# Web Video Launchpad



## sldavis1952 (Feb 16, 2009)

Saw a new entry in My Shows tonight. It was just below AOL On. It is called Web Video Launchpad. When you select it you go to an app called Launchpad for Tivo. Some of the entries are Break, Crunchyroll, TMZ, Showtime Featurettes, etc.


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## Tico (Dec 10, 2002)

Had to force a connection but I see it now.


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## ahwman (Jan 24, 2013)

sldavis1952 said:


> Saw a new entry in My Shows tonight. It was just below AOL On. It is called Web Video Launchpad. When you select it you go to an app called Launchpad for Tivo. Some of the entries are Break, Crunchyroll, TMZ, Showtime Featurettes, etc.


I noticed this on one of my TiVo's but not the other. Is there any way to remove it?


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## davezatz (Apr 18, 2002)

I got it too, Elite/XL4.


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## CoxInPHX (Jan 14, 2011)

Flingo looks pretty cool, but every YouTube video I put in my FlingQueue says Content not available. Even videos without ads.

Also wondering how this info is getting to my TiVo, I did not set-up any account with Flingo.org? Facebook account maybe?
How does it work: http://flingo.org/developers.html

Has anyone been able to play a video sent to the FlingQueue?

Can/How do you rename your devices from "test by test_make named Tivo"


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## Kerwin51580 (Sep 20, 2012)

I had a chance to play with it this morning. I have the TED app on our living TV (Samsung UN55D8000). The TED channel on Launchpad is comparable to that -- the interface looks a bit better than the Samsung version albeit a little slower to respond. 

I'm happy with it...if only Amazon was available on Launchpad I'd be set.

Update: Forgot to mention that I tried the NASA 360 channel as well. I noticed that when I launched both, a 15-second ad played before the channel interface popped up.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

It also showed up on one of my Tivos last night, after a 26 hour widespread internet outage in my area.

I tried to figure out how to get rid of it and was unsuccessful. Geez...I wish they would bundle up all this kind of stuff and let the customer choose what they want on their 'My Shows' list.

I had to completely disable folders just to make some stuff I didn't want go away. This one, however, I don't know what the hdeal is.

I just wish we could get 'On Demand' with Charter here. I got a new remote and it has a button for it, so that's cool.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

sharkster said:


> I tried to figure out how to get rid of it and was unsuccessful. Geez...I wish they would bundle up all this kind of stuff and let the customer choose what they want on their 'My Shows' list.
> 
> I had to completely disable folders just to make some stuff I didn't want go away. This one, however, I don't know what the hdeal is.


Can you not uncheck it from Video Providers like you can with Netflix, Youtube, etc?


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## mrsean (May 15, 2006)

Oh great. This is just what we need...another useless feature in leu of bugfixes and infrastructure updates.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

rainwater said:


> Can you not uncheck it from Video Providers like you can with Netflix, Youtube, etc?


Not at this time.


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

rainwater said:


> Can you not uncheck it from Video Providers like you can with Netflix, Youtube, etc?


No, of course not.

Why would TiVo give us the option to control a box we pay for? Like turning off the Discovery Bar, or turning off the useless "HD Recordings" folder. UG!

I did look for the standard way to turn it off (in video sources) before looking for this thread online. And I called TiVo "support" to lodge my complaint. Turns out they can "opt you out" of the service if you want, although it will take a day or so for it to update. I told them to please opt me out.

I don't mind the option appearing in Find TV, Movies, & Videos (where is also is) but I don't want any clutter in my "My Shows". HINT: "Web Video Launchpad" is *NOT* one of my shows...


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## HeatherA (Jan 10, 2002)

Got it on at least one of my TiVos. Looks pretty interesting. Love that TiVo keeps adding features so quickly and unannounced. Keep it up TiVo!


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

It's stupid....sluggish....useless....and I want the option to remove it from my NPL (or whatever the hell it's now called)...


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## chiguy50 (Nov 9, 2009)

crxssi said:


> No, of course not.
> 
> Why would TiVo give us the option to control a box we pay for? Like turning off the Discovery Bar, or turning off the useless "HD Recordings" folder. UG!
> 
> ...


+1

Thanx for passing this along. I called TiVo support today and was told that there was no way to turn this feature off. (Note that it only appears in the HDUI.) I then referred to your post and the CSR made some inquiries and reconfirmed that it can not be removed from the HDUI My Shows listing. She said that the only opt-out option would be for TiVo promotions and marketing messages, so perhaps this is what your CSR was referring to.

Please let us know if you were successful and, if so, how we can best guide the support personnel through the process.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

rainwater said:


> Can you not uncheck it from Video Providers like you can with Netflix, Youtube, etc?


I did go to that area of settings and it is not listed there like the other video provides are. weird, eh?


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## mlippert (Apr 3, 2010)

crxssi said:


> No, of course not.
> 
> Why would TiVo give us the option to control a box we pay for? Like turning off the Discovery Bar, or turning off the useless "HD Recordings" folder. UG!
> 
> ...


Well I just turned on my TiVo and saw the Web Video Launchpad, played with it for a minute, determined I didn't want it wasting space in "My Shows", went to Video Providers to turn it off only to find there was no entry for it and came here...

I'm quoting crxssi, because he is expressing my feeling exactly! I don't mind it appearing in the "Find TV..." list. Also I'd like to remove the useless (to me anyway) "HD Recordings" folder.

I'd prefer Netflix to not be in "My Shows" but only in "Find TV..." list, but checking it as a video provider puts it in both places, and unchecking it removes it from both.

It's nice to know that I can call and opt-out, I'll probably have to do that because I really don't want it in My Shows, but I would have preferred to be able to turn it on and off as I wished in case I wanted to check it out again at some point.


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## Goober96 (Jun 28, 2005)

Aren't you people overreacting just a little? TiVo added a new feature. If you don't like it, just ignore it. What's the big deal about it being in the NPL? It doesn't hurt anything. Just don't select it if you choose not to. Complaining about a new feature that you aren't forced to use just doesn't make much sense.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

Goober96 said:


> Aren't you people overreacting just a little? TiVo added a new feature. If you don't like it, just ignore it. What's the big deal about it being in the NPL? It doesn't hurt anything. Just don't select it if you choose not to. Complaining about a new feature that you aren't forced to use just doesn't make much sense.


This isn't overreacting; it's a needless addition to the NPL or My Shows list that we should be allowed to remove. If your list is anything like mine, it's quite lengthy already and doesn't need one more useless addition to it.


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## Goober96 (Jun 28, 2005)

Bierboy said:


> This isn't overreacting; it's a needless addition to the NPL or My Shows list that we should be allowed to remove. If your list is anything like mine, it's quite lengthy already and doesn't need one more useless addition to it.


Yes, my list is quite lengthy as well but I just ignore anything I don't use and go to the shows I want to watch. No need to complain about it. It's just not worth it.


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

Bierboy said:


> This isn't overreacting; it's a needless addition to the NPL or My Shows list that we should be allowed to remove. If your list is anything like mine, it's quite lengthy already and doesn't need one more useless addition to it.


I've complained about the useless HD Recordings folder since it was introduced (why would anyone honestly need to look for a show in this folder?). I honestly don't think TiVo cares about keeping a clean look to the NPL.


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## gonzotek (Sep 24, 2004)

I'm of the opinion that they launched (no pun intended) it a bit early. The Flingo part is clearly still marked as beta, for example. It's also (at least on my DVRs) missing an icon while all of the other video providers in the My Shows list have icons. I'd expect that they will shortly insert the option to turn it on/off. Of course, if they don't do it within a few weeks, then I also agree with crxssi. We *should* have the option to have it show in that area, or not, according to our individual preference.

/edit: Tweeted at TiVoMargret about it:

__ https://twitter.com/i/web/status/302118265688297473


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## drebbe (Apr 11, 2012)

Official Press Release

TiVo Partners With Flingo to Enable Rapid Video Publishing and App Deployment 
on TiVo Premiere Set-Top Boxes

Flingo's LaunchPad Platform Combines the Best of Web and TV
Entertainment With Social Sharing Capabilities

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 02/14/13 -- Flingo
(www.flingo.tv), the world's largest publisher of Smart TV apps,
today announced that TiVo Inc. has integrated Flingo's LaunchPad
video platform into TiVo(R) Premiere set-top boxes, bringing over
seventy streaming on-demand video applications to viewers' TVs for
instant streaming. In addition to the streaming video channels
previously available, TiVo Premiere owners now have access to
Flingo's complete portfolio of applications, including video content
from TMZ, A&E, History, Showtime, TV Guide, and over fifty other
content partners, plus exclusive access to new content developed
specifically for TiVo subscribers through the "Launchpad for TiVo."

"People are demanding access to online streaming content from the
comfort of their own living room, and TiVo's offerings has evolved to
support that demand," said Tara Maitra, SVP and general manager of
content & media sales at TiVo Inc. "Flingo's platform and wide range
of apps makes it possible for TiVo to offer even more choices to our
viewers, and we're excited to work with Flingo."

"TiVo changed the way we watch television forever," said Ashwin
Navin, CEO and co-founder of Flingo. "Working with TiVo allows us to
drive further innovation into the world of TV by offering the
consumer substantially more content diversity and unparalleled social
features in the living room."

Premiere owners have access to Flingo's complete portfolio of
applications today.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

I have a Netgear NeoTV that uses Flingo. I consider the Netgear device to be the worst streaming video device I have (and I have 6 different ones) and never liked the way the content was presented. I haven't had a chance to see how it works on my Premiere yet but I hope it is allot better.


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## Balzer (Nov 12, 2006)

Goober96 said:


> Aren't you people overreacting just a little? TiVo added a new feature. If you don't like it, just ignore it. What's the big deal about it being in the NPL? It doesn't hurt anything. Just don't select it if you choose not to. Complaining about a new feature that you aren't forced to use just doesn't make much sense.


Totally agree. I noticed it, tried it out a little, decided I don't want to use it, so I will just ignore it. Big whoop. Nothing to cry or complain about.


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## markp99 (Mar 21, 2002)

Especially at the bottom of the list. I did not even notice it was added until mentioned here.


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## scandia101 (Oct 20, 2007)

Bierboy said:


> It's stupid....sluggish....useless....and I want the option to remove it from my NPL (or whatever the hell it's now called)...


My thought exactly.
I saw this on my Tivo last night just as I was about to turn off the tv and go to bed, so I only had time for a quick look, but didn't really see any reason to look at it again.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

atmuscarella said:


> I have a Netgear NeoTV that uses Flingo. I consider the Netgear device to be the worst streaming video device I have (and I have 6 different ones) and never liked the way the content was presented. I haven't had a chance to see how it works on my Premiere yet but I hope it is allot better.


Yeb same terrible UI slow always trying to load stuff while you are trying to get through the terrible menus.

To the dumb sh**s who programed Flingo - do us all a favor and become Walmart greeters.

To Tivo just stop the insanity cache menu stuff coming from the Internet and update it in the back ground.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

Balzer said:


> Totally agree. I noticed it, tried it out a little, decided I don't want to use it, so I will just ignore it. Big whoop. Nothing to cry or complain about.


Agree about it being no issue being in the NPL but it is a big deal that this sucks so bad. Tivo needs to get streaming done right but this Flingo crap isn't the way to do it. It sucks just as bad on Netgear's NeooTV so I am going to assume the Flingo service just sucks in general I think TiVo might be better off with nothing than this.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

atmuscarella said:


> Yeb same terrible UI slow always trying to load stuff while you are trying to get through the terrible menus.
> 
> To the dumb sh**s who programed Flingo - do us all a favor and become Walmart greeters.
> 
> To Tivo just stop the insanity cache menu stuff coming from the Internet and update it in the back ground.


Walmart fired the greeters. Perhaps that would work on this issue too.


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## Time_Lord (Jun 4, 2012)

Noticed the app today... I could be a nice app to use *IF* it was responsive and had a decent interface. Played with it for about 10 minutes and gave up it was SOOOOO SLOOOOWWWW


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## HookdOnTivonics (Aug 8, 2002)

Time_Lord said:


> Noticed the app today... I could be a nice app to use *IF* it was responsive and had a decent interface. Played with it for about 10 minutes and gave up it was SOOOOO SLOOOOWWWW


Ditto.

It *might* be more useful it was faster and you could actually read the entire show caption. At least using the SDUI, every caption for every show is cut off.

When I first read the press release, I thought I'd be able to watch shows from some of the networks...WRONG! It appears that you can only watch useless clips about such things as "Is being successful at buying storage lockers luck or skill?"


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## mlippert (Apr 3, 2010)

markp99 said:


> Especially at the bottom of the list. I did not even notice it was added until mentioned here.


Well my NPL is quite long, and there are some things that I count on as being at the bottom of the list, particularly as I can get there quickly using the 30sec advance button. That's why to me the bottom of the list is just as important as the top of the list.

For example Tivo suggestions are always at the bottom of the list as are links to other Tivos in the house (including computers running Tivo Desktop or pytivo).

And saying *"it's not important to me"* so why are you complaining just seems like a useless comment.

I'm complaining, as are others here, *because it is important to us*. Sure we can still use our Tivos, but we feel that this is a change to our existing interface that made our experience worse. If we don't make our feelings known, we can't expect things to improve.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Anybody manages to get rid of it, please post it. Here's what they emailed me:
Hello Joseph, 

"Thank you for contacting TiVo Customer Support. I would be glad to help you with your Launchpad questions today. At this time, this feature is not coded like the other features and cannot be disabled. We do apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you."

I asked to be opted out.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

mlippert said:


> Well my NPL is quite long, and there are some things that I count on as being at the bottom of the list, particularly as I can get there quickly using the 30sec advance button. That's why to me the bottom of the list is just as important as the top of the list.
> 
> For example Tivo suggestions are always at the bottom of the list as are links to other Tivos in the house (including computers running Tivo Desktop or pytivo).
> 
> ...


This....exactly. When you have networked TiVos (like many of us do)....any useless addition to the bottom of the NPL is just that....USELESS.


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

*Look people, if you don't understand why it would annoy someone, then just be quiet about it and try to put yourself in someone else's shoes. * Is it so hard to understand that people are different? I find the stupid thing to be annoying not only because it takes up space and is one more thing to have to scroll through but it is primarily annoying BECAUSE I have no control over removing it. I paid a lot of money for this setup, and it infuriates me when TiVo adds something stupid like this without user control. If they can add "HD Recordings" which is incredibly stupid and don't listen to our pleas to remove it, they can add "Web Video Launchpad". And next it might be "Football Fantasy" or "Pet Collections 1000" or some other stupid thing that is NOT "MY SHOWS". Where do you draw the line?


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

chiguy50 said:


> +1
> 
> Thanx for passing this along. I called TiVo support today and was told that there was no way to turn this feature off. (Note that it only appears in the HDUI.) I then referred to your post and the CSR made some inquiries and reconfirmed that it can not be removed from the HDUI My Shows listing. She said that the only opt-out option would be for TiVo promotions and marketing messages, so perhaps this is what your CSR was referring to.
> 
> Please let us know if you were successful and, if so, how we can best guide the support personnel through the process.


The stupid thing is still on my screen. So it would appear the service rep I talked to was full of crap. I called support again to complain, which was useless. Also sending them a web posting. If you don't like this trend of adding junk in My Shows without the ability to turn it off, I suggest going here:

http://support.tivo.com/app/ask

I am also Emailing this to Margret too.


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## jeff92k7 (Jan 18, 2006)

crxssi said:


> * Where do you draw the line?*


*

I agree with you. It is annoying and useless and I want to turn it off. TiVo has just about pushed me to the line where I cancel them altogether. I'm tired of the ads in the pause screen and the discovery bar, I hate the Netflix interface and YouTube app. Now this shows up and can't be turned off. It's utterly ridiculous. TiVo seems so focused on being everything BUT a DVR and that's all I want it to be. When I call support, they are clueless and know less about the TiVo premiere than I do. My requests to management and comments on their monthly surveys go unanswered, yet they continue to push towards being the worst designed web content box ever made. If I want web content, I'll use my apple tv or a computer. I want TiVo to be just a good DVR, nothing more. They can only cram so much useless junk down my throat before I regurgitate and cancel them completely. I'm just about to that point.

I was really glad two years ago to come back to TiVo since it would do everything I need. Now, two years later, the TiVo experience is far worse than it used to be. I no longer use the Netflix app or YouTube apps because of how horrible they are. The only improvement is that I can stream copy protected content from one to the other. However, the now playing lists are still separate, there is no cooperative scheduling, and TiVo wastes resources on more web garbage.

I'm going to look tomorrow to see if I can find some other product to record OTA shows and may cancel TiVo depending on what I find. I've long been considering cutting the cord anyway and using iTunes through my apple tv for regular shows. I had originally thought of keeping TiVo for OTA shows, but if I can find something cheaper without all the TiVo garbage and save the monthly fees, then that will push me over the tipping point.

/rant*


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## chiguy50 (Nov 9, 2009)

Goober96 said:


> Aren't you people overreacting just a little? TiVo added a new feature. If you don't like it, just ignore it. What's the big deal about it being in the NPL? It doesn't hurt anything. Just don't select it if you choose not to. Complaining about a new feature that you aren't forced to use just doesn't make much sense.





crxssi said:


> *Look people, if you don't understand why it would annoy someone, then just be quiet about it and try to put yourself in someone else's shoes. * Is it so hard to understand that people are different? I find the stupid thing to be annoying not only because it takes up space and is one more thing to have to scroll through but it is primarily annoying BECAUSE I have no control over removing it. I paid a lot of money for this setup, and it infuriates me when TiVo adds something stupid like this without user control. If they can add "HD Recordings" which is incredibly stupid and don't listen to our pleas to remove it, they can add "Web Video Launchpad". And next it might be "Football Fantasy" or "Pet Collections 1000" or some other stupid thing that is NOT "MY SHOWS". Where do you draw the line?


Yes, thank you again for that moment of clarity amid the silly, non-empathic sniping.

But, then again, at least Goober96 in SC has the decency to self-identify honestly.

Those of us who value efficiency, neatness, and elegance of design (or who, like me, are just plain OCD-plagued) are easily irritated by these tiny pinpricks of unwonted clutter.

I submitted my complaint at research.tivo.com/ideas. FWIW (probably not much).


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## tenthplanet (Mar 5, 2004)

CoxInPHX said:


> Flingo looks pretty cool
> 
> I like this also, will be interesting to see how it progresses.


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## davezatz (Apr 18, 2002)

atmuscarella said:


> I consider the Netgear device to be the worst streaming video device I have


I recommend the Dlink Movienite if you want a worse experience. My Vizio "smart" TV, used for blog experiments, than runs Yahoo Widgets is also a contender for worst.


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## button1066 (Sep 4, 2012)

I haven't even see the new option yet but I'm looking forward to playing with it later. I'm certainly not anticipating ending up threatening to cancel my TiVo service or any of the other pathetic nonsense being spouted in this thread.

Note: reading the 'pathetic nonsense' on this board is why I love it. It's like a text based reality show featuring the Honey Boo Boos of DVR users debasing themselves for my gratification. "Biggest scam ever! They changed the interface! I hate you TiVo for destroying my life!" And so on.


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## tatergator1 (Mar 27, 2008)

chiguy50 said:


> I submitted my complaint at research.tivo.com/ideas. FWIW (probably not much).


Instead of "not much," I'll have to say "Not Anything." The Premiere isn't even listed at the end. That form has to date from 2009 or so based on what's listed. Probably safe to say no one even reads things submitted via that form.


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## davezatz (Apr 18, 2002)

button1066 said:


> I haven't even see the new option yet but I'm looking forward to playing with it later. I'm certainly not anticipating ending up threatening to cancel my TiVo service or any of the other pathetic nonsense being spouted in this thread.
> 
> Note: reading the 'pathetic nonsense' on this board is why I love it. It's like a text based reality show featuring the Honey Boo Boos of DVR users debasing themselves for my gratification. "Biggest scam ever! They changed the interface! I hate you TiVo for destroying my life!" And so on.


Yeah, a lot of it is blown out of proportion... but the fact is that most quarters TiVo loses more customers than they acquire on the retail front. If TiVo doesn't provide significantly more compelling features than a TV provider's DVR or a $50 Roku, they will continue to have marketing and sales probs. At least in retail channels. If your cable provider offers TiVo, like Suddenlink or RCN, then it's all good. I just unsubscribed one of my Premieres - Verizon's DVR is cheaper than TiVo+CableCARD and I get On Demand.


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## button1066 (Sep 4, 2012)

davezatz said:


> Yeah, a lot of it is blown out of proportion... but the fact is that most quarters TiVo loses more customers than they acquire on the retail front. If TiVo doesn't provide significantly more compelling features than a TV provider's DVR or a $50 Roku, they will continue to have marketing and sales probs. At least in retail channels. If your cable provider offers TiVo, like Suddenlink or RCN, then it's all good. I just unsubscribed one of my Premieres - Verizon's DVR is cheaper than TiVo+CableCARD and I get On Demand.


The current TiVos are the best ever and I've had TiVos for nearly ten years now. When new features are added some work and some don't. I think the YouTube implementation is an abomination but the iPad app and TiVo stream combination is a home run that was unexpected to me when I bought my premieres.

People squabble about 'saving' a couple of dollars a month by canceling this and that or subscribing to whatever. Penny wise pound foolish.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

davezatz said:


> I recommend the Dlink Movienite if you want a worse experience. My Vizio "smart" TV, used for blog experiments, than runs Yahoo Widgets is also a contender for worst.


Glad I don't have any of them, Right now, I have the following: 

A HTPC
A WD TV Live
A Netgear NTV200 NeoTV
A Roku 2XS
A Roku 1?
3 TiVos; Premiere, TiVo HD, & original Series 3 HD
A Pansonic blu-ray player - several years old so it is very limited also. 
A Logitech Revue - Google TV 
Honestly when I consider streaming only the TiVos & the blu-ray player may actually be the worst devices in general. Even the Netgear NeoTV knows enough to cache the top menu and doesn't get into all the issues with Flingo until you go into an individual site's Flingo app, plus it does have other non-Flingo apps that I find useful.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

The UI on my Samsung smart TV is pretty slick and the apps are nice and responsive. I use it for most things so I've turned off the video providers on TiVo. (too slow) It is a bit annoying that this new one can't be turned off. But I don't spend that much time at the bottom of the list anyway, so it doesn't bother me that much.


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## Goober96 (Jun 28, 2005)

Dan203 said:


> The UI on my Samsung smart TV is pretty slick and the apps are nice and responsive. I use it for most things so I've turned off the video providers on TiVo. (too slow) It is a bit annoying that this new one can't be turned off. But I don't spend that much time at the bottom of the list anyway, so it doesn't bother me that much.


This new Web Launcher thing isn't even at the very bottom. Network devices are still below it so when going all the way down there, it is still not interfering. Some of these people just don't have enough to complain about and want to manufacture things I believe. It's there, use it or get over it. The public complaints about it are just ridiculous.


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## Teeps (Aug 16, 2001)

My XL4 has the feature too; so I checked it out...
IMO this dubious "new unsolicited feature" is beyond useless.


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## NotVeryWitty (Oct 3, 2003)

Not sure how much I would use this if it worked well, but the lag when moving around (like most of their other "apps") is just so frustrating.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

http://www.fiercecable.com/press-re...oyment-tivo?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal


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## jeff92k7 (Jan 18, 2006)

button1066 said:


> I haven't even see the new option yet but I'm looking forward to playing with it later. I'm certainly not anticipating ending up threatening to cancel my TiVo service or any of the other pathetic nonsense being spouted in this thread.
> 
> Note: reading the 'pathetic nonsense' on this board is why I love it. It's like a text based reality show featuring the Honey Boo Boos of DVR users debasing themselves for my gratification. "Biggest scam ever! They changed the interface! I hate you TiVo for destroying my life!" And so on.


I'm glad that you're satisfied with yours but many of us are not. I used to be satisfied too. Times change. I want my TiVo to be a DVR, nothing more. I want the DVR functions to work well. I don't need, or want, any of these "added features" that TiVo seems so focused on. Is it great that they're trying to innovate? Yes, of course. But each user's needs are different. Obviously my needs are different than yours, but don't come on here saying that anyone who doesn't share your views is spouting 'pathetic nonsense'. TiVo should, at the very least, provide a way to turn off these new features rather than forcing everyone to see them. They give us a way to turn off Amazon, Netflix, etc. Why not let us turn off this web video thing? It was a stupid decision on the part of TiVo to roll out a feature like this that not everyone wants and not give us a way to disable it.

TiVo built up their name by having the best, most user-friendly DVR available. It is unfortunate that they are now degrading their own user experience by adding on extra stuff that has nothing to do with what made TiVo good to begin with.

It is laughable to me that their press releases have said that people are 'demanding' access to web content from their TiVo. I'm not. I haven't seen many posts on here of people that are 'demanding' more web content (excepting Amazon prime which they still have not done anything about). What I see on this forum is people asking for bugs to be fixed and for better integration between TiVos, and stuff that should have been fixed to begin with like faster performance in HD menus.

To me, your post is 'pathetic nonsense'. It did nothing to advance the discussion of this new feature. It was solely to say that you think all people should feel the same way you do.


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## button1066 (Sep 4, 2012)

jeff92k7 said:


> I'm glad that you're satisfied with yours but many of us are not. I used to be satisfied too. Times change. I want my TiVo to be a DVR, nothing more. I want the DVR functions to work well. I don't need, or want, any of these "added features" that TiVo seems so focused on. Is it great that they're trying to innovate? Yes, of course. But each user's needs are different. Obviously my needs are different than yours, but don't come on here saying that anyone who doesn't share your views is spouting 'pathetic nonsense'. TiVo should, at the very least, provide a way to turn off these new features rather than forcing everyone to see them. They give us a way to turn off Amazon, Netflix, etc. Why not let us turn off this web video thing? It was a stupid decision on the part of TiVo to roll out a feature like this that not everyone wants and not give us a way to disable it.
> 
> TiVo built up their name by having the best, most user-friendly DVR available. It is unfortunate that they are now degrading their own user experience by adding on extra stuff that has nothing to do with what made TiVo good to begin with.
> 
> ...


LOL

TiVo does market research. The market research obviously indicated that people are wanting more web content on their TiVos. I didn't say I wanted it but neither do I feel upset that it exists.

How that ends up with you feeling bothered or upset or whatever you are about a simple menu addition to your TiVo is something only a psychologist could explain.


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## button1066 (Sep 4, 2012)

For the record the 'pathetic nonsense' is the threat of canceling service or whining in a butt hurt manner. The fact that someone has a different opinion to me is neither here nor there. I don't squeal like a ***** about trivial things like DVR interfaces. If you do then don't expect pity as far as I'm concerned.


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

button1066 said:


> For the record the 'pathetic nonsense' is the threat of canceling service or whining in a butt hurt manner. The fact that someone has a different opinion to me is neither here nor there. I don't squeal like a ***** about trivial things like DVR interfaces.


No, you just insult people in a egotistical manner.



> If you do then don't expect pity as far as I'm concerned.


I think it is silly to make idle, possibly over-reacting "threats", also. But I am sure not getting your pity will greatly reform those who did.


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## jeff92k7 (Jan 18, 2006)

In case anyone is actually interested, I did follow through on what I said I would do. I searched today to see if I could find anything to handle OTA recording that would fit my family's needs better than TiVo. I did not find anything better. We will be keeping TiVo since it is still the best DVR available. Am I completely happy with TiVo? No, I'm not. TiVo still seems to be slowly drifting away from what I need it to be. The more stuff like this that is added that can't be disabled just means that the stuff I want from TiVo is getting harder to find among the clutter.

This new feature even shows up when browsing the now playing list of my other TiVo. Does TiVo really think I want to stream web content to one box and then stream it to another using MRS? That's ridiculous. There's no reason for it to show up in a remote NPL. Again, more clutter. But since there are no better options for my family at this time, I'll deal with it.

Getting back on topic.... if anyone does find out a way to disable this new feature, please let us know.

I should go now. I've been whining for so long that my butt hurts.


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## mkstretch (Apr 11, 2005)

I was playing with it and not one of the channels is good. Tivo needs to add stuff like HBOGO,MAXGO,AMAZON PRIME MOVIES, EPIX etc...


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

button1066 said:


> ...TiVo does market research. The market research obviously indicated that people are wanting more web content on their TiVos.....


Are you serious? Wow....someone's been drinking the Kool-Aid....


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## Time_Lord (Jun 4, 2012)

Bierboy said:


> Are you serious? Wow....someone's been drinking the Kool-Aid....


I'll be honest I have no problem with adding additional avenues to get content. What I do have a problem with is adding half baked ideas that are unusable. TiVo Launcher is so slow its unusable.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

jeff92k7 said:


> I'm glad that you're satisfied with yours but many of us are not. I used to be satisfied too. Times change. I want my TiVo to be a DVR, nothing more. I want the DVR functions to work well. I don't need, or want, any of these "added features" that TiVo seems so focused on.


Including Tivo Stream? That's not a DVR function.
Including TTG? That's not a DVR function.

(BTW, I actually agree with you generally, but I use the two functions I mention there, largely because they're better than other DVRs with these added features..)


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## button1066 (Sep 4, 2012)

On a separate note I've been home and been experimenting with the new option.

The biggest and only problem I have is that it doesnt overscan and some text is off the edge of my screen. Overall it is pretty cool. I won't be trying to cancel my lifetime service because of it that's for sure. It reminds me of the days of 'swivel search' if I remember that correctly which I'm sure I don't.

I've encountered another problem. It's hard to tell where you are in the menus. Some audio feedback would be good. I'm still not countenancing opening a vein in response though.


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## button1066 (Sep 4, 2012)

crxssi said:


> No, you just insult people in a egotistical manner.


Can you give an an example of the egotistical bit please? I pride myself on being insulting but never considered myself an egotist.


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

button1066 said:


> Can you give an an example of the egotistical bit please? I pride myself on being insulting but never considered myself an egotist.


I'll let someone else explain it to you, if they think it is worth the time.


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

Bierboy said:


> Are you serious? Wow....someone's been drinking the Kool-Aid....


I have to believe that TiVo's market research does shows people actually do want TiVo to be "The One Box", god just look at all the complaints on this forum the vast majority have something to do with missing web content or web streaming functions not working well.



Time_Lord said:


> I'll be honest I have no problem with adding additional avenues to get content. What I do have a problem with is adding half baked ideas that are unusable. TiVo Launcher is so slow its unusable.


This is exactly what the problem is.

Not only should TiVo have everything available on any other streaming device but they have to deliver it in a superior or at least usable way. Flingo apps do not do that, at least for me. I honestly think TiVos old system of being able to subscribe and have podcasts auto download is great, but I understand they need a streaming option also as that seems to be the model many people want.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

atmuscarella said:


> I have to believe that TiVo's market research does shows people actually do want TiVo to be "The One Box", god just look at all the complaints on this forum the vast majority have something to do with missing web content or web streaming functions not working well.
> 
> This is exactly what the problem is.
> 
> Not only should TiVo have everything available on any other streaming device but they have to deliver it in a superior or at least *usable way*. Flingo apps do not do that, at least for me. I honestly think TiVos old system of being able to subscribe and have podcasts auto download is great, but I understand they need a streaming option also as that seems to be the model many people want.


There's the rub: usable way. My TV has 55(!) internet streaming sources, my BD player has about 40. Neither has any control over what is available - nothing like "video sources" on the TiVo. Whatever deal or partnership Sony can get, they stick it on my TV. I even have a _Michael Jackson_ source. Most are free, some not. But I have no way to delete or even arrange the order. That sucks. I can stream Amazon or Netflix already. I don't need another source. My 2 cents even though it costs 4 cents to make 2 cents.


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## zubinh (Jun 7, 2004)

Does opting out still disable the HDUI? I only want to use my Tivo as a DVR not a streaming box


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## elmeng (Mar 7, 2009)

Is anybody using Flingo? I'm having trouble downloading from my Tivo. Overnight, I can no longer download to my iMac, doesn't seem to depend on which program I'm using to download with, i.e kmttg, iTivo, TivoDecodemanager. Also affecting pop mail. The only changes I've made is using fling.


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## jeff92k7 (Jan 18, 2006)

elmeng said:


> Is anybody using Flingo? I'm having trouble downloading from my Tivo. Overnight, I can no longer download to my iMac, doesn't seem to depend on which program I'm using to download with, i.e kmttg, iTivo, TivoDecodemanager. Also affecting pop mail. The only changes I've made is using fling.


Check out the kmttg thread in the home media features and tivotogo forum. That issue has nothing to do with the flingo thing.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

elmeng said:


> Is anybody using Flingo? I'm having trouble downloading from my Tivo. Overnight, I can no longer download to my iMac, doesn't seem to depend on which program I'm using to download with, i.e kmttg, iTivo, TivoDecodemanager. Also affecting pop mail. The only changes I've made is using fling.


Sadly, it still works on my TiVo and TV.


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

Wow. I tried this "thing" tonight. What a horrendous implementation, even ignoring where they put the stupid link to it and ignoring how you can't turn it off. The thing just dragged. Even if it's slow, put up some indication it accepted a keypress so one doesn't keep pressing, and stop it from caching if you're not. I never actually managed toi get any video playing or even to traverse through all the pages. I'll never use this as it stands now. It's garbage.


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## JohnnyO (Nov 3, 2002)

dswallow said:


> I'll never use this as it stands now. It's garbage.


It seems like TiVo development no longer has anyone who understands the value of a consistent, well thought-out user interface. Sigh.


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## davezatz (Apr 18, 2002)

atmuscarella said:


> Not only should TiVo have everything available on any other streaming device but they have to deliver it in a superior or at least usable way. Flingo apps do not do that, at least for me.


This is probably the crux of the problem as dug up by Sam Biller and documented by TiVo themselves:

http://developer.tivo.com/docs/read/sdk/guide

_The TiVo platform does not meet Adobe's minimum recommended specs for AIR for TV._

Scary. Sad.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

dswallow said:


> Wow. I tried this "thing" tonight. What a horrendous implementation, even ignoring where they put the stupid link to it and ignoring how you can't turn it off. The thing just dragged. Even if it's slow, put up some indication it accepted a keypress so one doesn't keep pressing, and stop it from caching if you're not. I never actually managed toi get any video playing or even to traverse through all the pages. I'll never use this as it stands now. It's garbage.


I just tired it out this morning. It played the several videos I tried. And when I came home from the store it was still playing videos. Whatever I had last selected it kept playing the videos, one after another, for some reason.


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## Philmatic (Sep 17, 2003)

davezatz said:


> This is probably the crux of the problem as dug up by Sam Biller and documented by TiVo themselves:
> 
> http://developer.tivo.com/docs/read/sdk/guide
> 
> ...


That's sad... they have a pretty decent platform but not enough juice to run it. Hopefully they give the next platform enough horsepower to run whatever they want to throw at it. I wondering if a move to ARM would make sense... porting the backend TiVo software would be a pain, but I imagine the front end would fly, and app development would be much easier.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

dswallow said:


> Wow. I tried this "thing" tonight. What a horrendous implementation, even ignoring where they put the stupid link to it and ignoring how you can't turn it off. The thing just dragged. Even if it's slow, put up some indication it accepted a keypress so one doesn't keep pressing, and stop it from caching if you're not. I never actually managed toi get any video playing or even to traverse through all the pages. I'll never use this as it stands now. It's garbage.


This.


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## northbanker (Feb 27, 2012)

As a parent with relatively young kids I don't want Web Video Launchpad. It took me less than 1 minute to find content that is completely inappropriate for them & offensive.

At the very least Tivo should allow it to be deselected from My Shows list, like you can do with YouTube under Video Provider list. Better than that I would like to be able to completely disable these type of services.

I agree with the previous poster who said they don't want to use their Tivo as a web streaming box, at least not in this wide open way without any parental control.

I opened an online case w/ Tivo support http://support.tivo.com/app/ask to request the ability to restrict Web Video Launchpad.

p.s. Last year when I checked out Tivo's Parental Control & KidZone, I found them half-baked and not really usable in practice. So the best balance I found was the video providers list which at least takes them off the main screen.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

northbanker said:


> ....I agree with the previous poster who said they don't want to use their Tivo as a web streaming box...


I totally agree with this. I have a TV and a BD player that can play streaming content. Actually my Panny TV does it best. I just want my TiVo to TiVo...


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## atmuscarella (Oct 11, 2005)

Bierboy said:


> I totally agree with this. I have a TV and a BD player that can play streaming content. Actually my Panny TV does it best. I just want my TiVo to TiVo...


Tivo hasn't made a DVR without some form of access to web content in what 6 or 7 years? Do you really believe they could just drop it all and people would be ok with that? I wouldn't and given what most people complain about I think many others wouldn't either.

What they need to do is provide access with options and it needs to work well. The current hardware maybe unable to support it, but it should have been replaced long ago anyway - 3 years without a hardware refresh is nuts. Just think of what would happen if anyone making a TV, Blu-ray player, Laptop, Cell Phone, Tablet, Computer, Receiver, or pretty much any other piece of electronic equipment hadn't updated hardware in 3 yrs. no one would buy their product and they would be out of business.


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

atmuscarella said:


> Tivo hasn't made a DVR without some form of access to web content in what 6 or 7 years? Do you really believe they could just drop it all and people would be ok with that? I wouldn't and given what most people complain about I think many others wouldn't either.
> 
> What they need to do is provide access with options and it needs to work well. The current hardware maybe unable to support it, but it should have been replaced long ago anyway - 3 years without a hardware refresh is nuts. Just think of what would happen if anyone making a TV, Blu-ray player, Laptop, Cell Phone, Tablet, Computer, Receiver, or pretty much any other piece of electronic equipment hadn't updated hardware in 3 yrs. no one would buy their product and they would be out of business.


Unless there was no better system out there, TiVo does not sell enough product to refresh as often as say most TV makers.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

atmuscarella said:


> Tivo hasn't made a DVR without some form of access to web content in what 6 or 7 years? Do you really believe they could just drop it all and people would be ok with that? I wouldn't and given what most people complain about I think many others wouldn't either.
> 
> What they need to do is provide access with options and it needs to work well. The current hardware maybe unable to support it, but it should have been replaced long ago anyway - 3 years without a hardware refresh is nuts. Just think of what would happen if anyone making a TV, Blu-ray player, Laptop, Cell Phone, Tablet, Computer, Receiver, or pretty much any other piece of electronic equipment hadn't updated hardware in 3 yrs. no one would buy their product and they would be out of business.


If all I had was an older TV and a TiVo, I would like the TiVo to be my gateway to the world. I would even consider the subscription to be part of the cost for this access. I do agree with your post in principle. Yet I have a DVR that has no internet access that is about two years old, has been replaced by a newer model, and still sells quite well today. It has no fees and doesn't need a cable card. I don't know how long it will live but it fills a niche that TiVo doesn't: it's cheap.


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## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

We're still waiting for the Premiere UI to be finished. Amazingly -- 2 months shy of it being 3 years since introduction.

The UI is slow; maybe not unbearably slow, but slow. I presume 3 years after introduction we must be using both cores right? Considering it doesn't feel terribly faster than at introduction, what are we really to think? The fault lies on either Adobe or TiVo (or both, or TiVo for choosing to use an Adobe technology)... lots of ways to look at it.

But slow or not, they aren't even following their own paradigm when it comes to integrating newer features into the UI/menus.

Parental controls are haphazard at best; there's certainly no one watching software updates to ensure parental controls function properly, which in this ridiculously litigious society and with how people overly protect their kids from just about everything, has no explanation.

Things that TiVo is best at go completely ignored; I rarely see any programming beyond about 10 or 11 days. When new series programming is introduced, there's very little TiVo adds to the equation; why can't we add season passes well in advance? Populate some fake guide data about a new series with a code that'll match the series code when it premiers. Why can't we create groups of channels ourselves; why force us to stick with the cable systems or OTA numbering? 

Remember HME? It could do HD output on series 3 devices, and a number of apps were created that were clearly faster than most any other screen, even on the Premiere. If HME apps had access to guide data, now playing recordings, channel changing, all configuration settings and ability to allow scheduling of recordings/season passes there'd probably be 50 examples of superior UIs actually available today for not just Premiere units, but all Series 3 units. And they'd have been developed by people working for free. TiVo can't manage to hire one or two people, at least, to get these things functional and usable?

We know TiVo is working on other things that probably don't apply directly to the retail products, but I just can't see any excuse for Web Video Launchpad having been given to us in its current form, for any reason -- well, except for one -- they're throwing it out there since it "can work" and they're not going to do any more with it, so may as well see if anyone might find it useful rather than just binning the whole thing. Maybe they got their hands on it buying some tech elsewhere -- who knows.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

dswallow said:


> We're still waiting for the Premiere UI to be finished. Amazingly -- 2 months shy of it being 3 years since introduction.
> 
> The UI is slow; maybe not unbearably slow, but slow. I presume 3 years after introduction we must be using both cores right? Considering it doesn't feel terribly faster than at introduction, what are we really to think? The fault lies on either Adobe or TiVo (or both, or TiVo for choosing to use an Adobe technology)... lots of ways to look at it.
> 
> ...


Well said....


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

dswallow said:


> We're still waiting for the Premiere UI to be finished. Amazingly -- 2 months shy of it being 3 years since introduction.
> 
> The UI is slow; maybe not unbearably slow, but slow. I presume 3 years after introduction we must be using both cores right? Considering it doesn't feel terribly faster than at introduction, what are we really to think?


Yes, it is using both cores. And the HDUI *is still* slow, but it is a lot faster than at introduction (I think you are forgetting just how unbearable the HDUI was... I had to keep using the SDUI until just a few updates ago).



> But slow or not, they aren't even following their own paradigm when it comes to integrating newer features into the UI/menus.


Exactly. It is one thing to be slow. It is a whole other thing to be slow AND CRAPPOLA.


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## chiguy50 (Nov 9, 2009)

The Web Video Launchpad can now be removed! (It has been added to the "Channel Providers" checklist along with Netflix, et al.)

Thanx to JoeKustra for passing this along on the AVSForum thread yesterday.


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## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

Yipee. 

For me, the slowness of these applications is the kiss of death. I can deal with netflix as I'm not surfing for content, I'm just hitting play. But these new offerings are too much like AOL in 1995.


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## ahwman (Jan 24, 2013)

chiguy50 said:


> The Web Video Launchpad can now be removed! (It has been added to the "Channel Providers" checklist along with Netflix, et al.)
> 
> Thanx to JoeKustra for passing this along on the AVSForum thread yesterday.


Thanks for the heads up! I'm so glad to be rid of that thing cluttering up myTiVo...


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

chiguy50 said:


> The Web Video Launchpad can now be removed! (It has been added to the "Channel Providers" checklist along with Netflix, et al.)
> 
> Thanx to JoeKustra for passing this along on the AVSForum thread yesterday.


Thanks so much for that information! This is great news for so many reasons:

* It doesn't matter if you like Launchpad or not, you now have control to remove it. This is a good thing, all by itself.

* Less clutter in your "My Shows" (now can they just get rid of that stupid "HD Recordings" folder?? )

* It shows that feedback to TiVo *works*.

* It means that TiVo listened and *cared*.

* It helps to set a tone of TiVo owners being more than just numbers or statistics. Maybe the next time before something is added or changed like that, TiVo will consider making it an option instead of forcing it on everyone.

Thank you, TiVo. I now need to follow-up to TiVo with thanks Email... positive feedback is just as important as negative. I invite others to do so too.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

chiguy50 said:


> The Web Video Launchpad can now be removed! (It has been added to the "Channel Providers" checklist along with Netflix, et al.)
> 
> Thanx to JoeKustra for passing this along on the AVSForum thread yesterday.


Awesome! Thanks for letting us know here.

Furthermore, I don't understand the vitriol from some about this issue. I cannot speak for anybody else, but all I wanted was to not have stuff cluttering up my 'my shows' list that I didn't want there.

I never complained because I didn't want anybody else to have this service. I just want to be able to view the content on MY Tivos that I choose, not to make anybody else's choices.

It's bad enough that I had to delete all folders just to get rid of that ridiculously redundant 'HD shows' folder. If that's what it takes and some people like that folder, fine.

I just don't think anybody is trying to take anything away from anybody. We just want appropriate control over what clutters up our screens that we don't use.


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## Goober96 (Jun 28, 2005)

sharkster said:


> It's bad enough that I had to delete all folders just to get rid of that ridiculously redundant 'HD shows' folder.


Wait, just so the one folder wouldn't "clutter" your My Shows, you removed all other folders so now your My Shows is cluttered with individual episodes? Yeah, that makes sense. More power to you, though, if that's what you want.


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

Goober96 said:


> Wait, just so the one folder wouldn't "clutter" your My Shows, you removed all other folders so now your My Shows is cluttered with individual episodes? Yeah, that makes sense. More power to you, though, if that's what you want.


I don't quite understand the logic in turning off all folders, either. But to each his own.

What I now want is the ability to turn off the useless/obsolete "HD Recordings" folder. It should be an option under pressing "A." I have asked for it several times, who knows, maybe after this change it might put them in a more receptive mood.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

crxssi said:


> I don't quite understand the logic in turning off all folders, either. But to each his own.
> 
> What I now want is the ability to turn off the useless/obsolete "HD Recordings" folder. It should be an option under pressing "A." I have asked for it several times, who knows, maybe after this change it might put them in a more receptive mood.


I don't know how, but the "HD Recordings" folder is not showing. Since I have no SD recordings, all titles are HD. When more than one episode builds up (rare for me), they are grouped. I still have the deleted item folder.

Since the issue of the launcher is now moot, maybe this thread can be put out to pasture.


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## abqdan (Aug 29, 2012)

northbanker said:


> As a parent with relatively young kids I don't want Web Video Launchpad. It took me less than 1 minute to find content that is completely inappropriate for them & offensive.


How about you just don't let your kids use it unattended? Mine get supervised TV hours only. Problem solved.


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## Stuxnet (Feb 9, 2011)

dswallow said:


> I'll never use this as it stands now. It's garbage.


This is worse than late night infomercials. I'd rather watch a security cam. I saw the term 'pathetic nonsense' earlier in this thread. That charitably sums up Launchpad.


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## northbanker (Feb 27, 2012)

Yes it's great that Tivo listened to its customers and did what I'm sure wasn't too hard... to allow Web Video Launchpad to be deselected in the video providers list.

There's a whole lot more they could do to make their devices have really practical parental controls, but this would be harder for their programmers but no doubt so I'm not holding my breath.

Still I have to say "thanks Tivo for being responsive about this one request"


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## davezatz (Apr 18, 2002)

northbanker said:


> Yes it's great that Tivo listened to its customers and did what I'm sure wasn't too hard... to allow Web Video Launchpad to be deselected in the video providers list.


Doubt they listened to anything. More likely it was on the roadmap and just a week or so behind schedule.


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## Mike-Wolf (Feb 25, 2013)

sharkster said:


> It also showed up on one of my Tivos last night, after a 26 hour widespread internet outage in my area.
> 
> I tried to figure out how to get rid of it and was unsuccessful. Geez...I wish they would bundle up all this kind of stuff and let the customer choose what they want on their 'My Shows' list.
> 
> ...


New remote with a button for it?


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## northbanker (Feb 27, 2012)

davezatz said:


> Doubt they listened to anything. More likely it was on the roadmap and just a week or so behind schedule.


You might be right but still they should get credit for doing the right thing in the end.


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## Teeps (Aug 16, 2001)

northbanker said:


> Still I have to say "thanks Tivo for being responsive about this one request"


+1


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

davezatz said:


> Doubt they listened to anything. More likely it was on the roadmap and just a week or so behind schedule.


You really think they pushed out web video launchpad without giving the user control but also already having it on a "to do" list for a few weeks later?

I find that really hard to believe. In any case, I *want* to believe they listened to us... so I will continue to believe that.


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## davezatz (Apr 18, 2002)

crxssi said:


> You really think they pushed out web video launchpad without giving the user control but also already having it on a "to do" list for a few weeks later?


Yah. I figure either it was late or an oversight. Everything else can be toggled on/off in that menu, why not Launchpad. Regardless of the reason, I'm glad its there. Although, if TiVo is listening, they must be disappointed that this brand spanking new app they licensed and integrated with Flingo was met with such a poor reception by real users (versus breathless online coverage by folks who haven't tried it). The new platform (starting with TiVo Mini) can't come soon enough.


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## CoxInPHX (Jan 14, 2011)

sharkster said:


> I just wish we could get 'On Demand' with Charter here. I got a new remote and it has a button for it, so that's cool.





Mike-Wolf said:


> New remote with a button for it?


TiVo Remote for MSOs with OnDemand Button.
Old Charter Stock: http://www.ebay.com/itm/TIvo-Remote-Control-With-On-Demand-Button-FREE-SHIPPING-/271156850355
RCN: http://www.ebay.com/itm/BRAND-NEW-TIVO-REMOTE-HAS-VOD-BUTTON-FREE-SHIPPING-/251220622698

I wonder if the OnDemand button works to bring up the Comcast VOD menu?


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## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

davezatz said:


> Although, if TiVo is listening, they must be disappointed that this brand spanking new app they licensed and integrated with Flingo was met with such a poor reception by real users (versus breathless online coverage by folks who haven't tried it). The new platform (starting with TiVo Mini) can't come soon enough.


The interface is horrible and slow... just like Netflix, Youtube, that "AOL" thing, and pretty much every other addon thing that has come out for the Premiere.

I hope they aren't surprised by the reaction, because nothing has changed. It is partially that the platform is just WAY too slow, partially because they are not written well, and partially because the apps "do their own things", completely violating the standards TiVo invented (look and feel, layout, remote control buttons, etc).

Really, even if they speed all of it up 500%, how many of us are going to be happy with those "foreign" interfaces?


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## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

crxssi said:


> Really, even if they speed all of it up 500%, how many of us are going to be happy with those "foreign" interfaces?


I would be more than happy. TiVo isn't big enough to dictate the look and feel of apps to look like "TiVo" apps. And if they did dictate that, you would end up with a Netflix app that isn't updated for YEARS. This is exactly what happened before. By supporting certain standards, apps like the current Netflix app can now be deployed with new updates much easier than if they have to write the app themselves or if TiVo forced UI guidelines that aren't standard.


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## mkstretch (Apr 11, 2005)

Bierboy said:


> This isn't overreacting; it's a needless addition to the NPL or My Shows list that we should be allowed to remove. If your list is anything like mine, it's quite lengthy already and doesn't need one more useless addition to it.


If you go into settings then channel then my video providers you can uncheck launchpad. Now it won't be in my shows anymore.


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## NotVeryWitty (Oct 3, 2003)

I could put up with the different look and feel of each app. It's the horrible slowness of responding to EVERY SINGLE BUTTON PUSH that makes it so bad.

AFAIK, this slowness is due to the ill-conceived architecture of running the Java apps remotely on some server, instead of directly inside the Tivo. If Tivo doesn't do something to change this, "apps" will never work well.


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## davezatz (Apr 18, 2002)

NotVeryWitty said:


> AFAIK, this slowness is due to the ill-conceived architecture of running the Java apps remotely on some server, instead of directly inside the Tivo. If Tivo doesn't do something to change this, "apps" will never work well.


Part of it is streaming the stuff down as needed. But the other part is that TiVo's hardware of choice doesn't support their software of choice. :/



> The TiVo platform does not meet Adobe's minimum recommended specs for AIR for TV.


http://developer.tivo.com/docs/read/sdk/guide


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

NotVeryWitty said:


> AFAIK, this slowness is due to the ill-conceived architecture of running the Java apps remotely on some server, instead of directly inside the Tivo. If Tivo doesn't do something to change this, "apps" will never work well.


 It's not Java, it's Flash. As pointed out above the problem is the hardware resources available to Flash are nowhere near adequate. Reportedly the TiVo Mini with a new SOC runs the Flash apps and the HDUI much faster which further re-enforces this (though the Mini has advantage of not having to deal with buffering any tuners which surely helps a lot as well). So we will have to wait until an upgrade to current series 4 hardware to see better performance for HDUI and Flash apps.
I'm interested in TiVo Mini to act as main interface to my too sluggish TiVo Elite which I will just make headless since it's too slow for daily use.


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## mr_smits (Dec 17, 2009)

crxssi said:


> Really, even if they speed all of it up 500%, how many of us are going to be happy with those "foreign" interfaces?


I would at least explore these apps or 3rd party integrations instead of give up in frustration because the browsing/interaction is so painfully slow.

So count me in: if Tivo becomes more of a Roku style platform but is more responsive on the menus then I would be very happy.


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## Mike-Wolf (Feb 25, 2013)

crxssi said:


> The interface is horrible and slow... just like Netflix, Youtube, that "AOL" thing, and pretty much every other addon thing that has come out for the Premiere.
> 
> I hope they aren't surprised by the reaction, because nothing has changed. It is partially that the platform is just WAY too slow, partially because they are not written well, and partially because the apps "do their own things", completely violating the standards TiVo invented (look and feel, layout, remote control buttons, etc).
> 
> Really, even if they speed all of it up 500%, how many of us are going to be happy with those "foreign" interfaces?


I dunno, I like the layout of Netflix and Youtube because it matches what is found on the PS3. I do agree that the TiVo needs to get sped up a lot overall and hopefully finish transforming the rest of the menus to full HD. Also noticed that the EAS banner is still the old SD layout found on the series 3 and below, even when using the HD menu style.


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## NotVeryWitty (Oct 3, 2003)

moyekj said:


> It's not Java, it's Flash. As pointed out above the problem is the hardware resources available to Flash are nowhere near adequate. Reportedly the TiVo Mini with a new SOC runs the Flash apps and the HDUI much faster which further re-enforces this (though the Mini has advantage of not having to deal with buffering any tuners which surely helps a lot as well). So we will have to wait until an upgrade to current series 4 hardware to see better performance for HDUI and Flash apps.
> I'm interested in TiVo Mini to act as main interface to my too sluggish TiVo Elite which I will just make headless since it's too slow for daily use.


I find it hard to believe that the delay in handling button presses on the fake keyboards is due to Flash. This problem has been there since the early days of HME on the Series 2, which didn't run Flash. Also, if Flash was causing the delays, it would also affect button presses on the "built-in" apps (e.g., setting up a wishlist).

I'm not saying Flash isn't also a problem, but that's not the issue I'm complaining about.


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## moyekj (Jan 24, 2006)

NotVeryWitty said:


> I find it hard to believe that the delay in handling button presses on the fake keyboards is due to Flash. This problem has been there since the early days of HME on the Series 2, which didn't run Flash. Also, if Flash was causing the delays, it would also affect button presses on the "built-in" apps (e.g., setting up a wishlist).
> 
> I'm not saying Flash isn't also a problem, but that's not the issue I'm complaining about.


 TiVo themselves in their Flash SDK spell out that the series 4 platform doesn't meet the minimum Adobe specs for running Flash Air:

http://developer.tivo.com/docs/read/sdk/guide#limitations


> 5.3.1 Limitations
> *The TiVo platform does not meet Adobe's minimum recommended specs for AIR for TV.*
> When an AIR application runs on the STB, it does not have access to the entire set of resources the platform offers. The maximum level resources available to an individual application are:
> Only one application can run on the STB at a time; the TiVo UI is suspended when an app runs.
> ...


Reportedly the Mini runs Flash apps much faster than series 4 units (and we'll find out first hand when released to retail this week).
I know what you are talking about the older HME delays - the problem there is the HME apps are hosted on a remote computer so you get delays associated with that, but they were nowhere near as bad as these Flash apps on series 4 which are dismally slow in large part because of limitations pointed out above.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

mkstretch said:


> If you go into settings then channel then my video providers you can uncheck launchpad. Now it won't be in my shows anymore.


The WVL was just added to the 50+ apps on my Sony TV. Some of them are dups of existing items. Stupid, but easy to ignore yet impossible to delete.


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## Fofer (Oct 29, 2000)

What happened to this feature? I just discovered it (as I am the happy owner of Chromecast, and I was wondering if TiVo had anything like it, and if not, why not?)

So I went into the Launchpad, and instead of seeing all of these choices:









...all I see are four lame ones: Archive Classic Movies, Chemical Burn, Koldast TV, and NASA. Where did all of the other channels go? 

And the Fling Queue doesn't work well either... I had to reboot the TiVo first for the app to even launch. And even then, I couldn't get it to work with Vimeo, or YouTube. The only thing I could get "flinging" was a video from CrunchyRoll.

The whole experience was dreadfully slow and annoying. I'll never use it. Chromecast and AppleTV and Roku all run circles around this box of crap.

True to form, TiVo disappoints yet again!


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## scandia101 (Oct 20, 2007)

Maybe there's some kind of problem with flingo. I checked launchpad about two weeks ago to see if anything had improved (no such luck) but everything seemed normal. Now I see what you describe. A few days ago I added the tv guide channel to my Roku and it wouldn't get beyond the 'loading' screen. After reading this I checked it again and now it will get past the loading screen but then gets stuck at the 'retrieving' screen. So then I checked TMZ, another that's "fueled by Flingo" and it also gets stuck on the 'retrieving' screen, but it had been working.


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## Fofer (Oct 29, 2000)

TiVo is constantly "partnering" with other services, and those services end up delivering a crap experience, and ultimately failing, and it makes TiVo look even more badly.

This is yet another one of those examples.


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## scandia101 (Oct 20, 2007)

Everything seems to be back to normal with all kinds of channels on launchpad instead of just four.


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## Fofer (Oct 29, 2000)

Good to hear, I will check it again when I get home. I'm sure I'll never actually use it though. 

Are TV Guide and TMZ now working on your Roku, too?

Sounds like their server crashed over the weekend and someone had to reboot on Monday morning


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## scandia101 (Oct 20, 2007)

Yes, TMZ and TV G are working on my Roku


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## seattlewendell (Jan 11, 2006)

northbanker said:


> As a parent with relatively young kids I don't want Web Video Launchpad. It took me less than 1 minute to find content that is completely inappropriate for them & offensive.


Ok I'll bite. What was the content that was "completely inappropriate for them & offensive"


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## jhilla (May 13, 2011)

Here's a shocker, Flingo was testing a module that would fling videos from your PC. http://forum.flingo.org/viewtopic.php?id=1575

The item is in experimental form called "Flingo for Desktop" 2yrs ago.
Could this be where Google came up with ChromeCast?

OMG! It's streaming my damn video directory to TiVo without streambaby and working!
Holy crap I have audio and fast playback of Mp4..

WE have TivoCAST!

Instructions are simple>
1) goto download link I gave you install the version for your system.
*** THERE WILL BE A FLINGO ICON AT THE BOTTOM OF YOUR RIGHT SCREEN - RIGHT CLICK IT***
2)choose directory of videos from your drive
3)Fling Directory
4)From Tivo hit (Find TV, Movies and Videos) click Web Video Launchpad.
5)choose "FLing Queue" from top.
6)Laugh as you now see your videos listed on your tv
7)pick a video and hit play.
8)It's Christmas!


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## CoxInPHX (Jan 14, 2011)

^^^^^^
This does indeed work for mp4, wish it worked for mkv.

Launchpad is REALLY slow to respond on my Elite, I tried to link my music video directory to the Flingo Queue, but I got impatient it was taking too long, there are hundreds of videos there.

Once you link a directory, How do you change the directory in Launchpad on the TiVo?

No wonder this is still beta, it keeps hanging on my PC while trying to change the directory.

OK, I'm done, moving on....


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## davezatz (Apr 18, 2002)

jhilla said:


> Here's a shocker, Flingo was testing a module that would fling videos from your PC. http://forum.flingo.org/viewtopic.php?id=1575
> 
> The item is in experimental form called "Flingo for Desktop" 2yrs ago.
> Could this be where Google came up with ChromeCast?


Netflix and YouTube are behind a spec called DIAL and what Chromecast may be based on. Flingo is a registered developer, but their work in this space may predate DIAL (and 1:1 streaming is more Airplay than DIAL anyhow). Indications are the TiVo Series 5 will support/integrate DIAL.

http://www.dial-multiscreen.org/


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