# SD menus on Mini?



## JimMatthews (Feb 19, 2004)

Are SD menus an option on the TiVo Mini? 

I have a Premiere XL4, a TiVoHD and a Series3, and use SD menus on the Premiere so they all have a consistent UI (and also because the family is used to the SD menus, and they're faster). I'm thinking of replacing the Series3 with a Mini, to save the $15/mo Comcast Outlet Service Charge I'm paying for the Series3's two cablecards.


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## dsnotgood (Aug 26, 2010)

I didn't see an option for it an d I looked very hard for one. Maybe if you use a av cable it will show up but I don't have one to test with. I hope they add it in soon.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

dsnotgood said:


> I didn't see an option for it an d I looked very hard for one. Maybe if you use a av cable it will show up but I don't have one to test with. I hope they add it in soon.


I wouldn't hold my breath - my bet is the SD menus will never be on the Mini.


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

dsnotgood said:


> I didn't see an option for it an d I looked very hard for one. Maybe if you use a av cable it will show up but I don't have one to test with. I hope they add it in soon.


I think the next products that TiVo puts out (like the Series 5 or whatever) will not use the SDUI, I think that the TP was a UI transition DVR so TiVo could finish up the HDUI for the next DVR product rollout. Therefore I don't think you will see a SDUI on the Mini.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

lessd said:


> I think the next products that TiVo puts out (like the Series 5 or whatever) will not use the SDUI, I think that the TP was a UI transition DVR so TiVo could finish up the HDUI for the next DVR product rollout. Therefore I don't think you will see a SDUI on the Mini.


I can't see them dropping the SD menus until SDTVs are a very small minority. Last I heard HDTV penetration was only up around 50-60%.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I don't know aout the Mini but on the Premiere units most of the settings menus are still SD even when you're using the HDUI. Have they finally converted the entire UI to HD on the Mini?


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## jjd_87 (Jan 31, 2011)

I'm pretty sure one of the reviewers has said that the SD menus are available.


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

innocentfreak said:


> I can't see them dropping the SD menus until SDTVs are a very small minority. Last I heard HDTV penetration was only up around 50-60%.


*WOW* 60% penetration for HDTV, I must live in a different place as I don't know anybody that has (or uses) a non HD TV(s).


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I still have an analog 4:3 TV in our guest room. My Sister still has two 4:3 analog TVs in her house. One in her bedroom and one in her daughter's room. And my Mom's main TV is still a 4:3 analog TV, plus a small 13" 4:3 TV in the bedroom. Although her main TV just stopped working the other day so she'll likely be getting an HDTV now for the living room.

So in our 3 households we have a total of 11 TVs and 5 of them are SD, so that stat seems to hold true for my family.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

lessd said:


> *WOW* 60% penetration for HDTV, I must live in a different place as I don't know anybody that has (or uses) a non HD TV(s).


I still have one but I rarely watch TV in my bedroom these days so I haven't been able to convince myself to replace it.

I think it is mainly because people keep TVs until they break. My mom only upgraded because her TVs died. My father still uses SDTVs.


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

innocentfreak said:


> I still have one but I rarely watch TV in my bedroom these days so I haven't been able to convince myself to replace it.
> 
> I think it is mainly because people keep TVs until they break. My mom only upgraded because her TVs died. My father still uses SDTVs.


OK I do have 3 or 4 non HD TV in my home but I don't use them, they are in guest bedrooms that have not been used in years, but I do have 6 HDTVs in different rooms in my home that are used all the time.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

The mini only works with digital only XL4/P4 units. So for them to drop the SD menus would not be a surprise in the next year or two. Nothing says users can't use the HDUI on a SD tv. However, I don't think the latest Premiere hardware is being used on enough SDTVs to justify keeping it around much longer. TiVo has the data so they know exactly how many users are using each connection.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Seems that, based on this thread, a lot of people still use SDTVs for secondary locations in the house. So it would seem that it's actually more likely that a Mini would be connected to an SDTV then a primary Premiere unit would.

What happens if you use the HDUI on an SDTV? Does it just squish it to fit? Or does it letter box? I've never tried it so I have no idea.


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## HenryFarpolo (Dec 1, 2008)

jjd_87 said:


> I'm pretty sure one of the reviewers has said that the SD menus are available.


There is no SD option.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

Dan203 said:


> Seems that, based on this thread, a lot of people still use SDTVs for secondary locations in the house. So it would seem that it's actually more likely that a Mini would be connected to an SDTV then a primary Premiere unit would.


We shall see. The device only ships with a HDMI cable afaik.


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## jfh3 (Apr 15, 2004)

rainwater said:


> We shall see. The device only ships with a HDMI cable afaik.


True, but it supports component and composite output as well. You just need a 3.5mm adapter cable.


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## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

Looking at the "TiVo Mini DVR Companion Viewers Guide", there doesn't seem to be any setting for TV aspect ratio.


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## Arcady (Oct 14, 2004)

I connected a Premiere to an old TV using a composite video cable while it was in the HDUI already, and it just letterboxed the interface on the 4x3 TV.

When I hooked up a new Premiere to the same composite connection, it defaulted to the SDUI on first boot and would not allow me to choose the HDUI with only a composite cable connected.

I'd like to know what the Mini does when booted up with only a composite connection.


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## Philmatic (Sep 17, 2003)

I don't get the confusion, the HDUI works fine on SD TVs, it's just not optimal. Try connecting a TiVo Premiere that is currently set to use the HDUI with a HDMI and a composite connection simultaneously. It will show the HDUI on an SDTV no problem, just letterboxed.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

Arcady said:


> I'd like to know what the Mini does when booted up with only a composite connection.


There doesn't appear to be a SD UI for the Mini so I'm guessing you will get the HDUI.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Philmatic said:


> I don't get the confusion, the HDUI works fine on SD TVs, it's just not optimal. Try connecting a TiVo Premiere that is currently set to use the HDUI with a HDMI and a composite connection simultaneously. It will show the HDUI on an SDTV no problem, just letterboxed.


Though the SD UI is a lot faster&#8230; That's one reason some use the SD UI. (I admit I'm mostly living in the HD UI nowadays, even though I'd far prefer the speed of the SD UI, and dislike many of the bugs that exist in the HD UI -- no channel up/down conveniences that exist in lots of places in SD, lack of clipping indicators in to do, etc..)


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

The HDUI is a LOT faster on the Mini so speed shouldn't be much of a concern.


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## dsnotgood (Aug 26, 2010)

Quick tidbit. So I hooked up a hdmi splitter since my tv only has one port and I have two devices, blu ray player and the mini. After hooking it up to splitter the mini defaulted to a resolution of 480p. Which is PERFECT since this is a old style HDTV . So now I get the Hd menus but since it thinks it isn't a HDTV...it covers up the whole screen with no letter boxing. 

Yes! I'm happy. Now to get the stupid Cable I need for audio...


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## Philmatic (Sep 17, 2003)

mattack said:


> Though the SD UI is a lot faster


Agreed, but the SDUI is a discontinued interface so might as well move on up. 

The HDUI on my original 2 tuner Premiere is decent, NOTHING like it was when the box shipped. I can only imagine how fast it is on the Mini, with the upgraded SoC.

I can assure you that the next generation TiVo DVR will not come with SDUI support in any fashion. The TP was the middle generation to bridge the gap, the stragglers will not have an option on the next generation of TiVo products.


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## jmpage2 (Jan 21, 2004)

Dan203 said:


> The HDUI is a LOT faster on the Mini so speed shouldn't be much of a concern.


I agree. Other than needing the SDUI for technical reasons (old TV) there's no reason you would "want" to use the HDUI on the Mini, it is very fast with the HD menus.


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