TiVo : General TiVo Discussion Part 2

[HDFootyMan]

Originally Posted by passingbat

That had better be optional. And hopefully they've made padding work in the same way as the V+.

According to a post by a VM employee at the Help & Support Forums, it defaults to 1 minute before and 4 after, there's (currently) no way to change the global padding defaults, like V+ HD.

If you want no padding, you'll have to remove it when creating every recording/series link/wishlist. I think that may cause more problems then it solves, due to TiVo using 2 tuners to recording back-to-back programmes on the same channel.

---------- Post added at 22:42 ---------- Previous post was at 22:38 ----------

Originally Posted by chunkymonkey

Unfortunately not. No red button services but lots more features. I will post the full list this Friday as I am only on my BlackBerry until then and cannot copy and paste my emailsm

We know that the major update is a dependency for the updates that will follow....I'm guessing (wildly?) that the major update contains red button support and the following updates will actually deliver that functionality for the users......or I could be talking out of my bottom again.

[Risco]

The new updates look nice, but are they going to up the speed of the damn thing? I want it faster, and annoying things like pressing up in the menus and I suddenly find myself back to the tv!

I say get the UI running slick, and add features later. Oh and hurry up and get the flip out keypad remote. I think it is unforgivable not having this as a default ship for a box that needs so much text input to get the best out of it!

[passingbat]

Originally Posted by HDFootyMan

According to a post by a VM employee at the Help & Support Forums, it defaults to 1 minute before and 4 after, there's (currently) no way to change the global padding defaults, like V+ HD.

If you want no padding, you'll have to remove it when creating every recording/series link/wishlist. I think that may cause more problems then it solves, due to TiVo using 2 tuners to recording back-to-back programmes on the same channel.

---------- Post added at 22:42 ---------- Previous post was at 22:38 ----------


:

If that is the case, then the design team are complete idiots.

How can the padding implementation, after they've had it modified, be worse than the V+?

[denphone]

Originally Posted by chunkymonkey

Unfortunately not. No red button services but lots more features. I will post the full list this Friday as I am only on my BlackBerry until then and cannot copy and paste my emailsm

Personally that should have been one of the first things they should put on there and if you are right well l cannot see us getting that until April at the earliest now.

[Perfect Choice]

Originally Posted by HDFootyMan

According to a post by a VM employee at the Help & Support Forums, it defaults to 1 minute before and 4 after, there's (currently) no way to change the global padding defaults, like V+ HD.

If you want no padding, you'll have to remove it when creating every recording/series link/wishlist. I think that may cause more problems then it solves, due to TiVo using 2 tuners to recording back-to-back programmes on the same channel.[COLOR="Silver"]

Sounds like a minimal implementation then. If this doesn't have padding cut-off with back to back channels as well then this is actually going to make Tivo worse not better, bad news!

I regularly have tiumes when we are watching live TV with 2 other programmes (say 9-10pm) recording and a 10am start recording is due with 1 minute padding. So a few minutes before it is goong to start, I am presented with the issue of stop what I am watching on live TV (which means the end of something you are watching which is the key part you don't want to miss), or give up on a recording.

V+ had padding design so right, VM just need to copy it for Tivo, is that so hard for the designers?

[andy_m]

I don't think anyone really expected a massive fix all update in one hit did they? To my mind, improved searching with the remote, better picture quality, info from the mini epg and more content from the bbc and youtube are massive plusses. Add to that a few fixes for problems that I don't have but appear widespread, like the hdmi issue, and I think its fair to say virgin are really doing a decent job of supporting what is already a really good box.

---------- Post added at 10:19 ---------- Previous post was at 10:13 ----------

By the way, does anyone know if there's anyway to get my tivo to record suggestions in hd if its available? Its picking up some really excellent stuff, and I'm by no means an hd junky, but if a programme is on an sd channel and its hd equivalent at the same time I'd rather have it record the hd one.

[toady]

Originally Posted by andy_m

I don't think anyone really expected a massive fix all update in one hit did they?

Considering how long they have had to work on it yes I do expect a massive fix. I'd be sacked if I had this long to write software changes and not have the list of changes ticked by now

Great list of updates, that info issue has been annoying me since the day I got it, pleased to see that its been fixed.

[zekeisaszekedoes]

Originally Posted by Risco

I say get the UI running slick, and add features later. Oh and hurry up and get the flip out keypad remote. I think it is unforgivable not having this as a default ship for a box that needs so much text input to get the best out of it!

I think that's more TiVo's fault than VM's. The equivalent Premiere HD unit in the USA shipped before the slide out keyboard remote was ready, and comes as an extra that also requires a bluetooth dongle, which in turn would require the USB ports on the VM TiVo to be activated, I would assume. (Although the USB ports do work if you want to charge something, so it's not like they're completely switched off.)

Personally I'd be happy with consistent SMS-style entry on the numeric remote buttons because I don't use the search much. It's possible on the iPlayer app, but not on the regular TiVo menus.

Originally Posted by passingbat

If that is the case, then the design team are complete idiots.

How can the padding implementation, after they've had it modified, be worse than the V+?

Ideally the TiVo firmware should compensate for padding if recording two programs back to back on the same channel: I'd say program it to keep recording and ignore padding settings, then split the file later. But of course I don't know the way TiVo handles recordings, just guessing at a solution based on the simplest, most logical (and therefore most likely to work) option.

Originally Posted by andy_m

By the way, does anyone know if there's anyway to get my tivo to record suggestions in hd if its available? Its picking up some really excellent stuff, and I'm by no means an hd junky, but if a programme is on an sd channel and its hd equivalent at the same time I'd rather have it record the hd one.

This raises an excellent point. Currently the VM TiVo will allow separate series links for the exact same show on different channels, rather than being smart enough to say "why don't I just record all non-repeat instances of this program across channels?". I think this runs contrary to what TiVo usually does, and could be considered a weakness of this VM version of the firmware.

[borrissey]

One thing that annoys me about TIVO is when it records suggestions for me it always seems to be in SD not HD, I have all the HD channels as well. Is there a way of stopping this a setting maybe?

[BenMcr]

Originally Posted by zekeisaszekedoes

This raises an excellent point. Currently the VM TiVo will allow separate series links for the exact same show on different channels, rather than being smart enough to say "why don't I just record all non-repeat instances of this program across channels?". I think this runs contrary to what TiVo usually does, and could be considered a weakness of this VM version of the firmware.

Not so sure about that though. I thought it the US most programmes stay on the same channel until they reach 'syndication'. Therefore it's less likely to have multiple series of the same thing on different channels compared with UK?

[Joedm45]

Originally Posted by zekeisaszekedoes

Currently the VM TiVo will allow separate series links for the exact same show on different channels, rather than being smart enough to say "why don't I just record all non-repeat instances of this program across channels?". I think this runs contrary to what TiVo usually does, and could be considered a weakness of this VM version of the firmware.

That's called a wishlist recording

[borrissey]

Originally Posted by zekeisaszekedoes

Oh, just discovered another bug.

If I turn the subtitles on for any channel using the Subtitles button on the remote, as soon as I change to another one or go to EPG/other menu there is a thin vertical line of graphical trash (i.e stray pixels) on the right hand side. This persists across channels. This is only visible when the HDMI setting on the TV is set to Screen Fit, i.e. 0% overscan, so it occurs to me this bug wasn't discovered because whoever codes/tests the firmware had their TVs overscanned at least slightly. It disappears only when the unit is hard rebooted, i.e. switched off via the back panel not standby with the remote. Simply turning off the subtitles doesn't banish it.

Here's a few pictures of my 32" Samsung LCD TV demonstrating the bug.





<cheesy> Just call me Zeke Pliskin, Unpaid Virgin Media Field Testerâ„¢. </cheesy>

It's not on my Sony LED.

[tycho]

Originally Posted by borrissey

One thing that annoys me about TIVO is when it records suggestions for me it always seems to be in SD not HD, I have all the HD channels as well. Is there a way of stopping this a setting maybe?

Just for the purpose of balance, I'd like to step up with a big NO to this (unless of course if becomes an option that you can toggle).

Even though I have a 40" LCD I can hardly notice any difference between watching the SD or the HD version of a channel (am I the only one!! lol).

As such, If i'm watching live TV I usually watch the HD version, just because 'I can' But I ALWAYS schedule any recordings to record the SD version, as I would rather have the extra recording capacity than a virtually un-noticable picture quality difference.

Not trying to be argumentative - just have a difference of opinion

[zekeisaszekedoes]

Originally Posted by BenMcr

Not so sure about that though. I thought it the US most programmes stay on the same channel until they reach 'syndication'. Therefore it's less likely to have multiple series of the same thing on different channels compared with UK?

I know what you mean, but as far as I'm aware a program can be syndicated to multiple networks and over separate channels, and I figured US TiVo would compensate for that.

Originally Posted by Joedm45

That's called a wishlist recording

I agree, the wishlist feature is great (I have mine on Summer Glau watch among other things), but it often picks up other shows with similar keywords which aren't what you want. I figure if the TiVo knows the specific show it can record only that across channels. It's more of a nitpick than a big deal, but the aim of my game here is suggesting any and all potential improvements in the hope the better ones will be implemented in a future firmware update.

Originally Posted by borrissey

It's not on my Sony LED.

That's because your TV is overscanning - less than some sets, but definitely by a couple of percent which is enough to hide the graphical trash. Compare the size of the red/black/red border edge of the headline ticker on my TV with the smaller size of it on yours to see what I mean:



It's most noticeable on the increased distance between the edge of the screen and the BBC logo on my TV. Even a tiny bit of overscan is enough to hide that one vertical line of non-relevant pixels. Personally I don't care about that one because like the red button service I never use subtitles, but it's clearly a bug.