# Hate the "info" on the bottom!



## TexasGrillChef (Sep 15, 2006)

Just today, my TiVo's (Elite & XL) finally updated to the lasted TiVo Software.
I must admit there are alot of things I do like about the upgrade.

What I do not like is the "info" now at the bottom of the screen!

Before... When I hit the "Info" button, or went to change a channel. The "banner" would appear at the TOP of the screen. NOW... It's at the bottom! I can't stand it at the bottom!

*TiVo Listen up...*Give us users a CHOICE if we want it at the top or bottom. In your next update, have a setting for top or bottom!

The problem with it being on the bottom, is that when we use Closed Captioning feature. The CC text *CAN'T BE READ!!!!! The banner COVERS the CC Text!*

When the banner was at the top. You could still read the CC Text,* AND *you could read the banner at the same time!

from my point of view I call this a BUG! because it blocks the CC text.

Uggg.... 2 steps forward, 1 step backwards...

TGC

P.S.... Im NOT suggesting that TiVo move the banner back to the top. I am just suggesting that we be given an option to do so. That way if you want it on the bottom, you can have it on the bottom, if you want it on the top, then you can have it on the top. I do believe that this would be a much easier solution to program, then adding an option to put the CC text on the top or bottom. Because when the banner isn't being displayed, I want the CC text on the bottom. If the banner is being displayed, I could "LIVE" with the CC text on top. However, my ideal personal like, would be banner at the top, leave CC text at the bottom.


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## ADG (Aug 20, 2003)

Ahhh - the age old question: Top or Bottom 

I happen to agree - I preferred it on the top.


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

I much prefer the box at the bottom, seeing faces is better than seeing a$$s. However, I understand your concerns. It may be easiest for TiVo to just provide the captions at the top if turned on and the info is on screen. The captions are already an "option".


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## Philmatic (Sep 17, 2003)

No, I'm with TiVo on this one. It's a smart move, it's forward-thinking and it's not a decision based on what others are doing, but what's best for the user. All the action happens on the top half and center of the screen, the previous behavior would block the most critical portions of what you're watching.

No options, no preferences, just keep it at the bottom. You'll get used to it.


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## TexasGrillChef (Sep 15, 2006)

Philmatic said:


> No, I'm with TiVo on this one. It's a smart move, it's forward-thinking and it's not a decision based on what others are doing, but what's best for the user. All the action happens on the top half and center of the screen, the previous behavior would block the most critical portions of what you're watching.
> 
> No options, no preferences, just keep it at the bottom. You'll get used to it.


No I wont... I need the CC text.

I understand why they did it, & if I DIDN'T need CC text, I would probably want it on the bottom too. I just wish they gave us the option. Did anyone not think about the fact that some people NEED the CC text?

Give us the option to choose top or bottom, If we had the option, and the default factory settings were the banner at the bottom. I would not have a problem with it. But we don't even have the option!

Or give us the option to have the CC text at the top of the screen then.

In all honesty, I think I would love to even have the option to make it go away completely & not have it display anything on the screen. Now that I have an iPad with the TiVo app, as well as on my iPhones.

I do have to admit though, that I don't always use my iPhone/iPad TiVo app as the remote etc... because sometimes I am doing something else on it and don't want to have to stop what I am doing on it to go to the TiVo app.

TGC


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## WhiskeyTango (Sep 20, 2006)

You must have some serious reading skills if you can read what is in the info box at the top of the screen while simultaneously reading the CC at the bottom of the screen.


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## TexasGrillChef (Sep 15, 2006)

Just curious...

Anyone out there that uses CC Text Full time have any thoughts & desires about this?

If you don't use CC text, I can fully understand why you want it at the bottom. But think about those of us who DO NEED CC text.

TGC


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## TexasGrillChef (Sep 15, 2006)

WhiskeyTango said:


> You must have some serious reading skills if you can read what is in the info box at the top of the screen while simultaneously reading the CC at the bottom of the screen.


LOL depends on what I &/or my family are watching.

When we change channels, the banner at the bottom isn't a problem. Because it does take a few seconds before CC text appears anyways. So changing channels, or channel surfing the banner at the bottom isn't a major problem.

The problem comes when you hit the info button, to find out more info about what your watching, or what your watching.

95% of the time, its my wife or the rest of the family that hits the info button wanting to know what I am watching, or additional information. Thus making it impossible for me to keep reading the dialog in the show, while they are reading the info. Thus... click click click back up the show... to see/read what I missed while they were doing reading the info screen. For me... when I want the info. I will use my iPad & any one of the many apps for that. TiVo, AOL TV, IMDB, etc...

Just a question... did the network icons disapear from the mini guide, guide and info banner? Or are they suppose to be there and Im not seeing mine anymore?

TGC


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## comma splice (Feb 4, 2010)

I like it on the bottom, but if I used the CC would probably share your concern.

Giving the user the choice wouldn't hurt the people who do prefer its new location.


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## wdwms (Jan 10, 2003)

This should be user configurable. After 13 years of using a Tivo my eyes are now trained to go to the top.

*Plus, at the bottom it covers all the news tickers, winter school closings, etc!!*

Please please please, make this configurable.. i've tweeted my request to TivoDesign, do the same!


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## bbrown9 (Mar 12, 2011)

I liked it at the bottom until I ran into the same problem with it covering the CC text. I don't need the CC for every show - mostly the dramas because they tend to have a lot of whispering in them and I can't hear the dialog well enough. 

I agree that there should be an option. Though there are times when the CC is shown at the top.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

TexasGrillChef said:


> *TiVo Listen up...*Give us users a CHOICE if we want it at the top or bottom. In your next update, have a setting for top or bottom!


You've been here long enough to know that this is not an official Tivo site.

CALL TIVO and tell them your displeasure, or else they ARE NOT HEARING IT.

This also costs them support money, which can be good (costing support can cause them to fix something).


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## cook (Aug 12, 2010)

"In all honesty, I think I would love to even have the option to make it go away completely & not have it display anything on the screen."

TGC[/QUOTE]

You can make the info banner go away faster by going to settings & messages>settings>displays>channel banner>clear banner quickly.
There are some CC options there too if you want to play around with them to see if it helps.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

TexasGrillChef said:


> Just curious...
> 
> Anyone out there that uses CC Text Full time have any thoughts & desires about this?
> 
> ...


I'm a 100% CC user.

Good news: I've been on a remote Caribbean island for a week.

Bad news: I've missed out on all the V20 stuff/talk. I have no idea if my Elite rec'd the update or not. As a heavy, heavy TV watcher, I have a TON of shows recording this week*, and can only hope the Elite is working flawlessly while I'm gone. Praying for no lockups, update glitches, etc.

I am *very* sensitive to all things CC, placement being one of them. I'll check this out when I return.

[Aside: why why why does an update have to rollout the one week I'm gone? ]



*TiVo to Calendar shows 74 recordings this week.


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## TexasGrillChef (Sep 15, 2006)

Here is another thing, that I noticed too but didn't originally mention. I would have said something earlier, but I have been very busy the last few weeks....

When a NETWORK puts information on the bottom portion of the screen. Such as local news putting a ticker across the bottom, or other news stations putting additional info on the bottom etc... 

When you have the guide up, or the display up from the "info" button. It also BLOCKS THIS information on the screen as well.

So again.. you want to read the ticker after hitting hte info button. You need to "Review" and backup the video to read what the network put on the screen. This to me is a royal PITA.

My request is simple.... For TiVo to give US the consumers the option of having it on the top or the bottom.

If you want it on the bottom, then by all means, have it there. But dont' force those of us who want it at the top!

TGC


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## celtic pride (Nov 8, 2005)

maybe what tivo should do is, when cc is turned on the menu will be on top, and when cc is off the menu would be on bottom. Although i think that wouldn't work either! I have used tivos sincs 2000 and am used to menu info being on top,not sure if i like iinfo on bottom yet but i guess i'm getting used to it,


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## dsnotgood (Aug 26, 2010)

wahh TiVo moved it to the bottom wahh is all I read. 

change to the SD menus and problem resolved. 

I would hate to see how you react when your food order goes bad at a restaurant...


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## wdwms (Jan 10, 2003)

dsnotgood said:


> wahh TiVo moved it to the bottom wahh is all I read.
> 
> change to the SD menus and problem resolved.
> 
> I would hate to see how you react when your food order goes bad at a restaurant...


What? that isn't even an apples to apples comparison! The point of the matter here is that after 13-14 years of something being up at the top, Tivo moved it and didn't give users a way to change it back to what they are used to.

For those who watch sports with scores at the top, there is rejoice. For those who watch news there is now grief.

Tivo should give the users a choice. Changing to SD menus is not the solution.


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## Grakthis (Oct 4, 2006)

See, my suggestion would be that the TiVo knows when you have CC on, right? You are turning them on in the TiVo. So, the TiVo should automatically move the info box to make room.

I obv don't use CC, so maybe I am not understanding, but this does seem like a bug to me if TiVo is generating both the CC and the banner.


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## Jets (Sep 28, 2010)

On my 50" Plasma, when the banner comes up, there is just enough room underneath for the news ticker banner. Works out great for me.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

TexasGrillChef said:


> My request is simple.... For TiVo to give US the consumers the option of having it on the top or the bottom.
> 
> If you want it on the bottom, then by all means, have it there. But dont' force those of us who want it at the top!
> 
> TGC


 Well you do have option to get the old behavior - switch to SDUI.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

TexasGrillChef said:


> Here is another thing, that I noticed too but didn't originally mention. I would have said something earlier, but I have been very busy the last few weeks....
> 
> When a NETWORK puts information on the bottom portion of the screen. Such as local news putting a ticker across the bottom, or other news stations putting additional info on the bottom etc...
> 
> ...


If the ticker is at the bottom of the screen the info screen doesn't cover it up since it doesn't go all the way to the bottom of the screen.


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## wdwms (Jan 10, 2003)

Jets said:


> On my 50" Plasma, when the banner comes up, there is just enough room underneath for the news ticker banner. Works out great for me.


Your screen size has nothing to do with placement of the banner and what it covers up. The overscan of some TVs may allow for more to be shown under the bar than other TVs as does where channels place their ticker.



moyekj said:


> Well you do have option to get the old behavior - switch to SDUI.


Really? come on.. thats a lame suggestion..


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## Rkkeller (May 13, 2004)

I think it would nice if it were an option but I like it way better now that's its at the bottom.


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

moyekj said:


> Well you do have option to get the old behavior - switch to SDUI.





wdwms said:


> Really? come on.. thats a lame suggestion..


Actually that's not a lame suggestion, they have changed the features in the new HDUI in a manner you and others don't like, they have generally left the SDUI in the same format as you've had for the past 13 years where you liked it, my answer would be "use the SDUI".

This also covers the "they need to let you have a switch for the position!" they do, it's called SDUI. You can choose which you want.


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## wdwms (Jan 10, 2003)

dianebrat said:


> Actually that's not a lame suggestion, they have changed the features in the new HDUI in a manner you and others don't like, they have generally left the SDUI in the same format as you've had for the past 13 years where you liked it, my answer would be "use the SDUI".
> 
> This also covers the "they need to let you have a switch for the position!" they do, it's called SDUI. You can choose which you want.


I take it you don't work in software development... "Oh you can go back to the old view, if you don't use any of the new features..." come on...


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

wdwms said:


> I take it you don't work in software development... "Oh you can go back to the old view, if you don't use any of the new features..." come on...


In many cases I would agree with you, but the fact that the SDUI which MANY folks like because of its speed, does exactly what you want and does not remove any functional operations of the Tivo, can suggest that they have listened and they have given you the option.

This is not "the bar is ALWAYS on the bottom" this is "the bar is NOW on the bottom of the HDUI" along with a significant amount of other new and shiny HDUI features.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

dianebrat said:


> but the fact that the SDUI which MANY folks like because of its speed, does exactly what you want and does not remove any functional operations of the Tivo


Actually, the SDUI doesn't have TiVo search which is much more functional than on SDUI. The season pass creator alone offers features you don't get on the SDUI.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

rainwater said:


> Actually, the SDUI doesn't have TiVo search which is much more functional than on SDUI. The season pass creator alone offers features you don't get on the SDUI.


Can you detail those? I don't have a Premiere, and hadn't heard of this issue.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

I am still on the SDUI for this and many other reasons. It's faster, cleaner and I like it better. There appear to be very, very few (if any) features I am giving up by sticking with SDUI. I agree with dianebrat's advice.



rainwater said:


> Actually, the SDUI doesn't have TiVo search which is much more functional than on SDUI. The season pass creator alone offers features you don't get on the SDUI.


SDUI does have TiVo search. It just no longer has the qualifiers available. For me, it's a non-issue. 99.9% of the time when I searched, I never used any qualifiers anyway. I understand YMMV.

What is the SP creator difference? This is news to me.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

astrohip said:


> I am still on the SDUI for this and many other reasons. It's faster, cleaner and I like it better. There appear to be very, very few (if any) features I am giving up by sticking with SDUI. I agree with dianebrat's advice.
> 
> SDUI does have TiVo search. It just no longer has the qualifiers available. For me, it's a non-issue. 99.9% of the time when I searched, I never used any qualifiers anyway. I understand YMMV.
> 
> What is the SP creator difference? This is news to me.


It's been a while since I used the SDUI. But, can you search for a show, then bring up each season that has ever aired and browse each episode (where you can see if it airs or you can purchase/stream it)? Are things like cast list available for each tv show/movie along with their picture?

As for season passes, when creating a season pass, there is an option for Channel. It let's you select which channel to record from. You don't have scroll through a list of episodes to find the one on the channel you want. It will list all the channels it is available on.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Yes, the cast is also available. I use the episode guide on a regular basis and have found other content by exploring the actors associated with the programs as well. This is another reason why I can't stand the SDUI any more. It just doesn't provide enough info about the content.


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## Balzer (Nov 12, 2006)

If it had been at the bottom all these years, and they suddenly moved it to the top, people would complain too. Probably more people. You can't please all of the people all of the time. I prefer it at the bottom. 

But if they can make it an option, that would be nice I guess.....


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

For me it was very easy to adjust to it being on the bottom since that is a more natural position to look at than on the top. I quickly adjusted to it. Even after 10+ years with TiVos, it would seem foreign now if I had to look for the info at the top.


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## PedjaR (Jan 4, 2010)

astrohip said:


> I am still on the SDUI for this and many other reasons. It's faster, cleaner and I like it better. There appear to be very, very few (if any) features I am giving up by sticking with SDUI. I agree with dianebrat's advice.
> 
> SDUI does have TiVo search. It just no longer has the qualifiers available. For me, it's a non-issue. 99.9% of the time when I searched, I never used any qualifiers anyway. I understand YMMV.
> 
> What is the SP creator difference? This is news to me.


Suppose you decide to start watching a cable show that has a few seasons already, but is running a lot of repeats of older episodes, so there is a pretty good chance that you'll collect them all (I did that with Justified and Burn Notice, for example). If you do this kind of thing (or even to give you an idea if this is feasible), HDUI is way handier:


You'll likely have several episodes of a show recorded, and they will not necessarily be in a useful (i.e. oldest episodes first) order. In HDUI as soon as your cursor is on an episode, you can see something like "season 3 episode 1", so you can reasonably quickly pick the oldest one to watch, or figure out you want to wait until you have collected the "next to watch" episode. In SDUI this takes much longer - must select the episode, then hit "Info", and hope that you see episode number 301 or so, then figure out this usually means season 3 episode 1, the need to go back to the group folder.

You can look through Upcoming Episodes and see their season/episode info at a glance, screenful at a time, no need to even select one episode to see its number. (Well, Upcoming has 3 versions: 1. an SD one, that you get when you select the option from an SD screen, like Season Pass manager; 2. HD pop-up one that shows only episode name, date showing and whether will record; and 3. the one I am talking about).
Take a look at the Episode Guide - you can see all episodes listed there, and you can choose to hide non-available ones (that's the default, actually). Very handy to see how many episodes the show had in season 2, so you'll know if you are ready to watch 301 or not. Also handy to give you an idea if/when particular episodes you need are showing. In SDUI, you'll probably just give up and use your computer to look it up.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

Pretty cool info. It's going to be harder & harder to resist the HDUI one day. 

I'll be that grouchy old guy shaking his cane at the HDUI, "Get off of my TV!".


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

I turned on the HDUI last night just to try this out (eps info). Very very cool! Seeing season/episode # info makes picking out which eps to record much easier. I'm curious, how does it know this info? Is it already there (IOW, in the "info"), and just displaying it differently? Or does it have to go online and get that specific data?

Nonetheless, I switched back to SDUI. HDUI is still too slow for me. I am used to the immediate response of the SDUI--almost every button press is instant. The HDUI sometimes takes 2-3 seconds to respond, depending on where I am. The delay drives me nuts.


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## Rkkeller (May 13, 2004)

astrohip said:


> The HDUI sometimes takes 2-3 seconds to respond, depending on where I am. The delay drives me nuts.


On mine the HDUI is really only a tiny tiny bit slower than the SDUI, maybe a fraction of a second if even, and the extra features and info makes it worth it to me.


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## PedjaR (Jan 4, 2010)

astrohip said:


> I turned on the HDUI last night just to try this out (eps info). Very very cool! Seeing season/episode # info makes picking out which eps to record much easier. I'm curious, how does it know this info? Is it already there (IOW, in the "info"), and just displaying it differently? Or does it have to go online and get that specific data?
> 
> Nonetheless, I switched back to SDUI. HDUI is still too slow for me. I am used to the immediate response of the SDUI--almost every button press is instant. The HDUI sometimes takes 2-3 seconds to respond, depending on where I am. The delay drives me nuts.


I was using SDUI until SDUI-specific "stop respoding to remote" bug started hitting me weekly. Then I was annoyed with the lack of speed, but learned to accept it. Another thing that is good with HDUI is that if it gets stuck or suddenly slows down a lot (happens very rarely to me, but it does happen) you can "unstick" it by restarting the gui - no reboot, no interrupted recordings (thumbs down/thumbs up/play/play).


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

astrohip said:


> I turned on the HDUI last night just to try this out (eps info). Very very cool! Seeing season/episode # info makes picking out which eps to record much easier. I'm curious, how does it know this info? Is it already there (IOW, in the "info"), and just displaying it differently? Or does it have to go online and get that specific data?


Yes, I believe it has the info and is just displaying it differently. (I don't own an elite, I have used one at a friend's house.)

If you look at the extended info on your Tivo (I don't know if Elites still do this, I presume they do), you'll see an episode # like 306. That is season 3, episode 6. So I think it's simply 
(orig episode #) % 100 = what it now shows as episode #
(orig episode #) / 100 = what it now shows as season

I think there might be a few more complications, but basically, I think it's simply parsing the existing info in a human-readable way.


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