But if I could have a Windows Version, Wi-Fi of course I can have it on my Asus One Netbook.


There are other programs that can run on Windows to give you some of the same functionality, depending on exactly what you're looking for.


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## aadam101 (Jul 15, 2002)

This is a great app. It's so much better than Tivo's app. Tivo should be ashamed of themselves.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

How is it better than Tivo's actual app? I'm serious. If you make an iPad version, I'd try it out.


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

mattack said:


> How is it better than Tivo's actual app?


I will quote what I wrote before:

_"You are in for a treat! He has added TONS of new features. For phone use, this independently developed and free app just blows away the official TiVo app. It has nearly all the same features but with added capability, is faster, and has no "scanning" crap when it is started. For tablet use compared to the official TiVo app, it is MUCH MUCH faster, has nearly all the same features, some added capability, and no scanning on startup, but doesn't use all the real estate as well."_



> I'm serious. If you make an iPad version, I'd try it out.


Don't hold your breath.


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## sehale (Jun 28, 2007)

Just installed it on my Blackberry Z10 and love it!


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## Rose4uKY (Mar 28, 2003)

I just installed it on my Asus Transformer Prime and on my HTC One. Thing is I'm moving Friday and my Tivo Premiere and my 2 mini's will be here tomorrow. I now just have series 3 DVR's. I had the TiVo app before on my Evo 4G LTE but it didn't do everything cause I didn't have the Premiere. Can't wait to check out the Premiere and the mini's. Almost went with Dish and there Hopper and Joey's glad I didn't.



sehale said:


> Just installed it on my Blackberry Z10 and love it!


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

That still doesn't answer too much specifically about what's better. The Tivo app sure isn't *slow*.. "scanning crap"? Do you mean connecting to your Tivo?

How do you actually WATCH SHOWS if it doesn't actually connect to your Tivo?


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

mattack said:


> That still doesn't answer too much specifically about what's better. The Tivo app sure isn't *slow*.. "scanning crap"? Do you mean connecting to your Tivo?


Yes, the official TiVo app for Android tablets most certainly is slow. It is very slow. Compared to DVR Commander it is MISERABLY slow. The phone-centric official TiVo app is much faster than the official TiVo tablet app.

BOTH TiVo official Android apps are affected by "scanning crap", and yes, I mean having to "scan" for your TiVo every time the app is launched, which is slow and extremely annoying. DVR Commander has no such issue.


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## achalupa (Oct 27, 2008)

crxssi said:


> BOTH TiVo official Android apps are affected by "scanning crap", and yes, I mean having to "scan" for your TiVo every time the app is launched, which is slow and extremely annoying. DVR Commander has no such issue.


Interesting... Must be a difference between the iOS and android versions. On my iPhone it just loads right up connected to my primary TiVo with no discernible delay. Switching TiVos might take 1 second.


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## Bulldawg9908 (Feb 19, 2011)

Awesome app. I've got it on my Z10 and my wife's Z10.

Is there any way you could make it work with multiple TiVos on the same network? I've got two premieres, so my Z10 is set up for the living room and my wife's Z10 for the bedroom TiVo. I'd love to be able to control both TiVos from one phone.


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

achalupa said:


> Interesting... Must be a difference between the iOS and android versions. On my iPhone it just loads right up connected to my primary TiVo with no discernible delay. Switching TiVos might take 1 second.


The TiVo iOS programs and Android programs were apparently written by different people and at different times (and with different designs). Apparently the team they chose for the Android versions are of lower quality for some unknown reason.


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## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

Yeah, I was surprised when I got my iPad to find that the TiVo app actually worked properly, unlike the Android version.


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

wmcbrine said:


> Yeah, I was surprised when I got my iPad to find that the TiVo app actually worked properly, unlike the Android version.


TiVo should be ashamed they allowed their name to be placed on such a crappy programming job.

And we are STILL waiting for Stream support. Maybe they can use that as an excuse to have the crap rewritten.


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## Sashieden (Jun 10, 2011)

When is the last time you guys used the TiVo app for Android? I found it to be much better than Commander on my Nexus 10. It doesn't try to mimic a remote but adds another level of interaction with your Tivo. With the guide, recordings, and some other settings being done on the tablet.


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

Sashieden said:


> When is the last time you guys used the TiVo app for Android? I found it to be much better than Commander on my Nexus 10. It doesn't try to mimic a remote but adds another level of interaction with your Tivo. With the guide, recordings, and some other settings being done on the tablet.


DVR commander is much more than a remote.

To answer your question, I hadn't used the official TiVo tablet app in ages because it is so slow and buggy. On your prompting, I just tried it again on my Nexus 10. 10 seconds to launch, as usual. 3 seconds to get a response on selecting a program in my shows, 3 seconds to delete it after having to confirm, and it throws me out of suggestions again, so I have to select that folder AGAIN and wait AGAIN for over 30 seconds and nothing loaded and started over and it still won't show anything but spinning circles. Tried two more times and FINALLY I am back where I was, four minutes ago.

It is maddening. I don't see how anyone can stand using it. It is pretty, but it is CRAP.

So I launched DVR commander, was ready in 2 seconds. My shows loaded instantly. Suggestions loaded instantly. Selected and deleted a program almost instantly and was returned exactly to where I should be. It is far less pretty and less feature packed... BUT IT WORKS and does what I need it to do RIGHT NOW. The one big missing feature is the Guide (you can search for programs, but not see grid/slot listings). But it does everything else.


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## Sashieden (Jun 10, 2011)

crxssi said:


> DVR commander is much more than a remote.
> 
> To answer your question, I hadn't used the official TiVo tablet app in ages because it is so slow and buggy. On your prompting, I just tried it again on my Nexus 10. 10 seconds to launch, as usual. 3 seconds to get a response on selecting a program in my shows, 3 seconds to delete it after having to confirm, and it throws me out of suggestions again, so I have to select that folder AGAIN and wait AGAIN for over 30 seconds and nothing loaded and started over and it still won't show anything but spinning circles. Tried two more times and FINALLY I am back where I was, four minutes ago.
> 
> ...


Sorry to hear, it is instant for myself. Weird how on the same device and same app you would get two vastly different experiences.


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## arantius (Jul 25, 2009)

New version in the works again. Beta testers welcome!


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## skid71 (Mar 20, 2013)

This app is absolutely fantastic. Greatly appreciate you sharing this with everyone. In the short time I've had a Roamio & Mini's, I've used this app everyday. Thank you for this!

Skid


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## Rose4uKY (Mar 28, 2003)

We returned our Premiere and got the Roamio and now my DVR Commander isn't working there is no Tivo's listed and it's not recognizing anything. Do I need to manually add everything? It's refreshing and nothing is found. I uninstalled and reinstalled too.


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## skid71 (Mar 20, 2013)

Rose4uKY said:


> We returned our Premiere and got the Roamio and now my DVR Commander isn't working there is no Tivo's listed and it's not recognizing anything. Do I need to manually add everything? It's refreshing and nothing is found. I uninstalled and reinstalled too.


Rose,
I would go to the DVR Commander google play page.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.arantius.tivocommander&hl=en

Towards the bottom you can visit the developers website or email the developer. That would probably get you in touch with arantius faster than posting here.

Good luck!


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