# New Season of Merlin on Syfy



## iowacyclone

The third seaon on Merlin begins airing on Syfy Jan 7th. On my to do list its not being recorded as its marked as a rerun. Any reason why this would be? Or how to get it fixed? Be nice not having to record all of episodes aired and having to delete all the ones I've seen already.


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## sieglinde

I set a season pass for First Run and nothing came up so I just set episode 301 to record. I don't know why it is not working either.


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## Grey Griffin

The original air date on the episode is from September 2010. It's possible the season already aired in Canada which would cause it to be seen as a rerun by Tivo.


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## sieglinde

Crud, that means the season pass doesn't work for the more convenient First Run. I guess I will reset it for First Run and Repeats and just weed as I go.


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## sieglinde

Epguides shows that the entire season completed on BBC1 on December 10th 2010. The dates match what Tivo has for The Tears of Uther etc.


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## Rob Helmerichs

Yeah, Tribune often uses the real Original Air Date, and not the Original American Air Date. Which makes sense if you don't have a TiVo, which of course most people don't...


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## unitron

If only there were something similar to a computer involved that already had the info on where the viewer lived and which channels they receive so it could figure out which episodes were new from the viewer's point of view.


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## mattack

unitron said:


> If only there were something similar to a computer involved that already had the info on where the viewer lived and which channels they receive so it could figure out which episodes were new from the viewer's point of view.


You're being sarcastic, but does the guide data even HAVE country of origin info?

(Again, this would be a nice idea, but there are SO MANY things at least _I_ think would be better.. A simple one would be a per-SP choice of 'new/old' for how to treat guide-data-less episodes. i.e. that would likely fix the Daily Show problem.)

Plus, you already have a workaround -- record new & old episodes.


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## unitron

mattack said:


> You're being sarcastic, but does the guide data even HAVE country of origin info?
> 
> (Again, this would be a nice idea, but there are SO MANY things at least _I_ think would be better.. A simple one would be a per-SP choice of 'new/old' for how to treat guide-data-less episodes. i.e. that would likely fix the Daily Show problem.)
> 
> Plus, you already have a workaround -- record new & old episodes.


If only that thing that's kind of like a computer and has the viewer's location info could connect on a regular basis to another computery thing that could have a database of which episodes of which shows have been aired in which locations on which channels.


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## sieglinde

LOL!!!!! I am always weeding SPs like Daily Show etc. At least once I weeded the old Merlin episodes, the new to the US ones only have one recording at a time so it is acting like a first run SP. Later, I will weed repeats that show up that are older than 28 days.
I shouldn't have to though.


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## cheesesteak

Crap. Of course, they have to run a Merlin marathon on the 7th so I can't switch my SP to first run and repeats until after the first episode - if I remember.


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## mattack

unitron said:


> If only that thing that's kind of like a computer and has the viewer's location info could connect on a regular basis to another computery thing that could have a database of which episodes of which shows have been aired in which locations on which channels.


You DIDN'T ANSWER THE QUESTION. DOES THE GUIDE DATA THAT TIVO USES EVEN HAVE COUNTRY INFO IN IT?

If it doesn't, there's no way, without completely changing how Tivos work, to make what you suggest happen.

(BTW, S2 is on netflix on 1/18/2011)


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## unitron

mattack said:


> You DIDN'T ANSWER THE QUESTION. DOES THE GUIDE DATA THAT TIVO USES EVEN HAVE COUNTRY INFO IN IT?
> 
> If it doesn't, there's no way, without completely changing how Tivos work, to make what you suggest happen.
> 
> (BTW, S2 is on netflix on 1/18/2011)


Don't ask me, ask Tribune Media Services.

However, if TiVo sends my machines the info that episode "x" of television show "y" aired on cable channel "z" that I receive where I live, then if they kept that info in a databse, the next time that episode was scheduled to be aired by any of the channels that TiVo sends me guide data on, they could and would know that, from the point of view of me and my season passes, it's a re-run.


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## Eddief66

According to zap2it next weeks second half is new but my tivo doesn't have it scheduled to record. It's probably because I scheduled the first half manually and tivo has both halfs with the same title.


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## sieglinde

That is why I ended up doing repeats and first run and just weeded anything I had already viewed. Since they don't seem to be showing last season episodes past the week of the pilot this ought to not be a hassel.


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## jasonander

Thanks for the heads up. Tribune has really been screwing up SyFy guide data recently... first Caprica, and now Merlin.


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## Rob Helmerichs

jasonander said:


> Thanks for the heads up. Tribune has really been screwing up SyFy guide data recently... first Caprica, and now Merlin.


Although technically they're not screwing up...they're getting it right in a way that's not useful (we don't actually WANT the OAD; we want the OAAD).

Hopefully, as more shows go international and as more people depend on DVRs to get their programming, Tribune will realize that they need to get it wrong in useful ways.


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## jasonander

Rob Helmerichs said:


> Although technically they're not screwing up...they're getting it right in a way that's not useful (we don't actually WANT the OAD; we want the OAAD).
> 
> Hopefully, as more shows go international and as more people depend on DVRs to get their programming, Tribune will realize that they need to get it wrong in useful ways.


If I have a season pass set to record a first-run show only, and this is the first time the show has ever aired in this country, and my Tivo doesn't record it, then in my eyes as a consumer of this product it's a screw-up. If a show aired earlier in other countries, that should not affect a "first-run only" season pass; the original air date needs to be based on the country where it's airing. So either Tivo needs to fix this bug or Tribune needs to fix their guide data to be accurate for each country. I filed a lineup issue with Tribune on this but I doubt they'll do anything about it... Tivo and Tribune will probably be playing the finger-pointing game that it's the other company's problem and this issue won't get fixed, which is bad for us. Hopefully they prove me wrong.

If it makes anyone feel any better, I checked with family who have the Time Warner DVR and it has the same problem as Tivo: Merlin was not set to record even with a first-run series recording.


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## sieglinde

My Doc Martin on KCET and Tutors on BBCA had to be set as First Run and Repeats in order to work. Tutors was on a pay cable channel so I expected it to act like a first run on a basic cable channel and same with Doc Martin.


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## WhiskeyTango

I believe this airs after wrestling tonight so padding should be added.


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## jasonander

I just called Tivo Customer Support on this issue. Sounds like we are all out of luck getting this issue fixed. He said there's nothing he can do because it's a problem with how SyFy reports the data to Tribune. Only thing we can do is contact the SyFy channel ourselves, which I think is completely unreasonable given that we pay a monthly fee for the service and guide data. He also said there was no management chain for which he could escalate this problem. I'm just a bit annoyed with Tivo right now for this.


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## WhiskeyTango

What would you like Tivo to do about it if SyFy is giving them the wrong info? It's not just Tivo that has the wrong info, it's all cable providers. Just set the SP to record repeats and problem solved. Outside of the marathon leading up to the new season yesterday, they don't re-air past seasons.

I still have all of last season on my Tivo and I checked the OAD's on them. The first 5 episodes showed 2010. The last 8 all showed 2009. I don't know why they decided to change mid-season.


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## jasonander

WhiskeyTango said:


> What would you like Tivo to do about it if SyFy is giving them the wrong info?


As a consumer of the Tivo service, that includes paying for the guide data, therefore it should be Tivo's responsibility to contact and work with SyFy to get the guide data fixed. Expecting individuals to contact SyFy on their behalf is not likely going to go anywhere and I find it lazy on Tivo's part. Since I pay for this service from Tivo, I expect Tivo to do everything in its power to make sure that it works correctly, rather than just blame someone else and leave its customers out to dry.


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## sieglinde

Nothing went over for me. I recorded mine off of the SYFYHD channel which is an east coast feed so I get it three hours earlier. Thank goodness.


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## sinanju

WhiskeyTango said:


> What would you like Tivo to do about it if SyFy is giving them the wrong info?


Not TiVo, but Tribune:

You have a source of chronically misleading data. Do what any programmer would do -- validate your inputs... exercise some data hygiene. They know it's not a repeat because they're not labeling it with an "R", so the first air date must be incorrect, being in the past. Fix it.


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## jasonander

Apparently Tivo doesn't care and will not do anything to help us here. Here's a response I got from emailing their lineup "specialists":

"Unfortunately there is nothing that we can do about this. The flagging for the program is not controlled by us and therefore there is nothing that we can do to change it. We do not have the ability to change any program coding that is sent by a cable network with their programming. Since they do not separate out the original air date by country, there is also nothing that we can do to reprogram the TiVo box to recognize differing airing dates in one country versus another. I understand your frustration, but this is something that would need to be done by the SyFy network. As we have tried in the past to get this resolved, to no avail, we do recommend that you, as someone who tunes into that station often, contact them ad discuss this with them. There is nothing further in regards to this that we can do."

This is rather sad. What ever happened to customer service and actually caring about fixing problems customers have with a product? Tivo acknowledges the problem but refuses to fix it.


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## Rob Helmerichs

You are confusing "refuses" with "cannot." They said they've tried to get Syfy to fix it, and Syfy won't. What do you want them to do? Launch a hostile takeover?


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## jasonander

Rob Helmerichs said:


> You are confusing "refuses" with "cannot." They said they've tried to get Syfy to fix it, and Syfy won't. What do you want them to do? Launch a hostile takeover?


I expect them to escalate the problem to management (potentially on both sides, Tivo and SyFy) rather than just give up and drop the issue as "resolved".


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## innocentfreak

I know SyFy on Twitter the other day was asking if people were still having issues.


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## morac

Well I missed the first 25 minutes of the second airing because of this. I had to catch the first 25 minutes via alternate means.

It's pretty annoying that SyFy has the wrong data.


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## WhiskeyTango

jasonander said:


> As a consumer of the Tivo service, that includes paying for the guide data, therefore *it should be Tivo's responsibility to contact and work with SyFy* to get the guide data fixed. Expecting individuals to contact SyFy on their behalf is not likely going to go anywhere and I find it lazy on Tivo's part. Since I pay for this service from Tivo, *I expect Tivo to do everything in its power* to make sure that it works correctly, rather than just blame someone else and leave its customers out to dry.


That's the whole point the CSR conveyed to you, Tivo has no power here. There is no contract or leverage that Tivo can use to pressure SyFy to fix the data. The networks have all of the power. If they don't want to fix the issue, what is TMS going to do? Stop carrying their guide data? They'd be worse off than carrying incorrect data. Since all cable providers, not just Tivo are having this issue, why don't you call up your provider and see what they tell you about the incorrect guide data.



jasonander said:


> I expect them to escalate the problem to management (potentially on both sides, Tivo and SyFy) rather than just give up and drop the issue as "resolved".


Really? You expect management of major companies to get involved in a minor issue like the OAD of a fringe show like Merlin that only affects less than 1.5 million viewers (and dropping)? The solution is simple and Tivo already provides that solution. Set the SP for Repeats & First Run. Since past episodes aren't rerun (outside of the recent marathon leading up to the new season), there is no problem.


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## morac

There's an 8 hour Merlin marathon next Tuesday (25th). If you updated your SP to include repeats (and you have to to get new episodes), make sure you cancel all the marathon recordings.


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## jasonander

morac said:


> There's an 8 hour Merlin marathon next Tuesday (25th). If you updated your SP to include repeats (and you have to to get new episodes), make sure you cancel all the marathon recordings.


Thanks for the heads up.

This is exactly why setting the season pass to record first run and repeats is not a real solution, WhiskeyTango. Now the season pass requires babysitting. I don't understand why you're making so many excuses for a company that you pay a service fee to and they are not able to go the extra mile to fix a known and fixable problem, even if it means working with companies that they pay to receive data. We have our Tivos because we expect superior service, features, and interface compared to a cable company DVR, and saying that they are doing what the cable company would do devalues their value proposition to the consumer.


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## markbox

Ironically, out of 4 DVRs (a DirecTV HD, a DirecTivo SD, a TiVo-HD on Comcast, and a Comcast in-house Moto DVR) only the Comcast in-house Moto DVR records these new Season 3 Merlyn episodes when set to record only first run episodes. Go figure. And since that Comcast in-house DVR only holds 20 hours of HD it is a good thing I do not have it set to record first run and repeats otherwise it would have recorded the last two marathons and auto-deleted stuff I have not watched.


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## JoeTaxpayer

Hmm. Since this was a recurring series, I never marked a calendar to check anything. I just realized season 4 aired (I know, I've been busy).

I just checked TiVo and it shows a Season Pass to Merlin, but no missed episodes in the "To Do" history. At least with the Haven fiasco, I understood what went wrong. The upcoming Merlins won't record as they look like season 3 repeats. Did I actually miss season 4 or is TV.com just trying to mess with me? 

I think I'll make a note of start dates for Being Human and Alphas.


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## Rob Helmerichs

Has it aired in the US yet? The season still has a week to go in the UK...


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## WhiskeyTango

The new season starts Friday January 6th at 10pm.


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## morac

I'd keep an eye on your Season Pass if it's set to only record new episodes, because Tribune tends to use the original air date in Britain. As such no British shows are "new".


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## JoeTaxpayer

WhiskeyTango said:


> The new season starts Friday January 6th at 10pm.


? Huh? That's great news. I was hoping I wasn't that clueless.

http://www.tv.com/shows/merlin/episodes/ - I must have misread this, or it's tracking UK dates. Either way, thank you and the others who responded.

As with Haven, I'll set this to 'record all' on one machine with a new-only on other till I see it recording correctly. The fat drive on the premiere and frequent repeats on SyFy should have me covered even if first airing is missed.


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## sieglinde

The Futon critic is good about posting US dates.


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## JoeTaxpayer

sieglinde said:


> The Futon critic is good about posting US dates.


I'll go visit. I've seen their fall previews pages. Need to visit there more.
Appreciate the reminder.


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## WhiskeyTango

JoeTaxpayer said:


> ? Huh? That's great news. I was hoping I wasn't that clueless.
> 
> http://www.tv.com/shows/merlin/episodes/ - I must have misread this, or it's tracking UK dates. Either way, thank you and the others who responded.
> 
> As with Haven, I'll set this to 'record all' on one machine with a new-only on other till I see it recording correctly. The fat drive on the premiere and frequent repeats on SyFy should have me covered even if first airing is missed.


I was actually thinking that it had to be coming back soon. You had me a bit worried too thinking I'd missed it. It's right on the Merlin page of Syfy's site.


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## morac

morac said:


> I'd keep an eye on your Season Pass if it's set to only record new episodes, because Tribune tends to use the original air date in Britain. As such no British shows are "new".


As I expected, first run season passes aren't picking up the new episodes since the original air date is listed as October 2011. The first new episode is Friday at 10 PM EST, preceded by an all day marathon of the last season.


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## JoeTaxpayer

Hmmm. I may just go manual on this one, right after one records, I can just look for upcoming for next.

Other choice is to put it at bottom of SP list and record all. I have room for multiple shows, and I'll catch the new ones at least once. Getting dozens of old ones is a waste though. Manual it is.

Edit - Question - any way to tell TiVo to record a SP only at a certain time? Will still get repeats, but only from that one time slot.


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## gastrof

When the show was first going to air in the States, kryptonsite.com announced it and called it the British version of SMALLVILLE.

I wonder if it'll make it to ten years, and in the finale if they'll fail to let viewers get a good look at Merlin in his pointed hat?


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## Eddief66

gastrof said:


> When the show was first going to air in the States, kryptonsite.com announced it and called it the British version of SMALLVILLE.
> 
> I wonder if it'll make it to ten years, and in the finale if they'll fail to let viewers get a good look at Merlin in his pointed hat?


I don't remember if he wore a pointed hat, but he did become an old man in one episode.


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## sieglinde

I noticed the first run problem. May have to keep an eye on this to "prune" old episodes.


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## WhiskeyTango

The only time you should have a problem with picking up old episodes is the marathon right before the new season. They really don't air past seasons like they did with the Stargate franchises.


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## morac

WhiskeyTango said:


> The only time you should have a problem with picking up old episodes is the marathon right before the new season. They really don't air past seasons like they did with the Stargate franchises.


Last year they also aired a marathon mid season as well.


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## mattack

JoeTaxpayer said:


> Edit - Question - any way to tell TiVo to record a SP only at a certain time? Will still get repeats, but only from that one time slot.


Yes, it's called a manual repeating recording.. it shows up in the season pass manager just like anything else. It ends up picking the NAME of the show in the guide data at that time.. (at the start time IIRC..) So if something else airs in the slot that week, that's what the recording will be called.


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## JoeTaxpayer

First two or three, I had to do manual, now next one looks like it scheduled on its own.


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## caughey

The 2/10 episode got picked up by the season pass--it shows original air date of 1/16/12. The 2/17 episode did not--it shows original air date of 11/12/11.


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## Eddief66

The 2/24 episode doesn't appear in my sp because it shows an original air date of 11/19/11.


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## sieglinde

Mine showed up OK, recommendation - record using repeats and first run. Sure, you may end up having to weed some repeats in the future if they do a marathon but it does grab all the new episodes.


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## Rob Helmerichs

sieglinde said:


> Mine showed up OK, recommendation - record using repeats and first run. Sure, you may end up having to weed some repeats in the future if they do a marathon but it does grab all the new episodes.


That's always the best bet with these foreign shows (Lost Girl is another example; originally aired in Canada). They often use the OAD from the source country.


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## TiVo_Fanatic

I think they fixed this because I'm now showing merlin for this friday in addition to the manual I have set. Anyone else getting this, I think it did it for the last ep too so maybe it did get fixed. Merlin seems ot be the only show this is happening for as I still need the manual for Lost Girl.


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## justen_m

I just looked, and my program info for tonight's (3/2/2012) Merlin shows an OAD of (2/6/12) and Monday's Lost Girls shows an OAD of 11/07/2010.

I don't have manual recordings set. I changed my SPs to record repeats, so I am getting them without problem, but I suppose I'll eventually have to manage the repeats.


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## TiVo_Fanatic

justen_m said:


> I just looked, and my program info for tonight's (3/2/2012) Merlin shows an OAD of (2/6/12) and Monday's Lost Girls shows an OAD of 11/07/2010.
> 
> I don't have manual recordings set. I changed my SPs to record repeats, so I am getting them without problem, but I suppose I'll eventually have to manage the repeats.


Well I'm keeping my manuals regardless, just to be on the safe side. That said, I just thought it was weird that between the manual for tonight and the TiVo set recording that the guide data is the same so it's not a ghost grab which I get sometimes where the TiVo might grab an episode it's not meant to.


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