TiVo : General TiVo Discussion Part 3

[iadom]

Working fine for me, loading fast as well.

[steveh]

The new TiVo box in the US apparently has only minor software changes even if it's quite radical in its physical look.

Does now let you watch a recorded show 30% faster with pitch-corrected audio.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/09/29/tiv...streaming-era/

Another review, which does suggest better integration between streaming sources and cable channels:

http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/29/94...-walt-mossberg

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by steveh

The new TiVo box in the US apparently has only minor software changes even if it's quite radical in its physical look.

Does now let you watch a recorded show 30% faster with pitch-corrected audio.

http://techcrunch.com/2015/09/29/tiv...streaming-era/

Another review, which does suggest better integration between streaming sources and cable channels:

http://www.theverge.com/2015/9/29/94...-walt-mossberg

"The only TV box you'll need". I like it!

[zoombini]

I find the TIVo totally crap in comparison to the Sky HD box.
It's so slow at doing anything showing the guide, going from guide to tv or anything else that should be simple. Often it's completely unresponsive except for a beep.

The only thing it has going for it is the ability to record 3 things at once.

We are definitely cancelling our TV contract once the 12 month of it are up.

[daz100]

Are we getting a new box? I am getting ready to cancel everything but keep hoping any day now...

[OLD BOY]

Originally Posted by zoombini

I find the TIVo totally crap in comparison to the Sky HD box.
It's so slow at doing anything showing the guide, going from guide to tv or anything else that should be simple. Often it's completely unresponsive except for a beep.

The only thing it has going for it is the ability to record 3 things at once.

We are definitely cancelling our TV contract once the 12 month of it are up.

Sounds to me like there's something wrong with your box!

VM would come out to fix or replace it free of charge if you contact Customer Services. Sky would charge you once your box was out of warranty.

I hope you consider all the angles before you make your leap over to the dark side! Sky are not renowned for their attitude towards customers and if you find you've made a mistake, just try cancelling your contract!

Good luck, and I hope you make the right decision for you.

---------- Post added at 13:33 ---------- Previous post was at 13:30 ----------

Originally Posted by daz100

Are we getting a new box? I am getting ready to cancel everything but keep hoping any day now...

Yes, we are, but I haven't seen anything definitive from VM yet on when we can expect it.

Although I am looking forward to getting the new model, I'm worried about losing all my recordings.

[muppetman11]

Ofcoms last complaints publication , the amount of people complaining to Ofcom about their pay tv service tells a different story in fact Sky had the least complaints per thousand of all the tv providers.

[steveh]

Interesting Q&A with TiVo management:http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb...d.php?t=532368

Fundamentally their problem seems to be that they have been driven by a hardcore of techie enthusiasts buying TiVo's own hardware whose needs and priorities are very different from the mass market. This has led them to be eclipsed by the new streaming entrants who offer a much simpler, cleaner user experience:

On one hand you want to be able to deliver the control and customability to evey customer. On the other hand it can have the effect of creating far too many "in the weeds" features and a mess of the menus and options. The TiVo UI has become far to complex and require too many button presses to get what you want. We need to be better at knowing what you will want and getting it to you in the quickest way possible.

This hints at the bind they are now in as a result and the financial pressures they must be under:

TiVo is simply unable to build its business on the backs of its ever diminishing group of loyalists. We did 150,000 activations in our last fiscal year. Compare that to the millions of streamers out there, and the tens of millions of DVRS out there and you see that we’ve got a lot of ground to make up. In order to win for the the company, and for YOU, we need to expand our market. If we fail to do this, we’re not going to be able to do much of anything, We think we’ve got a plan for both the mass market AND for enthusiasts.

Personally I'm not convinced they can succeed serving both those markets.

However:

What I can tell you is that Personalization is an enormous priority at TiVo. I'm optimistic about progress next year.

Worth a read through.

[muppetman11]

Is the Iplayer on TiVo now behind many other platforms ? I had a play around with it at a family members house but couldn't see the ability to watch the channels streamed live or the ability to live restart a show already part way through.

This functionality is already available on YouView , Now TV box and Roku plus other devices.

[Taf]

TIVO has become so slow over the past couple of weeks. Lots of black screens lingering for 10 seconds or more, plus it takes 30 seconds or more to accept an input such as "get a series link".

[denphone]

l like the TiVo but its far from perfect and they certainly need to roll out a new STB sooner rather then later as things change very quickly due to new technological breakthroughs

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by Taf

TIVO has become so slow over the past couple of weeks. Lots of black screens lingering for 10 seconds or more, plus it takes 30 seconds or more to accept an input such as "get a series link".

Happens to me occasionally. I just do a soft reboot and that sorts it.

[steveh]

The Haxe interface layer that the TiVo uses seems to be bad for memory leaks and not doing enough to mitigate against the problem so memory chunks that should be returned to the operating system for other use instead get held onto indefinitely. That means that over time there is less physical memory for everything to use, so pages get increasingly swapped out to the hard disc making the system slower and slower.

[Taf]

So a soft reboot required? And how to do that without losing any recordings or settings?

[nomadking]

Originally Posted by Taf

So a soft reboot required? And how to do that without losing any recordings or settings?

Home->Help&Settings->Clear or Reset TiVo Box->Restart the TiVo Box.