TiVo : General TiVo Discussion Part 2

[carlwaring]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

Maybe I'm different here but if I set my box to record Hawaii Five O for example on Sunday night at 9pm, then I want it to continue this trend every week until the series finishes , not record it's first airing and potentially cause a clash.

Well if that's the first showing of a new ep airing it can find (and in this case it is) then that's the one it will record. It's intelligent like that and, as I said, that's the difference between Tivo and V+.

Also, it won't cause a clash, "potentially" or otherwise. Firstly, of course, it has up to three tuners it can use. Secondly, it will always find an alternate airing if required.

Originally Posted by jobbie8

This is what I meant, Ice Road Truckers recorded tonight and is going to record tomorrow....

Well it shouldn't. You must have the SL set to "everything". This is wrong; and should almost never need to be used. At most it needs to be set to "new and repeats" but "new only" should work.

and I always recorded Click on BBC News channel on a sunday morning at 11.30am on the V+. I have just checked my planned recordings, Tivo is going to record 8 versions of the same Click on BBC News over the coming weekend even though SL is set to "new". To me thats crazy, if Tivo is more intelligent why is it doing this?

"Click" is the exception that proves the rule. Because the BBC neer provide episode-specific information, TMS can't set it up correctly to only record the one showing per week. This is a guide data issue and not a "Tivo" issue. Unfortunately, it has been this way since the original S1 units, over ten years ago. Either a manual recording or just remember to set one every week. Sorry!

[jobbie8]

Originally Posted by carlwaring

Well it shouldn't. You must have the SL set to "everything". This is wrong; and should almost never need to be used. At most it needs to be set to "new and repeats" but "new only" should work.

Thanks for the info, IRTruckers SL was set to New and Repeats. I just thought it would record the saturday episode when I set it up. Its all the extra button presses to change the options in SL that seem to make the V+ easier to use.
But to clear things up for me, if I cancelled IRT for tonight due to a clash, Im right to think Tivo would record the next availalbe episode?

---------- Post added at 00:07 ---------- Previous post was at 00:02 ----------

Originally Posted by carlwaring

"Click" is the exception that proves the rule. Because the BBC neer provide episode-specific information, TMS can't set it up correctly to only record the one showing per week. This is a guide data issue and not a "Tivo" issue. Unfortunately, it has been this way since the original S1 units, over ten years ago. Either a manual recording or just remember to set one every week. Sorry!

If this is a ten year old problem, and something the V+ can handle without any trouble, makes me alittle more disappointed about Tivo.

Do I stop watching Click, or delete 15 or so shows aweek from now on?

[richardc1983]

Reading all these comments about how tivo handles series links is filling me with dissapointment.

On sky you click record and it asks you to select record one or series. What is the issue with how tivo does this?

Is there not a default option to just click a series so that it only records new or do you have to go through the options to do new only?

Dont want to be messing around deleting 15 or so shows.

[heavyside]

I've also had problems with setting series links on my TiVo. Two links that I set to record new only have failed to identify all showings and I have had to set the missing shows manually. Just yesterday I reviewed my recordings of another series link, also set to record new only, to find that it had recorded duplicates. I thought TiVo was smart enough to realise that it has already recorded something. Seems not. The second is preferable to the first but this shouldn't happen. I hope this bug gets attention soon.

[WDLaserjetGLOVER]

I find the series link thing baffling.
I set Match of the day, using 'new', and the errors page showed problems. What's this 28 days thing?

[Perfect Choice]

Originally Posted by heavyside

I've also had problems with setting series links on my TiVo. Two links that I set to record new only have failed to identify all showings and I have had to set the missing shows manually. Just yesterday I reviewed my recordings of another series link, also set to record new only, to find that it had recorded duplicates. I thought TiVo was smart enough to realise that it has already recorded something. Seems not. The second is preferable to the first but this shouldn't happen. I hope this bug gets attention soon.

Always use "New and Repeats" for series links. Tivo does not pick up all programmes if new only especially if you have just had Tivo installed and a series is mid way through (as was in my case).

Howeveer, if Tivo has repeats scheduled in its recording list, then if those repeats are something you have recorded and due to be recorded in the next 28 days, it will not actually go ahead with the repeat recording. I guess the purpose of this 28 day check is to avoid the same episode being recording again in the following 4 week period so only other episodes of a series are recorded if repeated.

So what I have found out is that while your full scheduled recording list may show many recordings of the same programme, if you then go to the "recording hiccups" list, you will find Tivo says it will not record a programme because it is already scheduled as another recording in the 28 day period!

The net effect is that what is actually recorded is what you want namely just the programmes in the series. When the "new only" option is finally sorted (an issue with programme identification on the EPG feed I believe?), this will no longer be relevant , but until then the "new and repeat" option is the workaround.

This happens with me recording Air Crash Investigations which has loads of repeats in a 2 week period so my planned recordings show around 10 scheduled recordings while only 2 recordings (1 programme per week) occur in reality.

Must say the Tivo could so with some usability enhancements in places and maybe this is another case of providing too much information of button options. My wife hates the new Tivo UI as it feels like endless menus to do what was simple on V+.

[Andy1]

Hi I thought I would join the debate and add my perspective.

It seems some people are unsettled by the fact that Tivo does things differently to V+ - but that is the whole point! Tivo can use the data available to give much more flexibility about series passes and better ensure all new episodes are captured. V+ would just dumbly record the same 'slots' every week. However it wouldn't, for example, recognise when a new series of that programme had started.

This is of course dependent on the data available being correct. I have the same issue with 'Click' as the BBC dont label the episodes correctly. However it is worth comparing the end result under V+ and Tivo! Major news events would often mean my V+ recording missed the show due to schedule changes. Tivo now provides me with multiple showings to choose from in the event of this happening and once I have viewed the programme I can delete all superfluous recordings with one 'click' by deleting the 'Click' folder.

[heavyside]

Originally Posted by Perfect Choice

Always use "New and Repeats" for series links. Tivo does not pick up all programmes if new only especially if you have just had Tivo installed and a series is mid way through (as was in my case).

Howeveer, if Tivo has repeats scheduled in its recording list, then if those repeats are something you have recorded and due to be recorded in the next 28 days, it will not actually go ahead with the repeat recording. I guess the purpose of this 28 day check is to avoid the same episode being recording again in the following 4 week period so only other episodes of a series are recorded if repeated.

So what I have found out is that while your full scheduled recording list may show many recordings of the same programme, if you then go to the "recording hiccups" list, you will find Tivo says it will not record a programme because it is already scheduled as another recording in the 28 day period!

The net effect is that what is actually recorded is what you want namely just the programmes in the series. When the "new only" option is finally sorted (an issue with programme identification on the EPG feed I believe?), this will no longer be relevant , but until then the "new and repeat" option is the workaround.

This happens with me recording Air Crash Investigations which has loads of repeats in a 2 week period so my planned recordings show around 10 scheduled recordings while only 2 recordings (1 programme per week) occur in reality.

Must say the Tivo could so with some usability enhancements in places and maybe this is another case of providing too much information of button options. My wife hates the new Tivo UI as it feels like endless menus to do what was simple on V+.

There was nothing in 'recording hiccups' (the first place I look in these cases). TiVo simply recorded the Book Show on Sky Arts 1 HD on Thursday and the repeat, same channel, different time, on Friday. I'll try your workaround of new and repeats. Thanks for that. I can't really see how this will pick up missed programmes from a series link which defeats the whole purpose of the series link option. I, too, think the most likely explanation is shoddy programming data and the EPG.

[Andy1]

Originally Posted by WDLaserjetGLOVER

I find the series link thing baffling.
I set Match of the day, using 'new', and the errors page showed problems. What's this 28 days thing?

'Hiccups' is just showing that the repeat episode will not be recorded and why - ie you told it you only want the first showing!

[heavyside]

Originally Posted by Andy1

'Hiccups' is just showing that the repeat episode will not be recorded and why - ie you told it you only want the first showing!

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear. There was no mention of any kind of hiccup for that show mentioned. TiVo simply recorded the repeat without registering that there was a problem. It just didn't 'see' that the programme was a repeat.

[WDLaserjetGLOVER]

Originally Posted by Andy1

'Hiccups' is just showing that the repeat episode will not be recorded and why - ie you told it you only want the first showing!

Cheers, Andy1, I get it.

[Andy1]

Hi heavyside - my previous reply was to WDLaserjetGlover.

I can only think the Book Show is another issue of the programme not being labelled correctly so Tivo cant recognise it as a repeat.

I suspect this will happen in a small number of cases. i have personally only found one instance ie 'Click'.

All I would say is with 1TB of recording space to go at its probably not worth worrying too much about this when it does only happen in a small number of cases. It is very easy to delete all unwanted episodes by highlighting the entire folder and pressing 'clear'

---------- Post added at 09:24 ---------- Previous post was at 09:13 ----------

Originally Posted by WDLaserjetGLOVER

Cheers, Andy1, I get it.

No problem mate - It is a funny quirk that it tells you why it is not recording the repeat on the hiccups screen in these circumstances. Its like it has it has a guilty conscience!

V+ used to take it on itself to delete my MOTD2 sheduled recording every week just before it aired - despite no clashes. I had to remember to manually set it up again on Sunday evening if I wasnt watching live.

It's so good to have a Tivo box under the TV once again!

[muppetman11]

But people are paying a monthly charge for this premium service , so surely its not to much to expect accurate EPG data.

[Doz007]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

But people are paying a monthly charge for this premium service , so surely its not to much to expect accurate EPG data.

That was my worry from posts on this forum before I got my TiVo. Unfortunately this is still my main niggle (well that & the SD Menus), a service like TiVo is only as good as the EPG data it provides!

I'm hoping VM are working closely with the TiVo team to iron out these EPG inconsistances.

[Andy1]

Originally Posted by muppetman11

But people are paying a monthly charge for this premium service , so surely its not to much to expect accurate EPG data.

And as a result of the premium service I am now no longer missing programmes that I was with V+ and I can rest assured that new series of the programmes I like will be recorded automatically ..and I can leave wishlists running to find all sorts of programmes I am interested in and episodes I have previously missed.

Not to mention..

Setting up recordings remotely
Recording 3 things at once
Etc etc etc

Why on earth would I worry about a very small number of duplicate recordings?