# Back To Tivo After 10 Years



## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

I used to have a DTivo, but have been using Windows Media Center for a long time. I now have a Bolt. Here's what I would like:

1. Being allowed to adjust the jump ahead/back times. 30 seconds is too long for football games.

2. Being able to restrict the recording of a show that appears multiple times per day (e.g. The Daily Show) to episodes that appear in certain time frames.

3. Being able to have a real screen saver that you can upload personal photos to.

4. Improve the Android Tivo App so that the remote can do more. 

5. Have the option of having time of day appear in the progress bar pop up so that you will see the time every time you ff/rew. (Yes I know you can hit "info."

6. Have a "resolve conflicts" system similar to WMC.

7. Have an option to have recordings begin early-end late "if possible" meaning if no conflict that will prevent something else from recording.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

GoodSpike said:


> 1. Being allowed to adjust the jump ahead/back times. 30 seconds is too long for football games.


IN my experience 30 seconds is just right for skipping to the next play in football the vast majority of the time.

IF the team is going no huddle or 2 minute drill then it doesn't work so much. But in those cases you don't really need it since the next play starts quickly.

Occasionally a QB/team runs plays at a faster rate. In those cases I either hit the 30 second skip right at the end of a play or I take a deep breath and first do an 8 seconds back before I do the 30 second skip.

While it would be nice to change the 30 second skip to whatever you want it to, realize that if you change it for football you would mess up the 4 presses needed to skip the mostly 2 minute commercial breaks found in an NFL game.

I'm not sure you could make it any better for football. You can't really set it up to ideally skip between plays, commercials AND no huddles/2 minutes drill. Any attempt to change it to make it better for one of those is going to mess up the other.

Maybe you're talking about some other use case for football though?


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

GoodSpike said:


> 2. Being able to restrict the recording of a show that appears multiple times per day (e.g. The Daily Show) to episodes that appear in certain time frames.
> 
> 6. Have a "resolve conflicts" system similar to WMC.
> 
> 7. Have an option to have recordings begin early-end late "if possible" meaning if no conflict that will prevent something else from recording.


Tivo could do a lot to refine the recording of cable tv shows experience. Lately it doesn't seem like they are interested in doing so. And would rather add features that (are) more empty calories in the long run, but make a great impression on the back of the box.


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## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

trip1eX said:


> IN my experience 30 seconds is just right for skipping to the next play in football the vast majority of the time.. . .
> 
> While it would be nice to change the 30 second skip to whatever you want it to, realize that if you change it for football you would mess up the 4 presses needed to skip the mostly 2 minute commercial breaks found in an NFL game.


I found 23 or 25 seconds to be optimal for jumping between plays in football, in part because it allows you more time to think about the alignments the teams pick, but you're right for some of the slower teams 30 seconds works.

I didn't find 25 seconds to be that bad for flipping through commercials, but Tivo FF which jumps back (there's a name for that I don't remember) is really a better option for commercial.


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## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

Having lived with the Tivo for just over two weeks now, now way is 30 seconds okay for football games, except for games where both teams play slowly. And skipping back and then going forward is a PITA.

It doesn't seem like it would be that difficult for Tivo to allow users to customize the skip ahead and back times to each user's preference. If they think it will confuse some people, then they should somehow have an "advanced" menu, or maybe a secret code that would allow a more advanced menu to show up.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

I hit the button right when the guy is tackled and 30 seconds is fine for that. No huddle messes it up but you don't need it as much there. And occasionally a team plays a bit fast rather than using most of the 45 second clock between plays. That's when I just get into the habit of going 8 secs back and 30 forward.

And, again if you set the button to 23-25 seconds you'll throw off the commercial skipping. Standard NFL commercial breaks are 2 minutes. 4 button presses. 

I guess 23 seconds would be 5 presses and a few seconds short of the 2 minutes. Not too bad. 25 seconds would be a bit awkward.

I would probably pay for a 2nd otherwise simple yet specialized Tivo remote that had a few different programmable skip buttons on it for sports.


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## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

trip1eX said:


> I hit the button right when the guy is tackled and 30 seconds is fine for that.


That works for professional football--except for a couple of teams, but it hardly works for any college teams this year. Ohio State and the Oregon ducks are way too fast for that, or even 25 seconds, but most college ball is too fast for 30 seconds.

As to messing up commercial fast forward, I'm fine with that because I use FF for that, not skip. My point is consumers should be allowed to configure their Tivos the way they want them configured, not the way someone at Tivo wants them configured.


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## CrashHD (Nov 10, 2006)

GoodSpike said:


> I found 23 or 25 seconds to be optimal for jumping between plays in football, in part because it allows you more time to think about the alignments the teams pick, but you're right for some of the slower teams 30 seconds works.
> 
> I didn't find 25 seconds to be that bad for flipping through commercials, but Tivo FF which jumps back (there's a name for that I don't remember) is really a better option for commercial.


It depends on the quarterback. Last week the 30 second skip was perfect in the Broncos game until they put Manning in. He really drives the offense faster. Normally I'd just let the game play, but I was trying to watch it, AND the Chiefs game simultaneously. It took a lot of remote riding, but I watched both games, in a 3 hour time span of live tv.

If you want to watch at his offensive speed, at the tackle hit the instant replay button, then immediately hit the 30 sec skip. -8 +30= 22 seconds.


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## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

CrashHD said:


> It depends on the quarterback. Last week the 30 second skip was perfect in the Broncos game until they put Manning in. He really drives the offense faster. Normally I'd just let the game play, but I was trying to watch it, AND the Chiefs game simultaneously. It took a lot of remote riding, but I watched both games, in a 3 hour time span of live tv.
> 
> If you want to watch at his offensive speed, at the tackle hit the instant replay button, then immediately hit the 30 sec skip. -8 +30= 22 seconds.


It's less likely to work for college games, particularly the Ducks or Ohio state. And the FF then back is too annoying.

I just recorded some Curling last night, so I'll see how 30 seconds works for that for the period in between the stones. But that could be another sport where user adjustable would be good.

There really is no reason Tivo couldn't easily program this to make both a user defined period, and to have both FF and REW either skip or scan. I don't like that the company is so heavy handed. It's almost amazing that they let you pick the TV shows that you want to watch. /sarc


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

You'll get used to 8 seconds back and 30 forward.


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## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

trip1eX said:


> You'll get used to 8 seconds back and 30 forward.


I'm paying them money. I shouldn't have to get used to something that they could easily program, and instead just put up with a number that they pull out of their butt.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

GoodSpike said:


> I'm paying them money. I shouldn't have to get used to something that they could easily program, and instead just put up with a number that they pull out of their butt.


You paid for a Tivo. You got a Tivo.


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## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

trip1eX said:


> You paid for a Tivo. You got a Tivo.


Tivo was a much better experience 10 years ago, or maybe I was expecting less back then.

Look at the skip forward versus scan forward. They've programmed that choice, but they don't want to make it a menu choice, because they don't give a crap about their customers. Ditto the clock feature. I don't remember the company having its head so far up its ass ten years ago.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

GoodSpike said:


> Tivo was a much better experience 10 years ago, or maybe I was expecting less back then.
> 
> Look at the skip forward versus scan forward. They've programmed that choice, but they don't want to make it a menu choice, because they don't give a crap about their customers. Ditto the clock feature. I don't remember the company having its head so far up its ass ten years ago.


IT's a possibility that not having a wished for feature doesn't mean not giving a crap about their customers, or being heavy handed or having their head up their ass or being arrogant or enjoy telling you what to do etc. 

Could just be me though.

Anyway this is their product. I've pretty much concluded that they don't have alot of resources to refine the cable recording experience. Cable companies have relegated them to a nice in the marketplace.

That the cable recording experience is good enough for vast majority of the market.

And thus they have to focus on big back of the box features with their limited resources.

And really I think they see the writing on the wall at this point that VoD is likely to usurp Tivo in 10 years.


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## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

trip1eX said:


> IT's a possibility that not having a wished for feature doesn't mean not giving a crap about their customers, or being heavy handed or having their head up their ass or being arrogant or enjoy telling you what to do etc.


For features where codes exist (e.g. s-p-s-30-s), there's little other explanation. Putting that into a menu would not exactly require a high end programmer. I would think they could even hire a programmer from an ISP like Comcast, and it would probably work.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

GoodSpike said:


> For features where codes exist (e.g. s-p-s-30-s), there's little other explanation. Putting that into a menu would not exactly require a high end programmer. I would think they could even hire a programmer from an ISP like Comcast, and it would probably work.


What does the code have to do with it? The code only enables a feature that has been there for 10+ years.

OF course Tivo could hire someone to do a small feature like this.


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## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

trip1eX said:


> What does the code have to do with it? The code only enables a feature that has been there for 10+ years.
> 
> OF course Tivo could hire someone to do a small feature like this.


The point is the 99% of the programming has already been done, but they don't do the remaining 1% to make it easy for customers to know about it and then do it.

And as to the time for skip forward/back, there clearly was always programming for that, but adding in a variable would make it better for customers. They choose not to do that either. Someone at Tivo just decreed: Every customer shall only be able to jump forward 30 seconds and back 8 seconds. That type of thinking I find truly bizarre for a company that wants to attract and retain customers.


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## CrashHD (Nov 10, 2006)

GoodSpike said:


> I'm paying them money. I shouldn't have to get used to something that they could easily program, and instead just put up with a number that they pull out of their butt.


Are you sure you can't just drive on the right side of the road like the rest of us?


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## CrashHD (Nov 10, 2006)

GoodSpike said:


> Tivo was a much better experience 10 years ago, or maybe I was expecting less back then.


Ten years ago I had to hack the ability to transfer videos Tivo to Tivo, into my Tivos. Standard definition transfers moved at barely over realtime speed. Most tivos still had a single tuner, and it was often analog at that. The box was slower. Random reboots were a once a month thing (I've witnessed my Roamio have an unscheduled reboot *ONCE* in a year). RF remote function required an aftermarket add on. There was no integration with streaming services (I love being able to delete whole archived seasons of shows when I see they've hit netflix). Deleting a show took 6-8 seconds PER SHOW. Hard drives were tiny.

I can find only one thing to regret looking back, and that is that I had to choose Satellite *OR* Tivo.

Sure, they do a dumb thing from time to time (moving the channel bar and info window to the bottom of the screen is terribly annoying), but those are trivialities. As is the ability to make the 30 second skip something else.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

I'm back after about five or six years. Which was s return after a while as well. 

Basically, TiVo hasn't really changed. The menus are ordered differently and they have a very clunky, buggy one pass but using the TiVo as a Dvr is almost the same as it was back when I had directivo way back or premiere with Comcast. 

I prefer it over any cable box I've used or seen (including X1 which I think is systemically flawed) but I like the directv box better for usability. 

I can't get satellite anymore so I have chosen fios over Comcast for my area and TiVo over the fios box (which i still have one for PIP and on demand). 

TiVo has not grown as much as I would have expected.


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## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

CrashHD said:


> Are you sure you can't just drive on the right side of the road like the rest of us?


WTF is wrong with you? My request for having user options is hardly unreasonable. Glad you're happy having little choice--must be an iPhone user.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

GoodSpike said:


> The point is the 99% of the programming has already been done, but they don't do the remaining 1% to make it easy for customers to know about it and then do it.
> 
> And as to the time for skip forward/back, there clearly was always programming for that, but adding in a variable would make it better for customers. They choose not to do that either. Someone at Tivo just decreed: Every customer shall only be able to jump forward 30 seconds and back 8 seconds. That type of thinking I find truly bizarre for a company that wants to attract and retain customers.


lol. There is zero programming done for the variable.

The 30 second skip has been around forever. The code has nothing to do with anything.

There are always features any company can add to make their products better in someone's eyes. And so, according to your logic, every company hates its customers and is truly bizarre and sits on top of a mountain decreeing how their customers should use their products.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

TonyD79 said:


> I'm back after about five or six years. Which was s return after a while as well.
> 
> Basically, TiVo hasn't really changed.
> 
> TiVo has not grown as much as I would have expected.


Yep. I was shocked too.


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## SomeRandomIdiot (Jan 7, 2016)

GoodSpike said:


> Tivo was a much better experience 10 years ago, or maybe I was expecting less back then.
> 
> Look at the skip forward versus scan forward. They've programmed that choice, but they don't want to make it a menu choice, because they don't give a crap about their customers. Ditto the clock feature. I don't remember the company having its head so far up its ass ten years ago.


Agreed.


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## CrashHD (Nov 10, 2006)

GoodSpike said:


> WTF is wrong with you? My request for having user options is hardly unreasonable. Glad you're happy having little choice--must be an iPhone user.


Lighten up, buttercup, it was just a joke. 
Not that it's relevant, but I like my Android. I believe iPhones are for iDrones, and I loathe apple products in general.


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## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

trip1eX said:


> lol. There is zero programming done for the variable.


LOL, you can't read! I said: "And as to the time for skip forward/back, there clearly was always programming for that, but *adding in a variable* would make it better for customers. "

I really don't understand why so many people here support Tivo with it's inflexible attitude. "Everyone must scan or skip forward exactly 30 seconds, and they should be grateful that we give them the choice of scanning or skipping [but only with some hidden secret codes]." Does that really sound like a company you want to do business with?


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## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

trip1eX said:


> The 30 second skip has been around forever. The code has nothing to do with anything.


Huh? I know the skip has been around forever--my complaint is that to change it from scan to skip [or turn on a clock or change the banner duration] you have to hit in a secret code. And now that's coming back to bite Tivo in the butt because some of the key strokes of their secret codes are the same as the not-so-secret keystrokes to turn on and off Quick Mode. Brilliant! /sarc



> There are always features any company can add to make their products better in someone's eyes. And so, according to your logic, every company hates its customers and is truly bizarre and sits on top of a mountain decreeing how their customers should use their products.


Yes, but the difference here is Tivo figured out that people might want to do something, but instead of making it easy and/or obvious how it's done you have to search for the way it's done. So my complaint is they did 99% of the work, but didn't finish it. I guess I should be glad that they made the FF and REW keys work without requiring some secret code be entered first. /sarc


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

GoodSpike said:


> Does that really sound like a company you want to do business with?


I guess your answer was yes since you just bought a Tivo.


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## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

trip1eX said:


> I guess your answer was yes since you just bought a Tivo.


Apparently you missed my saying this above: "Tivo was a much better experience 10 years ago, or maybe I was expecting less back then."

But also, the nuts and bolts of operating these devices is not something you really find out about in tech reviews of Tivo devices. It's something you discover after actually owning the device. So the test isn't that I bought the Bolt, the test would be would I come back to Tivo again once the Bolt dies or is technologically obsolete, or alternatively how long will I stick with Tivo before I go back to something else that is more flexible? When my I have to start paying for the Tivo service (after the first year is up), I may very well go elsewhere.


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## trip1eX (Apr 2, 2005)

GoodSpike said:


> Apparently you missed my saying this above: "Tivo was a much better experience 10 years ago, or maybe I was expecting less back then."
> 
> But also, the nuts and bolts of operating these devices is not something you really find out about in tech reviews of Tivo devices. It's something you discover after actually owning the device. So the test isn't that I bought the Bolt, the test would be would I come back to Tivo again once the Bolt dies or is technologically obsolete, or alternatively how long will I stick with Tivo before I go back to something else that is more flexible? When my I have to start paying for the Tivo service (after the first year is up), I may very well go elsewhere.


Is this my crazy aunt Carol?


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## jmerr74 (Nov 3, 2015)

I've actually just returned after 10 years myself. I love it! I forgot how much I like it! As far as I can tell it has improved a ton in 10 years... it might even be 12...at any rate I am happy to be a part of the community again! Also, my wife can use it and loves it too! For the record I have a Windows Phone... and if someone could pass that skip code along that would be great...I forgot all about it.


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## GoodSpike (Dec 17, 2001)

jmerr74 said:


> I've actually just returned after 10 years myself. I love it! I forgot how much I like it! As far as I can tell it has improved a ton in 10 years... it might even be 12...at any rate I am happy to be a part of the community again! Also, my wife can use it and loves it too! For the record I have a Windows Phone... and if someone could pass that skip code along that would be great...I forgot all about it.


What were you using in the interim?


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## jmerr74 (Nov 3, 2015)

GoodSpike said:


> What were you using in the interim?


Comcast...stuck with them for too long...


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## adubravcic (Jan 24, 2016)

welcome back


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