# Horrible/Stupid Tivo Feature!



## chase_hyland (Feb 1, 2004)

I've been a long time Tivo customer and I was thrilled to buy my Roamio; however, there's one feature that I absolutely HATE.

When I put the Tivo in stand-by, any button pressed within 30 seconds brings it OUT of stand-by. WHY?! This is the dumbest thing I've ever seen. I use my Tivo remote to also turn off my Television. So when I "turn off" my Tivo, I have to stand there like an idiot for 30 seconds until I can turn off my television, otherwise the Tivo turns back on and my TV is now off. 

Who was the intern that implemented this terrible idea and why hasn't it been removed or, at least, allow it to exclude the pwr button?


----------



## dahacker (Jan 14, 2004)

Why do you put it in standby?


----------



## MScottC (Sep 11, 2004)

dahacker said:


> Why do you put it in standby?


Yea... why would you put it in standby?


----------



## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

If you feel you MUST put the tivo in standby, do it last.


----------



## Scooter Scott (Jun 1, 2015)

I have mine set to go into auto standby after 4 hours of non-use. That function works great. Only takes a few seconds for it to start back up.


----------



## convergent (Jan 4, 2007)

The whole point of a DVR is that it is working behind the scenes gathering up shows for you to watch later. Its running all the time, even when the TV is off, so why are you wanting to put it in standby. Just turn off the TV when you aren't watching and let Tivo do its thing.


----------



## Scooter Scott (Jun 1, 2015)

convergent said:


> The whole point of a DVR is that it is working behind the scenes gathering up shows for you to watch later. Its running all the time, even when the TV is off, so why are you wanting to put it in standby. Just turn off the TV when you aren't watching and let Tivo do its thing.


Mine still records in standby...it is just a lower power consumption standby (so it says)


----------



## dalabera (Jan 10, 2013)

chase_hyland said:


> When I put the Tivo in stand-by, any button pressed within 30 seconds brings it OUT of stand-by. WHY?! This is the dumbest thing I've ever seen. I use my Tivo remote to also turn off my Television. So when I "turn off" my Tivo, I have to stand there like an idiot for 30 seconds until I can turn off my television, otherwise the Tivo turns back on and my TV is now off.


It's not a big deal, my friend! It could be worse...


----------



## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

There are now some additional power saving settings that can affect this, but standby used to just turn off the video output; it might save a watt of power or so. I suppose in that scheme it would also make the tuner immediately available for other purposes, should a recording or suggestion need it, but that's not going to save power.

Unless you needed the video output to stop in order for some connected equipment to go into its own power saving mode, standby has almost no practical benefit.


----------



## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

dswallow said:


> Unless you needed the video output to stop in order for some connected equipment to go into its own power saving mode, standby has almost no practical benefit.


I think putting it into standby mode also disables the EAS alerts from interrupting recordings. Some people use it for that reason.


----------



## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

tarheelblue32 said:


> I think putting it into standby mode also disables the EAS alerts from interrupting recordings. Some people use it for that reason.


I've never seen EAS interrupt recordings, though I suppose if no tuner were available because all were in use for scheduled recordings (plus the one in use for live TV if that was what you were watching) then that would be the case. EAS does always interrupt viewing, of course, but if you're wanted standby, you're not viewing anyway.

That'd be an interesting experiment... a bunch of TiVo Mini's connected and in use during an EAS test while all tuners were actively used for recording...


----------



## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

dswallow said:


> I've never seen EAS interrupt recordings


I've had EAS alerts interrupt my recordings before. Which is stupid. EAS alerts should not be inserted into recordings.


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

On my cable system an EAS weekly test or real alert will activate my Mini and it will need four hours if I leave it alone to time out.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

tarheelblue32 said:


> I think putting it into standby mode also disables the EAS alerts from interrupting recordings. Some people use it for that reason.


Standby also allows 220Mb/s+ transfer rates to a pc.(Depending on tunes in use). Without being in standby the transfer rates might be 20%(or more) slower wth all the tuners buffering.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

dswallow said:


> I've never seen EAS interrupt recordings, though I suppose if no tuner were available because all were in use for scheduled recordings (plus the one in use for live TV if that was what you were watching) then that would be the case. EAS does always interrupt viewing, of course, but if you're wanted standby, you're not viewing anyway.
> 
> That'd be an interesting experiment... a bunch of TiVo Mini's connected and in use during an EAS test while all tuners were actively used for recording...


I've definitely had recordins screwed up from the EAS that were not being viewed at the time. Fortunately it doesn't happen very often on FiOS. Or I should say I don't normally have recordings taking place when the EAS test occurs.


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

jcthorne said:


> If you feel you MUST put the tivo in standby, do it last.


This *is* the only workaround, short of keeping your original TV remote nearby -- or losing the peanut and using a Harmony (or other) programmable universal remote.

Steps:

Get the Roamio to the Settings screen and *highlight 'Standby'*
Turn your TV off using the *'TV Pwr'* button
Send the Roamio into standby by hitting the *'Select'* button
Once you're comfortable that the process works, you'll be able to stop sitting there waiting for the TiVo LEDs to wink-out.


----------



## tim1724 (Jul 3, 2007)

krkaufman said:


> This *is* the only workaround, short of keeping your original TV remote nearby -- or losing the peanut and using a Harmony (or other) programmable universal remote.
> 
> Steps:
> 
> ...


Yeah, this is what I've been doing ever since 20.4.6. I reported this bug to Margret months ago but I guess it's a pretty low priority.


----------



## bmgoodman (Dec 20, 2000)

I've also seen some *speculation* that constantly writing 6 video streams will "soon" exceed the hard drive's useful lifetime (seen in the SMART settings) and may cause premature drive failure. I'm a bit too lazy today to search for it, and I don't remember now if it was a year or 4 or something else, but I wanted to at least mention it. 

Standby should significantly reduce writes, especially for those who don't record a "million things".


----------



## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

krkaufman said:


> This *is* the only workaround, short of keeping your original TV remote nearby -- or losing the peanut and using a Harmony (or other) programmable universal remote.
> 
> Steps:
> 
> ...


Actually, I can think of at least 1 more workaround. You could just turn off the TV the old fashioned way (with the power button on the TV itself). And before people start shouting that their TV doesn't have a power button on it because it was built within the last 20 years, most modern TVs still have a power button hidden on it somewhere.


----------



## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

tarheelblue32 said:


> Actually, And before people start shouting that their TV doesn't have a power button on it because it was built within the last 20 years, most modern TVs still have a power button hidden on it somewhere.


True, but where and how long are you going to spend finding it.


----------



## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

lessd said:


> True, but where and how long are you going to spend finding it.


Funny I regularly use the power button on my TV and AV receiver as it is just about as easy to pop over to them when I am leaving than to find/pick up a remote.


----------



## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

aaronwt said:


> I've definitely had recordins screwed up from the EAS that were not being viewed at the time. Fortunately it doesn't happen very often on FiOS. Or I should say I don't normally have recordings taking place when the EAS test occurs.


Yeah, EAS definitely interrupts recordings on Comcast systems running the archaic white text on black screen force-tune system too. Tivo has to switch to the EAS channel then switches back after it's over, trashing a recording. Standby would avoid this.

Does power-save mode avoid this too?


----------



## enviroman100 (Dec 22, 2014)

No need to put in standby. Your Tivo will do it on its own


----------



## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

atmuscarella said:


> Funny I regularly use the power button on my TV and AV receiver as it is just about as easy to pop over to them when I am leaving than to find/pick up a remote.


If wanted to use the power switch on my TV I would find it once, than use it knowing now where it is, I don't know where the power switch is on my smart HDTV, because I never looked for it, but I am sure if I needed it I could fine it (if it did existed). In any emergency I would pull the plug.


----------



## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Admit it, it's a gravity issue. Three televisions (two different Sonys) all have the power switch on top of the others. I must confess I never power off my computer monitor.


----------



## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

slowbiscuit said:


> Yeah, EAS definitely interrupts recordings on Comcast systems running the archaic white text on black screen force-tune system too. Tivo has to switch to the EAS channel then switches back after it's over, trashing a recording. Standby would avoid this.
> 
> Does power-save mode avoid this too?


The problem with the new standby is that you now have to choose between possibly recording EAS messages and having no live buffers. I have chosen the former.


----------



## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

slowbiscuit said:


> Yeah, EAS definitely interrupts recordings on Comcast systems running the archaic white text on black screen force-tune system too. Tivo has to switch to the EAS channel then switches back after it's over, trashing a recording. Standby would avoid this.


Not all Comcast systems do this. In Houston, it interrupts what you are watching, but the actual recording is ok. Only if you happen to actually be watching TV at the time of an EAS alert do you even see it.


----------



## lpwcomp (May 6, 2002)

astrohip said:


> Not all Comcast systems do this. In Houston, it interrupts what you are watching, but the actual recording is ok. Only if you happen to actually be watching TV at the time of an EAS alert do you even see it.


What if all of the tuners are busy?


----------



## astrohip (Jan 7, 2003)

lpwcomp said:


> What if all of the tuners are busy?


No idea.

Now that I think about it, the EAS system may have changed. It used to drop you from what you are watching, show the EAS screen, and force you (when it's over) to go back and resume watching from your Now Playing list.

But lately it simply runs a scroll across the current show saying (paraphrasing) "This is a test of the EAS system...yada yada", and then it goes away about a minute later.

But I get this so infrequently (like 2-3 times a year) that my memory may be faulty.


----------



## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

I get programs ruined by EAS a lot less these days. With my TiVo HD I was often recording alternate showings of programs during overnight hours when they tend to run more of the tests. With 6 tuners on the Roamio there is less need for that.


----------



## slowbiscuit (Sep 19, 2006)

astrohip said:


> No idea.
> 
> Now that I think about it, the EAS system may have changed. It used to drop you from what you are watching, show the EAS screen, and force you (when it's over) to go back and resume watching from your Now Playing list.
> 
> ...


That's the new(er) system with the scroll bar, not the archaic force-tune one I mentioned that trashes recordings. Fortunately we usually only get the occasional useless Amber alert here, the EAS tests are mostly done off-hours.


----------



## cosmicvoid (Oct 13, 2013)

Well, no response by the OP. I'm guessing this thread is a troll piece.


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

cosmicvoid said:


> Well, no response by the OP. I'm guessing this thread is a troll piece.


Or they felt they'd expressed everything they wanted when they posted it as a suggestion over in the Suggestion Forum, 24 minutes after they'd started this thread.


----------



## Jonathan_S (Oct 23, 2001)

lessd said:


> If wanted to use the power switch on my TV I would find it once, than use it knowing now where it is, I don't know where the power switch is on my smart HDTV, because I never looked for it, but I am sure if I needed it I could fine it (if it did existed). In any emergency I would pull the plug.


In my case the power button on the TV is a capacitive one hidden behind one poorly marked section of bezel; right next to the similarly invisible input button. I know roughly where it is...

Actually it's perfectly well marked, if you are looking straight at it in bright lighting. But looking down, with my body casting a shadow over it, like I am if I walk over to turn it off, it's basically invisible.

To be sure I was turning the TV off and not switching inputs away from the receiver, or changing the channel, or messing with the volume, I'd have to sit on the floor to get low enough and might still need a flashlight since my normal room lighting doesn't put much light near the TV.

Guess my point is not all TVs make it easy to find/use their power button because they expect you to always use the remote.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

I haven't used the power button on any of my TVs in so long that I have no idea where they are.


----------



## jth tv (Nov 15, 2014)

chase_hyland said:


> I've been a long time Tivo customer and I was thrilled to buy my Roamio; however, there's one feature that I absolutely HATE.
> 
> When I put the Tivo in stand-by, any button pressed within 30 seconds brings it OUT of stand-by. WHY?! This is the dumbest thing I've ever seen. I use my Tivo remote to also turn off my Television. So when I "turn off" my Tivo, I have to stand there like an idiot for 30 seconds until I can turn off my television, otherwise the Tivo turns back on and my TV is now off.
> 
> Who was the intern that implemented this terrible idea and why hasn't it been removed or, at least, allow it to exclude the pwr button?


FIXED !

Roamio Basic, 20.6.1.RC14
Select Standby, Press TV PWR, within 20 seconds everything is off.

Not sure when they fixed it but I am sure glad they did.


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

jth tv said:


> FIXED !
> 
> Roamio Basic, 20.6.1.RC14
> Select Standby, Press TV PWR, within 20 seconds everything is off.
> ...


Thanks for the heads-up. Just confirmed the fix on our Roamio OTA, running the same version. Ironically, I'd just instructed my mom on the special "blind Standby" power-off technique 2 nights ago.


----------



## KenVa (Aug 31, 2005)

jth tv said:


> FIXED !
> 
> Roamio Basic, 20.6.1.RC14
> Select Standby, Press TV PWR, within 20 seconds everything is off.
> ...


Its been fixed a while now, maybe six months or so. It used to bug me too!


----------



## tim1724 (Jul 3, 2007)

I think 20.6.0 fixed it. So it's been a while.


----------

