# TiVo Advisors Panel Survey



## crxssi

I thought some of you would like to know that in the February 2012 TiVo's Advisor's Panel Survey (released today/yesterday), they asked one very interesting question, something like: "Over the past few weeks, what have you found particularly pleasing and/or particularly frustrating about using your Premiere?" And it was a free-type question.

Seems they are asking for feedback about the 20.2 update (without directly saying that). I have been on the Panel for a long time and have never seen them ask about a particular update before. I should have copied my answer, but essentially listed my highest recent positives as: performance improvements (letting me finally use the HDUI), the new guide, the Discovery Bar is less irritating, and the new Android application. And my highest recent negatives as: Slower to load "My shows", slow to delete programs, inability to delete some programs, and Android app being slow to start and not tablet optimized.

I am glad to see TiVo asking some relevant questions. I have almost taken myself off the Advisor's list because some surveys were nothing but or mostly marketing questions about things totally unrelated to TiVo or the Premiere. Some of the questions were unusually "prying", too (I think I even had to abort one survey where there was no opt-out for the question).

For more information about the Advisors Panel or to apply to be a member, see: http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/67


----------



## TooMuchTime

I just answered the February 2012 survey. Many more questions than usual. My "frustrations" were directed at the discovery bar. I think they should have an option in the menus to disable it. After the positive/negative question, they went on to ask questions about the discovery bar! So I repeated my suggestion.

What I would like is a way to block shows from viewing and recording by their name. It should be under the Parental Controls. This way, parents don't have to rely on what some TV industry hack thinks is appropriate for children. When they ask about features, it's the only one I mention.


----------



## crxssi

TooMuchTime said:


> I just answered the February 2012 survey. Many more questions than usual. My "frustrations" were directed at the discovery bar. I think they should have an option in the menus to disable it. After the positive/negative question, they went on to ask questions about the discovery bar! So I repeated my suggestion.


I didn't mention in my post, but where I did say the Discovery Bar was less annoying, I did have to add, in parens, that I still want to be able to disable it completely


----------



## MikeAndrews

Did the message that you agree to not share what questions were asked on the survey come up on your computer?


----------



## crxssi

netringer said:


> Did the message that you agree to not share what questions were asked on the survey come up on your computer?


I don't remember being told that/reading that anywhere. There is no mention of the content being confidential in their policy: http://www3.tivo.com/abouttivo/policies/advisors_panel_participation_policy.html In any case, I didn't share anything verbatim, and only talked about one question, and I don't think it was anything strategic or would be needed to keep secret.

You might be thinking of the beta program? In that, TiVo requires confidentiality (and I have participated in that, too, in the past).


----------



## astrohip

Under the recent pleasing/frustrating, the only negative I mentioned was the loss of captions at 1xFF. I made it very clear how much I missed it.

The Advisors Panel is not confidential. It's not a beta test, and there is no NDA.


----------



## steve614

crxssi said:


> I don't remember being told that/reading that anywhere. There is no mention of the content being confidential in their policy: http://www3.tivo.com/abouttivo/policies/advisors_panel_participation_policy.html In any case, I didn't share anything verbatim, and only talked about one question, and I don't think it was anything strategic or would be needed to keep secret.
> 
> You might be thinking of the beta program? In that, TiVo requires confidentiality (and I have participated in that, too, in the past).


This is a screen you should have seen before starting the survey.










Note the second bullet point.

Don't fret, it's obviously not a NDA issue. However, there is the threat that TiVo will discontinue the surveys if they feel that TMI is being disseminated.
Hopefully that doesn't apply to the *TiVo Community* forum.
There's another thread dedicated to the TiVo surveys here:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=463241


----------



## aadam101

I enjoy the surveys when they are actually about Tivo.


----------



## Drewster

Just entered my answers.

I didn't use HD menus (didn't have an HD set) prior to 20.2, so it was all new to me right then. I quickly decided that the discovery bar wasn't relevant or helpful, and turned off everything but shows in My Shows, and Suggestions. It bugged me that Amazon, and Hulu showed up in searches when I don't have accounts on them, so I turned them off too.

After that I found the HD menus got a lot quicker.


----------



## innocentfreak

crxssi said:


> I don't remember being told that/reading that anywhere. There is no mention of the content being confidential in their policy: http://www3.tivo.com/abouttivo/policies/advisors_panel_participation_policy.html In any case, I didn't share anything verbatim, and only talked about one question, and I don't think it was anything strategic or would be needed to keep secret.
> 
> You might be thinking of the beta program? In that, TiVo requires confidentiality (and I have participated in that, too, in the past).





steve614 said:


> This is a screen you should have seen before starting the survey.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Note the second bullet point.
> 
> Don't fret, it's obviously not a NDA issue. However, there is the threat that TiVo will discontinue the surveys if they feel that TMI is being disseminated.
> Hopefully that doesn't apply to the *TiVo Community* forum.
> There's another thread dedicated to the TiVo surveys here:
> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=463241


Yeah they added that screen after the survey about what we now know as the Q/Elite.


----------



## lpwcomp

I just took the latest survey (received an e-mail invite). I was struck by one of the early questions:

(emphasis mine)


> TiVo offers a new HD product that works with cable _*and over-the-air antenna*_, with more recording capacity and tuners (to permit recording more shows at the same time).
> 
> The new product is:
> * TiVo Premiere Elite - records up to 300 hours in HD, can record four programs at the same time.
> 
> Prior to today, have you heard of TiVo Premiere Elite?
> Yes, I have heard of TiVo Premiere Elite (300 hours HD, 4 shows at once)
> No, I have not heard of TiVo Premiere Elite


At the end of the survey, in the final comments question, I noted that the Elite in fact has no over-the-air capability. Yet another indication of sloppiness on the part of TiVo.

Then there was the question about keeping TiVo or Internet access. A TiVo Premiere with no Internet access. Yeah, that would work real well.


----------



## aadam101

lpwcomp said:


> I just took the latest survey (received an e-mail invite). I was struck by one of the early questions:
> 
> (emphasis mine)
> At the end of the survey, in the final comments question, I noted that the Elite in fact has no over-the-air capability. Yet another indication of sloppiness on the part of TiVo.


It's not sloppy. It's intentional. Most people with OTA only aren't going to need four tuners. They only have a handful of channels. The likelihood that they are ever going to use all four tuners at the same time is slim.


----------



## lpwcomp

I'm not talking about the lack of OTA capability in the Elite. I'm talking about the question itself, which says that the new product(the Elite) has OTA capability when it categorically does not.


----------



## lessd

lpwcomp said:


> I'm not talking about the lack of OTA capability in the Elite. I'm talking about the question itself, which says that the new product(the Elite) has OTA capability when it categorically does not.


Maybe TiVo wants to find out if they need an Elite-2 that does do OTA and cable.


----------



## crxssi

lessd said:


> Maybe TiVo wants to find out if they need an Elite-2 that does do OTA and cable.


That would interest me. Losing over the air, even though I have cable, is not something I would want to do.


----------



## lpwcomp

lessd said:


> Maybe TiVo wants to find out if they need an Elite-2 that does do OTA and cable.


If that were truly the object of the question, it would have been phrased much differently. I think it far more likely that the survey was developed by some independent organization and was not properly vetted by TiVo. As I said, sloppy.


----------



## mattack

aadam101 said:


> It's not sloppy. It's intentional. Most people with OTA only aren't going to need four tuners. They only have a handful of channels. The likelihood that they are ever going to use all four tuners at the same time is slim.


I 100% disagree with you. I need the tuners FOR THE OTA channels MORE than I do for other channels, since most of the non-OTA stations I record repeat their shows within the same week.

OK, it's really the on-cable-versions-of-the-broadcast-networks, but the sentiment is the same. I have the conflicts mostly with broadcast shows.

Even though I don't use OTA now, I would be more tempted to get an Elite sooner if it had OTA... as a fallback plan.. I still am somewhat tempted and am waiting for a price drop.


----------



## jcthorne

I too would have considered purchasing an Elite to replace my Premiere rather than buying a second Premiere had OTA been covered.

I am OTA and have ample opprotunity to use 4 tuners. There are many more channels available than there once were in the analog days.


----------



## atmuscarella

Based on several posts in this thread I think I will make several comments. For the record I am OTA only, have 3 HD TiVos with a total of 5.25 TBs of storage and only 1 TV.

First there are plenty of times I am recording 3 or 4 shows at the same time, so for me having at least 4 tuners available is necessary. 

On the question about if TiVo should build an OTA 4 tuner DVR my opinion is no they should not. In my opinion the market would be too small to justify the costs. I would not be interested in one at the current Elite cost structure and I am certainly a person who a 4 tuner OTA DVR would work well for. 

For OTA the main benefit of a 4 tuner DVR is having 4 tuners to deal with conflict resolution. Honestly for OTA it isn't that hard to split recordings between multiple DVRs as there are no issues moving recordings around between DVRs, of course 4 tuners in one DVR would still make it easier. 

For OTA you don't rent cable cards or tuning adapters so there are no cost savings in those areas for 1 DVR versus 2. 

On the plus side (a BIG plus in my mind) for multiple DVRs versus 1 DVR is redundancy plus you can end up with more in DVR storage if you don't mind upgrading the DVR's hard drive. Also for people with multiple TVs you remove the need for something like the forth coming IP STP by having multiple DVRs. 

For OTA people like me who only have one TV you only need one Premiere to have all the Premieres features as your second (or third) DVR only needs to be any Series 3 unit. 

So the costs for multiple DVRs for OTA people can easily be less than one 4 Tuner DVR at current pricing. 

Thanks,


----------



## crxssi

atmuscarella said:


> On the question about if TiVo should build an OTA 4 tuner DVR my opinion is no they should not. [...]
> For OTA the main benefit of a 4 tuner DVR is having 4 tuners to deal with conflict resolution. [...] For OTA you don't rent cable cards or tuning adapters so there are no cost savings in those areas for 1 DVR versus 2.


Just because you currently use/have cable doesn't mean you can't benefit from OTA tuners:

1) OTA for network TV is far superior than what is offered on most cable companies. The bitrates are usually much, much higher, resulting in a better picture. So you can turn off the stations on your cable lineup that are available OTA and end up with a better lineup.

2) If cable goes down, OTA can still provide video on at least the broadcast/network TV.

3) If you change your mind and later want to cancel cable and have no OTA capability, your Elite would be a boat anchor.

4) TiVo can benefit by having a single model instead of multiple models, all with the same capability. It means less inventory, easier support, and lower costs.

All are valid reasons why I want BOTH cable and OTA in any TiVo I purchase. Of course, I am probably in the minority. As I said before, I think TiVo should discontinue the low-end Premiere model and turn the XL into the new low end, and have an Elite+OTA model as the high end.


----------



## atmuscarella

crxssi said:


> Just because you currently use/have cable doesn't mean you can't benefit from OTA tuners:


No disagreement there.

It just comes down to cost, the Elite was for all practical purposes developed for cable companies and only needed digital cable tuners and didn't cost TiVo much more to bring it to retail. To have developed and then built a retail product that was basically a Premiere XL times 2 would have cost significantly more than what the Elite did, both to in development and to build, and therefor would have needed to have cost more than the Elite does.

In my opinion I don't believe there would have been enough sales of a Premiere XL times 2 product to justify the costs and don't believe there would be enough sales of an OTA only Elite type product to justify its costs. Of course my opinion is tainted by the fact that I believe I and most OTA users are better off with two dual tuner DVRs than one quad tuner DVR.


----------



## crxssi

atmuscarella said:


> No disagreement there.
> 
> It just comes down to cost, the Elite was for all practical purposes developed for cable companies and only needed digital cable tuners and didn't cost TiVo much more to bring it to retail. To have developed and then built a retail product that was basically a Premiere XL times 2 would have cost significantly more than what the Elite did, both to in development and to build, and therefor would have needed to have cost more than the Elite does.


But we really don't know that. Perhaps adding OTA would have been $5.... Would that have been worth it? $10?


----------



## davezatz

lpwcomp said:


> I just took the latest survey (received an e-mail invite). I was struck by one of the early questions:


Interesting... there's either more than one survey or it branches real early as I didn't get that question/remark.


----------



## steve614

davezatz said:


> Interesting... there's either more than one survey or it branches real early as I didn't get that question/remark.


Neither did I. The first couple of questions asked me if I paid for TV service. Since my answer was 'no', I figure I got skipped past a few questions.


----------



## astrohip

davezatz said:


> Interesting... there's either more than one survey or it branches real early as I didn't get that question/remark.





steve614 said:


> Neither did I. The first couple of questions asked me if I paid for TV service. Since my answer was 'no', I figure I got skipped past a few questions.


I believe lpwcomp must have a different survey. Mine was like you two describe. There was nothing in mine about individual TiVo products.

BTW steve614... I answered yes to those questions. The followup questions asked whether I was likely to reduce or eliminate my pay-TV service in the near future.


----------



## lpwcomp

astrohip said:


> I believe lpwcomp must have a different survey. Mine was like you two describe. There was nothing in mine about individual TiVo products.
> 
> BTW steve614... I answered yes to those questions. The followup questions asked whether I was likely to reduce or eliminate my pay-TV service in the near future.


Yeah, my survey was mostly about the Premiere and the new look, like the HDUI guide.


----------



## crxssi

Ah, another survey hit today (for me at least). There were no questions about the Elite or OTA, etc, as has been recently mentioned.

They DID ask about if I pay for television service (cable), if I have reduced the programming package I am on, if I plan to reduce it in the future, etc.

Then there was a option SUB SURVEY about financial investments. So TiVo is listening to us when we complain bitterly about non-TiVo marketing drivel in their surveys. I took the sub-survey anyway, just to show my support. At the end of the survey, I thanked them for listening to us on this issue.

Then they asked if I used the Android phone, iphone, or ipad apps. Since I use only Android, I marked that one, then they asked for feedback, which I provided:

1) Android app needs to start without having to "scan" each time. It takes far, far too long to start the application and get it to a usable state. It should just assume you are connecting to the previous TiVo you last used, first.

2) You need a version of the Android app that supports a better layout for Android Tablets.

3) When away from the home network, the Android app is pretty much useless. I even tried to schedule a recording and it never worked.

4) I know this would be very difficult, perhaps impossible, but I would REALLY love to stream video from the Premiere to my Android devices.

They also asked about "TiVo Apps" in general. So I answered:

* I would really love to see a better built-in web server on the Premiere. That way, you can point any web browser from any device running any operating system at the Premiere and perform some basic tasks.

* I really don't use any of the existing "apps" on the Premiere (Netflix, Youtube, Music, etc) because I have better devices for those, and the versions on the Premiere are old, slow, and buggy. I would rather TiVo focus on continuing to improve the core functionality of the Premiere- performance, stability, and DVR features, like we saw in the 14.9/20.2 release.


----------



## lpwcomp

They did ask me about Andoid/Ipad apps.

I did comment at the end about the erroneous information in the preface to the Elite question (the one in my initial post on the subject). Maybe that prompted them to remove it.


----------



## crxssi

lpwcomp said:


> They did ask me about Andoid/Ipad apps.
> 
> I did comment at the end about the erroneous information in the preface to the Elite question (the one in my initial post on the subject). Maybe that prompted them to remove it.


It could be they modified it before I got it, since there wasn't such a question on mine. So maybe it is the same (or similar) survey, afterall.


----------



## DCleary

Each survey that I have done I have asked that the app for the iPad and Android have manual IP settings like TiVo Commander. Rebooting the router and the Premiere each time is a non-starter.


----------



## crxssi

DCleary said:


> Each survey that I have done I have asked that the app for the iPad and Android have manual IP settings like TiVo Commander. Rebooting the router and the Premiere each time is a non-starter.


I have never had to reboot anything to use the TiVo Android app. However, it is a pain in the *ss to have to sit there for 10 seconds of "scanning" to find something that never left, and then manually select it anyway. It is not like I have 20 TiVo's, I have ONE. It would be nice if they had a static setting, just to get the startup time to be negligible.


----------



## bradleys

I agree, and mentioned that as well.


----------



## mattack

Weird, kmttg seems to find the tivos on the network quickly. Sure, I think it stores the IP addresses it found last time, but if it doesn't find them, it auto-scans.


----------



## crxssi

Another survey just hit. This is, by far, the most interesting one to date. 

They asked very specific questions about performance, response time, stability, features, and satisfaction.

This is one of the most relevant and interesting surveys to date. Good job, TiVo!


----------



## davezatz

Did any of you get two survey emails from different people? I couldn't tell if they were the same, wasn't paying too much attention but I think was one Advisors and one was for general customers or something?



crxssi said:


> Here it is, verbatim,


My (second) survey was way longer, so it's definitely branching. And the most interesting question was regarding using HBO GO's interactive features... curious!


----------



## aaronwt

davezatz said:


> Did any of you get two survey emails from different people?...............


Hasn't that the norm for the last few months? They have each been different.


----------



## innocentfreak

I only got the one from Michaela Schlocker [email protected].

I believe last month I might have gotten two. One if I remember correctly was specific to Elite owners.


----------



## scandia101

I had an email from a Natasha Kuo about a survey a couple of days ago. The survey had to do with showcase ads.


----------



## davezatz

scandia101 said:


> I had an email from a Natasha Kuo about a survey a couple of days ago. The survey had to do with showcase ads.


Yeah, I got one from her a day or so before the one from Michaela. Looks like they're using the same email address. But Michaela's was "Advisor" whereas Natasha's was "subscriber" survey. Hm.


----------



## astrohip

crxssi said:


> Another survey just hit. This is, by far, the most interesting one to date. Here it is, verbatim, along with my responses:


Was mine the only one to specifically and strongly request that the contents of the survey remain private?


----------



## steve614

astrohip said:


> Was mine the only one to specifically and strongly request that the contents of the survey remain private?


Nope, and that has been pointed out before.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8936186#post8936186

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8603448#post8603448

My hope is that since we are dedicated Tivo users, TiVo would make an exception for us as long as we keep the topics vague.
I cringed when crxssi posted the survey verbatim.


----------



## davezatz

steve614 said:


> My hope is that since we are dedicated Tivo users, TiVo would make an exception for us as long as we keep the topics vague.
> I cringed when crxssi posted the survey verbatim.


I usually voluntarily check in with TiVo before I run anything I've seen in the Advisors surveys. I assume they're less worried about leaks and more worried about unreasonable expectations people might get from survey material taken out of context. (I should also add that TiVo is more chill these days. Maybe it's the new blood?) Each company handles it differently - Jawbone took issue with a recent survey of theirs which I covered.


----------



## crxssi

astrohip said:


> Was mine the only one to specifically and strongly request that the contents of the survey remain private?


I saw nothing on the signup page nor on the survey that requests that it remain private. If it did, I absolutely would; as I have done with beta testing and such (which WAS requested to remain confidential). Hopefully I am not mistaken.

I think sharing it with the forum is a good thing. Perhaps more people will sign up. If someone else gets this survey and shows me it is to remain private, I will immediately delete the posting.

EDIT: It was shown that the disclaimer was, indeed there, although we think it was something they added in just the last few surveys. So I removed any detailed info from my previous postings, only sharing my closing comments. Thanks!


----------



## innocentfreak

crxssi said:


> I saw nothing on the signup page nor on the survey that requests that it remain private. If it did, I absolutely would; as I have done with beta testing and such (which WAS requested to remain confidential). Hopefully I am not mistaken.
> 
> I think sharing it with the forum is a good thing. Perhaps more people will sign up. If someone else gets this survey and shows me it is to remain private, I will immediately delete the posting.


It is on the very first page of the survey, before you hit continue. It is there you just missed it.

They added it after people started discussing a survey about what has since become the Elite and Q.

This post has the image of the text. You see it where they tell you what the prize might be along with the time it will take. It is before you can even see the first question.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8936186#post8936186


----------



## crxssi

innocentfreak said:


> It is on the very first page of the survey, before you hit continue. It is there you just missed it.
> 
> They added it after people started discussing a survey about what has since become the Elite and Q.
> 
> This post has the image of the text. You see it where they tell you what the prize might be along with the time it will take. It is before you can even see the first question.
> 
> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8936186#post8936186


I already saw that part of the thread. But I am asking if THIS survey has the disclaimer in it... not an older one. I hope someone will have that answer soon, because now I am getting nervous.

I will delete it, anyway, and then repost it if someone can verify the current survey doesn't have a disclaimer.


----------



## aaronwt

crxssi said:


> I already saw that part of the thread. But I am asking if THIS survey has the disclaimer in it... not an older one. I hope someone will have that answer soon, because now I am getting nervous.
> 
> I will delete it, anyway, and then repost it if someone can verify the current survey doesn't have a disclaimer.


I didn't see a disclaimer on these two. The topics involved probably determine whether the disclaimer is necessary.


----------



## innocentfreak

crxssi said:


> I already saw that part of the thread. But I am asking if THIS survey has the disclaimer in it... not an older one. I hope someone will have that answer soon, because now I am getting nervous.
> 
> I will delete it, anyway, and then repost it if someone can verify the current survey doesn't have a disclaimer.


It was on mine and it had the exact questions plus more.


----------



## magnus

It was there on mine.


----------



## steve614

Yep, this screen...










...has appeared before every survey I have taken so far.

But I feel as long as we keep the information within the confines of TCF, TiVo will leave us alone since we are dedicated Tivo users who care about what TiVo is doing.


----------



## crxssi

OK, I give up. I removed it again. I would rather be safe.


----------



## aaronwt

steve614 said:


> Yep, this screen...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ...has appeared before every survey I have taken so far.
> 
> But I feel as long as we keep the information within the confines of TCF, TiVo will leave us alone since we are dedicated Tivo users who care about what TiVo is doing.


I definitely did not see that. It must have skipped over it for some reason. I though it was odd that when I clicked on the link it started the survey right away.


----------



## astrohip

crxssi said:


> I already saw that part of the thread. But I am asking if THIS survey has the disclaimer in it... not an older one. I hope someone will have that answer soon, because now I am getting nervous.
> .


Yes, my survey definitely had the disclaimer. But when I tried to bring it up, I get a page that says I've already taken the survey, so there is no way to capture it after the fact.

I tend to believe davezatz is on the right track--TiVo is less concerned with absolute security on these surveys. After all, they don't require an NDA, they simply urge us not to discuss it publicly. And a semi-private discussion here of the general tone of the surveys probably does no harm. But too much detail may raise their ire.

Who knows?


----------



## steve614

We are all still getting surveys, so I think we're OK.

I think we can still discuss the topics involved without posting the the questions verbatim.

For instance, you could just post what you answered. Those that have taken the same survey will remember what the questions were.
______________________________________________________________

Regarding a feature wish list, my answer was that I wished my TiVo had 4 OTA tuners. 

As to performance and stability, TiVo didn't gear the question to any particular model, so I gave top ratings because my Tivo HD's are stable and performance is acceptable. 

Some of the questions needed more OTA shows. I think at one point, the only OTA show listed was Survivor. 
It kind of irked me when they didn't even mention Fringe.


----------



## crxssi

Another TiVo Advisor's survey was released this morning. Made sure to see and find the disclaimer as follows, which is on the first screen of the survey:

_"Please do not distribute information you may see in this study (features, products, topics covered, etc.). We greatly value hearing from our most loyal customers, but distributing this information will prevent us from consulting with customers as extensively in the future."_

They asked about a variety of possible network based features and enhancements. I will share only my comments I entered at the end:

_Have absolutely no interest in "second screen" social stuff.

I am far more interested in:

* The ability to stream content from my Premiere to tablets (Android) and inexpensive add-on boxes with no fees.

* Performance, stability, bug-fixes, and enhancements to the core DVR functionality of the Premiere- menus, guides, watching recorded content and TiVo Android App._


----------



## aaronwt

It was certainly an interesting survey.


----------



## LoREvanescence

I have never seen that disclaimer on any of my surveys, it just starts right off at the first question.

I never post about the surveys so I don't have to worry about it.


----------



## DonaldBurns65144

aaronwt said:


> It was certainly an interesting survey.


I was about to tell them to take this survey and put it where the sun doesn't shine. They ask us to keep it confidential, what about them doing the same? The questions this time were off the subject and none of their damn business, IMHO.


----------



## innocentfreak

DonaldBurns65144 said:


> I was about to tell them to take this survey and put it where the sun doesn't shine. They ask us to keep it confidential, what about them doing the same? The questions this time were off the subject and none of their damn business, IMHO.


Then don't answer them. It is voluntary.


----------



## crxssi

innocentfreak said:


> Then don't answer them. It is voluntary.


Indeed. That is one of the ways they improved the survey process. They were asking all kinds of personal, confidential, and off-topic questions and not allowing the user to skip them... so your only choices were to: stop the survey and waste any time and responses you had already entered, ignore privacy and answer them, answer the questions as incorrectly and randomly as possible. But they had so many complaints (I also complained) they made the personal, confidential, and off-topic questions an optional section which is skippable.

Many of the off-topic questions in this survey were REALLY strange.

One day, they just need to combine all of them from past surveys, add a bunch of creative additional ones, and have one big personal-info fest! Just imagine it: What is your age? Where did you grow up? What religion are you? What political party are you? What are your health conditions? Have you ever had an abortion? Where do you work? How much money do you make? Where do you shop? What is your race? What is your skin/eye color? What is your sexual orientation? How often do you have sex? Do you smoke/drink? Do you use any illicit drugs? If so, which, how often, and where? Which charities do you support? How much education do you have? What books do you read? What shows do you watch? Have you ever been arrested? Convicted? Of what? Cats, Dogs, or both? Do you own a gun? How many children do you have? What are their genders and ages? Which schools do they go to? Thanks for letting us know more about our customers and how we can better meet your interests! Please mail your DNA profile, blood/urine/and hair samples, along with your finger prints and photograph to: ....

Of course I am kidding in the last paragraph, yet it is surprising just how much of this information people will disclose.


----------



## Richard A

crxssi said:


> Indeed.
> 
> Of course I am kidding in the last paragraph, yet it is surprising just how much of this information people will disclose.


Sad but true


----------



## kerz

Vote for Dunphy!


----------



## hoyty

Um, wow. I felt like I was on some weird what would you do quiz show.


----------



## h2oskierc

hoyty said:


> Um, wow. I felt like I was on some weird what would you do quiz show.


This^, but on crack at the same time.


----------



## mattack

crxssi said:


> Indeed. That is one of the ways they improved the survey process. They were asking all kinds of personal, confidential, and off-topic questions and not allowing the user to skip them...


I don't know what survey YOU took, but the one I took explicitly ASKED me BEFOREHAND if I wanted to answer personal/political questions.


----------



## sharkster

Those were some seriously bizarre political questions, though! I felt like my computer needed a Silkwood shower after I 'voted' for some of those people.


----------



## crxssi

mattack said:


> I don't know what survey YOU took, but the one I took explicitly ASKED me BEFOREHAND if I wanted to answer personal/political questions.


You may want to re-read what I wrote. I said they "WERE" (as in past-tense) asking such questions that could not be skipped. They later IMPROVED the survey process by making them optional. The changes were put in place a few surveys ago.


----------



## hillyard

stopped doing their surreys because couldn't skipped question that were none of their business


----------



## crxssi

hillyard said:


> stopped doing their surreys because couldn't skipped question that were none of their business


I suspect a lot of people did. It is good they made the change.


----------



## aaronwt

Isn't the data kept anonymous like most surveys? Even if it isn't I really don't care whether they know my opinions about those questions. I answer surveys on the phone sometimes too. Especially during election time.


----------



## h2oskierc

That's how I feel too. I'll answer the questions. Always have. Maybe they are thinking about making a Donkey and an Elephant version to cater to either side of the aisle! We could be providing valuable input.

It would be nice if they disclosed at the end of the survey why they asked the questions they do.


----------



## crxssi

aaronwt said:


> Isn't the data kept anonymous like most surveys?


Just because something says it is confidential, doesn't mean it is or will remain that way. Data can also be accidentally disclosed/stolen/hacked.



> Even if it isn't I really don't care whether they know my opinions about those questions. I answer surveys on the phone sometimes too. Especially during election time.


That is the old "if you have nothing to hide" argument. I bet you would care if some types of answers made it to places you didn't expect. You might not care if TIVO knows certain things, but there is no guarantee it will stop there. Data privacy is a HUGE issue right now, and for good reasons.

http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Privacy-Matters-Even-if/127461/

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20...g-if-youve-got-nothing-to-hide-argument.shtml


----------



## HellFish

sharkster said:


> Those were some seriously bizarre political questions, though! I felt like my computer needed a Silkwood shower after I 'voted' for some of those people.


It reminded me of Stephen Colbert's 2 option question:

George W. Bush.... Great President or the Greatest President?


----------



## bradleys

It reminded me of a presonality test I took at work some time ago. Trust me, this was developed by some PHD and the way you answered combinations of questions were far more important then the way you answered any individual question.

These things don't bother me.


----------



## sharkster

LMAO, Hellfish!

Bradleys - Yeah, I got the distinct impression that it was all about the combination of responses adding up to something more than any possible meaning of a given individual response. Not sure how that relates to Tivo services, but it doesn't bother me. I've been doing the surveys for a long time and will be happy to continue doing so.


----------



## steve614

sharkster said:


> I got the distinct impression that it was all about the combination of responses adding up to something more than any possible meaning of a given individual response. Not sure how that relates to Tivo services, but it doesn't bother me. I've been doing the surveys for a long time and will be happy to continue doing so.


Same here regarding the political stuff. All my responses were geared toward the non obvious answers (outliers in my mind).
I opted to refuse to answer the questions on whether or not I had voted in the past. That was irrelevant (IMO).


----------



## CoxInPHX

*And the mock election results are in......*


> I'd like to thank all those who participated in our tongue-in-cheek politics survey last month. The TV character you would elect president is NCIS protagonist Leroy Gibbs, but in a near tie for second place we find The Big Bang Theory's Dr. Sheldon Cooper and everyone's favorite curmudgeon, Dr. Gregory House. (Now that's what they call a split ticket!)
> 
> That said, we also discovered that 34% of TiVo subscribers are tired of the election and wish it was over already. I hope these next five months treat you well.


I was most interested in the Roku questions. Lots of interesting questions in this survey, Yes?
Based on the survey in the comments section I listed the following as my priorities.

Cox VOD OnDemand access
Roku as a TiVo extender (a quick way to get TiVo, HBOGo and Amazon Prime to a second TV)
TiVo branded extender (IP-STB)
HBOGo access
Amazon Prime access
EPIXHD access


----------



## sbiller

CoxInPHX said:


> *And the mock election results are in......*
> 
> I was most interested in the Roku questions. Lots of interesting questions in this survey, Yes?
> Based on the survey in the comments section I listed the following as my priorities.
> 
> Cox VOD OnDemand access
> Roku as a TiVo extender (a quick way to get TiVo, HBOGo and Amazon Prime to a second TV)
> TiVo branded extender (IP-STB)
> HBOGo access
> Amazon Prime access
> EPIXHD access


One of the more interesting surveys in a LONG time. I would love to see some new content sources (HBOGo especially) and the ability to access my TiVo from a Roku or Apple TV as an extender. I am comfortable paying $101-$150 for an extender... I debated quite a bit about that price point. I was glad to see that all of the options did NOT have a subscription fee attached.


----------



## steve614

sbiller said:


> I was glad to see that all of the options did NOT have a subscription fee attached.


Huh? Was Amazon Prime not one of your choices?

What about HBO GO? I can watch for free even if I don't have cable?


----------



## richbrew

sbiller said:


> One of the more interesting surveys in a LONG time. I would love to see some new content sources (HBOGo especially) and the ability to access my TiVo from a Roku or Apple TV as an extender. I am comfortable paying $101-$150 for an extender... I debated quite a bit about that price point. I was glad to see that all of the options did NOT have a subscription fee attached.


I had to go with 76-100. Reason: Other existing devices already hit this price point (like Apple TV) and would save TiVo the hardware dev work. It wouldn't make sense to me to pay more for a box that does TiVo only, when I could pay less for a box that does TiVo and more if there was an option. Plus, TiVo already makes an iOS app, update it to handle streaming, drop it on Apple TV, and done. Same with Android, then something like Roku. (Now somebody needs to build an Android based box like Apple TV so the whole thing can be streamlined to just two software platforms.)


----------



## innocentfreak

steve614 said:


> Huh? Was Amazon Prime not one of your choices?
> 
> What about HBO GO? I can watch for free even if I don't have cable?


You may want to reread his post. He is talking about the streaming box pricing options.


----------



## sbiller

innocentfreak said:


> You may want to reread his post. He is talking about the streaming box pricing options.


True. Amazon Prime Streaming was one of the Content Options they asked about. For me, Amazon Prime Streaming is not as important as HBOGo although to be honest I can get pretty much every streaming option except Vudu on my Roku. I do have a separate Vudu box which remains connected for one reason -- the ability to effortlessly watch movie trailers.

I found the survey extremely interesting since its the first time they've ever asked about 3rd party devices in any sort of detail. I suspect that in order to support the Roku, Apple TV, or Smart TVs they need the TiVo Stream in the equation since all those devices work with H.264/MPEG-4 versus the standard MPEG-2 that most broadcasters send to the TiVo over QAM.

The IP-STB will still have many features that make it a very compelling option for secondary and tertiary televisions since it will allow the viewing of live television along with seamless control of the primary TiVo.

I think a price less than $150 would cause me to purchase one or two IP-STB. Perhaps offer a bundled price, $149 on the first box and $129 on a second box purchased at the same time. The Smart TV app or Roku App would be a nice alternative for a third TV that doesn't require access to live television although the app could certainly be updated to support live TV in the same manner as the IP-STB.

I would love to see TiVo strike a strategic deal with Apple to support the Apple TV as an IP-STB client. With 5.4M ATV's on the market this would have the potential of being a very big deal for TiVo. It would also be great for Apple since they don't currently offer access to live or recorded television in the home. TiVo could strike a similar deal with Microsoft or Roku which would have similar benefits for TiVo and the 3rd party platforms.


----------



## jcthorne

richbrew said:


> Same with Android, then something like Roku. (Now somebody needs to build an Android based box like Apple TV so the whole thing can be streamlined to just two software platforms.)


mmmmm...Have you heard of Google TV? Logitech and Sony both sell boxes running Google TV which is android based. Not that either have gotten any further in the marketplace than apple. The content providers will not allow it.


----------



## jcthorne

sbiller said:


> I would love to see TiVo strike a strategic deal with Apple to support the Apple TV as an IP-STB client. With 5.4M ATV's on the market this would have the potential of being a very big deal for TiVo. It would also be great for Apple since they don't currently offer access to live or recorded television in the home. TiVo could strike a similar deal with Microsoft or Roku which would have similar benefits for TiVo and the 3rd party platforms.


A. Apple will NEVER allow this much outside access into one of thier platforms.

B. This is exactly why I would not have an Apple device for media.


----------



## magnus

richbrew said:


> I had to go with 76-100. Reason: Other existing devices already hit this price point (like Apple TV) and would save TiVo the hardware dev work. It wouldn't make sense to me to pay more for a box that does TiVo only, when I could pay less for a box that does TiVo and more if there was an option. Plus, TiVo already makes an iOS app, update it to handle streaming, drop it on Apple TV, and done. Same with Android, then something like Roku. (Now somebody needs to build an Android based box like Apple TV so the whole thing can be streamlined to just two software platforms.)


I chose 51-75 because of the fact that Roku is about that and this seemed to only talk about TiVo recordings.


----------



## magnus

steve614 said:


> Huh? Was Amazon Prime not one of your choices?
> 
> What about HBO GO? I can watch for free even if I don't have cable?


Prime was one of the choices. It was the only option that I really even cared about. They did talk about sport packages and depending on price I would be interested in that.


----------



## jrlbc06

Yeah I'm considering signing up for DirecTv just to get Sunday Ticket this year. If i could get it through Tivo that would be amazing.


----------



## sbiller

If Apple does release an SDK for ATV, than a TiVo App might be feasible.

http://www.bgr.com/2012/06/08/apple-tv-sdk-wwdc-2012/


----------



## dbenrosen

jrlbc06 said:


> Yeah I'm considering signing up for DirecTv just to get Sunday Ticket this year. If i could get it through Tivo that would be amazing.


The NFL would not do this. DirecTV has an exclusive deal for Sunday Ticket, and pays a fortune for it. They would be more likely to get the MLB or NHL packages.


----------



## Mike Pfeifer

dbenrosen said:


> The NFL would not do this. DirecTV has an exclusive deal for Sunday Ticket, and pays a fortune for it. They would be more likely to get the MLB or NHL packages.


The PS3 had Sunday Ticket this past football season, and I would guess it will continue to have it in the future.


----------



## crxssi

Yeah, the talk of using a Roku is a really good idea. There are tons of them out there, they work, they are cheap. Why try to design yet something else if that will work? The ONLY advantage of something TiVo-designed MIGHT be if it used a TiVo-like interface or remote... but as we can see from YouTube and Netflix, that concept has flown out the window...


----------



## aaronwt

Mike Pfeifer said:


> The PS3 had Sunday Ticket this past football season, and I would guess it will continue to have it in the future.


But didn't you have to either be subscribing to it from DirecTV also or were in an area that couldn't get DirecTV to be able to get it on the PS3?


----------



## Mike Pfeifer

aaronwt said:


> But didn't you have to either be subscribing to it from DirecTV also or were in an area that couldn't get DirecTV to be able to get it on the PS3?


I wasn't aware of any restriction, but I did not really research it since I was unwilling to pay the huge amount of money they wanted for the service (which I was really not that interested in anyway.)


----------



## Mike Pfeifer

From C-NET:

"The price of adoption isn't cheap: New customers who aren't already using DirecTV will have to pay $339.95 for the privilege of streaming a whole season of games. Existing DirecTV customers have to pay $50 to activate the PS3 connectivity. 

Another caveat: this only allows access to out-of-market games, meaning that die-hard local fans (such as myself) will have to watch local broadcasts and regular television for their teams, and hop off the PS3--or, keep the PS3 and TV in a picture-in-picture orientation."


----------



## innocentfreak

crxssi said:


> Yeah, the talk of using a Roku is a really good idea. There are tons of them out there, they work, they are cheap. Why try to design yet something else if that will work? The ONLY advantage of something TiVo-designed MIGHT be if it used a TiVo-like interface or remote... but as we can see from YouTube and Netflix, that concept has flown out the window...


I was thinking about this today.

I wonder if they are seeing what they should develop the transcoding/streaming box should be able to stream to in addition to tablets and mobile. This way if you wanted the TiVo option you could buy the extender, but if you already had a Roku you could buy the transcoder and stream to the Roku.


----------



## crxssi

innocentfreak said:


> I was thinking about this today.
> 
> I wonder if they are seeing what they should develop the transcoding/streaming box should be able to stream to in addition to tablets and mobile. This way if you wanted the TiVo option you could buy the extender, but if you already had a Roku you could buy the transcoder and stream to the Roku.


I think that is exactly what they are exploring.


----------



## h2oskierc

Wish I could change some of my answers now. I like the idea of a Roku instead of a TiVo branded product. Then I could watch GBTV on the Roku, but still gain the functionality of playing back recordings.

I also would like a device that accepts a cable-card to act as a tuner, has the TiVo guide data, can stream from my premiere, and can schedule/manage recording on my premiere. Want to make it even better, give it a 30 minute buffer, so I could still pause live TV. Something that would make it seem like I had another TiVo box, when in reality I just have one. I suppose they would charge an addition sub fee then, though.


----------



## crxssi

h2oskierc said:


> I also would like a device that accepts a cable-card to act as a tuner, has the TiVo guide data, can stream from my premiere, and can schedule/manage recording on my premiere. Want to make it even better, give it a 30 minute buffer, so I could still pause live TV. Something that would make it seem like I had another TiVo box, when in reality I just have one. I suppose they would charge an addition sub fee then, though.


Um, with all of that, you essentially described having a second TiVo Premiere. Yes, that would certainly come with additional charges. There should be no need for a "remote box" to have a tuner, cable card, or buffer. Just remote control over the main box and the ability to stream from it.


----------



## crxssi

Another survey just came out last night. Lots of questions about the new Netflix and Youtube. Looks to be another good/relevant survey.


----------



## aaronwt

I got that one over two days ago. I mentioned my displeasure with the youtube app and my overall satisfaction with the Netflix app.


----------



## davezatz

aaronwt said:


> I got that one over two days ago. I mentioned my displeasure with the youtube app and my overall satisfaction with the Netflix app.


Yeah, I got it a couple days back too and mentioned my displeasure with Hulu and Netflix. I still prefer watching on other devices. I did comment on YouTube, but don't really care much about that service.


----------



## Innerloop

Did Hulu get worse too? I was sort of thinking of switching my subscription over from Netflix since that app got so bad, so disheartening to hear Hulu is no better?


----------



## crxssi

Innerloop said:


> Did Hulu get worse too? I was sort of thinking of switching my subscription over from Netflix since that app got so bad, so disheartening to hear Hulu is no better?


TiVo doesn't support Hulu. It is Hulu+.... totally different thing. With Hulu+, you get to pay money for the privilege of being forced to watch commercials! And you can't even watch everything available on Hulu. One of the stupidest service offerings I have ever seen.


----------



## Beryl

crxssi said:


> With Hulu+, you get to pay money for the privilege of being forced to watch commercials! And you can't even watch everything available on Hulu. One of the stupidest service offerings I have ever seen.


Agreed. I'm on month 2 of my 6 month free offer and I've accessed Hulu+ twice. I look for other ways to access content. It rarely has anything so exclusive that makes it worth watching commercials.


----------



## aadam101

Innerloop said:


> Did Hulu get worse too? I was sort of thinking of switching my subscription over from Netflix since that app got so bad, so disheartening to hear Hulu is no better?


Keep Netflix.


----------



## innocentfreak

New survey is out. Mine was pretty boring.


----------



## crxssi

innocentfreak said:


> New survey is out. Mine was pretty boring.


Agreed. Almost all of it are questions that have been asked several times before.


----------



## crxssi

Another new survey today. Lots of questions about remotes. Added my general feedback at the end:

* Add Android support for the Stream. It is crazy you don't have it at release time.

* Add support to stream content from Premiere to inexpensive add-on boxes with no fees.

* Focus less on features and more on performance, stability, bug-fixes, and enhancements to the core DVR functionality of the Premiere- menus, guides, watching recorded content

* TiVo Android Tablet version app is so slow it is almost unusable. Very disappointed.

* HDUI is too dependent on live Internet connection. Not enough caching. Performance still needs improvement.

* Still no way to store all settings, channels, ratings and preferences in case of hardware failure.

* Would love to have adjustable (faster than realtime) playback speed, with adjusted audio.


----------



## hillyard

remotes? good. I would like to map one of the color buttons to the sleep timer of the tv


----------



## astrohip

hillyard said:


> remotes? good. I would like to map one of the color buttons to the sleep timer of the tv


They asked if there were buttons you don't use, and buttons you wish you had.

I asked for a Closed Caption toggle button.


----------



## crxssi

astrohip said:


> They asked if there were buttons you don't use, and buttons you wish you had.
> 
> I asked for a Closed Caption toggle button.


Hey, that is a good idea, wish I had thought of that...


----------



## steve614

Is the 'Zoom' button essential on the Premieres? 

I never use it on my TivoHD, and voted that it wasn't very useful.

I hope I don't ruin it for you guys.


----------



## celtic pride

I use my zoom button all the time to get out of the guide and go straight to live tv.


----------



## crxssi

steve614 said:


> Is the 'Zoom' button essential on the Premieres?
> 
> I never use it on my TivoHD, and voted that it wasn't very useful.
> 
> I hope I don't ruin it for you guys.


Zoom button is quite useful for watching SD programming. I use it probably once a week, which is 1,000 times more than I use, for example, the replay key.


----------



## aaronwt

I use the Zoom button many, many times a day with the HDUI on my Premieres. Since you use the Zoom button to get back to the full screen of the content playing in the upper right corner.


----------



## nrc

I voted not very useful. Seemed like they were fishing to see if people would name that button as not useful on their own in an earlier question. 

Maybe they should just make it programmable so that you can put any other learned remote function on there.

For feedback I complained about the horrible YouTube app and the lack of Amazon Prime free streaming.


----------



## lpwcomp

nrc said:


> I voted not very useful. Seemed like they were fishing to see if people would name that button as not useful on their own in an earlier question.
> 
> Maybe they should just make it programmable so that you can put any other learned remote function on there.


That would require a learning remote.


----------



## Beryl

astrohip said:


> I asked for a Closed Caption toggle button.


Excellent and I also wish I thought of that. I requested a sleep button. I also use Zoom after pressing Guide and when pressing other buttons when viewing the HD screens. 


nrc said:


> For feedback I complained about the horrible YouTube app and the lack of Amazon Prime free streaming.


I complained about the latter and the slide remote that starts glitching right after the 90 day warranty expires.


----------



## nrc

lpwcomp said:


> That would require a learning remote.


I guess I'm spoiled since the slide and the glow remote both have learning ability. I should have added in my feedback that they should all have that feature since I can't get my TV power button to work without it.


----------



## DCleary

I asked for native resolution again so my video processor can clean up the video.


----------



## MichaelK

lpwcomp said:


> That would require a learning remote.


tivo's had learning remotes for years and years. what's the difference if they let you program 2-3 buttons or 10?

I think the 4 colored buttons were pointless- either make them useful in the US (even if the UI would "learn what you want"- for example maybe you could have a screen to pick that blue toggles CC on and off)- or make them programmable so i can add sleep timer from my tv and the like. They're almost pointless now.


----------



## Zaphod

crxssi said:


> Zoom button is quite useful for watching SD programming. I use it probably once a week, which is 1,000 times more than I use, for example, the replay key.


I use the functions on my TV to adjust the picture for SD programming. My TV is way better at it that the TiVO. I never touch the TiVo's Zoom button.


----------



## mattack

I *try* the zoom button a lot, but it seems like both my TV (some LG 42" plasma) and the Tivo don't have perfect zoom for whatever aspect ratio the network shows are in on the SD channels. I don't want my picture cut off, so then I deal with black bars on all 4 sides.
(I don't have infinite storage, so I record the SD channels instead of the HD channels.. I 'hoard' up a LOT of shows, but do end up watching things years old on occasion.)

I try zoom often, but if I notice things are cut off (even if "only" an inch or so), I usually go back to the one that shows me the entire picture.

One of the network seems to shows at the full height.. I wish they'd all do that.


----------



## lpwcomp

mattack said:


> I *try* the zoom button a lot, but it seems like both my TV (some LG 42" plasma) and the Tivo don't have perfect zoom for whatever aspect ratio the network shows are in on the SD channels. I don't want my picture cut off, so then I deal with black bars on all 4 sides.
> (I don't have infinite storage, so I record the SD channels instead of the HD channels.. I 'hoard' up a LOT of shows, but do end up watching things years old on occasion.)
> 
> I try zoom often, but if I notice things are cut off (even if "only" an inch or so), I usually go back to the one that shows me the entire picture.
> 
> One of the network seems to shows at the full height.. I wish they'd all do that.


That's exactly why I record most things in HD, even those that are shown WS in SD and will most likely be viewed on a 4:3 analog TV. The possibility exists that they will be viewed on a 16x9 HD TV and I have been unable to find any combination of TiVo and TV settings that doesn't result in a distorted picture or loss of information or waste of screen space.


----------



## newsposter

i read in the first page of the invite that they see what SP you have for what shows..does this mean that any torrents i upload wont even count as viewing? 

just wondering if they even see that uploaded content then or just the stuff thru the inputs?


----------



## abqdan

I just moved to OTA-only from cable, and at the same time I bought my first TiVo. I would have purchased the 4 tuner unit if it had OTA capability. For me, the main viewing window is 8pm to 10pm, and I frequently find there are three or more shows I want to record at the same time from the networks. We get 13 channels OTA in our area (well, 45, but most are religious or Spanish language - no good to me). I settled for the Premiere and use Hulu to catch up on programs I can't record with the two tuners.


----------



## mattack

Strangely, one of the shows last night showed the video at full height for a bit, THEN switched to the fully boxed on all 4 sides.. (i.e. on the SD channel). Maybe that was the cable company. I think it was "Go On", but I might be wrong.


----------



## jrtroo

I have had this happen when my local affiliate apparently had problems. Essentially it went from HD to SD and back to HD during the course of a single NFL game.


----------



## mattack

No, I actually meant the 'full height' was right. Basically, they're doing the 4:3 "version" for SD, but then grow it the full height of the screen&#8230;. then it jumped to letterbox.


----------



## innocentfreak

New survey is out especially important for those who have Streams.


----------



## sbiller

innocentfreak said:


> New survey is out especially important for those who have Streams.


Great survey! A lot of that had me salivating. :up:


----------



## steve614

I would be interested in the 'new feature'. Question is, would it be a Premiere only feature?

If it can be easily ported to the S3 line it should be done, but I don't think TiVo will do it.


----------



## mrizzo80

No one willing to "accidentally" reveal the big new feature they asked about?


----------



## BigJimOutlaw

I must've gotten a different survey, one much more boring than these saliva-inducing nuggets.  Or perhaps it altered based on my input.

(btw, what was this guy talking about?)


----------



## innocentfreak

BigJimOutlaw said:


> I must've gotten a different survey, one much more boring than these saliva-inducing nuggets.
> 
> (btw, what was this guy talking about?)


No idea what he is talking about, but I would imagine they are working on the next model if they are going to release in late 2013. No other people seemed to get it so not sure I would trust the source.

The new feature was nothing great for me so you didn't miss much IMHO. The rest depended on ownership which didn't make sense to me. You would think they would want to know from that group why you didn't buy and what feature might push you over the line.


----------



## BigJimOutlaw

My opinion about the new feature was that it overlaps with a feature Premiere already has, which I ignore. But if the goal is to present it in a different/better way, then maybe it makes sense. Sure, why not. Nothing to write home about though.

The portion I got about the Stream was theoretical and open-ended, but potentially useful I suppose. Anything's possible.


----------



## steve614

mrizzo80 said:


> No one willing to "accidentally" reveal the big new feature they asked about?


Nothing to write home about. I don't remember the details now, but it was just a different way of serving up shows you might like to watch.
Kind of like how Suggestions will record shows you might like to watch, this new feature would serve up shows that you might like to watch 'right now' from the online sources or your My Shows List.

Caveat: At least this is how *I* interpreted that section of the survey.


----------



## astrohip

BigJimOutlaw said:


> (btw, what was this guy talking about?)


I'm pretty sure he was on drugs (or a troll). Our surveys were nothing like what he referred to.


----------



## aaronwt

steve614 said:


> Nothing to write home about. I don't remember the details now, but it was just a different way of serving up shows you might like to watch.
> Kind of like how Suggestions will record shows you might like to watch, this new feature would serve up shows that you might like to watch 'right now' from the online sources or your My Shows List.
> 
> Caveat: At least this is how *I* interpreted that section of the survey.


+1


----------



## nrc

astrohip said:


> I'm pretty sure he was on drugs (or a troll). Our surveys were nothing like what he referred to.


Maybe they're sending out "trap" surveys to find out who is talking about the survey contents. Mine asked something about a teleportation device.


----------



## davezatz

This was my last survey. We've had some change in TiVo personnel and approaches over the last year and to avoid any potential conflicts, I've asked to be removed from the panel. So I'll be checking in here monthly for any bloggable nuggets...


----------



## innocentfreak

davezatz said:


> This was my last survey. We've had some change in TiVo personnel and approaches over the last year and to avoid any potential conflicts, I've asked to be removed from the panel. So I'll be checking in here monthly for any bloggable nuggets...


If it is how I am thinking, I am guessing this is more of a good thing in the way of more open communication even if it is stuff you can't comment on yet.

Of course knowing this we might end up getting an even longer warning on the front of the survey if you do indeed post anything we discuss about. I would be curious if TiVo is ok with how we are handling the discussion these days since they added the notice.


----------



## sbiller

innocentfreak said:


> If it is how I am thinking, I am guessing this is more of a good thing in the way of more open communication even if it is stuff you can't comment on yet.
> 
> Of course knowing this we might end up getting an even longer warning on the front of the survey if you do indeed post anything we discuss about. I would be curious if TiVo is ok with how we are handling the discussion these days since they added the notice.


I'm guessing they are okay with this particular discussion. We've been very discrete and the latest survey was the best one for quite some time.


----------



## BigJimOutlaw

davezatz said:


> This was my last survey. We've had some change in TiVo personnel and approaches over the last year and to avoid any potential conflicts, I've asked to be removed from the panel. So I'll be checking in here monthly for any bloggable nuggets...


Are you going to CES this year Dave?


----------



## davezatz

BigJimOutlaw said:


> Are you going to CES this year Dave?


I've got my press credentials in hand and my hotel is booked. Whether or not I actually go is still up in the air - as it is every year. CES is hard work and I blog in my free time... which means I use a significant amount of my vacation time on it and it's not much of a family "vacation" or relaxing even though its mostly a ton of fun. As of now, I'm probably leaning against it.


----------



## innocentfreak

New survey is out. 

Nothing exciting this time either.


----------



## steve614

It must have been geared for cable subscribers. I jumped from 25% done to 75% done when I answered that I am OTA only.

And what is with the questions about newly released movies?
Most of them I have never heard of *because I own a Tivo*. .


----------



## scandia101

steve614 said:


> And what is with the questions about newly released movies?
> Most of them I have never heard of *because I own a Tivo*. .


If only there were other ways to hear about new movies besides TV.


----------



## crxssi

scandia101 said:


> If only there were other ways to hear about new movies besides TV.


Yeah. I can't imagine.

Anyway, why are they always so obsessed with movies in theaters on these surveys? I really don't get the connection or reason or why it has anything to do with TiVo.


----------



## innocentfreak

crxssi said:


> Yeah. I can't imagine.
> 
> Anyway, why are they always so obsessed with movies in theaters on these surveys? I really don't get the connection or reason or why it has anything to do with TiVo.


I could see it from an advertising perspective.


----------



## Worf

crxssi said:


> Yeah. I can't imagine.
> 
> Anyway, why are they always so obsessed with movies in theaters on these surveys? I really don't get the connection or reason or why it has anything to do with TiVo.


I'm guessing it's because of several reasons:

1) Aggregate interests - are TiVo users more prone to liking certain kinds of movies over others?

2) Advertising - DVR users skip ads. Does this influence how movies appeal to DVR users versus non-DVR users? This includes whether or not users know about certain movies.

3) General movie-going natures - do TiVo users go to more movies or less than the general population?


----------



## NYHeel

Tivo recently emailed me a survey about the Stream. They has a bunch of potential Stream related feature possibilities that I was supposed to rank.


----------



## lessd

My Survey talked about re-naming Lifetime Service, they ask my opinion with about 5 options of what to call Lifetime Service.
*PLEASE* don't change the name as it will confuse everybody as we all know what Lifetime Service is now. I said *one time payment* as the best of the available options, but i don't like it.


----------



## innocentfreak

lessd said:


> My Survey talked about re-naming Lifetime Service, they ask my opinion with about 5 options of what to call Lifetime Service.
> *PLEASE* don't change the name as it will confuse everybody as we all know what Lifetime Service is now. I said *one time payment* as the best of the available options, but i don't like it.


I would agree with that thinking.


----------



## mr_smits

lessd said:


> My Survey talked about re-naming Lifetime Service, they ask my opinion with about 5 options of what to call Lifetime Service.
> *PLEASE* don't change the name as it will confuse everybody as we all know what Lifetime Service is now. I said *one time payment* as the best of the available options, but i don't like it.


Lifetime is confusing for people new to Tivo because they think it means forever. It doesn't mean forever. It means for the life of your specific device. Maybe they should re-name it *"Life-of-Device-Time"* to keep with the same theme. That way, it answers the obvious question about transferring lifetime and what happens with hardware dies.


----------



## morac

mr_smits said:


> Lifetime is confusing for people new to Tivo because they think it means forever. It doesn't mean forever. It means for the life of your specific device. Maybe they should re-name it "Life-of-Device-Time" to keep with the same theme. That way, it answers the obvious question about transferring lifetime and what happens with hardware dies.


TiVo actually already calls it the "Product Lifetime Service Subscription" which shouldn't be that confusing.


----------



## mr_smits

morac said:


> TiVo actually already calls it the "Product Lifetime Service Subscription" which shouldn't be that confusing.


I didn't know that was the official name. In that case, I vote for no change. However, Tivo must know that the up front costs is what is keeping people from signing up, so maybe this is an attempt to solve that problem?


----------



## innocentfreak

mr_smits said:


> I didn't know that was the official name. In that case, I vote for no change. However, Tivo must know that the up front costs is what is keeping people from signing up, so maybe this is an attempt to solve that problem?


They are probably trying to get away from the lifetime name since some people assume lifetime isn't tied to the box.


----------



## lessd

innocentfreak said:


> They are probably trying to get away from the lifetime name since some people assume lifetime isn't tied to the box.


But what would you call it that will not confuse all current and new TiVo customers, how would one list on E-Bay: *TiVo with one time payment, already paid in full,* as opposed to just *Lifetime*.


----------



## innocentfreak

lessd said:


> But what would you call it that will not confuse all current and new TiVo customers, how would one list on E-Bay: *TiVo with one time payment, already paid in full,* as opposed to just *Lifetime*.


Not sure TiVo cares about the ebay resale market especially if they have lifetime. 

Just like Microsoft is learning with metro, changing the name you call it doesn't always affect the rest of the world.


----------



## steve614

I chose *One Time Payment* as my top pick. It was the only one that made sense to me.


----------



## HeatherA

lessd said:


> My Survey talked about re-naming Lifetime Service, they ask my opinion with about 5 options of what to call Lifetime Service.
> *PLEASE* don't change the name as it will confuse everybody as we all know what Lifetime Service is now. I said *one time payment* as the best of the available options, but i don't like it.


I agree, I think renaming Lifetime is a waste of time and money. After 13 years it is what it is.


----------



## Revolutionary

I also got the survey about product lifetime. The other options (beyond "one time payment," there were things like "prepaid service" or "up-front payment") actually made me wonder if they might try to transition away from lifetime again. Calling it "prepaid" gives them the flexibility to make payments due quarterly, semi-annually, annually, etc (like SiriusXM). That might be palatable to some, but I hope it does not come at the expense of losing "product lifetime" as an option.


----------



## BigJimOutlaw

You guys suck at following the non-disclosure at the beginning of every survey.


----------



## tatergator1

BigJimOutlaw said:


> You guys suck at following the non-disclosure at the beginning of every survey.


I was thinking the same thing. Usually, the info posted here about the survey is generalized and a bit cryptic, but those who have taken the survey would understand. For this last survey, we might as well copy and past the text of the question to the forum since so much fine detail has already be "leaked."


----------



## innocentfreak

BigJimOutlaw said:


> You guys suck at following the non-disclosure at the beginning of every survey.


Reminds me of the people who try to whisper by yelling.


----------



## steve614

Meh, I don't think TiVo cares as long as we keep it here. After all, this is a TiVo related forum. I wouldn't be surprised if they peek at this thread to guage our opinions even further.

OTOH, if someone like davezatz started blogging about the surveys, they might have a problem.


----------



## morac

steve614 said:


> Meh, I don't think TiVo cares as long as we keep it here. After all, this is a TiVo related forum. I wouldn't be surprised if they peek at this thread to guage our opinions even further.
> 
> OTOH, if someone like davezatz started blogging about the surveys, they might have a problem.


Because Dave obviously can't read what's in here.


----------



## davezatz

Did someone say something?


----------



## headless chicken

The latest survey was really interesting. They inquired about the lastest bill from my TV service provider in order to find out if they are complying with new regulations about fees. Apparently they are supposed to issue credits to customers who use their own equipment (i.e. non-cable branded DVR) and cannot charge additional fees for this. Tivo also requested to see a copy of the latest bill from the TV provider.


----------



## newsposter

headless chicken said:


> The latest survey was really interesting. They inquired about the lastest bill from my TV service provider in order to find out if they are complying with new regulations about fees. Apparently they are supposed to issue credits to customers who use their own equipment (i.e. non-cable branded DVR) and cannot charge additional fees for this. Tivo also requested to see a copy of the latest bill from the TV provider.


what about us who dont pay for tv.why cant we get a credit for using our own equipment


----------



## magnus

newsposter said:


> what about us who dont pay for tv.why cant we get a credit for using our own equipment


I get a credit of $80 per month.  Since I no longer use Directv.


----------



## Drewster

I use only antenna feed, and have no cable/sat sub.

I thought the survey was remarkably short.


----------



## newsposter

i thought i was on the survey list but i didnt get one...(scratching head)


----------



## innocentfreak

newsposter said:


> i thought i was on the survey list but i didnt get one...(scratching head)


They don't always send them to everyone. Also they send them out in batches so you might still get it.


----------



## nrc

headless chicken said:


> The latest survey was really interesting. They inquired about the lastest bill from my TV service provider in order to find out if they are complying with new regulations about fees. Apparently they are supposed to issue credits to customers who use their own equipment (i.e. non-cable branded DVR) and cannot charge additional fees for this. Tivo also requested to see a copy of the latest bill from the TV provider.


They are supposed to offer a credit if you use your own equipment and are subscribed to a package the includes the cost of equipment. Unfortunately most providers are requiring subscribers to call and ask for the credit when they could easily determine whether someone is eligible on their own.

Of course the month they ask for help with this my provider (WOW!), who has been trouble free for years, decides to blow up my bill with a new billing system.


----------



## Revolutionary

BigJimOutlaw said:


> You guys suck at following the non-disclosure at the beginning of every survey.


Psh, I'm aware that there are words on the first page above the "get started" button, but I am not at all aware of what they say.


----------



## HeatherA

I'm not going to say anything specific but I just took the latest survey and it's a doozy. Should give us all a great deal to talk about in the coming months.


----------



## crxssi

HeatherA said:


> I'm not going to say anything specific but I just took the latest survey and it's a doozy. Should give us all a great deal to talk about in the coming months.


You are talking about the one for which all the details were already leaked, above?


----------



## HeatherA

crxssi said:


> You are talking about the one for which all the details were already leaked, above?


No, this was a new one that I got today. I don't know if it was an advisor panel survey or just a survey sent out to select subscribers. It was a bit different than the monthly surveys and actually administered by an off-TiVo survey site.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around all it contained. It was a bit overwhelming.


----------



## lessd

HeatherA said:


> No, this was a new one that I got today. I don't know if it was an advisor panel survey or just a survey sent out to select subscribers. It was a bit different than the monthly surveys and actually administered by an off-TiVo survey site.
> 
> I'm still trying to wrap my head around all it contained. It was a bit overwhelming.


Thanks for sharing...just a little bit to get us all excited.


----------



## HeatherA

lessd said:


> Thanks for sharing...just a little bit to get us all excited.


You're welcome... I'm shocked no one else has said anything. I tried to go back to see if there was any non-disclosure text at the beginning but can't since I've already finished the survey. I don't want to say more if I agreed not to and I can't remember if it had the same text as the TiVo Advisory Panel surveys.


----------



## innocentfreak

HeatherA said:


> You're welcome... I'm shocked no one else has said anything. I tried to go back to see if there was any non-disclosure text at the beginning but can't since I've already finished the survey. I don't want to say more if I agreed not to and I can't remember if it had the same text as the TiVo Advisory Panel surveys.


Do you remember what the subject line of the email said or the email address it came from? I know occasionally in the past their have been owner's surveys for specific products.


----------



## HeatherA

innocentfreak said:


> Do you remember what the subject line of the email said or the email address it came from? I know occasionally in the past their have been owner's surveys for specific products.


It came from Michaela as usual and the subject was: TiVo subscriber survey -- your opinion counts

Nothing unusual. I didn't even realize it was different until I was taking it and it re-directed to the outside survey company.


----------



## steve614

HeatherA said:


> I tried to go back to see if there was any non-disclosure text at the beginning but can't since I've already finished the survey. I don't want to say more if I agreed not to and I can't remember if it had the same text as the TiVo Advisory Panel surveys.


This is the standard text that I've seen at the beginning of the surveys (note the second bullet point):










Interpret that how you wish.

I see it as a polite request not to distribute the information to outside sources and TCF doesn't count as an outside source (IMO).


----------



## crxssi

HeatherA said:


> You're welcome... I'm shocked no one else has said anything.


I have gotten all the other survey Email but still see nothing like what you have described. Maybe they are picking a smaller focus group based on demographics collected through previous surveys.


----------



## innocentfreak

Well I just got a new survey similar to what Heather describes and there is no request not to disclose. I already did this month's survey so this is something different. I will have to take the survey at home though since I am about to leave work.


----------



## innocentfreak

Well that was a big letdown. It was a general rate and comment survey. It definitely didn't match the subject line.


----------



## HeatherA

innocentfreak said:


> Well that was a big letdown. It was a general rate and comment survey. It definitely didn't match the subject line.


Was it the same one I got? The one that took you to another site to complete the survey? I got another survey today but it was from [email protected] and was very basic. Quite different from the one I was referring to earlier.


----------



## Philmatic

Same here, I thought it was going to be mind-blowing and they just asked for normal information.

*Edit:* Ah, I see now, it all changes based on your answer to the frequency of you TV viewing. Select "I do not watch TV" for more information.

Without revealing too much, it IS a new feature, but it isn't mind-blowing by any measure. It has nothing to do with streaming, transcoding or anything hardware related. It's just a new way to present information when you turn on your TV.


----------



## HeatherA

Philmatic said:


> Same here, I thought it was going to be mind-blowing and they just asked for normal information.
> 
> *Edit:* Ah, I see now, it all changes based on your answer to the frequency of you TV viewing. Select "I do not watch TV" for more information.
> 
> Without revealing too much, it IS a new feature, but it isn't mind-blowing by any measure. It has nothing to do with streaming, transcoding or anything hardware related. It's just a new way to present information when you turn on your TV.


Oh that's the one I got today... from [email protected] Different from the one I was referring to earlier. I must not have answered correctly because i didn't get any info on the "new feature" my survey ended up being pretty basic. Guess I watch too much TV to fit the demo


----------



## innocentfreak

Philmatic said:


> Same here, I thought it was going to be mind-blowing and they just asked for normal information.
> 
> *Edit:* Ah, I see now, it all changes based on your answer to the frequency of you TV viewing. Select "I do not watch TV" for more information.
> 
> Without revealing too much, it IS a new feature, but it isn't mind-blowing by any measure. It has nothing to do with streaming, transcoding or anything hardware related. It's just a new way to present information when you turn on your TV.


It sounds like poor wording on the survey. I read that as when I watch TiVo since it said TV and not Live TV. Why would you own a TiVo if you don't watch TV?


----------



## crxssi

Man, this is confusing.

Meanwhile, I still ain't never got nada.


----------



## beejay

innocentfreak said:


> It sounds like poor wording on the survey. I read that as when I watch TiVo since it said TV and not Live TV. Why would you own a TiVo if you don't watch TV?


Yeah, same problem here. I watch my TV set when it plays back TiVo recordings, so I said I watch TV a lot.

Evidently I should have said I hardly ever watch live TV.


----------



## crxssi

Another new survey. A few speed/stability/satisfaction questions and then right into all the non-TiVo stuff. One of the least interesting ones in a long time now.


----------



## philw1776

The TiVo survey has become a stalking horse for non TiVo topics. May be a money making deal for TiVo.


----------



## headless chicken

philw1776 said:


> The TiVo survey has become a stalking horse for non TiVo topics. May be a money making deal for TiVo.


Huh?


----------



## crxssi

headless chicken said:


> Huh?


He is saying that perhaps they are just selling this non-TiVo survey data to third parties, rather than using it themselves. And that is quite possible.

It would be nice if TiVo explained more about WHY they are asking non-TiVo questions. I do find it a bit irritating and offensive. I am taking up my time, free of charge, to provide information to TiVo because I want me and others to have a better experience with the products- not because I want to help them make money on the side.

You might remember that we all started complaining LOUDLY when they starting asking non-TiVo stuff and made those questions *REQUIRED* in order to complete the survey. At least they made it optional a while ago.


----------



## headless chicken

crxssi said:


> He is saying that perhaps they are just selling this non-TiVo survey data to third parties, rather than using it themselves. And that is quite possible.


Oh, okay. I understand now. Thanks. Very uncool if that's true.


----------



## beejay

crxssi said:


> I do find it a bit irritating and offensive. I am taking up my time, free of charge, to provide information to TiVo because I want me and others to have a better experience with the products- not because I want to help them make money on the side.
> 
> At least they made it *optional* a while ago.


It seems there is an obvious solution to your irritation.


----------



## headless chicken

beejay said:


> It seems there is an obvious solution to your irritation.


Thanks for pointing that out. Here I thought I was obligated to fill out every form and field.


----------



## nrc

I thought it was clear all along that TiVo shared their survey data with partners and third parties. Market research is part of their business. If you don't want to participate then don't participate.


----------



## crxssi

beejay said:


> It seems there is an obvious solution to your irritation.


LOL... true. My irritation still persists from the time when it was not optional.


----------



## Zaphod

beejay said:


> It seems there is an obvious solution to your irritation.


While I partially agree, I wish it were that simple. The other piece of it though is that while this was started as a means to gather feedback on Tivo stuff to improve the product, and I would love to participate in that, as of late it seems to have become more 3rd party marketing fluff and less about Tivo itself. It almost seems as though now they just include a couple of Tivo questions just to keep us interested and HOPING we'll fill out the rest, and I question now whether they're even really using the actual Tivo information. I WANT to provide feedback on Tivo itself and I don't mind answering a few questions about 3rd party stuff along with it, but now I question if it isn't all about the 3rd party stuff. If it has become just 3rd party stuff, I kind of wish they'd be honest about it and then I'd just drop out. It needs to go back to where it was more about Tivo and the other stuff thrown in.


----------



## mrsean

I took this opportunity to let Tivo know what I think about their new mascot.


----------



## newsposter

new mascot? after the software update it replayed the animation and i didnt see anything new


----------



## morac

newsposter said:


> new mascot? after the software update it replayed the animation and i didnt see anything new


I think he sarcastically meant Teebo.


----------



## waynomo

I always thought the purpose of the non-TiVo questions was to help them market TiVo to advertisers. When going to potential advertisers they don't have anything like the Nielson ratings. So they can go to advertisers and say that our users are between such and such ages and like to do these sorts of things. So we hit your target advertising audience so advertise with us.

I have no problem with this. It is not like TiVo is making gobs of money. I like the product so anything I can do to help it stay healthy is a good thing in my book.


----------



## steve614

I'm sure that's the case. I have no problem with it either. 
I'll be convinced it works if I ever see a star ad for Pizza Inn.


----------



## newsposter

morac said:


> I think he sarcastically meant Teebo.


oh i dont watch commercials so i wouldnt know about such things, i have a tivo  apparently not a bad thing in this instance


----------



## morac

newsposter said:


> oh i dont watch commercials so i wouldnt know about such things, i have a tivo  apparently not a bad thing in this instance


I don't either, but it's been plastered online everywhere.


----------



## astrohip

breaking news... 



> Hi xxx,
> 
> If you are a RETAIL TiVo box user (you did not receive your TiVo box from your cable provider) AND you live in the United States, please read on because we need your help. If not, please accept my apology for sending this e-mail to you, and please disregard (we will work through your cable provider to gather feedback from you.)
> 
> We are gathering information on remote sounds for future development at TiVo and would love your input, as a loyal TiVo customer and tester! Will you take a few moments to complete a survey for us? You can find it here:
> 
> http://xxx.tivo.com/xxx/xxx.aspx
> 
> Thank you for your help in improving and enhancing TiVo's products! We may follow up with a few more questions in the following weeks, and appreciate your time and cooperation.
> 
> Best regards,
> 
> xxx
> TiVo Field Trials Team


----------



## innocentfreak

Did you get the email twice? It looks like the same survey, but I got two emails.


----------



## ufo4sale

I got that same email, will look at the survey later.


----------



## beejay

innocentfreak said:


> Did you get the email twice? It looks like the same survey, but I got two emails.


They send two e-mails to people whose opinion they really value.


----------



## steve614

I just took this survey.

I put the 'jumping' sound as my favorite. That whistle would be annoying.


----------



## crxssi

I got the remote sounds survey too. Unfortunately they used some stupid or proprietary plugin to present sounds during the survey so it was a waste of time. I filled out all these questions and then I was essentially discarded at the end because they designed a poor survey.

I have no problems playing back audio or video from most any site I visit (and yes, I also have Flash installed).


----------



## innocentfreak

crxssi said:


> I got the remote sounds survey too. Unfortunately they used some stupid or proprietary plugin to present sounds during the survey so it was a waste of time. I filled out all these questions and then I was essentially discarded at the end because they designed a poor survey.
> 
> I have no problems playing back audio or video from most any site I visit (and yes, I also have Flash installed).


I played it fine with Firefox. It looked like it was Quicktime based.


----------



## MichaelK

crxssi said:


> I got the remote sounds survey too. Unfortunately they used some stupid or proprietary plugin to present sounds during the survey so it was a waste of time. I filled out all these questions and then I was essentially discarded at the end because they designed a poor survey.
> 
> I have no problems playing back audio or video from most any site I visit (and yes, I also have Flash installed).


quicktime crap-

I guess it goes along with their present love of apple. One of the questions only asked if people used an apple ipad app or an iphone app and ignored the existence of android apps. <cornball joke mode on> well I guess since they half ignore android when they develop it's poetic justice. Perhaps it's like android development and in 6 months they'll get around to adding that option to the question. But like most other things they do the question will no longer be relevant at that point so it wont matter. - laughing


----------



## morac

innocentfreak said:


> I played it fine with Firefox. It looked like it was Quicktime based.


Played fine on my iPad which is probably why they went the QuickTime route instead of flash.


----------



## crxssi

innocentfreak said:


> I played it fine with Firefox.


That is what I use



> It looked like it was Quicktime based.


That would explain it. A proprietary, closed, non-all-platform plugin. A very stupid selection for them to make. There are many better ways to handle that.


----------



## crxssi

MichaelK said:


> One of the questions only asked if people used an apple ipad app or an iphone app and ignored the existence of android apps.


Yes, I noticed that too. And I complained in their comment section that, AGAIN, they listed the i**** apps in a survey and did not list their own Android apps.


----------



## crxssi

morac said:


> Played fine on my iPad which is probably why they went the QuickTime route instead of flash.


Could be, but it is hardly a good or valid reason. For a better example see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stairway_to_heaven

Note the "Audio Sample" on the right. No Flash, no QuickTime. Should work on all browsers on every operating system on every device. And in some remote case where it doesn't, it allows you to download the audio file and play it in anything you want.


----------



## morac

crxssi said:


> Could be, but it is hardly a good or valid reason. For a better example see:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stairway_to_heaven
> 
> Note the "Audio Sample" on the right. No Flash, no QuickTime. Should work on all browsers on every operating system on every device. And in some remote case where it doesn't, it allows you to download the audio file and play it in anything you want.


Doesn't work on the iPad since iPad doesn't support .ogg files (well not natively).


----------



## steve614

crxssi said:


> I got the remote sounds survey too. Unfortunately they used some stupid or proprietary plugin to present sounds during the survey so it was a waste of time. *I filled out all these questions *and then I was essentially discarded at the end because they designed a poor survey.


Wait. Did you not get a page near the beginning that asked whether or not you could play the sound?


----------



## newsposter

i couldnt play the sound but it apparently let me finish as there were more questions, guess i just missed the fun part


----------



## mr_smits

MichaelK said:


> One of the questions only asked if people used an apple ipad app or an iphone app and ignored the existence of android apps.


I noticed that, too. Tivo is pretty consistent about ignoring Android users when they ignore (or forget) the existence of their own Android app in a self-designed survey. Either way, it's not a sign of a business run well.


----------



## mrsean

For anybody that been waiting for a chance to way in on Tivo's choice of ambassador, the latest survey solicits our opinion of that person.


----------



## morac

mrsean said:


> For anybody that been waiting for a chance to way in on Tivo's choice of ambassador, the latest survey solicits our opinion of that person.


"Way in" might be a bit too strong a wording. You can basically give him a thumbs up or down (or neither).


----------



## sbiller

A lot of "personalization" questions. I really hope they release something this year.


----------



## beejay

morac said:


> "Way in" might be a bit too strong a wording.


Or, at most, "weigh in".


----------



## abqdan

I hope their development efforts aren't concentrated on a sound to locate my (not missing) remote. Really, is this the most interesting thing they can come up with? And asking about different sounds is, well... lame. If they really want to do this, chuck in a bunch of configurable sounds so you can choose one, or allow you to record your own sound. Or here's an idea - work on the media integration, the woefully bad HuluPlus app, or a four tuner box that includes antenna support. (Yes, I really want that last one, since all the major networks move their best programs to the same timeslot to 'compete' with each other - the only way to record the shows I want would be to have at least three OTA tuners).

Remote locating sound is just about the last feature I'd need or want.


----------



## lessd

abqdan said:


> I hope their development efforts aren't concentrated on a sound to locate my (not missing) remote. Really, is this the most interesting thing they can come up with? And asking about different sounds is, well... lame. If they really want to do this, chuck in a bunch of configurable sounds so you can choose one, or allow you to record your own sound. Or here's an idea - work on the media integration, the woefully bad HuluPlus app, or a four tuner box that includes antenna support. (Yes, I really want that last one, since all the major networks move their best programs to the same timeslot to 'compete' with each other - the only way to record the shows I want would be to have at least three OTA tuners).
> 
> Remote locating sound is just about the last feature I'd need or want.


+1 Lets take a poll on how many people can't find their remote, or are even using the TiVo remote (I use the Harmony remote).
I want more reliable streaming and with my xfers that are all over 50Gb/s I should have that (three of my TiVos are on the "N" wireless adapter). My streaming works about 80% of the time without stopping in the middle saying I have a network problem.


----------



## sbiller

Anyone else receive the survey request from Michaela yesterday? Some interesting questions about new features I've never heard TiVo ask about before.


----------



## innocentfreak

sbiller said:


> Anyone else receive the survey request from Michaela yesterday? Some interesting questions about new features I've never heard TiVo ask about before.


Was that the one about Tebow and personalizing?


----------



## sbiller

innocentfreak said:


> Was that the one about Tebow and personalizing?


Nope. A newer one -- no mention of Tebow.

One feature sounded a lot like DISH Networks PrimeTime Anytime...


----------



## innocentfreak

sbiller said:


> Nope. A newer one -- no mention of Tebow.
> 
> One feature sounded a lot like DISH Networks PrimeTime Anytime...


Definitely not then. Hopefully it is coming my way though.


----------



## h2oskierc

sbiller said:


> Anyone else receive the survey request from Michaela yesterday? Some interesting questions about new features I've never heard TiVo ask about before.


I did, but you don't know that.


----------



## innocentfreak

February is out. I don't and didn't watch the Superbowl so it skipped a decent amount for me.


----------



## steve614

I just got the February survey.

The only relevant question was about whether I'd be intrested in a new 300 hr 4 tuner Tivo that could be used for cable/OTA.

I selected 8 out of 10 on the scale that was provided.


----------



## davezatz

Was this bit of fluff in any of the recent surveys? Wondering where the info came from. Hm.

http://investor.tivo.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=106292&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1783848&highlight=



> TiVo Users Would Rather Go a Month Without Date Night Than Give Up a Month of TiVo
> 
> TiVo Survey Finds Most People Associate Their Love Lives With ABC's "Happy Endings"; TiVo Users Cite "Downton Abbey" as the Most Romantic Show
> 
> SAN JOSE, CA -- (MARKETWIRE) -- 02/11/13 -- TiVo users love their TiVo® DVRs so much that nearly half (46 percent) said they would rather go one month without a date night than one month without being able to record their favorite TV programs on TiVo. Only 33 percent said they would rather give up TiVo for a month in favor of a date night, according to a new Valentine's Day Survey from TiVo Inc., the creator of digital video recorders (DVRs) and a leader in advanced television services.


----------



## innocentfreak

davezatz said:


> Was this bit of fluff in any of the recent surveys? Wondering where the info came from. Hm.
> 
> http://investor.tivo.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=106292&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1783848&highlight=


Yeah I believe it was a couple months ago possibly before you opted out. I don't remember the exact wordage but it was something to that effect.


----------



## crxssi

Another TiVo survey today.

This time mostly on the mobile apps (Android/iOS)

These were the thoughts I shared about the Android apps... (nothing I haven't posted on the forums many times already)

"The application is way too slow and unresponsive. The Android tablet app is much, much worse than the Android phone app. And the startup sequence is far too slow also- it should never have to search for devices on every start (that is just stupid).

The apps COULD be handy/useful, but they are so frustratingly slow. And it is due to poor application design, not the OS or hardware. I have super-high end equipment (HTC Evo LTE and Google Nexus 10). My equipment just flies with all other similar apps- Crackle, XBMC, YouTube, etc. 

It is only more frustrating that you can't stream any video to the Android apps."


----------



## astrohip

crxssi said:


> Another TiVo survey today.


You are fast on the post... 

I said about the same. I'm not a heavy app user, so it's not a big deal to me, but I had seen your post as I was completing the survey, so I chimed in about how slow they were too.


----------



## crxssi

astrohip said:


> You are fast on the post...
> 
> I said about the same. I'm not a heavy app user, so it's not a big deal to me, but I had seen your post as I was completing the survey, so I chimed in about how slow they were too.


Honestly, even if the app were lightening fast, I doubt I would use it much. I would certainly use it more if I could stream video to it, though.... but even that would be only occasionally.


----------



## morac

That must be something specific to the Android version. I find the iOS version to be very quick. I don't use it a lot, but I occasionally use it to check the To Do list or reorder season passes and the like. Selecting shows to play is just easier, especially Xfinity on demand or Netflix, etc shows. The downsides, which I mentioned, are that the app doesn't show as much info as the TiVo itself. Conflicts aren't listed and the app doesn't understand clipping of shows.


----------



## Bierboy

astrohip said:


> You are fast on the post...


Not really; I got that survey yesterday...


----------



## innocentfreak

Bierboy said:


> Not really; I got that survey yesterday...


They tend to send them out in waves. Mine just came in.


----------



## sieglinde

I have only used the iPhone app once after I got my Premier. I will play with it maybe when I am away from home.


----------



## Bierboy

I love the app. I can very easily set up recordings the minute I think of it or delete shows, change SPs, etc. It's very versatile and very snappy on my iPhone...


----------



## Beryl

morac said:


> That must be something specific to the Android version. I find the iOS version to be very quick. I don't use it a lot, but I occasionally use it to check the To Do list or reorder season passes and the like. Selecting shows to play is just easier, especially Xfinity on demand or Netflix, etc shows. The downsides, which I mentioned, are that the app doesn't show as much info as the TiVo itself. Conflicts aren't listed and the app doesn't understand clipping of shows.


Yes. Have it installed on iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and I use it there quite a bit especially to clean up content. On my Nexus 7 not at all on the HDLX and minimally on the Premiere. (Poster above confirmed that it is worse on on Android tablets.)


----------



## crxssi

morac said:


> That must be something specific to the Android version. I find the iOS version to be very quick.


It is- they apparently hired a different and inferior team for the Android version. I find the phone version is "OK", but the tablet version is dismal. So even those two might be a different team.


----------



## morac

crxssi said:


> It is- they apparently hired a different and inferior team for the Android version. I find the phone version is "OK", but the tablet version is dismal. So even those two might be a different team.


I have no problems with the tablet version on my iPad 2. I think it's one of the better apps I've seen and I've used close to 700 different apps at one point or another between my iPhone and iPad. If anything I think the iPhone version is subpar to the iPad version, but that's because of the limited screen space.


----------



## crxssi

Another new survey today. Interesting concept, too (although a bit strange).


----------



## k2ue

Bierboy said:


> I love the app. I can very easily set up recordings the minute I think of it or delete shows, change SPs, etc. It's very versatile and very snappy on my iPhone...


+1


----------



## steve614

crxssi said:


> (although a bit strange).


What? You think "binge viewing" is strange?


----------



## astrohip

I enjoyed the survey. Binge viewing is becoming more popular*, and I like that TiVo is trying to both analyze it, and figure out how to take advantage of it.

I left them two suggestions:

1) Create some way to notify us when there is a marathon being broadcast, that the TiVo could record.

2) Add soft, but automatic, padding on all Binge Recording on a TiVo. Since by its nature, binge recording is back to back to back on a single channel, add 1 minute fore & aft to all recordings, since so many broadcasters are failing to observe proper time frames. And do it without using another tuner.



* Funny timing. Had dinner with my 80 year old parents last night. And my dad was telling me how he is binge-viewing old shows thru streaming NetFlix on his TiVo. He just watched the first 3-4 seasons of 24 in just a few weeks. He also just bought a Mini, and loves it. Technology knows no age limits <3.


----------



## Beryl

astrohip said:


> I enjoyed the survey. Binge viewing is becoming more popular*, and I like that TiVo is trying to both analyze it, and figure out how to take advantage of it.
> 
> I left them two suggestions:
> 
> 1) Create some way to notify us when there is a marathon being broadcast, that the TiVo could record.
> 
> 2) Add soft, but automatic, padding on all Binge Recording on a TiVo. Since by its nature, binge recording is back to back to back on a single channel, add 1 minute fore & aft to all recordings, since so many broadcasters are failing to observe proper time frames. And do it without using another tuner.
> 
> * Funny timing. Had dinner with my 80 year old parents last night. And my dad was telling me how he is binge-viewing old shows thru streaming NetFlix on his TiVo. He just watched the first 3-4 seasons of 24 in just a few weeks. He also just bought a Mini, and loves it. Technology knows no age limits <3.


Good suggestions. Most of my binging is via Netflix and Amazon Prime. I rarely use the TiVo so I only suggested making commercial skipping easier.

Speaking of Seniors and technology -- my 84 year old auntie Skypes me via laptop. I need to introduce her to a Mini for Christmas.


----------



## steve614

My suggestion was to add 'sort by Original Air Date (and/or) episode number' to the show folder options.


----------



## innocentfreak

steve614 said:


> My suggestion was to add 'sort by Original Air Date (and/or) episode number' to the show folder options.


I had the same along with a universal My Shows so I don't have to search among TiVos to find the next episode.


----------



## Worf

Would be nice if they had a marathon alert so your To-Do list doesn't get piled on with tons of episodes all of a sudden. Being able to manage it in one package would be handy rather than having to manually delete each and every one.


----------



## Mike-Wolf

I would just be happy if they would fix the channel logos on the info bar and channel guide so they would be up to date and accurate or in some cases actually _exist_. It gets annoying when some channels have their logo with an HD version while others don't, such as "HLN" and "CNNHD" or when one tunes to "The Hub" only to have a "Discovery Kids" channel logo in the channel guide/info bar. The aesthetics of the HD UI just get broken when it isn't all uniform. Either have all the HD channels have HD versions of their respective channel logo/branding, or have all the HD channels NOT use an HD version of their respective channel logo/branding.


----------



## Bierboy

I thought this survey was the most worthless I've filled out for TiVo....and that's saying a lot....


----------



## crxssi

Bierboy said:


> I thought this survey was the most worthless I've filled out for TiVo....and that's saying a lot....


You must not have been on the panel for that long  (There has been worse in the past, IMHO)


----------



## innocentfreak

They probably didn't have much to ask about and binge viewing has been discussed lately due to the Netflix premiere of House of Cards.


----------



## steve614

Anyone else here using an antenna get the (extra) survey about that subject?


----------



## mr_smits

steve614 said:


> Anyone else here using an antenna get the (extra) survey about that subject?


I only got that survey. I just turned off cable and switched to antenna, so I thought they flagged me for that.


----------



## atmuscarella

steve614 said:


> Anyone else here using an antenna get the (extra) survey about that subject?


I did not.


----------



## astrohip

steve614 said:


> Anyone else here using an antenna get the (extra) survey about that subject?


I don't _think _so (although I forget things like this so quickly... who knows). What did they ask?

I have 2 of 3 TiVos with an antenna+cable feed, only the Elite is cable only.


----------



## dugbug

mobile apps are nice, but really tivo just focus on the 'one gui' mission you so quickly abandoned with these cheese flash app launchers.

And nothing makes me cringe more than these horrific music/photo/games 'things'. Impressive back in 1995 but my god you could do better with one hand in a dark room coding in cobol no less.


----------



## steve614

astrohip said:


> I don't _think _so (although I forget things like this so quickly... who knows). What did they ask?
> 
> I have 2 of 3 TiVos with an antenna+cable feed, only the Elite is cable only.


From what I remember, some of the things asked:

How satisfied are you with the quality of the tuner?
What streaming services do you use to supplement your OTA viewing? (e.g. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc.)
One particularly interesting:


Think about a general type of entertainment device with these capabilities:
- 300-hour DVR (supports cable or antenna)
- Four tuners (record four shows at once)
- Can access broadband video services (Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, etc.)
- Can stream music and display photos (Rhapsody, Pandora, Flickr, Picasa, etc.)

How likely would you be to purchase an entertainment device with these features?


----------



## Zaphod

steve614 said:


> From what I remember, some of the things asked:
> 
> How satisfied are you with the quality of the tuner?
> What streaming services do you use to supplement your OTA viewing? (e.g. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc.)
> One particularly interesting:
> 
> 
> Think about a general type of entertainment device with these capabilities:
> - 300-hour DVR (supports cable or antenna)
> - Four tuners (record four shows at once)
> - Can access broadband video services (Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, etc.)
> - Can stream music and display photos (Rhapsody, Pandora, Flickr, Picasa, etc.)
> 
> How likely would you be to purchase an entertainment device with these features?


I remember a previous survey a month or two, maybe 3, ago asked the general question of if I'd be interested in a 4 tuner TiVo that supported OTA, to which I emphatically answered YES! (No OTA is the ONLY reason I haven't purchased an XL4 yet.)

But I don't remember any detailed questions like the ones you indicate in any previous (and definitely not this month's) survey.


----------



## mpaquette

steve614 said:


> From what I remember, some of the things asked:
> 
> How satisfied are you with the quality of the tuner?
> What streaming services do you use to supplement your OTA viewing? (e.g. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc.)
> One particularly interesting:
> 
> 
> Think about a general type of entertainment device with these capabilities:
> - 300-hour DVR (supports cable or antenna)
> - Four tuners (record four shows at once)
> - Can access broadband video services (Netflix, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, etc.)
> - Can stream music and display photos (Rhapsody, Pandora, Flickr, Picasa, etc.)
> 
> How likely would you be to purchase an entertainment device with these features?


This same question was asked in the advisors panel survey I took today. The choice was 1-not likely to 11-definitely likely. I answered 11.


----------



## mr_smits

mpaquette said:


> This same question was asked in the advisors panel survey I took today. The choice was 1-not likely to 11-definitely likely. I answered 11.


The 11 caught me off guard. Why include 11? So people have to select more one side or the other?


----------



## morac

mr_smits said:


> The 11 caught me off guard. Why include 11? So people have to select more one side or the other?


Actually going from 1 to 11 is good. Most surveys go from 1 to 10, which forces me to choose whether I like it or not, even if I have no opinion. By going to 11, if the person has no preference he can choose 6, which is neutral.


----------



## Bierboy

morac said:


> Actually going from 1 to 11 is good. Most surveys go from 1 to 10, which forces me to choose whether I like it or not, even if I have no opinion. By going to 11, if the person has no preference he can choose 6, which is neutral.


But...but....but...you could choose 5-1/2....


----------



## lpwcomp

mr_smits said:


> The 11 caught me off guard. Why include 11? So people have to select more one side or the other?


Maybe Nigel Tufnel designed that part of the survey.


----------



## mr_smits

morac said:


> Actually going from 1 to 11 is good. Most surveys go from 1 to 10, which forces me to choose whether I like it or not, even if I have no opinion. By going to 11, if the person has no preference he can choose 6, which is neutral.


Survey designers like to avoid perfectly neutral because it is rare that someone is exactly in the middle. Many times survey takers use the middle option as the easy way out. Tivo wants to learn from the variance, not fence straddlers.


----------



## innocentfreak

mr_smits said:


> Survey designers like to avoid perfectly neutral because it is rare that someone is exactly in the middle. Many times survey takers use the middle option as the easy way out. Tivo wants to learn from the variance, not fence straddlers.


I hate surveys that leave out the middle. For me it is usually less about fence straddling and more that I truly don't care about the feature. I would never use it, but I can see how others might so I am not going to say I dislike it because it makes sense. I guess I am too practical and should focus more on what I want when it comes to these surveys.


----------



## lessd

innocentfreak said:


> I hate surveys that leave out the middle. For me it is usually less about fence straddling and more that I truly don't care about the feature. I would never use it, but I can see how others might so I am not going to say I dislike it because it makes sense. I guess I am too practical and should focus more on what I want when it comes to these surveys.


There should be an answer *I don't care *about a question. IE: I don't have Netflix streaming so asking me questions about Netflix streaming would be meaningless to me.


----------



## atmuscarella

lessd said:


> There should be an answer *I don't care *about a question. IE: I don't have Netflix streaming so asking me questions about Netflix streaming would be meaningless to me.


Yes I like it when they have a non-applicable (N/A) answer and would think they would want to give people that the question doesn't apply to a way to easily not answer it, otherwise their answer mess up the data.


----------



## crxssi

Survey time again. This time about streaming services and original programs on them.


----------



## steve614

Makes me wonder if they are trying to determine which apps to focus on.
As far as I'm concerned, they need to improve Netflix, add Amazon Prime, and nix hulu plus.


----------



## Beryl

steve614 said:


> Makes me wonder if they are trying to determine which apps to focus on.
> As far as I'm concerned, they need to improve Netflix, add Amazon Prime, and nix hulu plus.


So agree with this. They can add Crackle too.


----------



## Bierboy

boooooooorring......


----------



## Beryl

Bierboy said:


> boooooooorring......


I somewhat agree and curious about what Tivo is trying to accomplish with the survey unless they are being compensated for the data. I responded thusly:

"I'm glad TiVo is looking at streaming services but most people have given up on TiVo for that. We have media players which stream better than TiVos. TiVo should concentrate on improving the streaming of onDemand services from cable providers since TiVos are used in lieu of DVRs and set top boxes that provide onDemand access."


----------



## astrohip

Beryl said:


> "I'm glad TiVo is looking at streaming services but most people have given up on TiVo for that. We have media players which stream better than TiVos. TiVo should concentrate on improving the streaming of onDemand services from cable providers since TiVos are used in lieu of DVRs and set top boxes that provide onDemand access."


Well said.:up:


----------



## mr_smits

Beryl said:


> I somewhat agree and curious about what Tivo is trying to accomplish with the survey unless they are being compensated for the data. I responded thusly:
> 
> "I'm glad TiVo is looking at streaming services but most people have given up on TiVo for that. We have media players which stream better than TiVos. TiVo should concentrate on improving the streaming of onDemand services from cable providers since TiVos are used in lieu of DVRs and set top boxes that provide onDemand access."


Sometimes it seems like they just run a survey because someone is being paid to run a survey (or they have the capability so why not use it?).

I do think with the new platform Tivo will be able to finally be a streaming type device similar to Roku. The new Netflix app should be able to run fast and be usable.


----------



## lpwcomp

Beryl said:


> I somewhat agree and curious about what Tivo is trying to accomplish with the survey unless they are being compensated for the data. I responded thusly:
> 
> "I'm glad TiVo is looking at streaming services but most people have given up on TiVo for that. We have media players which stream better than TiVos. TiVo should concentrate on improving the streaming of onDemand services from cable providers since TiVos are used in lieu of DVRs and set top boxes that provide onDemand access."


Getting a streaming service to support something that will potentially expand their market is a far different proposition from convincing a cable provider to develop/support something which makes it less likely that someone will need one of their over-priced STBs.


----------



## innocentfreak

New survey out and again at least based off the questions I answered nothing exciting. Now maybe if I had answered something else I would have seen other options.


----------



## astrohip

Boring. Mainly about alternative ways of viewing content--Netflix, HBO-GO, etc. Then asked about the odds of me dropping cable and going 100% _other_.


----------



## crxssi

innocentfreak said:


> New survey out and again at least based off the questions I answered nothing exciting. Now maybe if I had answered something else I would have seen other options.


Yep, it is like a continuation of last month. There is an error too- where they assume the only way one will ever be able to watch Netflix original content is via streaming, and that "subscribed to Netflix" = streaming... both of which are incorrect.


----------



## atmuscarella

Lets be honest if TiVo provide us a state of the art DVR that had top notch OTA reception, built in blu-ray, all the web channels on a Roku (plus YouTube), and a web browser that actually worked well and then promoted dumping pay TV to justify their price, it would be in direct conflict with the MSOs they work with.


----------



## philw1776

There's a generic feedback section which I use to lobby for stuff like fix the buggy Netflix interface and support Amazon Prime like my SONY or PS3.


----------



## Drewster

I voiced my extreme frustration with the NetFlix interface. I also mentioned that I'm DONE with streaming NetFlix on TiVo, and have ordered an AppleTV. From here on out, the TiVo is only an OTA DVR for us.


----------



## Bierboy

Drewster said:


> I voiced my extreme frustration with the NetFlix interface. I also mentioned that I'm DONE with streaming NetFlix on TiVo, and have ordered an AppleTV. From here on out, the TiVo is only an OTA DVR for us.


We stream Netflix straight from our Panny plasma....MUCH better than using our XL4...


----------



## crxssi

Time for another survey! Don't know much about this one, since it kicked me out pretty quickly because I actually just watch TV when I watch TV.


----------



## Bierboy

crxssi said:


> Time for another survey! Don't know much about this one, since it kicked me out pretty quickly because I actually just watch TV when I watch TV.


You didn't miss anything. I'm about to resign from the panel. Will they give me a going-away gift?


----------



## sbiller

The only part I found mildly interesting were the social viewing questions that hint at some of the new features described as "coming soon" by TiVo management as a follow-on to What To Watch.


----------



## astrohip

crxssi said:


> Time for another survey! Don't know much about this one, since it kicked me out pretty quickly because I actually just watch TV when I watch TV.


That was me. I answered every part of that section with "I don't do anything when I watch TV but watch TV". I musta answered the same question 42 different ways. Then it jumped to something totally different, and I figured I failed the test. 



sbiller said:


> The only part I found mildly interesting were the social viewing questions that hint at some of the new features described as "coming soon" by TiVo management as a follow-on to What To Watch.


----------



## moyekj

This What To Watch Now initiative is really starting to irk me. I want TiVo to be the best at complying with what I tell it I want to watch, not the other way round.


----------



## sbiller

astrohip said:


> That was me. I answered every part of that section with "I don't do anything when I watch TV but watch TV". I musta answered the same question 42 different ways. Then it jumped to something totally different, and I figured I failed the test.


I think the fact that you answered the same question 42 times might be why you are confused.

Frankly, I answered a lot of those questions the same way as you. I'm not sure I care what my friends on FB are watching. I think over time TiVo might be able to better fine-tune suggestions using some additional social inputs.

I'm actually looking for more IMDB-like input including user and critic ratings which I find are more accurate at predicting what I will and won't like to watch.


----------



## crxssi

sbiller said:


> I'm actually looking for more IMDB-like input including user and critic ratings which I find are more accurate at predicting what I will and won't like to watch.


Now THAT is a good idea.


----------



## mrizzo80

I hope they again ask me to rate my awareness of 15-20 movies in theaters. Always the highlight for me. Totally relevant to boot!


----------



## dianebrat

I had very different answers to "do you do other things while watching TV" I found I was all over the map, but I do have times I'm multitasking while watching TV, like in the morning when I'm having coffee and breakfast, I'm usually on TCF and checking work email as I start my day.


----------



## L David Matheny

dianebrat said:


> I had very different answers to "do you do other things while watching TV" I found I was all over the map, but I do have times I'm multitasking while watching TV, like in the morning when I'm having coffee and breakfast, I'm usually on TCF and checking work email as I start my day.


Most of the multitasking I do while watching TV involves having my eyes closed. I end up replaying some shows three or four times. I don't know what that does to TiVo's stats.


----------



## scandia101

I don't know why I keep taking these surveys when all they do is annoy me. In this one there were a couple of questions regarding landlines and cell phones such as preferring one or the other or giving up the landline, but it never took into account that some people are starting the survey w/o a landline. They also seem to assume that everyone works 9-5 in an office.
Plus I really need a neutral option for many of the questions because I just don't care one way or the other, but this had some questions where choices 1,2,3 were on the negative and 4,5,6,7 were all positive.


----------



## JWhites

I'll never understand the point of multi tasking while watching television, because quite frankly tele*vision* is a _visual_ media, not a 1920's radio program. Just sit down and watch tv. It's just not that hard.


----------



## scandia101

dianebrat said:


> I had very different answers to "do you do other things while watching TV" I found I was all over the map, but I do have times I'm multitasking while watching TV, like in the morning when I'm having coffee and breakfast, I'm usually on TCF and checking work email as I start my day.


I do all kinds of things while watching tv, but rarely if ever do I do anything they had listed.

It's like the people that come up with the questions and answer choices have no experience in the real world.


----------



## JWhites

sbiller said:


> I think the fact that you answered the same question 42 times might be why you are confused.
> 
> Frankly, I answered a lot of those questions the same way as you. I'm not sure I care what my friends on FB are watching. I think over time TiVo might be able to better fine-tune suggestions using some additional social inputs.
> 
> I'm actually looking for more IMDB-like input including user and critic ratings which I find are more accurate at predicting what I will and won't like to watch.


I personally would prefer if there was a way of turning *off* the whole thumbs up/thumbs down rating system all together because I never use it, have suggestions off, and feel like I have to pay extra attention NOT to press those thumbs up and down buttons.


----------



## scandia101

JWhites said:


> I'll never understand the point of multi tasking while watching television, because quite frankly tele*vision* is a _visual_ media, not a 1920's radio program. Just sit down and watch tv. It's just not that hard.


So what you are saying is that people generally do other things while watching tv because tv is hard to watch?


----------



## jrtroo

Why? If you do not use them they are harmless.


----------



## crxssi

JWhites said:


> I personally would prefer if there was a way of turning *off* the whole thumbs up/thumbs down rating system all together because I never use it, have suggestions off, and feel like I have to pay extra attention NOT to press those thumbs up and down buttons.


That makes no sense.

If you choose to not use one of the best features of TiVo, that's fine... turn off suggestion recording. And if you have that off, it doesn't matter if you press thumbs up or thumbs down.


----------



## lessd

crxssi said:


> That makes no sense.
> 
> If you choose to not use one of the best features of TiVo, that's fine... turn off suggestion recording. And if you have that off, it doesn't matter if you press thumbs up or thumbs down.


I don't use any of the stuff but the buttons don't bother me as pointed out that if the suggestion are off the thumbs buttons do nothing.

There is a large amount of stuff that the TP can do, but if I don't want to use the some of extra stuff I don't, as long as I have a good DVR I am a happy camper.


----------



## dianebrat

scandia101 said:


> I do all kinds of things while watching tv, but rarely if ever do I do anything they had listed.
> 
> *It's like the people that come up with the questions and answer choices have no experience in the real world.*


I'd disagree, I think they're very plugged in to the way watching TV has changed for some folks.

I do about 50% of the things they listed, I know my 17 yo niece does about 110% of what they listed.


----------



## HerronScott

L David Matheny said:


> Most of the multitasking I do while watching TV involves having my eyes closed. I end up replaying some shows three or four times. I don't know what that does to TiVo's stats.


Ditto here some late nights. 

Scott


----------



## innocentfreak

I am almost always on my tablet or the PC while I watch TV. There are only a handful of shows I watch without multitasking.


----------



## scandia101

dianebrat said:


> I'd disagree, I think they're very plugged in to the way watching TV has changed for some folks.
> 
> I do about 50% of the things they listed, I know my 17 yo niece does about 110% of what they listed.


Wow, it's as if you almost actually understood what I said.


----------



## roachjl

Has anyone actually won the Amazon Gift Card? Or the IPad from the car survey? I wondered they have ever given them out. 

I don't think most of the questions are Tivo related at all. TiVo is just being paid to collect information. I'm a sucker.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


----------



## HeatherA

roachjl said:


> Has anyone actually won the Amazon Gift Card? Or the IPad from the car survey? I wondered they have ever given them out.
> 
> I don't think most of the questions are Tivo related at all. TiVo is just being paid to collect information. I'm a sucker.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


I've always wondered if people win these things. I've been taking these surveys for YEARS and have never won anything... nor do I recall reading about winners here on TCF.


----------



## lessd

HeatherA said:


> I've always wondered if people win these things. I've been taking these surveys for YEARS and have never won anything... nor do I recall reading about winners here on TCF.


How many people outside of the TCF are taking this survey ? if the ratio is 100 outside to one inside that could be the answer..or TiVo never gives out any gifts.


----------



## achalupa

I've received winner gifts before. Been doing these TiVo surveys for many years....


----------



## Bulldawg9908

roachjl said:


> Has anyone actually won the Amazon Gift Card? Or the IPad from the car survey? I wondered they have ever given them out.
> 
> I don't think most of the questions are Tivo related at all. TiVo is just being paid to collect information. I'm a sucker.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


Yeah, about 18 months ago I won the Amazon card. Nothing since. One of those iPads would be nice.


----------



## mattack

JWhites said:


> I'll never understand the point of multi tasking while watching television, because quite frankly tele*vision* is a _visual_ media, not a 1920's radio program. Just sit down and watch tv. It's just not that hard.


I agree with the multitasking part to a large degree (though to disagree with astrohip, a major thing I do while watching TV is walking on the treadmill -- the only way I can force myself to do that so often is because I can veg out and watch TV at the same time)...

But I actually DISAGREE with the 'visual media' part. I mean, obviously it is visual, but I think you 
can LISTEN to the vast majority of programs (or even the vast majority of *a* single episode of a program), and follow it close to, if not 100%, completely.

There are really very few shows, "Columbo" is one that comes to mind, that you REALLY have to watch to keep track of what is happening... and even for that, it's only in the first act where the murder happens. I actually think that's a shame, and like it when shows have more details that you have to keep track of visually. I can't think of examples for all of them, but there are examples from all kinds, one being even reality TV -- "The Amazing Race" has lots of camera shots to other places (like when they sort of 'nod' to a thing someone left behind or a sign they missed).


----------



## Worf

Hrm, that's odd, I don't think I've gotten my advisors survey this month... 

Wonder if I got unsubscribed or something.


----------



## ldconfig

I wish when they ask about going to see movies in theaters they would add a one click option for people that are disabled and can not go to a theater.


----------



## lessd

ldconfig said:


> I wish when they ask about going to see movies in theaters they would add a one click option for people that are disabled and can not go to a theater.


They just want to find out if you going to see a given movie not why your not going to see it.


----------



## Bierboy

ldconfig said:


> I wish when they ask about going to see movies in theaters they would add a one click option for people that are disabled and can not go to a theater.


Please explain; I see disabled people at movie theaters all the time.


----------



## lessd

Bierboy said:


> Please explain; I see disabled people at movie theaters all the time.


You are making an assumption about what the disability is, he may not want to explain, if your disability is like Bush #1 needing a wheelchair, yes you can go to the movies, but other types of disabilities may not make it practical to visit a movie theater.


----------



## innocentfreak

Worf said:


> Hrm, that's odd, I don't think I've gotten my advisors survey this month...
> 
> Wonder if I got unsubscribed or something.


I always resign up whenever I see the prompt on the TiVo.

I have seen though in cases where for several months I don't get surveys. I assume I just don't meet the demographics at those times.


----------



## Worf

Hrm. Funny enough, I did that too - I saw the prompt on my TiVo and signed up again. Of course, that was one month ago, so I guess I was wondering if I ended up cancelling.

Oh well. Hopefully it'll reappear again and I'll try it again, or perhaps I'll get it in August.

Thanks.


----------



## abqdan

Month after month I make the same observation in that last little comment box, which is I assume ignored. If they want us to provide detailed answers to these surveys, they need to explain how they are used. "We added x in this release because 71% of survey respondents said they needed it", or even "people keep asking for x but we are never going to do it because it's too expensive". In other words, feedback needs to be two-way. 

I don't mind doing the market survey stuff they are selling to other companies, like the movie survey; but again I'd like them to tell us "We include these questions because we make money from them that offsets development costs" or something like that.


----------



## Worf

Well, it's a voluntary survey - if you don't want to participate, you're free to not fill it in.

Participants are voluntary, so that already skews the results somewhat.


----------



## davezatz

Was this from Advisors?



> A new study by TiVo found no significant difference in the amount of traditional TV viewing between self-reported Netflix and non-Netflix households with TiVo DVRs.


http://variety.com/2013/digital/new...but-likely-does-for-everyone-else-1200569167/

Update: Just saw the press release. Maybe it's TRA data of usage, versus a survey in the sense of asking someone. 
http://pr.tivo.com/press-releases/tivo-research-and-analytics-netflix-not-cannibali-1037757?feed=All


----------



## Bierboy

Dave - I don't recall that being addressed in the recent surveys...


----------



## morac

Bierboy said:


> Dave - I don't recall that being addressed in the recent surveys...


TiVo doesn't need to ask about that. They can get the info by pulling usage data.


----------



## davezatz

morac said:


> TiVo doesn't need to ask about that. They can get the info by pulling usage data.


What threw me from Variety's article was the language about "self-reported" and "users who said" - which is somewhat different than what the press release says in terms of TRA analyzing usage data.


----------



## innocentfreak

They did have that survey about binge viewing so it could be from that one.


----------



## seattlewendell

I do remember being asked specifically about how many hours of Netflix (and On-Demand and other services) I watched vs. Tivo'd shows. It was two surveys back. They also asked how many hours your watch on your PC, phone, and tablet.


----------



## Worf

Wow. that was a late survey - I got my July survey earlier this week!


----------



## CoxInPHX

seattlewendell said:


> I do remember being asked specifically about how many hours of Netflix (and On-Demand and other services) I watched vs. Tivo'd shows. It was two surveys back. They also asked how many hours your watch on your PC, phone, and tablet.


I agree I remember that survey.


----------



## astrohip

New survey this morning. Focused on social media and TV watching. And doing them together.

In the intro, reporting on results from last month's survey, they said 88% of us reported having used other electronic devices while watching TV (iPads, smartphones, etc). And 51% said they use devices like those regularly while watching TV.

I've become part of the 12% grumpy old men who simply watch TV while I watch TV.


----------



## crxssi

astrohip said:


> New survey this morning. Focused on social media and TV watching. And doing them together.
> 
> In the intro, reporting on results from last month's survey, they said 88% of us reported having used other electronic devices while watching TV (iPads, smartphones, etc). And 51% said they use devices like those regularly while watching TV.
> 
> I've become part of the 12% grumpy old men who simply watch TV while I watch TV.


Yep, just got it. I must be in the 12% too.

More stupid ass "social media" crap. At least it was easy, although not intelligent. First and second questions, "none of the above", third "no", fourth "none of the above"... etc. You would think if the first question is "have you ever used ANY of these" and you answer "none of the above", they would stop asking question after question about those things.

I guess my comment sums it up:

"When I watch TV, I watch TV.
Have absolutely zero interest in social media and wish you would focus your efforts on making the TiVo box *FASTER*, more reliable, easier to use, and with more robust TV watching features."

It was amusing they asked us how much we dislike all the movie questions every month. You can guess how I answered that.


----------



## sbiller

crxssi said:


> Yep, just got it. I must be in the 12% too.
> 
> More stupid ass "social media" crap. At least it was easy, although not intelligent. First and second questions, "none of the above", third "no", fourth "none of the above"... etc. You would think if the first question is "have you ever used ANY of these" and you answer "none of the above", they would stop asking question after question about those things.
> 
> I guess my comment sums it up:
> 
> "When I watch TV, I watch TV.
> Have absolutely zero interest in social media and wish you would focus your efforts on making the TiVo box *FASTER*, more reliable, easier to use, and with more robust TV watching features."
> 
> It was amusing they asked us how much we dislike all the movie questions every month. You can guess how I answered that.


I multitask depending on the content and I'm almost 50! Some programs require undivided attention.


----------



## sieglinde

I suspect they could have mostly been interested in asking if people watch the supplementary material offered by TV programs. I have seen it announced that you can watch the show with your tablet logged into a specofic web page to watch as the show plays. I have never done this.


----------



## morac

I do occasionally look things up on my iPad while watching a show, but it's related to something in mentioned in the show and not social media. I also do so with the show paused. I don't tend to look up info about the show itself until I finish watching so as to avoid spoilers.


----------



## innocentfreak

I only watch a handful of shows without doing something else. The majority of my viewing I am surfing reddit or playing a game either on the PC or on the iPad.


----------



## aaronwt

morac said:


> I do occasionally look things up on my iPad while watching a show, but it's related to something in mentioned in the show and not social media. I also do so with the show paused. I don't tend to look up info about the show itself until I finish watching so as to avoid spoilers.


+1

But with my Android tablets.


----------



## Bierboy

sbiller said:


> I multitask depending on the content and I'm almost 50! Some programs require undivided attention.


I only multitask if I'm watching live TV (during commercials...which isn't very often)../


----------



## Worf

Watching TV... only? That's sorta ... boring I find - such a passive activity.

Though I sort of understand why they ask about social networks - it turns out that "cutting the cord" doesn't work so well when you're watching the show days later and all your friends have blabbed and spoiled it for you. When you do see it, no one wants to talk with you about it because it's old news.

Interestingly, some of the loudest cord cutters rejoined the teat because they got fed up about not being able to talk about it. 

Of course, they should just discover these forums where the TV Show Talk goes on for days after it airs


----------



## atmuscarella

Worf said:


> Watching TV... only? That's sorta ... boring I find - such a passive activity.
> 
> Though I sort of understand why they ask about social networks - it turns out that "cutting the cord" doesn't work so well when you're watching the show days later and all your friends have blabbed and spoiled it for you. When you do see it, no one wants to talk with you about it because it's old news.
> 
> Interestingly, some of the loudest cord cutters rejoined the teat because they got fed up about not being able to talk about it.
> 
> Of course, they should just discover these forums where the TV Show Talk goes on for days after it airs


I know several people that use DVRs but still watch most shows the night they air - just delayed enough to skip the commercials for the very reason you outlined. So I would say the issue is delayed watching versus live or nearly live watching. Social media is even worse than the water cooler discussions as it forces people using it into live viewing. How this will end up affecting DVR usage and advertising will be interesting to see.


----------



## astrohip

Worf said:


> Watching TV... only? That's sorta ... boring I find - such a passive activity.


It's amazing how all of us watch in such different manners. My wife often watches while she's in another room! Just by listening.

Me? I either focus on a show, which means no multi-tasking, or I don't watch it at all. I don't halfway watch shows. I am also anal about watching a show--either I watch it totally, which means every episode, or I don't watch it all. My wife will watch some eps, and miss some eps. Unless it's a fave, she doesn't really care if she misses some episodes. That's heresy to me. Honestly, I'm surprised I keep her.



atmuscarella said:


> I know several people that use DVRs but still watch most shows the night they air - just delayed enough to skip the commercials for the very reason you outlined.


If I have time, I try to watch every show as soon as possible. That night, if I can. I use a DVR because (1) commercials are abhorrent, and (2) during the busy season, there are multiple shows on at the same time, so a DVR performs basic time-shifting for me.


----------



## sakura panda

astrohip said:


> It's amazing how all of us watch in such different manners. My wife often watches while she's in another room! Just by listening.


I watch tv that way too -- although, instead of being in another room, I knit, so I glance up every now and then but most of the time I'm just listening. I think that's why whenever something is a rerun, my husband can tell right away and I have to watch it for 20 minutes before I realize I've "seen" it before. 

That said, I don't do any social media interaction when I'm watching tv either. The most I'll do is go to "Now Playing" and see if there is any discussion on the show -- I enjoy the TCF perspective, although I don't participate because I'm always *at least* several months behind.

I'm guessing they are looking to diversify TiVo and seeing if it worth adding interactive content as additonal features. It may be a good way for TiVo to stand out in the market, if they can combine the reatures of several devices into itself.

As long as they do it well. 

(I'm a regular watcher of Psych, and there was one episode -- a marathon of episodes actually -- that included a constant stream of twitter updates across the bottom -- it drove *me* crazy, but it also showed me that there is an entire group of people that aren't me that like to have live interaction with strangers while they watch TV.)


----------



## Worf

I've done the "listen to the TV" thing a lot - sometimes I wish I had a screen-less TV receiver for just that purpose. Usually on programming where the picture isn't as important, say the news.

Personally, I don't use social networking sites much at all, but I do participate in the Now Playing forums and discuss it with people on IRC and such. It's more fun when you're social. But I'll never do it on a social network site - I prefer talking amongst people I know personally.

Anyhow, the DVR makes multitasking all that much better - you can always rewind it if you realize you missed an entire act.


----------



## davezatz

Does anyone still have the findremotejingle.mp3 and others from the survey last December? Want Nilay or Ben to listen and let us know if that's what they went with. Thanks!

Feel free to email me [email protected] if it's hard to upload here or elsewhere. Thanks!


----------



## Beryl

Worf said:


> I've done the "listen to the TV" thing a lot - sometimes I wish I had a screen-less TV receiver for just that purpose.


I do it all of the time with the Slingplayer app on my phone. It has an "audio-only" mode which works like any other audio app so I can turn it off and listen while the device is in my purse via a BT earphone. Works great with unlimited cellphone data plans although it doesn't use much bandwidth or battery.


----------



## steve614

davezatz said:


> Does anyone still have the findremotejingle.mp3 and others from the survey last December? Want Nilay or Ben to listen and let us know if that's what they went with. Thanks!
> 
> Feel free to email me [email protected] if it's hard to upload here or elsewhere. Thanks!


I didn't think to save the sounds from that survey. All I remember is that all but one was annoying.

I think I read somewhere that the sound the new remote emits is the jingle similar to the music of the start up video.


----------



## davezatz

You guys remember a fall TV survey? Hm.

http://investor.tivo.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=106292&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1854918&highlight=


----------



## astrohip

What a ridiculous survey. Supposedly it's based on Season Passes set by TiVo users. You can't even set (or couldn't until today) the SPs for shows in the later part of next week (13 days out). I was just able to set the MJF show this morning. And yet they have it the #1 new SP for 2013. And I still can't set SPs for Friday of next week. (See this thread)

I call BS.


----------



## innocentfreak

New survey is out.


----------



## crxssi

innocentfreak said:


> New survey is out.


Yep. I beat you to it 

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=509608

Not that it is a contest or anything like that.


----------

