TiVo : General TiVo Discussion Part 2

[denphone]

Originally Posted by Digital Fanatic

We're working on it

Lets hope so.

[Perfect Choice]

Originally Posted by echelon

I wish I could afford TIVO but at £149 for activation is way beyond my current budget. I already pay Virginmedia in excess of £110 a month for TV XL V+ HD, Phone XL and Broadband XXL - even that seems expensive compared to some people I have read about on here.

I have been looking at Sky, even though I have been with cable for years - from what I seen on their website it worked out cheaper than Virginmedia, which surprised me plus I would get more HD channels and the box is free (to keep).

TIVO looked promising but they want to add a further £3 a month on top of what I am paying now, and a £149 activation fee!! Unless, Virginmedia start showing me a reason why I should be paying such a huge amount per month they will be losing me as a customer. Lately, we been suffering from too many network issues for my liking...

You need the mini Tivo due to be launched later this year, that will help financially, rumours are that the price will be £100 less.

---------- Post added at 08:35 ---------- Previous post was at 07:37 ----------

Could anybody with a Tivo just answer this query please which should be straight forward.
If you select a programme from the EPG on a +1 channel and set record series, will Tivo continue to record it on the +1 channel while it is clearly also available 1 hour earlier on the “live” channel?

The reason I ask this is that I will know upfront that there may be 3 programmes I want to record at 9pm and also know I will be watching live TV on another channel at that time.

So I want to deliberately avoid the clash in the first place and alert message when I am on live TV. By deliberately setting 1 of the recordings to a +1 channel I can avoid this.

I appreciate that if I set up series recording from the wish list, Tivo will select the first available programme slot available and if 3 recordings at 9pm are setup, when I get close to 9pm I will be asked to cancel 1 of the 3 if I need to keep watching live TV, so Tivo will then hunt for a repeat recording and select the +1 channel I presume (I take it would intelligently check all 3 planned recordings to find out which one is available to do this, it does just not pick at random 1 recording to cancel while live TV is being watched and that channel may not have a +1 available, so higher risk of missing that programme if this happens?).

However I would like to avoid this in the first place and be sure all 3 recordings are in place so setting up a +1 channel recording will help me achieve this.

[muppetman11]

An interesting read on TIVOs thoughts for the future

http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...learned_at_SNW

[sixfoottwo]

What can I expect my monthly charge to be on VIP 50 with 2 V+ boxes and a Tivo. Currently paying £113 I think for 2 V+ and a basic.

Thanks for any reply.

[carlwaring]

Originally Posted by Perfect Choice

If you select a programme from the EPG on a +1 channel and set record series, will Tivo continue to record it on the +1 channel while it is clearly also available 1 hour earlier on the “live” channel?

Yes. Series Links are channel-specific. They will still record if the programme moves by day and/or time but if it moves to another channel (like, say, House didi from five to Sky1) then new, separate, SL will be required.

The reason I ask this is that I will know upfront that there may be 3 programmes I want to record at 9pm and also know I will be watching live TV on another channel at that time.

Question for you. Why? The idea with Tivo - well, any DVR really - is that you don't watch anything live anymore. Even if it's a sporting fixture you should record it; with suitable padding, of course! Then you can sit down when you're ready to watch it.

..so Tivo will then hunt for a repeat recording and select the +1 channel I presume

Yes.

(I take it would intelligently check all 3 planned recordings to find out which one is available to do this, it does just not pick at random 1 recording to cancel while live TV is being watched and that channel may not have a +1 available, so higher risk of missing that programme if this happens?).

Yes. Always the 'next available'; even if that means recording the third showing if the second one clashes!

However I would like to avoid this in the first place and be sure all 3 recordings are in place so setting up a +1 channel recording will help me achieve this.

It will indeed; though clashes are less likely with three tuners available, unless you watch an awful lot of TV

Originally Posted by sixfoottwo

What can I expect my monthly charge to be on VIP 50 with 2 V+ boxes and a Tivo. Currently paying £113 I think for 2 V+ and a basic.

Either just £3 more for the Tivo or, if the rumours are correct, nothing at all as VIP customers may have the subs charge waived.

[Griz]

Muppetman11 kindly suggested via PM that I add him to my ignore list. In my ignorance I did not even realise that I had one He is now the one and only person on it, and it definately makes reading this thread easier, I can recommend it's use to others.

[HDFootyMan]

What Satellite & Digital TV's print review of TiVo due on April 14th (the article says Thursday April 18th but that's a Monday ), TiVo on the front cover:
http://wotsat.techradar.com/news/exc...al-tv-08-04-11

[byron_hinson]

Been hoping to review the service, can't wait for it as been a fan of TiVo for years. Used to have an old TiVo box for recording I imported from overseas a while back!

[Dean Ashton]

Originally Posted by carlwaring

Then you can sit down when you're ready to watch it.

Sorry for stating the obvious, but even with TiVo, someone may be ready to watch something when it's actually airing on TV. Especially if it's something that utilises viewer interaction as part of the programming, or it's something like an important news broadcast.

Assuming DVRs (and TiVo in particular) are designed in such a way to make live viewing of programming completely unnecessary is ignoring how a significant number of people watch TV.

Dean

[howardmicks]

Originally Posted by byron_hinson

Been hoping to review the service, can't wait for it as been a fan of TiVo for years. Used to have an old TiVo box for recording I imported from overseas a while back!

Believe me you will be impressed matey,Never experienced tivo before this and got to say im totally impressed.With what it can do now and more in the future is awsome

[Perfect Choice]

Originally Posted by carlwaring

Yes. Series Links are channel-specific. They will still record if the programme moves by day and/or time but if it moves to another channel (like, say, House didi from five to Sky1) then new, separate, SL will be required.


Question for you. Why? The idea with Tivo - well, any DVR really - is that you don't watch anything live anymore. Even if it's a sporting fixture you should record it; with suitable padding, of course! Then you can sit down when you're ready to watch it.

Because the items we want to watch are not suitable for children so we watch something like Challenge channel live while I can have up to 3 other programes at 9pm to record.

[HDFootyMan]

Originally Posted by Dean Ashton

Sorry for stating the obvious, but even with TiVo, someone may be ready to watch something when it's actually airing on TV. Especially if it's something that utilises viewer interaction as part of the programming, or it's something like an important news broadcast.

Assuming DVRs (and TiVo in particular) are designed in such a way to make live viewing of programming completely unnecessary is ignoring how a significant number of people watch TV.

Dean

Agreed, especially these days when its hard not to be 'spoiled' about live events such as scores in football games; who got kicked off The Apprentice etc.

TiVo is the only UK PVR I know of without reminder functionality, and nothing in TiVo's feature set will compensate for that, no matter how people spin it. I can see this becoming more of an issue as people get TiVoed and go looking for that functionality which they've had for years on V+ HD/Sky +

[passingbat]

Originally Posted by HDFootyMan

Agreed, especially these days when its hard not to be 'spoiled' about live events such as scores in football games; who got kicked off The Apprentice etc.

TiVo is the only UK PVR I know of without reminder functionality, and nothing in TiVo's feature set will compensate for that, no matter how people spin it. I can see this becoming more of an issue as people get TiVoed and go looking for that functionality which they've had for years on V+ HD/Sky +

Reminders only work if you're sat in front of the TV watching something. As the Tivo will record it, rather than switch channel for you, what is the problem? You can watch a recording delayed by the few seconds it takes you to access it just as well as the live TV.

The setup time for recording will often be less because you set it once for a series link; you set reminders for everytime a show is on the TV and you may forget to set the reminder; once a series link is set, Tivo never forgets.

[HDFootyMan]

Originally Posted by passingbat

Reminders only work if you're sat in front of the TV watching something. As the Tivo will record it, rather than switch channel for you, what is the problem?

I'm in when I come home from work, and I like to set reminders for all the football games I want to watch live throughout the week.

Ask yourself this - why does Sky+, the most popular PVR in the UK, have reminder functionality? Ditto V+ HD?

Does that not imply that some people still watch to watch some of their TV live? And they would like to be reminded when that TV content is on? And that, both Sky and Virgin knew that when developing the software for their PVRs?

When it comes to big sporting events (and they don't come much bigger than the Olympics), I watch to watch that live. If the EPG allows me, I'll like to set reminders for showpiece events like the 100m finals.

The other thing to consider is the rising use of Twitter to comment on live TV events, so while there's been a big shift towards a recording, catch-up, on-Demand world, live TV will continue to have its appeal for certain content/events, and I'd expect any PVR (let alone TiVo) to support that appeal.

[passingbat]

Originally Posted by HDFootyMan

Ask yourself this - why does Sky+, the most popular PVR in the UK, have reminder functionality?

I Don't know; I see no point in it.

There is a point to having reminders on V+ because the third TV channel couldn't record, so you can record two channels and watch a third. Reminders then become important functionality for that third channel.

But, when all the tuners in a PVR record, I see no point in reminders.