# Thinking about sending it back...



## adamvietnam (Jan 16, 2002)

There seems too many bugs at the moment and as it fills up its getting very slow. Maybe its better to stick with the Series 1 until a better version of the software comes out... or the S1 service ends.

Anyone feel the same?

Also any idea which is the most recent Virgin cable box that Tivo S1 can control - I had an old pace one (or maybe samsung)


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

adamvietnam said:


> Anyone feel the same?


Not in the slightest.



> Also any idea which is the most recent Virgin cable box that Tivo S1 can control - I had an old pace one (or maybe samsung)


Any of them.


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## adamvietnam (Jan 16, 2002)

Thanks Carl,

Out of interest, are you on the same build of software as the general release or do you have a future testing version (if you're allowed to say of course)

The reason I ask is because I'm 25% full and the slowness when navigating menus is profound - like my old set top box rather than S1


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## cyril (Sep 5, 2001)

Mine is fast 99% of the time, though on a few screens or actions it does seem slower than the s1.

I would stick around as the March update might fix the speed hiccups.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

adamvietnam said:


> Out of interest, are you on the same build of software as the general release or do you have a future testing version (if you're allowed to say of course)


I don't think I'd be wouldn't be allowed to say; but I'm not, so I can tell you that I'm not  



> The reason I ask is because I'm 25% full ...


Already? Holy CRAP! I'm not past 2% yet


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## adamvietnam (Jan 16, 2002)

Don't get me wrong - I've loved Tivo since 2001 and I've got no doubt the platform will fly eventually - just seems its not cooked yet.

Today I've had...

Black screens - needing reboot.
Same film recorded on twice from the same showing (I'm assuming different tuners)
No rewind / ff on radio channels
Stills on radio channels
Play cursor / green bar jumps back and forth over the place

Then of course there's the whole issue of not being able to deselect channels which coupled with iffy guide metadata means wishlists are effectively broken. 

But most of all its the slowness - just a real pain to use.

For ten years I used to tell anyone who'd listen that Tivo was the best piece of consumer electronics they'd ever own but at the moment the new box just feels like another PVR...


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## laurence (Jun 17, 2007)

I've not been that happy with it either.
I've had to reboot it 3 or 4 times already. It periodically fails to respond to remote, freezes, menus are often very slow - and never as snappy as the s1. It's not a pleasure to use like the s1 was. The TiVo magic just isn't there for me. Can't remember last time I needed to reboot the S1.
I miss tivoweb too. Have used the online system to set recordings, but it's nowhere near as good as the highlights module.
The colour scheme needs putting back as it was too.


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## Karnak (Jan 13, 2003)

[email protected] said:


> The colour scheme needs putting back as it was too.


Now that will never happen.


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## Tony Hoyle (Apr 1, 2002)

cwaring said:


> Already? Holy CRAP! I'm not past 2% yet


I'm at over 30% already.


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## Karnak (Jan 13, 2003)

I reckon with 2 (and soon 3) tuners it could soon mount up.

Having the time to watch everything might be another matter though.


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## Karnak (Jan 13, 2003)

Actually answering the OP:

I would say that the experience of using this new TiVo is not quite as easy or as polished as the S1 felt. A lot of that might be down to the fact I used the S1 for many years and was used to it but I do feel it needs a little work.

There are also bugs, yes, but I understand the S1 software was quite buggy when that was released and Virgin/TiVo really will be working on this for at least a few months. I expect a lot of the bugs will get squashed.

So, what I find myself with is something that gives a close approximation of the experience of the S1 and will let me continue to watch TV in the same way I have for years now. It has the benefit of the extra tuners and HD and it has the draw back of being unfamiliar.

In general I'm pleased that it will be an adequate replacement for the S1 and look forward to it improving.


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## TCM2007 (Dec 25, 2006)

cwaring said:


> Already? Holy CRAP! I'm not past 2% yet


Then with respect i think your comments on speed need to be treated with caution.


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## Zaichik (Mar 21, 2002)

Karnak said:


> Actually answering the OP:
> 
> I would say that the experience of using this new TiVo is not quite as easy or as polished as the S1 felt. A lot of that might be down to the fact I used the S1 for many years and was used to it but I do feel it needs a little work.
> 
> ...


This pretty much sums up how I feel about it at the moment. The only really annoying thing for me out of all the little bugs and glitches is the PIN thing. Even that wasn't annoying me that much until I began leaving the box tuned to CBeebies overnight to act as a feed to my old S1 TiVo to record stuff for my son (don't want him playing with the new TiVo just yet so am putting kids' stuff on the S1) only to find that all the recordings were of the "unclassified channel" parental control warning screen. Now I have to rush downstairs before the progs he likes (which are all on first thing in the morning only) start and enter the PIN.


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## Digital Fanatic (Feb 16, 2011)

TCM2007 said:


> Then with respect i think your comments on speed need to be treated with caution.


Mines got about 30% recordings and seems fine to navigate.


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## Nikki (Jun 9, 2002)

[email protected]key2.co said:


> I miss tivoweb too. Have used the online system to set recordings, but it's nowhere near as good as the highlights module.


I miss TivoWeb too. I managed Tivo purely via TivoWeb. The only time I ever used S1's interface was to play/ff/pause. To delete 10 recordings I no longer wanted I just ticked 10 checkboxes and clicked delete. It's so tedious without it. I don't even think "clear" works any longer as a delete shortcut. Don't talk about having to navigate an alphanumeric table via arrow keys to enter a programme name. Hopefully, we'll have alternatives. It's two steps forward one step back.


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## John McE (Dec 23, 2003)

Karnak said:


> There are also bugs, yes, but I understand the S1 software was quite buggy when that was released and Virgin/TiVo really will be working on this for at least a few months. I expect a lot of the bugs will get squashed.


As someone who bought a TIVO in California on the day it went on sale there, I'd like to refute this. It worked perfectly from day one - far better than this new one is doing. True, future software updates bought additional features, but TIVO was completely reliable from day one. And unlike this new one, menu layout and button layout was entirely logical.

I'm not about to return my new TIVO, but I do feel a bit ripped off at paying £149 to effectively be a beta tester (especially when I know people who have been offered it completely free for the first year). I understood that things like the third tuner wouldn't be available from the outset, but I didn't expect to find quite so many problems. And nowhere did I read that Catchup from TV Guide wouldn't be working anytime soon.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

TCM2007 said:


> Then with respect i think your comments on speed need to be treated with caution.


My was merely a diagnostic comment. +1 on the Tivoweb comments


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## adamvietnam (Jan 16, 2002)

Digital Fanatic said:


> Mines got about 30% recordings and seems fine to navigate.


Interesting... any tips or tricks to get the speed up? I've done the obvious thing of turning off the off the live picture on the home screen.


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## Tim L (Jan 5, 2002)

I haven't come across any particularly nasty bugs yet, but I have to say I do find the interface frustratingly slow, particularly when browsing for on-demand TV. I know the old Virgin box was slow with on-demand too, but just drilling down through the menus on TiVo is quite slow, taking seconds each step. I'm nowhere near 30% full - think I'm about 6%. I hope this gets addressed in an update soon because it actually puts me off using it some of the time.


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## Digital Fanatic (Feb 16, 2011)

adamvietnam said:


> Interesting... any tips or tricks to get the speed up? I've done the obvious thing of turning off the off the live picture on the home screen.


Any particular screens you have issues with?


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## EdGillett (Dec 19, 2002)

Ye s- has to be said, I've had to reboot a few times. Had some weird locks and screen corruption. Once I lost all the HD channels and it said they weren't active. A reboot fixed it.

Also, going via my AV Amp (Onkyo TX-608), I'm finding the switching of the HD signal to be a bit of a pain - my screen will often go black while the Amp refreshes to the different input as a switch between guide screens. Pity it can't do HD menus all the way through - evidently drops back to the old school graphics scaled up.

It's not quick. Some of the lists are too damn long and are laggy.

I agree - S1 worked like a charm from day one and never failed me. This box is just not that polished yet. It's TIvo, but not as I knew it.

I'd still rather have this box than my Humax Freeview. A Tivo is better than no Tivo, but I'd love it even more if these performance issues can get sorted.


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## Tavis75 (Jan 27, 2011)

Zaichik said:


> This pretty much sums up how I feel about it at the moment. The only really annoying thing for me out of all the little bugs and glitches is the PIN thing. Even that wasn't annoying me that much until I began leaving the box tuned to CBeebies overnight to act as a feed to my old S1 TiVo to record stuff for my son (don't want him playing with the new TiVo just yet so am putting kids' stuff on the S1) only to find that all the recordings were of the "unclassified channel" parental control warning screen. Now I have to rush downstairs before the progs he likes (which are all on first thing in the morning only) start and enter the PIN.


The pin thing is annoying. Strangely, it seems to work exactly the same as the pin settings on my old V+ HD box did, but I find it more annoying on the TiVo. I think maybe because the number buttons are tucked away on the bottom of the remote, so it's not quite so quick and easy to type in the pin in the dark, whereas on the V+ HD box I could do it almost without thinking about it! May have to update the pin from 1234, to repeating whichever button I think will be easiest to find, maybe 9999.


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## Karnak (Jan 13, 2003)

Digital Fanatic said:


> Any particular screens you have issues with?


I would say that the home screen and the my shows screens show delays, up to a few seconds.

The on demand is woefully slow but I know that's a separate issue.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

No lock-ups, screen corruption or re-boots here so far. I wonder why not? Perhaps mine is not getting as much use as other peoples? I live alone and only watch no more than three hours of TV per day.


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## mikerr (Jun 2, 2005)

Tavis75 said:


> May have to update the pin from 1234, to repeating whichever button I think will be easiest to find, maybe 9999.


Yep, I changed mine to 0000 in the vain hope that that would be a "disable code" 
-no luck there - but it is quicker to hit 0 repeatedly than 1234.


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## deshepherd (Nov 30, 2000)

mikerr said:


> Yep, I changed mine to 0000 in the vain hope that that would be a "disable code"
> -no luck there - but it is quicker to hit 0 repeatedly than 1234.


I did exactly the same!


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## Buzby (Feb 21, 2011)

As did I - partly to show my contempt for having to input it so often, but maily becasue I could fire through the digits and get on with the reasn why I purchased it!


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## Karnak (Jan 13, 2003)

Add a post it note to the front of the TiVo showing the PIN. That's probably the ultimate contempt


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## Wizard (Apr 4, 2004)

Zaichik said:


> This pretty much sums up how I feel about it at the moment. The only really annoying thing for me out of all the little bugs and glitches is the PIN thing. Even that wasn't annoying me that much until I began leaving the box tuned to CBeebies overnight to act as a feed to my old S1 TiVo to record stuff for my son (don't want him playing with the new TiVo just yet so am putting kids' stuff on the S1) only to find that all the recordings were of the "unclassified channel" parental control warning screen. Now I have to rush downstairs before the progs he likes (which are all on first thing in the morning only) start and enter the PIN.


I had a similar issue, found a workaround for it though. Set the VM TiVo to record a program on CBeebies when the channel first comes on air and it should clear the PIN request automatically 

HTH,

Mark S.


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## Steve5424 (Feb 2, 2011)

It will get faster and more stable as the software gets updated.

Can't say if mine is on a newer build or not but I do know things will get better with it


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## Brangdon (Feb 9, 2001)

adamvietnam said:


> There seems too many bugs at the moment and as it fills up its getting very slow. Maybe its better to stick with the Series 1 until a better version of the software comes out... or the S1 service ends.
> 
> Anyone feel the same?


I've complained about the speed elsewhere, and given timings. I don't think it's good enough for a high-end product in 2011; we're use to iPhones and similar being very slick. That said, it's not intolerable. I'm at 20% full. (Which excludes Suggestions and Recently Deleted.)

I've also had half a dozen reboots, I find the mini-guide unfit for purpose and the full guide not much better, and I suffer from the PIN entering. None of this is right for a released product. It's beta quality.

I agree it doesn't have the classic TiVo vibe. However, the big benefits for me are HD and multiple tuners. That's enough to prevent me going back to s1. I suspect other modern set-top boxes with those features would be as good, but I'm hanging on in the hope that TiVo gets better.



Nikki said:


> I don't even think "clear" works any longer as a delete shortcut.


It does for me in most contexts. Also, I can usually press it several times quickly, to delete several programmes, and the UI catches up after.


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## cwaring (Feb 12, 2002)

Nikki said:


> I miss TivoWeb too.


So do I 



> I don't even think "clear" works any longer as a delete shortcut.


Yes it does.


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## Zaichik (Mar 21, 2002)

Wizard said:


> I had a similar issue, found a workaround for it though. Set the VM TiVo to record a program on CBeebies when the channel first comes on air and it should clear the PIN request automatically
> 
> HTH,
> 
> Mark S.


I did think about that, but how do I ensure that the tuner which the recording is set on is the one that outputs to the S1 TiVo (i.e. is the one which is being used for Live TV)?


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## Nikki (Jun 9, 2002)

cwaring said:


> Yes it does.


Shoot. So it does. You know what that means? I'll have to reprogramme my Slingplayer remote from scratch, as 'clear' somehow got left out. Arggghhhhh.


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## adamvietnam (Jan 16, 2002)

Digital Fanatic said:


> Any particular screens you have issues with?


There are screens that are really slow for instance Browse but in fairness its pulling up a lot bitmaps etc so that kind of understandable for v1.0

However My shows is a particular problem. Seems to take a .5 - 1 seconds to go from one item in the list to the next so its a very plodding process.

When reaching the bottom of one page of the list and going onto the next takes about 2-3 seconds. This seems extreme considering there are only nine items per page.

Right arrowing from My shows into a specific programme takes around 2 seconds. Interestingly if you go into a group its not that much slower even though there are more items. So perhaps its the transitions from one page to another that is making it feel sluggish.

The overall result is that, although there is much more information (screenshots etc) given than S1, one is much less likely to explore this because navigation is significantly less fluid.

Perhaps a simple fix would be a "lean and mean" options in settings so that all the screenshots etc could be turned off and everything would just be list based?


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## Karnak (Jan 13, 2003)

Brangdon said:


> None of this is right for a released product. It's beta quality.


It does feel like a beta product, but given the fact that it's not on general release yet I'm willing to live with that (for now).


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## cyril (Sep 5, 2001)

Tony Hoyle said:


> I'm at over 30% already.


I filled all 3 in a week. But I don't have that much time to watch stuff.

They do seem to slow down a little when full, but it could just be my imagination.


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## Tony Hoyle (Apr 1, 2002)

My second tivo is on suggestions only (it's doing really well at that) as I decided to keep the series links in one place. Even that's at 20%.

Once VM enable the ability of them to talk to each other I might spread the load a bit.


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