# Skipmode not showing up on recordings?



## PdX (Apr 12, 2016)

I have been recording shows like survivor and rush hour and they are not getting skip mode. I have reset the bolt and done a forced call, still not working. 

I have read that this happens in the past, just wondering if I am the only one currently having issues or if I should call in?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

http://survey.confirmit.com/wix/1/p3075425841.aspx

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=536184


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## PdX (Apr 12, 2016)

JoeKustra said:


> http://survey.confirmit.com/wix/1/p3075425841.aspx
> 
> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=536184


Thanks for the first link. That was the thread I saw originally.

The survey isn't letting me enter the correct information for Survivor. I entered that its season 32 and it says that is outside the valid range... But the DVR says its season 32.


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

Re-run Guided Setup after 20.5.6 updates. The current version should be 20.5.9.

I have skip after I did that.


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## lujan (May 24, 2010)

ThAbtO said:


> Re-run Guided Setup after 20.5.6 updates. The current version should be 20.5.9.
> 
> I have skip after I did that.


I checked and I also have 20.5.9 so I re-ran the Guided Setup. I recorded 5 programs on Friday evening which is the first day of owning the Bolt. I noticed that I got 2 out of the 5 recordings that had the "Skip" feature. 3 shows were recorded simultaneously and only 1 of the 3 has the "Skip" feature. Of the other 2 simultaneous shows, only 1 had this feature. Does this mean that you can only get the "Skip" on one show if you have more than one recording at the same time?


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

lujan said:


> I checked and I also have 20.5.9 so I re-ran the Guided Setup. I recorded 5 programs on Friday evening which is the first day of owning the Bolt. I noticed that I got 2 out of the 5 recordings that had the "Skip" feature. 3 shows were recorded simultaneously and only 1 of the 3 has the "Skip" feature. Of the other 2 simultaneous shows, only 1 had this feature. Does this mean that you can only get the "Skip" on one show if you have more than one recording at the same time?


No, it means SM (SkipMode) is not consistent. There are variables that I don't understand, and some I do, that affect if a show qualifies. The region may also have an affect. For me, NBC is the best with other networks being somewhat of a crap shoot. If a show has bad closed captions this is a point of failure.

My biggest complaint is when I watch late night. Sometimes a programs has SM one night and not the next. No pattern. Local news may also have an adverse affect.

BTW, I have not rerun guided setup since I bought this Roamio over a year ago. A Bolt shouldn't be any different, but if it works don't fix it.


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## nmb333 (Feb 1, 2016)

Is it possible the some networks or shows are not allowing skip mode?


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## uxresearcher (Apr 18, 2016)

SkipMode isn't available on all networks. I think there are a total of 20 networks that it is available on and not every show on those networks gets it either.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

nmb333 said:


> Is it possible the some networks or shows are not allowing skip mode?


I think they could cripple it by adding variations to the closed captions, but if TiVo were actually being paid to leave somebody out, it would be by someone with big money and aggressive lawyers. The twenty channels they target now are exactly those players so I don't think that is happening.

TiVo isn't under the same leverage that caused the satellite and cable providers to cripple their versions of Skip Mode.


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## PdX (Apr 12, 2016)

so for me, I have noticed FOX shows get SM, however, i have yet to get a CBS show to hame SM. I have specifically recorded shows on SM networks, but it seems only my fox recordings are getting SM.


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## ThAbtO (Apr 6, 2000)

I have been getting skip on a few of my shows...

NCIS (CBS)
NCIS:NOLA (CBS)
Simpsons (Fox)
NCIS:LA (CBS) - I think also gets it.

However, I hardly use it. I rather just FFx2 through.


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## lujan (May 24, 2010)

ThAbtO said:


> I have been getting skip on a few of my shows...
> 
> NCIS (CBS)
> NCIS:NOLA (CBS)
> ...


I just activated my Bolt but have only seen SM on two shows so far:

Last Man Standing (ABC)
Grimm (NBC)

I didn't see it on my other recordings from The CW and CBS.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

lujan said:


> I just activated my Bolt but have only seen SM on two shows so far:
> 
> Last Man Standing (ABC)
> Grimm (NBC)
> ...


Tonight record prime time CBS, NBC and Fox. See how well that works. Don't pad the recordings.


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## lujan (May 24, 2010)

JoeKustra said:


> Tonight record prime time CBS, NBC and Fox. See how well that works. Don't pad the recordings.


Hmm? I'll have to check all my season passes to make sure I didn't add a minute here and there...


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

lujan said:


> Hmm? I'll have to check all my season passes to make sure I didn't add a minute here and there...


I mentioned padding because you may end up clipping and there are two "live" broadcasts tonight also. Tomorrow would normally be a better test, but with the NY primary, there could be unexpected interruptions and delays.

My normal 1P for Tuesday night would be NCIS, NCIS:NO and Limitless. Only padding Limitless means only one tuner is used. Last week all three were repeats but the week before all had SM.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

lujan said:


> Hmm? I'll have to check all my season passes to make sure I didn't add a minute here and there...


Last night with SM:
Supergirl
The Voice
Scorpion
NCIS:LA
Blindspot
TDS
12 Monkeys
Hunters
Castle
Full Frontal

Last night without SM:
DWTS
Jimmy Kimmel
The Late Show

Hope this helps.


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## lujan (May 24, 2010)

JoeKustra said:


> Last night with SM:
> Supergirl
> The Voice
> Scorpion
> ...


I only had one scheduled recording last night and it had SM:

Gotham (Fox)

Tonight I will have 4 recordings so it will be more active. I don't live in NY so hopefully the primary will have no impact in my area?


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

lujan said:


> Hmm? I'll have to check all my season passes to make sure I didn't add a minute here and there...


If you don't want clipping, I would think you would have disabled it as soon as you got the new release which restored the clipping control.


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## cherry ghost (Sep 13, 2005)

PdX said:


> so for me, I have noticed FOX shows get SM, however, i have yet to get a CBS show to hame SM. I have specifically recorded shows on SM networks, but it seems only my fox recordings are getting SM.


You're in Portland? It's been reported elsewhere that CBS in Portland was switched to MPEG-4 and SkipMode doesn't currently work on MPEG-4 channels.


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## lujan (May 24, 2010)

ej42137 said:


> If you don't want clipping, I would think you would have disabled it as soon as you got the new release which restored the clipping control.


I don't know what clipping control is but here is the latest on the SM availability for my recordings as of last night:

The Flash (CW) - SM
Containment (CW) - No SM
Agents of Shield (ABC) - SM
Limitless (CBS) - SM

The only show without SM was Containment which happen to record right after The Flash on the same network. Could back-to-back recordings cause the SM to not work?


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## joewom (Dec 10, 2013)

lujan said:


> I don't know what clipping control is but here is the latest on the SM availability for my recordings as of last night:
> 
> The Flash (CW) - SM
> Containment (CW) - No SM
> ...


No. I have had back to back recordings get SM. CBS Madam Secretary and the good wife for example. I don't think there is a rime or reason some don't get it. Containment was the pilot maybe someone at TiVo forgot it was coming on!


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

lujan said:


> I don't know what clipping control is but here is the latest on the SM availability for my recordings as of last night:
> 
> The Flash (CW) - SM
> Containment (CW) - No SM
> ...


OK with SM on Containment. Might be a regional issue. That's a good guess. It's all a good guess.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

lujan said:


> I don't know what clipping control is but here is the latest on the SM availability for my recordings as of last night:
> 
> The Flash (CW) - SM
> Containment (CW) - No SM
> ...


If two shows overlap by five minutes or less, and there aren't enough tuners to record both, when clipping is enabled your TiVo will clip off enough of the lower priority show to enable successful recording of both; if clipping is disabled the lower priority recording will be cancelled. When this feature (Overlap Protection) was introduced it was optional, but when the Bolt first came out it was enabled and you could not turn it off. I believe 20.5.9 once again makes it optional on the Bolt as it has always been on S3 through Roamio.

On S3 and Roamio the path is:
TiVo Central -> Messages & Settings -> Settings ->
Recording -> Overlap Protection -> No, cancel the lower priority program​I'm sure the Bolt path is similar.

My preference is to leave it off, pad everything, and monitor the To Do list for problems. Others don't mind missing a little bit of their recordings for the benefit of not having to manage recordings so much; if you don't pad and leave Overlap Protection on most likely you will seldom miss a program completely.

If you don't want your recordings clipped you probably want to change the Overlap Protection setting to not allow clipping. Even if you take padding off all your shows the broadcasters sometimes offset the start times of certain shows hoping to prevent channel switching.


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## lujan (May 24, 2010)

ej42137 said:


> If two shows overlap by five minutes or less, and there aren't enough tuners to record both, when clipping is enabled your TiVo will clip off enough of the lower priority show to enable successful recording of both; if clipping is disabled the lower priority recording will be cancelled. When this feature (Overlap Protection) was introduced it was optional, but when the Bolt first came out it was enabled and you could not turn it off. I believe 20.5.9 once again makes it optional on the Bolt as it has always been on S3 through Roamio.
> 
> On S3 and Roamio the path is:
> TiVo Central -> Messages & Settings -> Settings ->
> ...


Yes, mine is On and I've never messed with this setting. I've also never missed a show but do have parts of shows which are cutoff and in that case I pad them. It doesn't appear that padding or no padding affects whether the SM results or not.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

lujan said:


> Yes, mine is On and I've never messed with this setting. I've also never missed a show but do have parts of shows which are cutoff and in that case I pad them. It doesn't appear that padding or no padding affects whether the SM results or not.


I could imagine that if a show got clipped at the front, Skip Mode might have a problem because the closed captions it needs to get started might be missing. If so, I'll never find out because I pad everything and don't allow clipping.

Is that why almost all eligible shows on my TiVo have Skip Mode?


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## PdX (Apr 12, 2016)

cherry ghost said:


> You're in Portland? It's been reported elsewhere that CBS in Portland was switched to MPEG-4 and SkipMode doesn't currently work on MPEG-4 channels.


Good to know, that would explain why CBS seems to be the culprit for me.


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## fcanzo (Mar 20, 2004)

Has anyone noticed that when you should have skip mode, and it doesn't appear, fast forwarding appears to be twice (or some other multiple) as fast as it should be?


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## zob (Mar 25, 2007)

My skip mode quit working almost completely, in the last few weeks.


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## FitzAusTex (May 7, 2014)

I get weird things happening like Turn on AMC getting Skip Mode for the first airing, but not the encore airing one hour later.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Weird: The Late Show. SM on 3/31 then none until 4/29. Maybe once a month is all they are allowed.


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## zob (Mar 25, 2007)

An update on my skip mode. I called customer service and told them the skip icon is there, but when you go to use it on the first commercial it is gone. They said there some known issues with the skip mode; they don't know when it will be resolved and no timeframe to repair it. That doesn't give you too many warm fuzzies about who you're dealing with.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

zob said:


> An update on my skip mode. I called customer service and told them the skip icon is there, but when you go to use it on the first commercial it is gone. They said there some known issues with the skip mode; they don't know when it will be resolved and no timeframe to repair it. That doesn't give you too many warm fuzzies about who you're dealing with.


 How are you starting play on your shows? Because I most often select show at top level of My Shows then use "Play" button. But once I had the issue you are talking about and found that instead if I press Select to get to show details and then select to start play in the details page that SkipMode worked properly that way. Backing out and starting the way I normally do using "Play" button on remote again resulted in no SkipMode, so looks like starting from details page might be a workaround. I only ran into that issue once, however.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

I always start from the my shows list and never have seen a problem. Possible it was right at the time skip was being loaded?


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