# OTA Channel Settings Channel List



## Kyle Gilbertson (Nov 14, 2018)

At least on the TiVo Roamio I'm using, when I go to:
TiVo Central -> Settings & Messages -> Channel Settings -> Channel List
The TiVo continues to show the currently active channel selected from the main menu, or basic operation selection menu. Because the point of going into this list is to decide whether or not to continue presenting the checked channels, there should be a method of telling the receiver to switch or show a highlighted channel to help decide whether to continue presenting the channels that are checked. Why? Because currently you have to exit completely out of the menu cascade, change the channel, then go back through the menu cascade. This process is inordinately obtuse. If there is a channel list to be edited, it should be possible to choose one of the channels in that list in order to see whether or not 1) it comes in at all, or 2) whether to keep it on the list without completely exiting out of the menu process to see if you want it before going all the way back through the menu system to make that selection. I somewhat agree that the channel shouldn't necessarily tune to whatever channel is highlighted (per se), but it should be possible to tell the the tuner to display the currently highlighted channel while still in the channel list. By the same token, instead of just a check or no check, there should be a delete function if there is a channel in the list that simply doesn't come in.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

You can customize the "My Channels" and "Favorites" channel lists from the Guide. You just have to highlight the channel within the channel #/station ID column and press Select/OK, then choose the action you wish to take for the currently selected channel.


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## Kyle Gilbertson (Nov 14, 2018)

Not on my TiVo. Pressing "Select" on the TiVo Roamio I have changes to that channel. Looks like there is a way to filter with the "A" button. I don't know if you have cable or satellite, but I have neither, so I'm referring to the OTA channel list. With the OTA channel list in the configurations, there is a propensity to show channels that aren't actually received. For this reason they do not belong in the OTA channel list, and that's what I'm referring to. When in that particular menu, it should be possible to tune to the channel shown without exiting the menu in order to see whether it actually even comes in.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Kyle Gilbertson said:


> Not on my TiVo. Pressing "Select" on the TiVo Roamio I have changes to that channel. Looks like there is a way to filter with the "A" button. I don't know if you have cable or satellite, but I have neither, so I'm referring to the OTA channel list. With the OTA channel list in the configurations, there is a propensity to show channels that aren't actually received. For this reason they do not belong in the OTA channel list, and that's what I'm referring to. When in that particular menu, it should be possible to tune to the channel shown without exiting the menu in order to see whether it actually even comes in.


Yes, I understand that the post-Rovi merger guide data for OTA is crazy full of untunable and duplicate channels, and that the Channel List editor screen would be vastly more useful if it allowed checking the reception for channels ... but you should be able to edit the channel lists from the channel guide, at least on the old (TE3/Encore) UI.

Are you on TE3/Encore or the new (TE4/Hydra) UI? (Does your TiVo UI have a blue or black theme?)

p.s. Oh, and if you're using TE3/Encore, are you displaying the Grid Guide or the Live Guide? (Editing channel lists in TE3 is only available through the Grid Guide, I believe -- as demo'd in my attached pic above.)

p.p.s. Re:


Kyle Gilbertson said:


> Not on my TiVo. Pressing "Select" on the TiVo Roamio I have changes to that channel.


Did you first havigate to the left to highlight the channel entry in the channel #/station ID column?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

TE3: "At least on the TiVo Roamio I'm using, when I go to:
*TiVo Central* -> Settings & Messages -> Channel Settings -> Channel List"

OTA channel list is still full of channels I could never receive even if I could receive any.

TV Fool

Using the guide to edit the channel list work the same with TE4.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

JoeKustra said:


> Using the guide to edit the channel list work the same with TE4.


Thanks for the replies, Joe (here and elsewhere). And nice catch Re: TE3.



krkaufman said:


> You can edit the channels included in 'My Channels' or 'Favorites' either by editing the Channel List, through the Settings menu:
> 
> On TiVo DVRs prior to the BOLT:
> TiVo Central
> ...





tlc said:


> *BUT*, I want to mention one Grid Guide feature that I hope doesn't get lost in the switch. With the GG, you can left click onto the channel (instead of a show), then select to get the option to remove the channel from your Channel List. This is super helpful when setting up a Tivo because we have a huge # of SD channels, most, but not all, of which have HD versions. The easiest way to delete the SD channels that have HD versions is to pick them off in the GG with alphabetical ordering.


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## deChez3045 (Jun 16, 2015)

Totally agree with the OP. Either list only channels available in my area, allow me to delete from the list those channels I don't get, or at the very least let me view the channel from the list so I can determine if I get/want that channel. The current method is cumbersome. We used to be able to at least delete channels from the list -- forcing us to scroll through hundreds of channels to check the 20 I get was a huge backward leap.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

You can do it all from the guide, which will show you the channel live.


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## deChez3045 (Jun 16, 2015)

No you can't "do it all." By highlighting the channel name in the guide, and pressing Select, you can add a channel to favorites, or "remove it from the channel list", which only removes it from the guide (not the endless list in channel settings). In order to add a channel to the guide list, you have to go into channel settings and check it off. Please don't make it sound like the OP is misinformed, or missing what you think is an obvious solution. The complaint is legit!


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## warrenn (Jun 24, 2004)

It is common for other devices which have channels to show the signal when in their similar listing of channels to show. I have a TCL TV that works like that. Some other cable box I had in the past had it as well. I agree that it would be useful if the screen to add/remove channels displayed the signal for the channel. Fortunately, I have a Bolt and I can use that on-screen channel guide to remove the channel. But previously I had the same frustration as you as I went through dozens of channels on my older Tivo trying to figure out if I should keep or delete each one. I had to use a notepad and write down the ones I wanted to delete, then go into that Tivo screen to make the appropriate selections.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

deChez3045 said:


> No you can't "do it all." By highlighting the channel name in the guide, and pressing Select, you can add a channel to favorites, or "remove it from the channel list", which only removes it from the guide (not the endless list in channel settings). In order to add a channel to the guide list, you have to go into channel settings and check it off. Please don't make it sound like the OP is misinformed, or missing what you think is an obvious solution. The complaint is legit!


The "long list" is the channel list. There are three lists. All channels which cannot be edited at all, the channel list which is used by searches and wishlists, and favorites which is just a short list. All this can be controlled from the guide

You can also do this from the info banner in TE4.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

deChez3045 said:


> In order to add a channel to the guide list, you have to go into channel settings and check it off.


No, you don't "have to."

The TiVo Channel Guide can be configured to display any of the vast number of different guides available, which totals 3, at present: All Channels, My Channels or Favorites. So, you could switch the Grid Guide to display "All Channels," then the above instructs could be followed to add any missing/new channels to "My Channels."


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## Kyle Gilbertson (Nov 14, 2018)

So which 7-1 is the one that actually comes in? Which 6-3? Which 6-2? If it were possible to DELETE the ones that don't come in, I wouldn't be asking the question or requesting the feature.








I can tell you that only one of each actually comes in.

Does anyone at Tivo read these, or is this just a time sink work around forum?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Kyle Gilbertson said:


> Does anyone at Tivo read these, or is this just a time sink work around forum?


TiVo rarely visits. And hasn't done technical support in a very long time. Try their support site.
Tivo Customer Support Community

But it's probably a waste of time.


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## Kyle Gilbertson (Nov 14, 2018)

Is there at least a way to DUMP ALL LISTED CHANNELS to start over?

I thought that sending it through Guided Setup again would do that, but it didn't.

Do I need to reset this thing to factory defaults in order to reset the list?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Kyle Gilbertson said:


> Is there at least a way to DUMP ALL LISTED CHANNELS to start over?
> I thought that sending it through Guided Setup again would do that, but it didn't.
> Do I need to reset this thing to factory defaults in order to reset the list?


That's drastic. Is it bad with TiVo Online? http://online.tivo.com/start/guide


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

Kyle Gilbertson said:


> o which 7-1 is the one that actually comes in? Which 6-3? Which 6-2? If it were possible to DELETE the ones that don't come in, I wouldn't be asking the question or requesting the feature.


Can't you view these channels in the guide on the TiVo itself to see which are valid and remove them from there (I think it's left arrow when using the grid guide?)?

Scott


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## Kyle Gilbertson (Nov 14, 2018)

Can, yes. But why CAN'T I delete the duplicate, non-existent ones? Why are they there? How do I get rid of them?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Kyle Gilbertson said:


> Can, yes. But why CAN'T I delete the duplicate, non-existent ones? Why are they there? How do I get rid of them?


Because there is no command to delete a channel. See, now you know.  Ask TiVo to add a delete channel command.: https://advisors.tivo.com/wix/5/p2272893819.aspx and if you call or Tweet @TiVoSupport, they will probably just give you that link. Perhaps there is no command since it is so rare that duplicates happen and/or nobody has asked before.

We still don't know if it's the app or the TiVo. What you are seeing is a bug. Bugs get fixed but not by adding a command.


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## Kyle Gilbertson (Nov 14, 2018)

So here's a screen shot to illustrate the original post, "TiVo Central -> Settings & Messages -> Channel Settings -> Channel List":









As stated in the original post, and seen in this image, the mini-screen DOES NOT show the highlighted channel. See The Price Is Right in the window? Yeah, that's not on PBS. At least I've never seen it on PBS. So if you're trying to determine whether to put a check in the box for the channel here or not, you have no idea if it comes in.

THAT IS A BUG!

Actually, that' not a bug, that's poor programming. There's a difference.

See all those other channels in that list? Why are they there? If the highlighted channel actually showed up in the mini-window, you would know whether to check the box or not. It's pretty clear the way that screen was supposed to work, and the way it actually works are not consistent with one another. At the top it says, "Press ENTER if this is the wrong channel lineup." I've tried pressing ENTER. It doesn't dump what's already there. It would appear from the wording of that option that it should. The user has no option other than what I've done to check every box, and use the various Guide Options (A) to narrow down to what actually comes in. If the mini-window actually showed what was (or WAS NOT) coming in on the selected channel, you wouldn't have to do that.

Even better, if you could actually DELETE the channels that don't come in, none of this would matter. If you could dump the channel list and start over with a scan, EVEN BETTER! But there appears to be no way to do that short of reseting the box to factory defaults, and at this point, I'm not convinced that even that would fix it.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

You are right on that point, you can't fix it with a restart or guided setup. There is no bug that I can see. Not with the TiVo. It's just that those stations are real and if your TiVo only displays Favorites you'll never see the others. You might uncheck them so My Channels doesn't access them either. The default display with TiVo Online is My Channels, so it will look the same. Just change it to Favorites. As for the technical part:

KMGH-TV - Wikipedia

Rocky Mountain PBS - Wikipedia

Finally: please uncheck channels you don't receive. With TE3 just hit guide, select channel. If it's dead, hit guide, Left, Select and choose remove from channel list. Rinse repeat. I have done this many times. My cable feed has 460 channels. I pay for 200. I have 50 as My Channels. I have 20 as Favorites.


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## Kyle Gilbertson (Nov 14, 2018)

I fail to see the relevance of the Wikipedia references.

There absolutely is a bug. Perhaps the cable version of TiVo does not do the same thing. The bug, as identified in both the original post, and just prior to this one is this:

If you go to "TiVo Central -> Settings & Messages -> Channel Settings -> Channel List", and go through the list. The highlighted channel does not show up in the mini-window. The mini-window continues to show what you were last watching,* not the highlighted channel*. The instructions at the top appear to be pretty clear about using that screen to determine whether a channel comes in or not, and select or deselect the channel on that basis. Those instructions can not be followed since the mini-window does not show the channel being highlighted.

Using Guide Options (A) is a time sink work around, as noted in post #13.

As much as you may want to believe that KZCO-LD or K20GK-D are real, they aren't. K24HQ-D3 and K26GX-D3 are not real either. There should be a way to delete them.


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## eherberg (Feb 17, 2011)

The channels are not receivable by you, perhaps, but they are real. (Which the Wikipedia links help show). The problem for OTA is that TiVo's channel area reported back is much greater than it should be so other people in the area they include need those channels in their list. In my area, TiVo reports every channel in a 200 mile x 200 mile area -- the majority of which I don't receive and need to be removed. Once unchecked - they're gone from your guide list.

Regarding the mini-window - in every screen it's the channel you're currently watching. I don't think many people have ever assumed in any screen that it's anything else. Do you not have an idea of what you can received OTA? Perhaps an address analysis over at rabbitears may be helpful to cull your station list.


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## Kyle Gilbertson (Nov 14, 2018)

LOL!

https://www.amazon.com/Inmates-Are-Running-Asylum-Products/dp/0672326140

Drink some more KoolAide!

Every TV, and I mean EVERY TV in my house, builds a new scan list on request. TiVo doesn't.

Run the asylum forum folks, run the asylum.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Kyle Gilbertson said:


> LOL!
> Every TV, and I mean EVERY TV in my house, builds a new scan list on request. TiVo doesn't.


So does mine. So does a TiVo. Any found will have an asterisk next to them in the channel list. The initial list, which you displayed, shows the default list based on your zipcode (or DMA). TiVo is very optimistic as was posted. I guess when you ran a channel scan none were found.


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## HerronScott (Jan 1, 2002)

Kyle Gilbertson said:


> Every TV, and I mean EVERY TV in my house, builds a new scan list on request. TiVo doesn't.


Your TV doesn't provide guide data other than what the OTA channels provide through PSIP. TiVo doesn't use PSIP but provides it's own guide data which goes out much farther than PSIP so you aren't really comparing the same things.

Scott


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