# Kill 'Quick Mode' ?



## s7pete (Jun 29, 2019)

One of the strong points of earlier TiVos was the simplicity of using its excellent remote - even in the dark by feel. Our newer TiVo abandoned the simplicity concept in favor of a convoluted 'Quick Mode'. While watching a show I frequently have to pause or hit play (sometimes by accident) and TiVo switches to high speed gibberish; and a 'Quick Mode' message comes up - pressing Select sometimes gets rid of it - sometimes not. Sometimes we just have to abandon TiVo and go the FireTV. I can see that somebody watching sports may want to watch at 1.3X and don't care about the gibberish, but my wife and I will never use Quick Mode, but I don't see a way to use Settings to permanently toggle it OFF, like subtitles and other functions you want to operate semi-permanently. 

Sooo, does anybody know how to kill Quick Mode ???


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## kpeters59 (Jun 19, 2007)

Press Play, then Select...don't do it again.

Fixed forever...

-KP


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

The box won't switch to Quick Mode with a simple click of the Play button; you have to hit Play and then Select to toggle it on and off. These buttons are pretty far apart, so it's a mystery how it might be happening on your box.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

It also tells you how to turn it off when it turns on. And turns itself off when you catch up in a live buffer. It is very simple, actually.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

TonyD79 said:


> It also tells you how to turn it off when it turns on. And turns itself off when you catch up in a live buffer. It is very simple, actually.


It's also not "sticky" between different shows, so you'd have to reenable it for each show played.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

QuickMode is great for "unscripted" shows like reality TV. I've never had a problem with it coming on when it didn't tell it to.


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

Is this OP for real?


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## Darrell Patton (Jul 19, 2018)

The only button problem I have is accidentally hitting the power button when I intend to hit the input button.


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## kdmorse (Jan 29, 2001)

I cannot in my wildest dreams imagine how someone's common pattern of button presses might accidentally invoke Quickmode. But, other people's fingers are not limited by my imagination. Sometimes an old habit of holding, grabbing, or poking the remote that used to do one thing, starts doing another, and it causes a short rant before you learn not to do that. Some change did that to me once, don't remember what it was, but something my fingers would do out of habit, the remote behavior changed out from under me.

Pressing the Select button, with the Play Bar visible will toggle quickmode. To turn it on/off, push Play so the play bar is visible (if not visible), then press Select to toggle it.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

jrtroo said:


> Is this OP for real?


I work in a support group for engineers. I can assure you this is far from the worst.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

kdmorse said:


>


That hilariously captures the comments over in the "Thumbs ratings gone from Hydra" thread complaining about not being able to use Thumbs to mark/track which shows had been viewed.


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## Adam C. (Jul 24, 2017)

I forgot Quick Mode even existed until I read this thread. I remember trying it out a few years ago when I first got my Tivo, but never really found any practical use for it. I suppose if you're watching something like a nature documentary where there is not much dialog then this might be useful.


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## PSU_Sudzi (Jun 4, 2015)

I can attest that I have accidentally enabled quick mode a couple of times, it happens.


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## Rob Helmerichs (Oct 17, 2000)

Adam C. said:


> I forgot Quick Mode even existed until I read this thread. I remember trying it out a few years ago when I first got my Tivo, but never really found any practical use for it. I suppose if you're watching something like a nature documentary where there is not much dialog then this might be useful.


I use it for news shows. I'm always surprised at how natural it sounds, and it's well worth the time savings. I won't use it for fiction, though, where the actors' cadence is a part of their performance.

Never triggered it by accident, but I use a Harmony, so it's possible the button placement makes it less likely. Or maybe I'm just that GOOD!


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## humbb (Jan 27, 2014)

PSU_Sudzi said:


> I can attest that I have accidentally enabled quick mode a couple of times, it happens.


For me, the most frequent accidental QM enabling occurs when I'm entering S-P-S codes (either directly or using KMTTG) after a restart.

I use it mostly for sports recordings. After skipping commercials, I can watch an entire baseball game in almost the time it used to take to watch a 1970's game live.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

kdmorse said:


> Some change did that to me once, don't remember what it was, but something my fingers would do out of habit, the remote behavior changed out from under me.


The one that took the most getting use to for me was when they disabled the ability to press FF/RW a 4th time to stop it. Took a while before I got use to that and pressing the play button instead.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

I've never had quick mode turn itself on. I really love QM. Aside from 'skip', it was the favorite thing for me when I went from Premieres to Bolts.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

humbb said:


> For me, the most frequent accidental QM enabling occurs when I'm entering S-P-S codes (either directly or using KMTTG) after a restart.


Yeah, but since those are special codes, I don't consider that an accidental activation as part of regular use, but a side-effect one needs to be aware of when using special codes.

With great power ...


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## CloudAtlas (Oct 29, 2013)

sharkster said:


> I've never had quick mode turn itself on. I really love QM. Aside from 'skip', it was the favorite thing for me when I went from Premieres to Bolts.


Moving to the Roamio from the Premiere was magical. Quick Mode is the feature i didn't know I needed. It's the only way I can watch a baseball game.


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## MikeekiM (Jun 25, 2002)

I occasionally use quick mode when I watch American Ninja Warrior...


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

I use Quick Mode VERY VERY often.. and I wish it were WAY faster... I wish there were at least 50% faster and 100% faster (maybe 75% too). I listen to basically all podcasts at 2x.. only going down to 1.5x sometimes (e.g. foreign accents).

I often download shows to watch in VLC (on AppleTV nowadays, which is the most convenient way to do it) at 1.5x or 2x.. I watched a couple of episodes of The Toy Box at 2x over the weekend. I still got most of the "fun" part of the show.

For something like America's Got Talent or American Idol (though I admit I have about 2 seasons of each recorded in SD unwatched), I will QuickPlay the non-performance part (fluff), and watch the main performance at regular speed -- usually.

If I could 'stand' to watch scripted stuff faster than realtime, I would. The only one I do it with is SNL, instead of FFing it like I was for a while. I'll just leave it in quickmode and halfway zone out doing something else for a boring sketch.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

tarheelblue32 said:


> QuickMode is great for "unscripted" shows like reality TV. I've never had a problem with it coming on when it didn't tell it to.


Also great for the news and for political debates.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

TonyD79 said:


> I work in a support group for engineers. I can assure you this is far from the worst.


Is that an AA-like group?


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## Series3Sub (Mar 14, 2010)

I love my quick mode. I love using it during the presidential debates. quick mode seems to be a nice TiVo only feature for DVR glad to see some Innovation still around at TiVo. However a very similar feature was available on the JVC S-VHS VCRs that played at about 1.5 speed. It works just like the TiVo quick mode except that with the TiVo quick mode the pitch does not change. I love that feature on the JVC.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

Mikeguy said:


> Is that an AA-like group?


Sometimes it feels that way.


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## TexasDVR (Feb 20, 2013)

I like Quick Mode; even my slow brain will watch talk shows in quick mode because they move to slow for me. 

However there are times Quick Mode is not fast enough: Example I usually watch UpChuck Todd at triple speed without any sound at all and will only slow it down if there is someone there that is actually worth listening to (very rare).


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

There are times when QuickMode proves to be a challenge for me: especially with some situation comedies, where the talk is faster (in part, I guess, for the limited showtime?). I can't imagine QuickMode with "The Gilmore Girls," infamous for its quick banter (adopted, indeed, to fit the larger amount of script into the allotted time). At those times, I've noted that using QuickMode can foster anxiety rather than entertainment--off it goes.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

CloudAtlas said:


> Moving to the Roamio from the Premiere was magical. Quick Mode is the feature i didn't know I needed. It's the only way I can watch a baseball game.


Let me count the ways!  I didn't even know about QM when I purchased my Bolts. I just discovered it very shortly after getting my first one and, knowing me, I probably read some of the book that comes with them. A lot of times it's absolutely invaluable because I'm finding that I am more and more becoming impatient.

Before, when people spoke as slow as molasses in January, I wanted to put my hand down their throats and pull the words out. Now - I just use QM. I can stay nice and calm.  Plus, a show that would take 42 minutes to view only takes about 31-32 minutes. (Hey, when you're old it adds up) Priceless!


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

Mikeguy said:


> There are times when QuickMode proves to be a challenge for me: especially with some situation comedies, where the talk is faster (in part, I guess, for the limited showtime?). I can't imagine QuickMode with "The Gilmore Girls," infamous for its quick banter (adopted, indeed, to fit the larger amount of script into the allotted time). At those times, I've noted that using QuickMode can foster anxiety rather than entertainment--off it goes.


I used to watch this silly show called 'Rich Kids of Beverly Hills' and those kids really speak quickly. Put it on QM once, just for giggles, and - whoa! Too fast even for me! But it was a fun test. 

I used to watch a couple of the Tyler Perry dramas. Talk about slow-moving and over-dialogued! (had to quit out of frustration of having a whole season cover less than one day) But on QM, it was definitely more watchable.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

sharkster said:


> I used to watch this silly show called 'Rich Kids of Beverly Hills' and those kids really speak quickly. Put it on QM once, just for giggles, and - whoa! Too fast even for me! But it was a fun test.
> 
> I used to watch a couple of the Tyler Perry dramas. Talk about slow-moving and over-dialogued! (had to quit out of frustration of having a whole season cover less than one day) But on QM, it was definitely more watchable.


It's kind of sad, but I now sometimes will get frustrated when, gasp, I'm watching a television show in realtime or am watching a DVD, and I can't turn QuickMode on.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

Mikeguy said:


> It's kind of sad, but I now sometimes will get frustrated when, gasp, I'm watching a television show in realtime or am watching a DVD, and I can't turn QuickMode on.


Don't feel like the Lone Ranger!

Not only do I often wish I could use it on live, no buffer, shows but sometimes I wish I could use it in real life!


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## humbb (Jan 27, 2014)

sharkster said:


> ... sometimes I wish I could use it in real life!


Someday, Shark ... someday.


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## minimeh (Jun 20, 2011)

TexasDVR said:


> I like Quick Mode; even my slow brain will watch talk shows in quick mode because they move to slow for me.


When watching The Late Show and the like, QM plus commercial skip FTW. Slowing down only for the musical acts.


TexasDVR said:


> However there are times Quick Mode is not fast enough: Example I usually watch UpChuck Todd at triple speed without any sound at all and will only slow it down if there is someone there that is actually worth listening to (very rare).


Real question: So why watch Chuck Stutter at all? If he manages to have a moment worth seeing, it will be clipped and shown elsewhere.


Mikeguy said:


> There are times when QuickMode proves to be a challenge for me...At those times, I've noted that using QuickMode can foster anxiety...


This is the case for my wife at all times. Except for baseball games, QM really winds her up.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Series3Sub said:


> quick mode seems to be a nice TiVo only feature for DVR glad to see some Innovation still around at TiVo. However a very similar feature was available on the JVC S-VHS VCRs that played at about 1.5 speed. It works just like the TiVo quick mode except that with the TiVo quick mode the pitch does not change. I love that feature on the JVC.


yeah not Tivo-only. My Toshiba XS32 (hard drive/DVD recorder) does it too, it's the first place I found out about playing faster than realtime. Heck, it also does video editing in a way Tivo never did (even the DVD burning units).


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

I use QM pretty much on all of my shows. It is a bit of a learning curve at first, after a bit you get used to it and you barely notice it except with music. It really makes a difference if you have a lot to watch on a particular night.


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## Adam C. (Jul 24, 2017)

I have always looked at it this way - if a show is a so slow that I'm not willing to watch it at normal speed then I probably shouldn't be watching it to begin with.


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## BobCamp1 (May 15, 2002)

s7pete said:


> While watching a show I frequently have to pause or hit play (sometimes by accident) and TiVo switches to high speed gibberish; and a 'Quick Mode' message comes up - pressing Select sometimes gets rid of it - sometimes not.


If the OP is still listening, what we're trying to say is that Quickmode doesn't turn itself on. And if somehow it does, it is very easy to turn off. That doesn't appear to be your experience, so maybe something is wrong with your remote? Maybe the Select button is sticky and doesn't pop up right away?

Or maybe you have interference with another device in your room. Is the remote in RF mode? (It should blink amber, not red, whenever you press a button.)


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## leiff (Aug 24, 2005)

I think on the first page someone posted here that quick mode doesn't remain a sticky to a show if you start playing it. I would just like to point out after recent TiVo update I notice a show from your now playing list will remember if quick mode is on or not. I actually prefer this and consider it a welcome change. 
Even better under season passes ,it would be great if TiVo gave us an additional option to start a certain show with quick mode enabled.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

leiff said:


> I think on the first page someone posted here that quick mode doesn't remain a sticky to a show if you start playing it. I would just like to point out after recent TiVo update I notice a show from your now playing list will remember if quick mode is on or not. I actually prefer this and consider it a welcome change.
> Even better under season passes ,it would be great if TiVo gave us an additional option to start a certain show with quick mode enabled.


It looks like it only does that once. I lost it when I watched a different recording then went back to the first recording.


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## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

Of course, it doesn't do it even once on TE3 (although the subtitle "B" button setting gets retained).


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## DesertGolfer (Aug 10, 2019)

Oh how I wish. Today, Quckmode is going wonky on me. Picture this. I am watching a show and want a snack so I press Pause. Until today, all I had to do is press the Play button. Nope. Now I get the floating Quickmode toggle window which either turns Quickmode on or off. Each and every time I pause the show. I cannot just press play without that toggle. Is this not happening for you?


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## tenthplanet (Mar 5, 2004)

kdmorse said:


> I cannot in my wildest dreams imagine how someone's common pattern of button presses might accidentally invoke Quickmode. But, other people's fingers are not limited by my imagination. Sometimes an old habit of holding, grabbing, or poking the remote that used to do one thing, starts doing another, and it causes a short rant before you learn not to do that. Some change did that to me once, don't remember what it was, but something my fingers would do out of habit, the remote behavior changed out from under me.
> 
> Pressing the Select button, with the Play Bar visible will toggle quickmode. To turn it on/off, push Play so the play bar is visible (if not visible), then press Select to toggle it.


The changes in version 10.17 is funny  and yet scarily accurate.


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## tenthplanet (Mar 5, 2004)

TonyD79 said:


> I work in a support group for engineers. I can assure you this is far from the worst.


I hear you, substitute analysts for engineers and you're in my world.


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## minimeh (Jun 20, 2011)

DesertGolfer said:


> Oh how I wish. Today, Quckmode is going wonky on me. Picture this. I am watching a show and want a snack so I press Pause. Until today, all I had to do is press the Play button. Nope. Now I get the floating Quickmode toggle window which either turns Quickmode on or off. Each and every time I pause the show. I cannot just press play without that toggle. Is this not happening for you?


You have options when the QuickMode toggle window appears:

When the QuickMode toggle window appears, press Play and it will go away without changing the quick mode.
After pressing Pause, press Pause again to continue playing with no QuickMode toggle window at all.

When the QuickMode toggle window appears, press Clear and the QuickMode toggle window will go away without changing the quick mode.
Do nothing but enjoy your snack and the QuickMode toggle window will time out and go away with no changes.


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## kpeters59 (Jun 19, 2007)

Activate the 'Quick Clear Play Bar' SPS code?

It can be set using KMTTG.

-KP


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## realityboy (Jun 13, 2003)

DesertGolfer said:


> Oh how I wish. Today, Quckmode is going wonky on me. Picture this. I am watching a show and want a snack so I press Pause. Until today, all I had to do is press the Play button. Nope. Now I get the floating Quickmode toggle window which either turns Quickmode on or off. Each and every time I pause the show. I cannot just press play without that toggle. Is this not happening for you?


Sure, the toggle comes up telling you to press select to toggle it on/off, but you're free to ignore that and just hit play to resume your show.


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## cenright (Feb 11, 2007)

I am surprised that people are finding no use for quick mode. I actually hacked up KMTTG to automatically start quick mode when I start watching a show. There are only a few things I turn it off for (music, some movies, some shows that already have fast speaking dialog). I didn't even want to come back to tivo until they had it (WMC got me hooked). Wish it had a configurable speed - at least add a 1.5... Some of us really like to watch (more) TV.


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## kpeters59 (Jun 19, 2007)

Apparently you have been gone for a while:

Adjusting QuickMode speed via SPS codes

-KP


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

This is why we can’t have nice things. And why General release stuff has to be super simple.


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## tenthplanet (Mar 5, 2004)

TonyD79 said:


> This is why we can't have nice things. And why General release stuff has to be super simple.


Tell me about it. If the Magic 8-Ball was invented today, the instructions on the box would read..1) Open lid on top of box, 2) Gently remove plastic ball with round glass window facing you 3) Holding ball in your hand gently rock/shake it left to right 4) Look at round glass window for the ball's prediction/fortune. WARNING: Do not attempt to open ball, ball has no user-serviceable parts inside.


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## cenright (Feb 11, 2007)

kpeters59 said:


> Apparently you have been gone for a while:
> 
> Adjusting QuickMode speed via SPS codes
> 
> -KP


Wow, I guess I have. Thanks for the heads up!


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## DesertGolfer (Aug 10, 2019)

realityboy said:


> Sure, the toggle comes up telling you to press select to toggle it on/off, but you're free to ignore that and just hit play to resume your show.


for me it doesn't. Hitting play does nothing until I press OK and that brings up the dialog with either turn on or turn on QuIck Mode. If it's on, then I have to go through the cycle to turn it off.


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## realityboy (Jun 13, 2003)

DesertGolfer said:


> for me it doesn't. Hitting play does nothing until I press OK and that brings up the dialog with either turn on or turn on QuIck Mode. If it's on, then I have to go through the cycle to turn it off.


That shouldn't happen. Mine just shows the status (off or on) and gives directions to press select to change it. I don't want to change it so I don't press select.


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## DesertGolfer (Aug 10, 2019)

realityboy said:


> That shouldn't happen. Mine just shows the status (off or on) and gives directions to press select to change it. I don't want to change it so I don't press select.


It shouldn't but for me this is what happens. I am watching a show and press pause. Then I press play. Nothing happens. I press play again and get the quickmode popup. If quickmode is off I have to press OK which turns it on but I don't want it. So I have to press play again which brings up the popup and I press ok which turns off quickmode. Oddly enough a few days ago I didn't get this behaviour at all. No quickmod popup.


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## realityboy (Jun 13, 2003)

DesertGolfer said:


> It shouldn't but for me this is what happens. I am watching a show and press pause. Then I press play. Nothing happens. I press play again and get the quickmode popup. If quickmode is off I have to press OK which turns it on but I don't want it. So I have to press play again which brings up the popup and I press ok which turns off quickmode. Oddly enough a few days ago I didn't get this behaviour at all. No quickmod popup.


No idea why it would do that. That does sound pretty annoying.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

DesertGolfer said:


> It shouldn't but for me this is what happens. I am watching a show and press pause. Then I press play. Nothing happens. I press play again and get the quickmode popup. If quickmode is off I have to press OK which turns it on but I don't want it. So I have to press play again which brings up the popup and I press ok which turns off quickmode. Oddly enough a few days ago I didn't get this behaviour at all. No quickmod popup.


You "have to" press ok? No, you don't. If you press play, you get a HINT that IF you press OK, quick mode will turn on. The play bar will go away by itself or you can hit clear (return) or hit play again.

You don't HAVE TO press OK. It is a suggestion not a requirement.


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## BobCamp1 (May 15, 2002)

DesertGolfer said:


> It shouldn't but for me this is what happens. I am watching a show and press pause. Then I press play. Nothing happens. I press play again and get the quickmode popup. If quickmode is off I have to press OK which turns it on but I don't want it. So I have to press play again which brings up the popup and I press ok which turns off quickmode. Oddly enough a few days ago I didn't get this behaviour at all. No quickmod popup.


1. What happens if you press pause when the video is already paused? That should unpause it.

2. Pressing play will also unpause. Your play button behavior is unique to just you, so I suspect either a bad remote control or interference that is disrupting the play button function. Can you try a different remote?

3. Is the remote in IR mode or RF mode? The LED on the remote blinks red if in IR mode and amber if it's in RF mode. RF mode in theory is subject to less interference but you can toggle to the other mode and see if it helps.
https://support.tivo.com/articles/Features_Use/TiVo-Remotes-RF-Pairing-Instructions#Switching Modes

4. Everybody gets the quick mode pop-up when they pause. As long as you don't press Select or OK, it doesn't get activated. We all just ignore it.

5. You can also use the instructions on that web page to perform a global reset of the remote, then re-pair your remote with the Tivo.


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## Toothpickmonkee (Apr 8, 2021)

*I have to hit play then select when I pause a live or record show or hit skip 30 second forward. Then I have to 10 second rewind 3 times to get back where I was when I paused. It don't matter if Quick Mode Off or On.







*


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## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

Um, ok.


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## humbb (Jan 27, 2014)

slowbiscuit said:


> Um, ok.


My rewind is only 6 seconds, so it's even worse.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

s7pete said:


> One of the strong points of earlier TiVos was the simplicity of using its excellent remote - even in the dark by feel. Our newer TiVo abandoned the simplicity concept in favor of a convoluted 'Quick Mode'.


Convoluted? Heck, this is the BEST thing Tivo has added in many years, maybe a decade.. (I think most of the UI improvements I can think of are over a decade old now -- and yes, I am on TE3!)
ESPECIALLY since we knew of the -- yes this part is convoluted -- backdoor way of speeding it up.
(I switch between 1.7 and 1.9x very very often.. 1.5x once in a while.. anything 'slower' than that is usually main content that I watch at regular speed.. but news/documentary/some reality shows/and many competition shows except for the ACTUAL competition footage are just as entertaining but quicker to get through with all/most of it sped up.. just like I listen to podcasts at 2x)


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## letsroll (Dec 1, 2007)

s7pete said:


> One of the strong points of earlier TiVos was the simplicity of using its excellent remote - even in the dark by feel. Our newer TiVo abandoned the simplicity concept in favor of a convoluted 'Quick Mode'. While watching a show I frequently have to pause or hit play (sometimes by accident) and TiVo switches to high speed gibberish; and a 'Quick Mode' message comes up - pressing Select sometimes gets rid of it - sometimes not. Sometimes we just have to abandon TiVo and go the FireTV. I can see that somebody watching sports may want to watch at 1.3X and don't care about the gibberish, but my wife and I will never use Quick Mode, but I don't see a way to use Settings to permanently toggle it OFF, like subtitles and other functions you want to operate semi-permanently.
> 
> Sooo, does anybody know how to kill Quick Mode ???


Quick Mode is one of the most useful features of Tivo, especially if you watch news...unless you're old with a hearing aid it's not "gibberish" and regardless, it's super easy to turn off or just not turn on in the first place. If you accidently keep turning it on, which requires two separate buttons, then maybe it's just a simple case of user error not design error.


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## sc446 (Oct 12, 2021)

minimeh said:


> You have options when the QuickMode toggle window appears:
> 
> When the QuickMode toggle window appears, press Play and it will go away without changing the quick mode.
> After pressing Pause, press Pause again to continue playing with no QuickMode toggle window at all.
> ...


Not for me, same as some others here. When a recording is paused, pressing play only brings up the toggle no matter how many times it is pressed. Pause does not resume the recording either, nothing happens. I use FF to get it to play then rewind then play, very annoying. This is on a newly purchased edge for antenna and a bolt OTA.


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