# SAD Initiative --- Be Heard. Become a Tivo Advisor.



## TBoyd (Apr 9, 2000)

I see a Become a Tivo Advisor initiative to sign up for email surveys from Tivo when I press the Tivo button. I like the fact that Tivo continues to reach out to its customer base. 

However, its a fools errand at this point in Tivo history. Tivo already KNOWS what its customers, and more to the point potential customers want. Theyre just in such a BOX ringed by restrictive standards, unmovable content providers and aggressive competitors that its not possible for them to deliver. 

Such outreach is just Tivo flailing around hoping that ginger bread features (e.g. Premiere, iPad app, basic streaming functionality, social networking) will turn the tide. Its like painting your house when its infected with termites. Or whats the other metaphor, rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic? 

I truly wish there was something that Tivo could do, and Ill continue to be a customer until the bow slips under the waves, but asking us to tell them what we want yet AGAIN is just hoping against hope.


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## daveak (Mar 23, 2009)

Have you actually participated? So so you know what it really entails?


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## TBoyd (Apr 9, 2000)

everything has been SAID in previous surveys going back to 2007. That's my POINT. --- But spin your wheels if you like.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

This is nothing new though. They have been sending these out about once a month now for years. Some times they are interesting and other times not so much. 

Let's just say the $99 and $19.99 pricing option wasn't a surprise.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

I think once a month is exaggerating, but yeah, I've seen it several times over the years, and that reminds me, I should check if I can still answer the survey I got this week.


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## net114 (Dec 29, 2000)

I answer it, plus it enters you into a contest, so what the heck.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

mattack said:


> I think once a month is exaggerating, but yeah, I've seen it several times over the years, and that reminds me, I should check if I can still answer the survey I got this week.


Maybe not monthly but about 6-8 weeks or so.

August, October, November, January are the last 4 I got.


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## aadam101 (Jul 15, 2002)

I have done two. The first had nothing to do with Tivo. It was about cooking shows. The second asked for actual input regarding Tivo. I enjoyed it. Really, all they need to do is read these forums if they want input.


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## smbaker (May 24, 2003)

If Tivo really wants to know what their customers want, then they could log into the Premiere forum and see what people are griping about most. The data is readily available to them. A good start would be finishing the HDUI that hasn't been worked on in 9 months and fixing the bugs that have persisted for 9 months.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

smbaker said:


> A good start would be finishing the HDUI that hasn't been worked on in 9 months and fixing the bugs that have persisted for 9 months.


That was basically my answer for the question "What should TiVo's new years resolution be?", along with updating the Netflix app.

As for "What bad habits should TiVo break in 2011?", I answered that TiVo should quit making announcements that don't live up to their hype.


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## ggieseke (May 30, 2008)

I tried it, but after doing 3 surveys I opted out. None of them had anything to do with TiVos or even DVRs in general. They were all just typical market research like what kind of shows you watch, how may members in your household, etc.


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

steve614 said:


> That was basically my answer for the question "What should TiVo's new years resolution be?", along with updating the Netflix app.


HDUI and Netflix updates were my answers, too.
Edit: I put the stipulation "by end of first quarter" 



steve614 said:


> As for "What bad habits should TiVo break in 2011?", I answered that TiVo should quit making announcements that don't live up to their hype.


I had a similar response, but more general I guess. I answered "Better communication". TiVoMargret shouldn't be the lone liaison between TiVo and the public.


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## mrsean (May 15, 2006)

orangeboy said:


> HDUI and Netflix updates were my answers, too.


Those were my responses as well. I just added for them to fix the crappy Youtube interface.



orangeboy said:


> I answered "Better communication". TiVoMargret shouldn't be the lone liaison between TiVo and the public.


I said the same, but also the Tivo representatives should be more present here and on Tivo.com. There is a lot of misinformation that gets spouted out that can only be corrected by someone with insider knowledge. Tivo should be actively enagaging customers concerns instead of leaving it up to just the user community.

I also said that Tivo needs to be less secretive in regards to service updates. I believe that we would see a lot less complaining in the forums if Tivo actually announced what bug/interfaces-fixes that they are actively working on.


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## jrm01 (Oct 17, 2003)

aadam101 said:


> "Deading" these forums is a step in the wrong direction.


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## JohnnyCruzr (Mar 19, 2009)

I also answered "Finish HD interface on the Premier" as the resolution, so maybe they will get the point.

For what bad habits should be stopped, I simply answered "Tom Rogers"


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

I disagree with the OP that this is any kind "flailing" the fact that the survey and panel even exist is a point in Tivo's favor, they are indeed trying, and they are aware.

However you have to keep in mind they are also a business, and there comes a point where some businesses do internally accept that by giving crappier customer service at a significantly lower cost to them, the number of customer leaving because of it is not significant enough.

I know this from having worked for a company that outsourced customer service to an offshore company for not even pennies on the dollar, the cost savings were huge, and ticking off a small percentage of customers was viewed as an acceptable cost.

Diane


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## TBoyd (Apr 9, 2000)

Re: indeed they are trying -- You miss the point entirely. The fact is theyve KNOWN the fundamental issues obstructing their success for years, but continue to add gingerbread (e.g. new HD UI) in hopes that such new features will save them. THIS is the Titanic metaphor writ large! 

They continue to survey the base in hopes of discovering a magic bullet. They only do this because they cannot fix the fundamental obstacles placed in their path by Standards, content providers and last mile providers. 

Their business model is at an end and they refuse to enter the endgame of selling themselves to someone that may be able to make something of their IP in another product or service. 

I agree somewhat with the lower cost argument, but that is only a delaying tactic not a long term winning strategy in TiVos case.


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## wickerbill (Apr 4, 2002)

There's no standards body preventing them from streaming instead of copying on MRV, which would allow them to bypass some of the roadblocks put up by content providers. They just don't care enough to put the resources forward to change it. Also nobody preventing them from making the premiere work much better other than themselves. I'm sure they already know they need to do both of these things, but for some reason have decided it's not worth doing.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

Actually up until now from everything I have read, the Premiere has been the first TiVo that could support streaming HD shows. 

Keep in mind if smart, TiVo would want to add streaming where it doesn't interfere with other actions. This means unless you disable or block certain features during streaming, the TiVo would need to be able to play one show, while recording 2, transfer a program, and send a stream while receiving a stream. Now potentially they could setup a queuing system where MRV is blocked while streaming, but this also raises other issues.


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

TBoyd said:


> ...but continue to add gingerbread (e.g. new HD UI)...


Are you aware of whether your "gingerbread" features were part of the Advisory Board's surveys?


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

innocentfreak said:


> Maybe not monthly but about 6-8 weeks or so.
> 
> August, October, November, January are the last 4 I got.


I meant showing up *on* the Tivo.. is that what you're referring to?


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

No sorry, I was talking about the actual surveys. 

Yeah the message on the Tivo I see pop up a couple times a year which always surprises me since I already am.


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## aadam101 (Jul 15, 2002)

jrm01 said:


> "Deading" these forums is a step in the wrong direction.


Fixed....sometimes typing on the iPad sucks


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## ZeoTiVo (Jan 2, 2004)

wickerbill said:


> They just don't care enough to put the resources forward to change it. Also nobody preventing them from making the premiere work much better other than themselves. I'm sure they already know they need to do both of these things, but for some reason have decided it's not worth doing.


how do you know they are not working on it? Sure it means nothing until we can actually use streaming or the premiere is in fact snappier

but
unless you walk the halls of TiVo how can you make such blanket assumptions


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## magnus (Nov 12, 2004)

1) Multi-room scheduling. Making all Tivos seem as one on the network 
2) DLNA
3) Complete HDUI


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## wickerbill (Apr 4, 2002)

ZeoTiVo said:


> how do you know they are not working on it? Sure it means nothing until we can actually use streaming or the premiere is in fact snappier
> 
> but
> unless you walk the halls of TiVo how can you make such blanket assumptions


You're right. Either they're not working on it or they just don't care enough to get it out in a timely manner. Premier has been out for almost a year now with an incomplete HDUI and still many reported problems and performance issues.

Many people have been blocked from MRV since they released that function on the Series 3 over three years ago because of copy restrictions out of their control and streaming would fix it. Maybe the Series 3 and THD units weren't able to pull it off technically, but surely they would make their new "Premiere" HD DVR do that along with the new N-network adapter, right? Nope. Still sticking with the same solution they first implemented six or seven years ago.

I'm still amazed that TiVo can operate in the manner they do and NOT get totally blown away by another company who can innovate at the pace expected today. I guess it just shows how much the cable companies have killed the ability of independent DVR companies to be profitable. I like my TiVo's but for someone who has been a subscriber for 11 years and has sold many, many people on TiVo, it's getting harder and harder to defend their lack of innovation and ridiculously slow product releases.


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## Mars Rocket (Mar 24, 2000)

I've been doing the surveys for about two years now, and they are rarely about TiVo itself or TiVo products. I just assumed they were selling market research. I think the only times they actually ask questions about TiVo products is when they have no other contract lined up.


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## aadam101 (Jul 15, 2002)

Mars Rocket said:


> I've been doing the surveys for about two years now, and they are rarely about TiVo itself or TiVo products. I just assumed they were selling market research. I think the only times they actually ask questions about TiVo products is when they have no other contract lined up.


It's just more misleading marketing from Tivo. Why on earth would you call it "Tivo Advisor" and then ask questions unrelated to Tivo? This has got to be one of the more shady marketing teams in the industry.


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## uw69 (Jan 25, 2001)

magnus said:


> 1) Multi-room scheduling. Making all Tivos seem as one on the network
> 2) DLNA
> 3) Complete HDUI


Absolutely!!!!!!


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## ufo4sale (Apr 21, 2001)

I just assumed that it had nothing to do with TiVo as usual.


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## TooMuchTime (Jun 29, 2008)

> > 1) Multi-room scheduling. Making all Tivos seem as one on the network
> > 2) DLNA
> > 3) Complete HDUI
> 
> ...


I agree!



> You're right. Either they're not working on it or they just don't care enough to get it out in a timely manner.


I don't know. It seems to me they are putting all of their money and resources into winning their litigation. Of course, if they win, it's a big upside. They're in the money and will probably tackle many of the issues we have posted here. However, if they lose, I'll bet they don't last more than a year or two.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

Questions this month actually asked about TiVo. I definitely liked this survey.


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## LoREvanescence (Jun 19, 2007)

innocentfreak said:


> Questions this month actually asked about TiVo. I definitely liked this survey.


for sure


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

For those who didn't get the survey.

http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2011-04/tivo-prepping-4-tuner-hd-dvr/


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## Mike Pfeifer (Mar 17, 2011)

innocentfreak said:


> Questions this month actually asked about TiVo. I definitely liked this survey.


+1:up:


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## HerbieHightower (Nov 10, 2007)

innocentfreak said:


> For those who didn't get the survey.
> 
> Thanks much!


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

innocentfreak said:


> Questions this month actually asked about TiVo. I definitely liked this survey.


I almost wonder if it wasn't something of a purposeful leak to soothe the masses to give a heads up that they are working on improvements.

For example why a question about a 4 tuner OR an extender? Dont those go hand in hand? And aren't they already thought to be working on both for cable company solutions? We KNOW there are devices out there without drives that offer some kind of extenderness about them. And we know tivo is working on a whole home dvr (wouldn't that be 4 tuners?). So maybe it was a heads up to know both are eventually coming? So assuming it's a plant becasue they aren't ready to announce yet. Then they should announce around 2012 with delivery about 2015. 

It was chock full of neat stuff.


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## orangeboy (Apr 19, 2004)

I'm curious why does some of the features being entertained sound like WishLists?


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

Are these the where you can enter in a drawing at the end. I used to get those, I wonder why I don't get them any more. Guess I gave the wrong answers or something. That or they only pick a subset to send it to each time.

Actually I haven't gotten any of the normal monthly TiVo newsletters for a number of months either. I wonder what happened.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

orangeboy said:


> I'm curious why does some of the features being entertained sound like WishLists?


Maybe because Wishlists are more an advanced feature? I think they are trying to add easy features even if they duplicate some of the more advanced options they offer. I know my parents never touch wishlists, but if my father could setup a season pass for his favorite teams he would be happy.

Most of the stuff I know I have wished for in the past. Like for example I always wished I had a way to record all stations for a season pass for shows on HBO for example. Wishlists work a majority of the time, but it is also more time consuming to setup plus you also risk recording other content than what you really want. You also risk something about the show changing and missing recordings which I have had happened. I forget the show but some I had added the genre since without it, I picked up too many other shows. Of course then they changed the genre so I didn't get any of the episodes.

I know myself and many others have asked for the ability to create season passes for shows before they are in the guide data. You see a show advertised but you have to wait or create a wishlist. I would love something like on Netflix.com where you can add the title and then it is moved to your active season passes when it appears in your guide.


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## MichaelK (Jan 10, 2002)

I also think current wishlists have limits to usability. 

Its a major pita to find the right machinations to get all your favorite baseball teams to show up without a pile of duplicates, middle of the night replays, minor league games, ESPN 'classics' from 1977 etc etc. 

Its easier to get a football team setup but then you still get random old games and events showing up at times.


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## TerpBE (Jan 23, 2003)

MichaelK said:


> For example why a question about a 4 tuner OR an extender? Dont those go hand in hand?


Yesterday my wife asked me to prioritize how much I wanted a peanut butter sandwich vs. how much I wanted a jelly sandwich.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

MichaelK said:


> For example why a question about a 4 tuner OR an extender? Dont those go hand in hand?


Not necessarily. Personally I would love 4 tuner TiVos and have no need for extenders. I would use the 4 tuner model in my main room and my other Premieres in the other two rooms.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

From the latest survey:

We can't discuss what's in the survey! See 2nd note. 










Discuss.


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## petew (Jul 31, 2003)

steve614 said:


> We can't discuss what's in the survey!


Seems perfectly reasonable to me. It wouldn't make sense to ask about potential new features in a survey if they were finsihed and ready to go. So out of necessity surveys may ask about proposed features that may never see the light of day.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

I agree somewhat also. That's the only reason I didn't mention what the survey was about.
I just find it amusing because it seems like a direct response to us discussing the surveys here. Or is it just a coincidence? Hmmm.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

I would agree but I know Dave Zatz said he checked with TiVo before making a post about the survey which talked about the 4 tuner box. I would also feel differently if I was a beta participant under NDA and I was being asked. Now I won't post the survey questions not that it really was much of anything, but still this super secrecy gets old.

I guess I am just getting sick of TiVo's say nothing approach especially as I find myself dealing more and more with companies who have a much more open approach.

Sorry TiVo if we want to discuss your product and possible new features. It is better than not wanting to talk about your product and no longer caring or getting excited about new potential features. When you keep people in the dark, people are going to talk about the slightest info you give out whether you want them to or not.


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## davezatz (Apr 18, 2002)

innocentfreak said:


> I would agree but I know Dave Zatz said he checked with TiVo before making a post about the survey which talked about the 4 tuner box.


Yeah, on at least two occasions I checked in prior to posting survey info and was given a green light (from the PR department). But those were mostly courtesy calls on my part, since several folks regularly send me survey snippets/tips and they are routinely discussed here so I'm under no obligation to hold back.

Seems to me TiVo has two choices, survey folks under NDA or keep doing what they're doing and enjoy the free speculative press, which has largely been positive, and potentially take their lumps here (for not finishing the HDUI in a timely fashion and then asking us about it). But a suggestion to not share is kinda silly. And worthy of sharing. 

Related, I sure hope the folks analyzing the surveys lurk in forum - lots of good discussion.


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## sbiller (May 10, 2002)

davezatz said:


> Related, I sure hope the folks analyzing the surveys lurk in forum - lots of good discussion.


BTW, the most recent survey was very boring. Did anyone find anything asked interesting?


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## ZeoTiVo (Jan 2, 2004)

sbiller said:


> BTW, the most recent survey was very boring. Did anyone find anything asked interesting?


Nope - I just gave them a hard time as the topic was a no-brainer and TiVo should have had a dept of 2 or 3 folks working to provide that info in a standard way directly in showcases on TiVo for the last 10 years versus the haphazard way they do a little bit of it now


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

I am somewhat intrigued and slightly hopeful. Basically speaking, of course.

How I wish we could discuss the contents of the survey.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

No survey for me yet, but it seems like they go every other month with people. Since I got one last month, I probably won't get one this time.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

steve614 said:


> I am somewhat intrigued and slightly hopeful. Basically speaking, of course.
> 
> How I wish we could discuss the contents of the survey.


You must have gotten a different survey then I did. I wasn't intrigued at all.


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## steve614 (May 1, 2006)

morac said:


> You must have gotten a different survey then I did. I wasn't intrigued at all.


Yeah, maybe TiVo is doing targeted surveys?

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=473865


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## mrsean (May 15, 2006)

Has anyone here ever won a prize for fill out the survey?


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## LoREvanescence (Jun 19, 2007)

mrsean said:


> Has anyone here ever won a prize for fill out the survey?


I never have, I fill the survey out every month


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

mrsean said:


> Has anyone here ever won a prize for fill out the survey?


TiVo does announce the winners, but under the NDA the winner's can't tell us who they are.


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## magnus (Nov 12, 2004)

I've never won.


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## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

steve614 said:


> I am somewhat intrigued and slightly hopeful. Basically speaking, of course.
> 
> How I wish we could discuss the contents of the survey.
> 
> ...


Me two. It was just another survey.


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## mrsean (May 15, 2006)

lessd said:


> TiVo does announce the winners, but under the NDA the winner's can't tell us who they are.


Really? Tivo acts so strange sometimes. They're like the DVR mafia.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

Just got my survey today so it looks like they are still going out.

I like the fact you can expand boxes to answer.


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## sbiller (May 10, 2002)

innocentfreak said:


> Just got my survey today so it looks like they are still going out.
> 
> I like the fact you can expand boxes to answer.


Received mine as well today. This one required a bit more thought because of the expanded boxes. 

I keep wishing/thinking/hoping that they'll be rolling out some feature upgrades soon in the areas they questioned... a HD guide would be nice.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

sbiller said:


> Received mine as well today. This one required a bit more thought because of the expanded boxes.
> 
> I keep wishing/thinking/hoping that they'll be rolling out some feature upgrades soon in the areas they questioned... a HD guide would be nice.


Well isn't there next earning call soon? We might see an update before then. We are getting closer to where they will have to roll 15.0 out which I can only assume will have some updated HDUI just due to the major revision number.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

New survey came out last night.


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## davezatz (Apr 18, 2002)

innocentfreak said:


> New survey came out last night.


I used it to explain to TiVo the shortcomings of the Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu apps. But I'm sure it comes as no surprise.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

Shhh it is super secret and we aren't supposed to discuss it. 

I wish in the mention of the responses they had some of the more popular requests.


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## Joe3 (Dec 12, 2006)

innocentfreak said:


> Shhh it is super secret and we aren't supposed to discuss it.
> 
> I wish in the mention of the responses they had some of the more popular requests.


If they did this TiVo would have responses the size of a doctoral thesis for each of the more popular request.


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## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

davezatz said:


> I used it to explain to TiVo the shortcomings of the Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu apps. But I'm sure it comes as no surprise.


We know that Tivo knows about this stuff, but they just don't care - once the app gets installed, it's done. No further updates needed, V1.0 is as good as it gets.

Or in the case of the 'new' Tivo Search app (which still says Beta on the HDs after how long now, with no visible changes?), maybe 0.9.


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## jtreid (Jan 12, 2006)

innocentfreak said:


> New survey came out last night.


I guess they didn't like what I told them on the last one since I didn't get one this time.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

Nah they rotate it. Some months I don't get one and then I will get three in a row.


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## aadam101 (Jul 15, 2002)

slowbiscuit said:


> We know that Tivo knows about this stuff, but they just don't care - once the app gets installed, it's done. No further updates needed, V1.0 is as good as it gets.
> 
> Or in the case of the 'new' Tivo Search app (which still says Beta on the HDs after how long now, with no visible changes?), maybe 0.9.


Which is why I was so shocked they even bothered to ask about it. They have to know what the issues are. Have they never seen a Roku?


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

October survey is out.

Of course I forgot to include something. I wish there was a way to go back and modify your responses after you hit submit.


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## davezatz (Apr 18, 2002)

New survey was actually interesting and should be useful for TiVo I think related to how folks discover content on TiVo and/or via other means. Regarding the software update, I told them the Discovery bar is still too slow loading content and the new captions are an eyesore. After going through the survey, I think should probably spend more timing Browsing - maybe I'll dig up some new stuff worth watching. Lastly, I suggested a prize for participating in non-TiVo market research if they were to offer it.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

Spoke too soon, I got the email tonight, but no mention of the software update in my survey. It looks like I had similar questions though, but I had no spot for general feedback this time at the end.


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

Hrm. I just noticed I haven't gotten the survey request... wonder if I need to re-apply.


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## sbiller (May 10, 2002)

I received my survey at 12:10 am this morning. I like the way they are exploring better ways to allow users to discover content. Improving the user experience of Netflix and Amazon are very important and adding more services would be helpful. I for one would like to see Vudu added as a source of high def content. Their HDX format is fantastic. I also would like the ability to play movie trailers and a way to see user and critic ratings (e.g., rotten tomato ratings, etc.).


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