# Suggestions for improving the new TIVO interface



## John McE

I thought it might be a good idea to have a dedicated thread for people to suggest things they think could be improved on the new VirginTIVO. I'll start off with a few suggestions:

1) Why is "My Shows & Recordings" fourth in the list on the home page? Surely it would be better to be second, right below "TV Guide"? It is the norm to put the most used options at the top of a menu list, and most people will be watching their own recordings far more than using Catchup or Search.

2) PIN control - please add a facility to turn this off completely. (I know this has a thread of its' own, but have put it here as well).

3) Proof read the booklet that comes with it! On the page showing the button functions on the peanut, there is no text next to the "back" button.

4) There is a mention in the booklet of controlling some TV functions, but no details of how to do it. Most users won't be reading forums such as these, and at the very least the booklet should have a link to where you can find this information. And including details of the less-than obvious AV input control and TV on/off functions that I only discovered on this forum would be very helpful to all new users.

Anyone got any more suggestions?


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## mikerr

Add the missing "channels I receive" menu back in.
It's somewhat essential for wishlist functionality to work properly.

Option to Turn off PIN control (deserves repeating!)


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## warrenrb

To play devil's advocate on your first point John (although I agree it is more of a priority), the remote has a dedicated 'My Shows' button, and you can also get to it with the familiar 'double home' press, so I guess it doesn't need to be at the top for that reason.


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## jonphil

mikerr said:


> Add the missing "channels I receive" menu back in.
> It's somewhat essential for wishlist functionality to work properly.
> 
> Option to Turn off PIN control (deserves repeating!)


+1 for both of those.
The pin number thing is far too restrictive in it's current form and I really don't think it needs to be.
This isn't how Sky+ and I believe V+ does it and Ofcom hasn't ruled that it needs to change.
Please can we have a bit more control, generally we are adults able to decide for ourselves what we can and can't watch without a pin code.

I was shocked to have to enter a pin to watch a 12 rated program ??? 
I think we should be able to see the ratings and toggle them off and on.
If 12 ratings are blocked then parents are going to be forced to give out the pin to teenagers in the house who can then watch anything 15+ rated as it's the same pin number.

I don't get the pin number requirements at all.

Can someone from Virgin reply and advise if the pin restrictions will at least be looked at.


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## John McE

I was aware of the dedicated button, but still think the principal of most used items at the top should apply. 

Another thing - why, when you press "Apps and Games" to you go to a sub menu called "Apps and Games", which you then have to select. Irritating.

And I just notice that we now have a game - "Who wants to be a millionaire" - and it's great fun. I've won £100,000 so far. Who do I contact to collect my winnings? (grin)


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## Wizard

+1 for turning Parental Control off, actually +several hundred for that 

Change it so the when you press Guide it goes to the channel you are actually on rather than the first one in the list.

Also in the guide it would be helpful to actually show the start and end times of the program in the description/info box, the current display makes it difficult to actually tell when a program is on if it does not start on the half hour.


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## cyril

On some screens channel names are truncated e.g.

108 BBC O.. 

is not that helpful as it's BBC One HD, and I prefer to record in HD whenever possible.

I guess I should memorise the channel numbers 

Maybe they should have an option to highlight HD channels in blue whenever they are mentioned, and a 'record in HD when possible' option and view upcoming HD-only episodes option?

On my SkyHD box I can't turn off parental controls either, though haven't seen how the Virgin TiVo is any better or worse in this regard.


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## frobozz

I'd like to be able to replace SD channels with the equivalent HD versions (even if they aren't regionalised), or an option to record a HD version of a program when setting a SD recording.

A warning that a duplicate HD recording of a program is already set when requesting a SD recording or an indicator on the SD channel that a HD recording has been requested.

Also yet another vote for a sensible parental control and for Guide go to the channel you are actually on.


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## WooLLsterQ

frobozz said:


> Also yet another vote for a sensible parental control and for Guide go to the channel you are actually on.


Press guide then blue button and select channel your viewing


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## WooLLsterQ

I would like to see multiple user accounts on the box for suggestions, me and the wife like different stuff


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## frobozz

WooLLsterQ said:


> Press guide then blue button and select channel your viewing


Blue button just gives me Show Channels options, All channels, my favs, HD etc, I can't see a channel I'm viewing option.


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## Wizard

WooLLsterQ said:


> Press guide then blue button and select channel your viewing


Erm, that only brings up the box that allows you to filter the channel list, it doesn't actually allow you to go direct to the current channel. You have to remember which channel you are on and then type the number in.


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## Technix

Resume playback: simple feature I would like to see on VOD and on the YouTube app.

Use of menus when playing recordings and YouTube videos.

Per-session PIN: If PIN is required don't then one entry should be enough unless it's for puchasing something or even better just completely turn it off like on BT Vision. Surely BT are complying with Ofcom regulations with their PIN system?

Now & next banner timing: 2 seconds is not enough!

Skip 30 seconds for VOD too.

User defined start for recordings, VOD and YouTube.

Numbered selection on menus: I would like to select options with numbers than to scroll down to the option and then pressing OK.

Use number buttons to text type.

After setting a recording go back to the exact screen I was on before. Also, 1 touch record.

If a VOD programme doesn't work, go back to the last menu I was on instead of Home.

Smoother transition between menus: no blackouts and showing the last channel for a split second. I can see this being a problem for those with photosensitive epilepsy.

Faster loading of menus.

Complete standby: I understand HDDs are now built to run at all times but I would like the option to turn it off just to reduce the noise. It currently buffers the last 2 channels watched in standby, when the 3rd tuner goes live it will do 3 = IMO, overkill. 

That's all I can think of at the moment. The TiVo certainly doesn't have the premium feel to it yet.


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## merlin

When I press the Guide button it always takes me to channel 0... it would be nice to position me with the channel I was on.

There seems to be 2 different user interfaces... the virgin one which seems to be in HD and the existing TiVo one which seems to be in SD...

I think the UI needs a lot more work to be as slick as it was in the S1.

And I hate the Red its too hot! Cool blue is much better for UIs...

I guess it can only get better as time goes on!


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## mikerr

Technix said:


> That's all I can think of at the moment. The TiVo certainly doesn't have the premium feel to it yet.


It's already far and away better and faster than my other VM STBs (V,V+),
tivo owners are just fussy people


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## Technix

merlin said:


> When I press the Guide button it always takes me to channel 0... it would be nice to position me with the channel I was on.
> 
> There seems to be 2 different user interfaces... the virgin one which seems to be in HD and the existing TiVo one which seems to be in SD...
> 
> I think the UI needs a lot more work to be as slick as it was in the S1.
> 
> And I hate the Red its too hot! Cool blue is much better for UIs...
> 
> I guess it can only get better as time goes on!


I second that. I thought the black on the current Virgin boxes was awful, but red is definitely not pleasing to my eyes.



mikerr said:


> It's already far and away better and faster than my other VM STBs (V,V+),
> tivo owners are just fussy people


Interesting, I also have the Cisco V HD and Samsung V+ and they seem faster than the TiVo. I don't think I'm being fussy, just would like TiVo and Virgin to take into consideration of the features and functions of their current boxes.


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## WooLLsterQ

Wizard said:


> Erm, that only brings up the box that allows you to filter the channel list, it doesn't actually allow you to go direct to the current channel. You have to remember which channel you are on and then type the number in.


Opps sorry thinking of something else :down::down:


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## Steve5424

merlin said:


> When I press the Guide button it always takes me to channel 0... it would be nice to position me with the channel I was on.
> 
> *There seems to be 2 different user interfaces... the virgin one which seems to be in HD and the existing TiVo one which seems to be in SD...
> *
> I think the UI needs a lot more work to be as slick as it was in the S1.
> 
> And I hate the Red its too hot! Cool blue is much better for UIs...
> 
> I guess it can only get better as time goes on!


Am sure the HD and SD menus are the same on TiVo in the USA. TiVo themselves would need to change them.


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## John McE

One thing that is better on the new box is that in "fast rewind" mode, the skip back button takes you back to the previous white bar, something the Series 1 TIVO only did in fast forward mode.


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## ColinYounger

I miss the detailed description on the "TV" button - what we've got is a "now and next" bar, but on the old TiVo I could press "right" and get different layouts.


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## merlin

mikerr said:


> It's already far and away better and faster than my other VM STBs (V,V+),
> tivo owners are just fussy people


I don't think I'm being fussy... I just want the new TiVo to be as good and as slick as my old S1... that's all ;-)


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## Obo

Just a few things from me, after one evening of light use:

- Home and My Shows menus are quite slow to load compared to S1 box
- Actor names clutters search results, so I have to type more to find show titles
- Needs a way to completely disable the parental control PIN

Is there any soft padding around shows, or is that only if you set it per season link entry? It'd be a shame to have to set it manually for every recording.

Overall I'm pleased with the new box. It feels TiVo-like enough in the menu structure and operation, and despite a few gripes it does have some nice new features. Hopefully I'll soon learn not to press the My Shows button for Select too!


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## mikerr

Obo said:


> Hopefully I'll soon learn not to press the My Shows button for Select too!


Haha - I'm still doing that!


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## merlin

mikerr said:


> Haha - I'm still doing that!


Me too....


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## deshepherd

Obo said:


> Just a few things from me, after one evening of light use:
> 
> - Actor names clutters search results, so I have to type more to find show titles


I had exactly the same feeling ... until someone else here explained that if you press the blue button in the search list you can switch the actor names on or off + via options can go to strict alphabetical order rather than "best match". These settings seem to be pervasive so you can return to search as we know it!


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## warrenrb

One thing I found different with the search last night was I used to sometimes go into 'Films/All' and then press 'A' to go to the start of the list (well, '1' actually I guess), and then just scroll down the whole list to see what films were upcoming (I don't have the movie channels so it's not too bad/long).

Now, if I do 'A', there has to be an 'a' in the title, or it doesn't show. So I had to look at the 'A's, then go back, delete the A, type 'B', look through them, and so on.

Probably a rare use-case, but I couldn't find anyway to just scroll through all the films otherwise.

BTW, I used a 'recording only' filter on my search to get rid of actors, and also on demand stuff. It's in 'options' as I recall.


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## digiflip

John McE said:


> I thought it might be a good idea to have a dedicated thread for people to suggest things they think could be improved on the new VirginTIVO. I'll start off with a few suggestions:
> 
> 1) Why is "My Shows & Recordings" fourth in the list on the home page? Surely it would be better to be second, right below "TV Guide"? It is the norm to put the most used options at the top of a menu list, and most people will be watching their own recordings far more than using Catchup or Search.
> 
> 2) PIN control - please add a facility to turn this off completely. (I know this has a thread of its' own, but have put it here as well).
> 
> 3) Proof read the booklet that comes with it! On the page showing the button functions on the peanut, there is no text next to the "back" button.
> 
> 4) There is a mention in the booklet of controlling some TV functions, but no details of how to do it. Most users won't be reading forums such as these, and at the very least the booklet should have a link to where you can find this information. And including details of the less-than obvious AV input control and TV on/off functions that I only discovered on this forum would be very helpful to all new users.
> 
> Anyone got any more suggestions?


Pin option wont be done broadcasting people has to be done if watch stuff over pg before water shed ie 9pm i think same on sky too. ie if watch like or 12 or higher movies have to put pin everytime change chnl too if over pg lol


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## geekspeak

warrenrb said:


> One thing I found different with the search last night was I used to sometimes go into 'Films/All' and then press 'A' to go to the start of the list (well, '1' actually I guess), and then just scroll down the whole list to see what films were upcoming (I don't have the movie channels so it's not too bad/long).
> 
> Now, if I do 'A', there has to be an 'a' in the title, or it doesn't show. So I had to look at the 'A's, then go back, delete the A, type 'B', look through them, and so on.
> 
> Probably a rare use-case, but I couldn't find anyway to just scroll through all the films otherwise.


I do that often (S1) - an A to Z (0 to Z) search of all programs optionally by type/category, picking ones I want to record. It is one of the best/most useful features for me. Very lame if that cannot be done IMO.


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## mikerr

warrenrb said:


> Probably a rare use-case, but I couldn't find anyway to just scroll through all the films otherwise.


Am I missing something, or what's wrong with having a category only whislist for films - doesn't need to record.

- then looking at view-upcoming-programmes listing on that wishlist?


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## nbaker

Need to be able to hide discovery bar and expand main menu.

Be able to turn off the very annoying parental controls, I have no need for them.

Remove YouTube from MyShows menu.

Add ability to remove channels as per series 1 'Channels I receive' menu

Option to change colour schemes would be nice, although very unlikely.


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## Obo

nbaker said:


> Remove YouTube from MyShows menu.


I felt that was unnecessary too. It wouldn't be so bad if it only included YouTube videos marked as favourite, and it was removed from the list when there were no items inside it.



> Add ability to remove channels as per series 1 'Channels I receive' menu


I think you can get close to that by setting all the channels you want as favourite, and filtering the guide to show only favourite channels. I still haven't got round to doing it as it might take a while!


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## cyril

Would like a single button press to go to my fave channels. Even skyhd has this feature!
And also option for my favourite channels to be the default guide view.


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## ptruman

I set up all my visible channels as faves, and used blue to view "fave channels". It hasn't changed back (yet) - so I think it sticks!


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## Brangdon

I would like the TV button to cycle through all of the available tuners when you press it repeatedly. So I can see what they are all doing, and have a fast way to switch to what ever is being recorded, and can easily pick a recording to cancel if I run out of tuners, and so I can switch between live channels without losing the 60 minute buffer. (By all means make it pick a non-recording channel first, so the behaviour for a single press doesn't change.)

Failing that, make the Last Ch button smarter. Currently it changes channel on the current tuner, which loses the buffer. If it another tuner is free, it should switch to that one and change its channel. (I think.)

(Ironically, if you are recording on both tuners, Last Ch will cycle between them on repeated presses. But only if you are recording on both.)


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## big_dirk

merlin said:


> When I press the Guide button it always takes me to channel 0... it would be nice to position me with the channel I was on.


agree. this is a pain to me.


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## big_dirk

geekspeak said:


> I do that often (S1) - an A to Z (0 to Z) search of all programs optionally by type/category, picking ones I want to record. It is one of the best/most useful features for me. Very lame if that cannot be done IMO.


Home > Search and Browse > Browse all TV > Movies ?


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## smokie

Add some backup commands. I can just imagine the grief when the box goes wrong and needs to be swapped and 'er indoors loses 500 hours of QVC.

But even worse will be the pain of having lost all your "settings" - season passes, thumbs ups/downs etc - and the machine having to relearn about you., and re-recording repeats and stuff you've already seen/recorded.


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## ptruman

Apologies if already mentioned (conglomerate to top post?) :

1) Make "Guide" start at the channel you are watching (like the S1 box!)
2) Ensure Thumbs work (see my other post -I may have a minor glitch)
3) Make "Clear" consistent - doesn't seem to work on all text input boxes
4) I know VM like adverts, but allow prevention of the PiP box on VM OD menus (you CAN pause the however)
5) Dolby Digital (i.e. HD channel) audio is quieter than SD audio - and there is no way to change audio level OUTSIDE the diag screen (I saw the engineer set it, but I don't know if it affects one, or both...)
6) Upscale the SD menus (or downscale the HD ones - depending on TV setting)


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## cwaring

smokie said:


> Add some backup commands.


+1. Best idea so far  Maybe tie it into "My VM"?


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## VirginMediaPhil

cwaring said:


> +1. Best idea so far  Maybe tie it into "My VM"?


That would be good... an option to export all of your settings (e.g. season passes, options, parental control etc) to a USB pen drive/external hard drive via the USB port on the back of the box, or over the network to your computer, which can then be copied to a USB pen drive/external hard drive.


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## WooLLsterQ

Brangdon said:


> I would like the TV button to cycle through all of the available tuners when you press it repeatedly. So I can see what they are all doing, and have a fast way to switch to what ever is being recorded, and can easily pick a recording to cancel if I run out of tuners, and so I can switch between live channels without losing the 60 minute buffer. (By all means make it pick a non-recording channel first, so the behaviour for a single press doesn't change.)
> 
> Failing that, make the Last Ch button smarter. Currently it changes channel on the current tuner, which loses the buffer. If it another tuner is free, it should switch to that one and change its channel. (I think.)
> 
> (Ironically, if you are recording on both tuners, Last Ch will cycle between them on repeated presses. But only if you are recording on both.)


 Info button then scroll to each tuner does this.


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## WooLLsterQ

smokie said:


> Add some backup commands. I can just imagine the grief when the box goes wrong and needs to be swapped and 'er indoors loses 500 hours of QVC.
> 
> But even worse will be the pain of having lost all your "settings" - season passes, thumbs ups/downs etc - and the machine having to relearn about you., and re-recording repeats and stuff you've already seen/recorded.


Already being planned to an extent.


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## ptruman

Sort out the PINS (see my post here : http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=465142)


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## Brangdon

WooLLsterQ said:


> Info button then scroll to each tuner does this.


Thanks. I just discovered this myself today. It is in the manual. However, it's not exactly obvious: first, I expect Info to be information, not switching to a different channel, so I wouldn't even think to look there; second, when I looked at Info for other reasons it wasn't obvious what the bottom icons did. It would be more logical if it was part of the Mini-Guide.

Now I have discovered it I'm a lot happier. However, my suggested improvement still stands. The Info route involves a lot of key presses to change tuners: Info, cursor down x 4, then OK. I'd like it to be a single press of TV. As with Last Ch, sometimes it's convenient to be watching two channels at once and switching between them. But you don't want to lose the skip-back buffer when you do it.


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## Plaiter

I had the Tivo for a couple of days now so thought I would post my thoughts.
Overall I am really happy with it.

Good Points :-

It has only rebooted once since the engineer left. The V+ box used to reboot all the time. 
It is Good having a Tivo again especially with HD.
Wish Lists.
Remote Record on the main web site.


Bad Points :-

The programme shown in the programme window stutters when you change menus.
The mobile TV listing guide recording doesnt work on mobile devices.
The colour scheme is extreme.


I just had one question about the wish lists does it automatically pick HD or SD channels or do you have to set this somewhere ?


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## richw

merlin said:


> When I press the Guide button it always takes me to channel 0... it would be nice to position me with the channel I was on.


Definitely. I've only had the box a few hours and that's really starting to annoy me.


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## nbaker

It would also be nice to have the guide filters back.


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## Technix

OK, I take back my statement of it not feeling premium. As a first time user it was hard to make the transition from V+ to TiVo but after using it a few days I'm now starting to love it and can see why you guys appreciate it. 

Still would like to see it speeded up a bit, the loading and scrolling through of VOD listings is painfully slow. I miss the V+ function of it going to the current day of listings first. 
I would like more control over the now & next banner ie. be able to search through what's on later by programme (using the down cursor) instead of bringing up a mini TV guide which scrolls right in 30m/2hr time blocks.
YouTube has some flaws which you guys may have noticed. I would like a 'recent search' option in there and be able to change the way the video is output through a button press.


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## jonphil

Would be nice to 'bookmark' On demand content. Sometimes I find something in the listing I would want to watch later so it would be good to pin a link into the 'my shows' menu or something,


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## nbaker

Would be good if we could add & remove apps, so far the only one I use is Youtube.


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## cwaring

jonphil said:


> Would be nice to 'bookmark' On demand content.


I asked for that on the V+ ages go


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## daz100

Add playlists with skip - this feature seems to have gone on the TiVo box.


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## mangakid2009

i would like to have reminders on programs as at the moment to click on a program and you can get it to remind you and i have forgot and missed things :-(

please add this in more options when you click on a program.

please add VM


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## Brangdon

mangakid2009 said:


> i would like to have reminders on programs as at the moment to click on a program and you can get it to remind you and i have forgot and missed things :-(


I don't follow. Remind you to do what? Watch it live? Can't you just set it to record instead?


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## Mimizuku no Lew

The V+ boxes allow you to set a reminder instead of a recording and the STB will auto-tune to the channel. Very useful.


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## cwaring

^ No it's not. At least, not if you're using it "correctly". Tivo Rule #1 - RECORD EVERYTHING


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## mangakid2009

yep your right Mimizuku no Lew it was great having reminders letting you know that your program is starting. there so many channels and if you got a reminder for things you seen in a ad a week before it started then its peace of mind and yes we can record but something you just want to watch..

BTW Tivo s great but its early days and there things need adding and improving.


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## cyril

I guess all us old TiVo users have gotten so used to recording everything that we don't watch live tv, so reminders are mostly redundant.

I only use them on SkyHD when I run out of space, so have to record on a different box, as the sky sytem won't let you have more than 2 simultaneous mix of reminders and recordings.

I guess with the Virgin TiVo I would use them when I am already recording on both tuners and need to record a 3rd or 4th and don't have time to switch to the second box and find it straight away, or if I run out of space.


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## mangakid2009

i know people have lives and set the boxes to record now and you watch things when you have time but some people like to watch live stuff and with that many turners life is great
i would say alot of people would miss the reminders once tivo takes over later this year so would be nice in the options to have it.


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## TCM2007

I'd have no use for a reminder feature, but some people don't want to move to everything being recorded, and it would be good for them. There will be people with TiVis on Virgin before long who have no wish to use TiVo " properly"


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## Mimizuku no Lew

cwaring said:


> ^ No it's not. At least, not if you're using it "correctly". Tivo Rule #1 - RECORD EVERYTHING


Call me weird, but I like to watch live sport as it happens.


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## mikerr

I've always watched sport about half an hour behind - that way there's enough room in the buffer to FF past adverts, 
and you've normally caught up to "real time" by the end of the match/race etc.


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## TCM2007

Twitter has made it harder to do the semi-timeshift. Even watching streaming you see the tweets about scores before it's happened on your tv.


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## cwaring

Unless you ignore Twitter whilst watching it


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## Tony Hoyle

I record things even if I'm watching them live. It's not like there's a shortage of space  Also you never know when you might want to rewatch something.


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## childe

First post since being installed 2 days ago. Generally happy (Youtube app is great:up, and much better than V+, but still room for improvement.

I second much of what has already been suggested, but in particular
- get rid of or improve the PIN functionality. Surely it is not a legal requirement for even households with no children to have to use PINs to access programmes. Why not have an option (with access controlled via the PIN) to turn PIN off or on?
- I miss the old Tivo TV Guide that overlaid picture and occupied the whole screen. This allowed me to be aware of what was being played, whilst also giving me a full screen to view the TV Guide. The old layout was (in my opinion) also much more user friendly as fewer programmes had their names truncated, and I could easily see what each channel would be showing ove the next several hours.
- Pressing Guide should always return the channel being watched currently, not Channel 0.
- I have not tried Wishlists yet, but I am concerned about comments that suggest it may try to record from channels which I don't receive. That would be a nonsense, so it had better not be true! If it is then we definitely need the facility to exclude channels we do not receive.


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## richw

childe said:


> - I have not tried Wishlists yet, but I am concerned about comments that suggest it may try to record from channels which I don't receive. That would be a nonsense, so it had better not be true! If it is then we definitely need the facility to exclude channels we do not receive.


It will only record from channels you receive. However with the S1 boxes some people used to use "Channels I receive" more like a "Channels I watch".


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## Tony Hoyle

I'd say nearly everybody.. there's a lot of junk channels out there, not everyone wants radio on their TV, etc.


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## cwaring

childe said:


> Surely it is not a legal requirement ..


Unfortunately, it is. Well, not a 'legal' requirement, but an OFCOM rule; which is basically the same thing.


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## childe

Tony Hoyle said:


> I'd say nearly everybody.. there's a lot of junk channels out there, not everyone wants radio on their TV, etc.


You are correct, and I also do this (with my S1 box, at least until 1 June). I'm glad I misunderstood. thanks


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## cyril

mangakid2009 said:


> i know people have lives and set the boxes to record now and you watch things when you have time but some people like to watch live stuff and with that many turners life is great
> i would say alot of people would miss the reminders once tivo takes over later this year so would be nice in the options to have it.


They only like to watch live stuff because they never got round to setting up their TiVo properly and have spent decades watching live tv and using a dvr like a VCR!

Once you have setup all your season passes live tv is only good for news and sports on channels with no adverts.

We shouldn't encourage people to mis-use their TiVo!


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## John McE

If there is one programme you can set you watch by it it's the BBC1's 6 o'clock news. And yet the new TIVO is consistantly missing the first few seconds. Is the TIVo's clock running slightly slow, or is it taking a few seconds to actually start recording?


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## OzSat

There is a new thread at VM Tivo Features Wishlist where suggestions for new features can be posted.

The idea being there is a single post with the suggestion explained - but no discussion following in that thread.

Discussion could follow in this thread if posters link back.


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## Zaichik

Can we have a similar thread for glitches and bugs? They're all over the place at the moment, and often lost in discussion.


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## cwaring

<cough>
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=465240


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## Zaichik

cwaring said:


> <cough>
> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=465240


Just call me Mr Unobservant (everyone else does)!


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## Buzby

John McE said:


> If there is one programme you can set you watch by it it's the BBC1's 6 o'clock news. And yet the new TIVO is consistantly missing the first few seconds. Is the TIVo's clock running slightly slow, or is it taking a few seconds to actually start recording?


No you can't!

Ever wondered why TV networks no longer show a clock (with or without a second-hand)?

ONLY the analogue TV service (and analogue radio, in essence BBC R4 and the time signal) give an accurate indication of time. Digital introduces delays of varying amounts, dictated by the transmission chain and also the ability of your receiver to process and display the data. The TiVo will be using the correct time, the networks - it is anyone's guess.


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## Tony Hoyle

cwaring said:


> Unfortunately, it is. Well, not a 'legal' requirement, but an OFCOM rule; which is basically the same thing.


Not really. That rule only exists for films.

Tivo requests a pin on *everything* recorded after 8pm, even cartoons! It's really getting annoying.


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## cwaring

Yeah. Sorry. I see. Uh-huh. That is going to be _so_ annoying.


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## John McE

Buzby said:


> No you can't!
> 
> Ever wondered why TV networks no longer show a clock (with or without a second-hand)?
> 
> ONLY the analogue TV service (and analogue radio, in essence BBC R4 and the time signal) give an accurate indication of time. Digital introduces delays of varying amounts, dictated by the transmission chain and also the ability of your receiver to process and display the data. The TiVo will be using the correct time, the networks - it is anyone's guess.


Well I did say you could set your clock from the Series 1 i.e. Analog showing of the 6 o'clock news. And using a Freeview tuner the S1, the recording always started dead on time. So presumably there must be a further couple of seconds delay caused by the new TIVO?


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## mikerr

Tony Hoyle said:


> Not really. That rule only exists for films.
> 
> Tivo requests a pin on *everything* recorded after 8pm, even cartoons! It's really getting annoying.


Not only films - it refers to "films and programmes" throughout

Ofcom rules:

section 1.4:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/arch...es_guidance/programme_code/section_1.asp.html



> Where security mechanisms, such as a PIN system or equivalent, satisfactorily restrict access to films or programmes solely to those authorised to view, watershed rules may be waived.


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## Tony Hoyle

mikerr said:


> Not only films - it refers to "films and programmes" throughout
> 
> Ofcom rules:
> 
> section 1.4:
> http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/arch...es_guidance/programme_code/section_1.asp.html


Even that has the caveat "Where a British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) Classification exists" - which pretty much limits it to films with a few exceptions. (btw. I can't find that paragraph in the 2010 copy of the code, which is very explicit about pin referring to premium film and adult channels)

It does *not* say that every single programme broadcast after 8pm requires a pin, which is what Tivo does now.

All I (and anyone else) want Tivo to do is what V+ and Sky do. I didn't even know what my pin *was* on V+ because I never triggered the mechanism. OTOH on Tivo I had to enter my pin about a dozen times over the weekend and it got old *really* fast.


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## Andy C

Different icons for unwatched and viewed/partly viewed shows, just like the green and yellow we had on S1


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## Ianl

option for multiple user housholds to tag if they have each watched a program so the second or 3rd person who watches it knows they can delete it
both my s1 are full of things that i've watched that i don't know if the other half has. once every two weeks or so we meet up in front of the tv to delete stuff, this new feature would let me avoid that


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## cwaring

Andy C said:


> Different icons for unwatched and viewed/partly viewed shows, just like the green and yellow we had on S1


There weren't any such icons for un- or partly-watched shows.

The green was for "Keep Until I Delete" and the yellow was "this programme may be deleted at any time".


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## Brangdon

Allow users to create and name their own folders and move recordings into them arbitrarily. I'd like to have a Horror folder that contained horror films from various sources. Households with families could have a folder for each family member.

(If items got deleted only when deleted from every folder they'd been added to, that would help solve Ianl's problem in #84.)


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## cwaring

I hope people remembering to add these to the sticky thread too


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## ColinYounger

I was thinking of folders too - do we know if multiple episodes of a series get put automatically into a folder (like HD does)?


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## Andy C

ColinYounger said:


> I was thinking of folders too - do we know if multiple episodes of a series get put automatically into a folder (like HD does)?


Yes they do. Suggestions currently get filed in the same folder with new episodes whereas I thing suggestions should just stay in the suggestions folder. I've reported it anyway.

A.


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## Andy C

cwaring said:


> There weren't any such icons for un- or partly-watched shows.
> 
> The green was for "Keep Until I Delete" and the yellow was "this programme may be deleted at any time".


I stand corrected, I've not really used the S1 since getting the silver TVDrive 4-5 years ago. I was sure after you watched a show it went yellow. I've asked about new icons for partial/viewed shows though.

The VM box is going to be better than any other TiVo out there at this rate 

A.


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## cwaring

Second person in two days to "stand corrected". Don't know about you, but I usually sit down when at my PC


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## Andy C

cwaring said:


> Second person in two days to "stand corrected". Don't know about you, but I usually sit down when at my PC


I'm in a wheelchair with a spinal injury so it's quite impressive, haha


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## sammyh25

Ianl said:


> option for multiple user housholds to tag if they have each watched a program so the second or 3rd person who watches it knows they can delete it
> both my s1 are full of things that i've watched that i don't know if the other half has. once every two weeks or so we meet up in front of the tv to delete stuff, this new feature would let me avoid that


Love this idea, it would be useful.


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## Tony Hoyle

I'm sure I've heard that some Tivos do that.. but maybe I imagined it.


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## cwaring

Not posting this one to the sticky until I've got some responses, 'cos it might just be me that has a problem with it, but I don't like the current 'delete' implementation.

Those of you that had a S1 will remember it went:

1. press delete
2. confirmation box
3 programme deleted

Now I know that with the new 'undelete' function that second step is redundant but I still don't like how it does it; ie by dopping to the next title down and _then_ - about a second later - the deletion actually occuring. Looks very messy to me.

Should that not happen _the other way round_? ie 'deleted' programme disappears and then other shows move up!

Or am I just being picky?


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## richw

It's even messier than that. When you delete something, the YouTube folder disappears briefly, then reappears once the deleted show is removed from the list.


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## dwarfofpoison

Brangdon said:


> Allow users to create and name their own folders and move recordings into them arbitrarily. I'd like to have a Horror folder that contained horror films from various sources. Households with families could have a folder for each family member.
> 
> (If items got deleted only when deleted from every folder they'd been added to, that would help solve Ianl's problem in #84.)


Quality ideas are sometimes so simple.


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## Brangdon

cwaring said:


> Now I know that with the new 'undelete' function that second step is redundant but I still don't like how it does it; ie by dopping to the next title down and _then_ - about a second later - the deletion actually occuring. Looks very messy to me.


So you are happy with one-press delete and the functionality, but don't like the cosmetics?

The way I see it, when you hit the delete button, the item is marked for deletion, but not actually deleted until some moments later. You can sometimes momentarily see the icon drawn with a cross over it. So I figure the actual delete is being done by a different background process and might be arbitrarily delayed. This makes the system a bit more responsive. It annoys me mre when it does the opposite: when the UI insists on waiting for slow actions to complete.

After over a week of use, the UI still feels appallingly slow and clunky to me. I dearly hope that this is not its final state. I hope that we have a special version that is instrumented to help locate the numerous crashes, or that the programmers hadn't got around to optimising it yet, and that it will massively improve before the public launch. Its current state is not appropriate for a flagship product.

(I could be wrong. One of the clunkier aspects is the SD menus, and in particular the way it flashes the screen when switching from an HD menu to an SD menu or back, sometimes throwing up a few moments of live TV video in the middle. But I gather American TiVos have been like that for years and TiVo don't care.)

Anyway, if it does get faster, the mis-ordering that bothers you would be less apparent.


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## cwaring

Brangdon said:


> So you are happy with one-press delete and the functionality, but don't like the cosmetics?


Yes.


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## cwaring

Is it me or are the Suggestions in the sticky becoming a little absurd?



yerksha puddin said:


> If I'm watching channel 101 (with 102 being buffered by the second tuner) and I select channel 103, it would seem more sensible to switch tuners and switch the unwatched channel 102 to channel 103. Then, if I didn't like channel 103 (or my programme hadn't started yet or, perhaps, I simply sat on the controller  ), I could switch back to channel 101 and wouldn't have lost its buffer.





cyril said:


> Unlimited buffers like on replaytv that use all unused disk space and are not lost on unlimited channel changes. So you could go back and watch anything within the last 48 hours assuming disk space was free.


No offence intended to either poster, but... seriously? 

Also...
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8402013#post8402013


cyril said:


> You must have Nintendo-reflexes Carl or I am an old fogey or maybe both!


Well I'm possibly (probably) older than you so.... both  Anyway, eight years of doing it on a S1 has to count for something


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## cyril

Even though it's extremely rare for me to use it, it is nice to have an unlimited buffer.
If replaytv could do it in 1998, I don't see a reason for having any limits if there isn't a hardware limitation reason for it.

I guess it's handy if you were watching something live that's very long e.g. A marathon , Le Man 24 or olympics or that 4 day tennis match!


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## Ianl

not got my new tivo yet so i may have missed something, however one of te few things i find anoying on the s1 is..........

i'm watching live tv because i've run out of recorded programs and an advert break comes on, i switch to another channel for a while and when i switch back i've missed a bit of the program.

if the new tivo lets you easily switch to another live channel but continues to buffer the first channel this would be great, i could watch something else for a while and then switch back with some program in the buffer

hang on, lightbulb smilie moment. on the new tivo i could just hit record on the first program and then switch to another live channel??


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## cwaring

Yes.


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## TCM2007

Brangdon said:


> After over a week of use, the UI still feels appallingly slow and clunky to me.
> 
> ...
> 
> Anyway, if it does get faster, the mis-ordering that bothers you would be less apparent.


As I understand it it's written in Java, so don't hold your breath.


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## mikerr

Flash, not Java - but your point stands.

Flash should make time from design to development quicker (in theory),
its not a speed performer though.


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## Brangdon

Ianl said:


> if the new tivo lets you easily switch to another live channel but continues to buffer the first channel this would be great, i could watch something else for a while and then switch back with some program in the buffer


I agree, and that's why I posted #34 about providing an easier way to switch between tuners. I've since largely solved it for myself by setting a macro to do "Info, down, down, down, down, OK" which does it with a single press. This relies on me using a smarter remote than the standard peanut.



> on the new tivo i could just hit record on the first program and then switch to another live channel??


Yes. Although I don't always want to commit to recording a channel.

To me yerksha puddin's post seems entirely reasonable. Why not preserve the buffer as much as possible, if there's a tuner free? The only drawback I can see to switching tuners, is that it destroys the buffer of the other tuner. But since that channel wasn't being actively watched, it seems better to kill that one than the channel I was watching. If I specifically wanted to preserve what the other tuner was doing, I'd set it to record.


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## mikerr

Logically, this is exactly what the last channel button (bottom right) would do,
alternating tuners.

Unfortunately it currently flips channels on a single tuner - wiping out the buffer each time.


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## cwaring

No. What is does is goes back to the last thing you were watching, whether it be the previous channel on the current tuner, or the other tuner itself.


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## TCM2007

mikerr said:


> Flash, not Java.


Even worse!


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## Technix

This is from the offical VM forum:



> Hi all
> 
> Firstly I hope you are enjoying use of your new Virgin Media TV service powered by Tivo.
> 
> I wanted to share some good news which is that we have now launched the BBC iplayer app in our Apps and Games section! Please check it out and let us know your thoughts.
> 
> I also wanted to let you know that we are working hard to prepare the product for general commercial availability, which we expect to be in April.
> 
> In particular we are in the final stages of creating the the triple tuner functionality (allowing you to record/watch up to 3 channels simultaneously) and we anticipate releasing this software to your boxes around the middle of March. This software will also contain significant bug fixes and other improvements.
> 
> I'd also like to address some specific issues which have cropped up quite frequently:
> 
> Reminders: In "Tivo world" reminders do not exist, because in a world where you have a massive hard disk plus our upcoming three tuners, there is less and less need to watch TV according to reminders. The easiest thing is to simply record programmes if the timing is not convenient for you. We realise this is different to the way some people use our current V+ service but we do believe that "Tivo-type" usage will eventually overtake the use of reminders.
> 
> Padding: ie giving recordings "leeway" either side to ensure that endings or starts are not missed. We definitely understand the importance of this and is a high priority in our roadmap. Given the cycle of code releases we have with Tivo, this is likely to be available in September.
> 
> Multitap text entry: Again we understand the importance of this and indeed we do have this on several of our Apps. For core Tivo Search we anticipate this being available in September.
> 
> Some channels not playing in Picture-in-Graphic (the small video window when you're looking at menus): This is a legal rights-based issue and is the same for our V+ service.
> 
> Tivo Suggestions in your recordings: Most people are finding these great, while some are finding these more random! Anyway this element of the service should get better and better, especially the more you use Thumbs Up and Down. I would strongly encourage you to use the Thumbs (especially giving more than 2 Thumbs either way!) to allow the system to learn better about you.
> 
> Finally, regarding our roll out plans, we have deliberately phased the roll-out to non-staff in a VERY tightly controlled way, prior to general commercial availability. We have run 3 promotions - an offer to 1000 of our VIPs (VIPs are our highest spending customers), a prize draw of 1000 Tivo boxes among all XL TV customers who also have Broadband and Telephony from Virgin Media, and a specific promotion to Tivo series 1 users. This has been deliberately done in order to control the roll-out to a very limited numbers of customers. When we move towards general availability we will prioritise those customers who have pre-registered their interest. We realise this has caused some "healthy impatience" in our marketplace but we feel this is right way to manage a controlled release of the product.
> 
> That's all from me for now!


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## sjp

with the only thing that Sky+ had over Tivo being Soft Padding I hope that the mention of padding above means it's coming to VTivo


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## cwaring

Hmmm... I seem to recall that excessive thumbing (ie more than one either way) was not a good thing; on the S1 at least. Oh well! It's certainly looking good.


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## TCM2007

I wouldn't assume it will be "soft" padding - although with three tuners that's not usually an issue.

No mention of the PIN problems.


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## Brangdon

It sounds like we can expect 2 updates this year, one in April and one in September.

That's more or less what I'd expect. Someone mentioned monthly or even weekly updates, but they need to keep it more stable than that.

I wonder whether we lucky few who already have it, will continue to get releases ahead of the crowd. As I recall, that's what happened with s1 TiVo, and it makes sense to release updates to 200 people, then 2000, and only if those work out let everyone have it.


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## TCM2007

With the S1 there was a beta test group for the software upgrade, but it was a major upgrade not maintenance stuff like this. I don't think it was chosen by longevity, we applied.


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## cyril

Andy C said:


> I stand corrected, I've not really used the S1 since getting the silver TVDrive 4-5 years ago. I was sure after you watched a show it went yellow. I've asked about new icons for partial/viewed shows though.
> 
> The VM box is going to be better than any other TiVo out there at this rate
> 
> A.


You are confusing these with the green and yellow expiration icons that tell you something only has about a day before expiring.
I wouldn't mind these coming back to VM TiVo, as it's slightly less obvious in the new GUI.


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## mikerr

Virgin Media forums said:


> Multitap text entry: Again we understand the importance of this and indeed we do have this on several of our Apps. For core Tivo Search we anticipate this being available in September.


Grr - hope it doesn't replace the ouji board - multitap entry is something I hate on V+ 
the current tivo twitter app uses multitap and it's truly awful - it would be much better with the ouji board entry system.


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## yerksha puddin

cwaring said:


> Is it me or are the Suggestions in the sticky becoming a little absurd?
> 
> No offence intended to either poster, but... seriously?


Sorry, Carl. I hadn't thought this through. Having all those extra tuners must have gone to my head. I guess what I'd really like is a quick tuner cycle like others have suggested.


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## cwaring

richard_hamblen said:


> 1. on series 1 you name the program and the channel is irrelevant. its not clear if this is true with the VM box. should be channel independent (not sure if bug or wishlist or is happening but not clear and i've not investigated enough yet!!)


I don't understand this  <- see! 



> 2. HD/SD channels should overlay on the same channel number. ie transmit HD by default and if you scale down to SD on the TV, let the box deal with it and scale down the picture....


Well, Sky have recently swapped the SD and HD channel numbers around; but such detail are pretty-much irrelevant to using a Tivo.


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## OzSat

The picture quality is still better from an HD channel even for non-HD material.


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## dwarfofpoison

Although I feel TiVo devotees quite enjoy the thought of a world without the constant of time (i.e reminders, unthinkable) but for me. A simple current clock & date would be appreciated when negotiating the menus. 

The Home screen - time but no date
My Shows - no time no date
TV guide - time but no date
TV on demand - no date no time anywhere

I guess that watching TV it really shouldn't matter, it just does to me!


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## Amnesia

nbaker said:


> Remove YouTube from MyShows menu.


Is there really no way to remove that? That's crazy! Why should I be forced to have that clutter up my #1 most used TiVo screen?


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## cwaring

I assume that was sarcastic as I don't think one extra, small item right at the bottom of a menu is *that* much of a problem.


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## Amnesia

Not sarcastic at all. I think it's terrible that I can't remove it. I can remove Netflix and Hulu---why can't I remove YouTube?

Am I going to return my TiVo box? No, of course not.


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## cwaring

Amnesia said:


> I think it's terrible that I can't remove it.


Whereas I simply ignore it


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## Amnesia

That's great for you. Are you saying that everyone should be forced to do the same or do you think that we should have some control over whether or not the item appears?


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## cwaring

I respect your opinion. However, it's one little item, right at the bottom of one list. I really don't see why the need to remove it is even an issue


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## Pine Cladding

cwaring said:


> I respect your opinion. However, it's one little item, right at the bottom of one list. I really don't see why the need to remove it is even an issue


I'm with you there Carl. Not even worth worrying about as far as I'm concerned.

Sent from my iPad 2 using Forum Runner


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## tdenson

I would like to see time against recordings. Sometimes (e.g. Corrie) there are multiple episodes in one night and yes I know they are in reverse time order, but I sometimes get confused and delete the wrong one (and yes I know I've got undelete, but just saves having to think).


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## sjp

Amnesia said:


> Is there really no way to remove that? That's crazy! Why should I be forced to have that clutter up my #1 most used TiVo screen?


you probably stand a better chance of getting it removed, after all you're buying your TiVo direct from the developers whereas we have to put up with what Virgin think is what we want even when it's patently obvious that we're getting "features" that make no sense whatsoever.

would your fellow US buyers put up with forced -1 / +4 hard padding when setting up recordings via the new Express Series Link (Season Pass)? we still can set an SL/SP to whatever we want it to pad but there's a couple more steps to go through to do it old fashioned way. and, as idiscovered yesterday - one off recordings get the -1 / +4 padding automatically.


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## VirginMediaPhil

I think most people would like to watch recordings without the beginning or end cut off, actually.


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