Bye Bye Tivo

[robbins]

We have had Tivo for 1 year and it's time to leave. Here are the issues:

1. Tivo is WAY TOO SLOW now. When we first got Tivo, it was great, but for the past 2 months it has been sooooo slow, unbearably slow in the menus.

2. Too expensive. No more $13 per month when I can get Direct TV or Dish and pay $6 per month instead.

Cya Tivo, it's your own fault. Improve the speed and bring back lifetime or you will lost many, many more customers.

[bpurcell]

If you think that the satellite DVR's are bug free, you're in for a big surprise. As for the price, you get what you pay for. Satellite DVR's as far as I know have no networking capabilities. Do they have wishlists? Fantasy Football? Access to your music and photos from your PC? Transfering shows to PC and Laptop? For me, that's far worth the extra monthly fee.

[Solver]

I'd put it differently.

Buy, Buy TiVo

[robbins]

I am happy with my decision...why waste money? Especially when the quality has gone way down from when I originally got Tivo. We need to demand better prices and service from Tivo and if you just turn your head to the slowdown, no lifetime, and things like that they will never change. Tivo lovers should be thanking me for this.

[bicker]

It's a wash, I think. TiVo's got better features, but makes you pay for them. 6 of one, half-dozen of the other. I think TiVo had the advantage before HD. Now that cable company DVRs have HD and TiVo doesn't, that evened things out completely. With the Series 3, TiVo is charging too much and is a sufficiently risky investment (due to SDV) that it doesn't recapture the advantage. It's still even.

[mick66]

Tivo lovers should be thanking me for this.


Okay - Thank you for being stupid.

[timo123]

I was running through the menus the other night, and it must just be me, but my Tivos are performing extremely well, no slow downs or obvious bugs that I can see. Am I the only one? I read so many posts about the 7.3 slow down and I'm just not seeing it Oh well... see ya robbins. I think you may end up more frustrated with the Sat DVR's. But at least you'll be paying less!!! :)

[maki]

Have to give them a chance to figure out the slowness. I have 3 TiVos and only one is having the problem. Oh well - no way would I dump any of them for being slow because of a software issue. Would you toss an expensive computer because it has a virus?

[pntsoptional]

Long time lurker first time poster…

Not to hijack the thread, but my old 60 hour is working great with the 7.3 update. I was worried after everything I heard on this board, but I don’t have any real complaints. Good to hear I'm not the only one that lucked out.

[supasta]

If you think TiVo is slow now, wait till you get your DTV DVR.....

[MickeS]

We have had Tivo for 1 year and it's time to leave. Here are the issues:

1. Tivo is WAY TOO SLOW now. When we first got Tivo, it was great, but for the past 2 months it has been sooooo slow, unbearably slow in the menus.

2. Too expensive. No more $13 per month when I can get Direct TV or Dish and pay $6 per month instead.

Cya Tivo, it's your own fault. Improve the speed and bring back lifetime or you will lost many, many more customers.

This time last year, lifetime was available. So why do you want lifetime now when you didn't get it when it was available?

[TiVotion]

I too have 3 TiVo boxes. Only one of them is experiencing "slow" menus (deletions, etc.).

My Pioneer TiVo box is fine. My S2 80Hr DT box is fine. My S2 140hr box is slow. No idea why. But then again, that one is my "backup" TiVo (low priority), so I don't mind terribly.

I'm sure they will figure out the reason why this occurs. I just don't think it's a show stopper.

[supasta]

I just don't think it's a show stopper.

+1

[talmania]

If you think TiVo is slow now, wait till you get your DTV DVR.....

So very, very true.

I have had a Comcast 6412 for the past 18+ months since I absolutely had to have HD recording functionality and it was the first dual-tuner option available. I have missed my Tivo every single day and it gets barely used now because HD is at least 80% of what I watch.

There are times where I came within a millimeter of taking the 6412 and chucking it out the window. At least once every 60-90 minutes the unit will not respond to a command and then the commands will queue up resulting in the equivalent of a temper tantrum-throwing child. Like when the unit becomes non-responsive while fastforwarding at 4x speed. Approximately 15-20 seconds later when the unit finally decides to behave I'm left with having to rewind to get back to the start point of the program I was watching.

The guide is horrible and the search functionality is nearly non-existant. I suffer through it for HD recording functionality but sometimes I wonder. I can't wait to be the first in line to buy an S3 (I should note that I haven't viewed my S2 Tivo in months so I can't comment on an recent slowdowns in performance from a software update).

[nirisahn]

I had Tivo and Dish DVR at the same time, and the Dish DVR was very frustrating. You can see less program guide at a time, and it records like a VCR. If your program is rescheduled, it doesn't find it and record it. It records at the regular time. It's much harder to search for shows, and it only stores about 1 week of programming instead of 13 to 14 days. The Tivo finds my programs when they are rescheduled if it isn't a last minute reschdule. With networks constantly changing the airtime of shows (like House), using a DVR that doesn't reschedule itself is a pain. It even found a show that changed networks (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and recorded on the new network without my having to do a thing.

I may be wrong, but I don't think any of the cable or satellite DVR's have the ability to transfer programs to other boxes or your computer. And I like looking at my photos on the TV - I have a 42" screen for the TV vs. a 19" computer monitor.

Also, the Dish DVR had to be powered down to receive updates, and then I would forget to power it on again and miss recording stuff I wanted. If you forgot to update it, it started acting weird, like not changing channels, or giving you a screen saver that never went away.

If I took the time, I could probably come up with lots of other differences that make the fee worth it.

[Gregor]

So very, very true.

I have had a Comcast 6412 for the past 18+ months since I absolutely had to have HD recording functionality and it was the first dual-tuner option available. I have missed my Tivo every single day and it gets barely used now because HD is at least 80% of what I watch.

There are times where I came within a millimeter of taking the 6412 and chucking it out the window. At least once every 60-90 minutes the unit will not respond to a command and then the commands will queue up resulting in the equivalent of a temper tantrum-throwing child. Like when the unit becomes non-responsive while fastforwarding at 4x speed. Approximately 15-20 seconds later when the unit finally decides to behave I'm left with having to rewind to get back to the start point of the program I was watching.

The guide is horrible and the search functionality is nearly non-existant. I suffer through it for HD recording functionality but sometimes I wonder. I can't wait to be the first in line to buy an S3 (I should note that I haven't viewed my S2 Tivo in months so I can't comment on an recent slowdowns in performance from a software update).

Very well said. I have 2 S2s and I haven't noticed any slowdowns with the 7.3 upgrade, I wonder how prevalent that problem really is?

[Stu_Bee]

Argh...people have posted that the 7.3.x slowdown issues appear to be specific to certain models. (and possible configs within those models)

I'm sure those people that are experiencing major slowness hate to read the posts that say "since I'm not having issues......I doubt anyone is"

Also.. I don't think we want to lower our benchmark of satisfication to the that of the lowly cable dvr offerings. Tivo has set the bar much higher than that.

[greg_burns]

Very well said. I have 2 S2s and I haven't noticed any slowdowns with the 7.3 upgrade, I wonder how prevalent that problem really is?

I haven't either, but I don't watch live TV. Channel changing apparently has gotten a lot worse for some.

[eisenb11]

The DVRs that come from providers are generally horrible.

With Tivo you're paying for those extra features that everyone wants but no one else has.

On the flip side, there's no reason your performance on your unit should be bad. Tivo needs to keep that up to par, at least.

[shady]

... At least once every 60-90 minutes the unit will not respond to a command and then the commands will queue up resulting in the equivalent of a temper tantrum-throwing child. Like when the unit becomes non-responsive while fastforwarding at 4x speed. Approximately 15-20 seconds later when the unit finally decides to behave I'm left with having to rewind to get back to the start point of the program I was watching.

Isn't that annoying. I have exactly the same issue, and it drives me bonkers!!

I'll be saying bye bye hopefully next week, but it won't be bye bye TiVo!!!!!

OP: You are in for some nasty surprises if the DirectTv or Dish boxes are as bad as the motorola software. Oh, and lets hope for your sake, your Dish box doesn't get disabled

[cheerdude]

I've had a bit of a slowdown on my Series 2... but I figured that is because it has been upgraded to a bunch of hours! :D

My other S2 (regular 40 hr version) is running fine. However, once the S3 is available... it will probably go on EBay (or maybe given to someone at work to use).

[megazone]

There is a slowdown with 7.3/7.3.1. This is most noticable on 5xx series boxes because they've always been the slowest of the group. That covers all the 'nightlight' Tivos - the ones with the white oval, all Humax boxes, and the Toshiba RS-TX20 and RS-TX60. (NOT the SD-H400.) The S2DT is the least affected - it has the fastest CPU and twice the RAM as the S2s (64MB vs. 32MB). The older 1xx and 2xx S2s are also not as affected, they have a slightly faster CPU and use a discrete chipset, not the integrated chip used in the 5xx. So the CPU doesn't have to do as much, the chipset does some of the work. This covers all the solid black S2s, the Pioneer boxes, Sony SVR-3000, and Toshiba SD-H400. (The only real difference between 1xx and 2xx is the 1xx has USB1.1 and the 2xx has USB 2.0.)

[maki]

There is a slowdown with 7.3/7.3.1. This is most noticable on 5xx series boxes because they've always been the slowest of the group. That covers all the 'nightlight' Tivos - the ones with the white oval, all Humax boxes, and the Toshiba RS-TX20 and RS-TX60. (NOT the SD-H400.) The S2DT is the least affected - it has the fastest CPU and twice the RAM as the S2s (64MB vs. 32MB). The older 1xx and 2xx S2s are also not as affected, they have a slightly faster CPU and use a discrete chipset, not the integrated chip used in the 5xx. So the CPU doesn't have to do as much, the chipset does some of the work. This covers all the solid black S2s, the Pioneer boxes, Sony SVR-3000, and Toshiba SD-H400. (The only real difference between 1xx and 2xx is the 1xx has USB1.1 and the 2xx has USB 2.0.)

So what exactly can they do to the software to make it work on slower units?

[megazone]

So what exactly can they do to the software to make it work on slower units?Standard software optimization - reduce the memory footprint, schedule tasks differently to give priority to user interaction, etc.

[TiVoPhish]

So very, very true.

I have had a Comcast 6412 for the past 18+ months since I absolutely had to have HD recording functionality and it was the first dual-tuner option available. I have missed my Tivo every single day and it gets barely used now because HD is at least 80% of what I watch.

There are times where I came within a millimeter of taking the 6412 and chucking it out the window. At least once every 60-90 minutes the unit will not respond to a command and then the commands will queue up resulting in the equivalent of a temper tantrum-throwing child. Like when the unit becomes non-responsive while fastforwarding at 4x speed. Approximately 15-20 seconds later when the unit finally decides to behave I'm left with having to rewind to get back to the start point of the program I was watching.

The guide is horrible and the search functionality is nearly non-existant. I suffer through it for HD recording functionality but sometimes I wonder. I can't wait to be the first in line to buy an S3 (I should note that I haven't viewed my S2 Tivo in months so I can't comment on an recent slowdowns in performance from a software update).

Similar boat.

A while back I switched from TiVo S2 to the SA8300HD. While I miss the nice interface of the TiVo and search functions, I love being able to record two HD programs simultaneously, and could not live without it now. HD capabilities are a MUST. The non-TiVo DVR is not bug free, but I found the transition to it rather painless. I use Yahoo TV Guide to to do my searches when needed, and honestly, the networking is not a feature I used very often. I have an iPod stereo in my bedroom and just plug my iPod in to hear my music (plus TiVo didn't play the music I purchased through iTunes... only the imported MP3s). I now have a big screen HDTV and the PQ is outstanding, and I recently purchased a DVD burner that works flawlessly with the 8300.

Would I love a TiVo that did it all? Sure I would. Do I see it in my future? Unfortunately, no. :(

I'll also always be watching for FIOS in my area to see what they have to offer soon.

[mquad]

There is a slowdown with 7.3/7.3.1. This is most noticable on 5xx series boxes because they've always been the slowest of the group. That covers all the 'nightlight' Tivos - the ones with the white oval, all Humax boxes, and the Toshiba RS-TX20 and RS-TX60. (NOT the SD-H400.) The S2DT is the least affected -

I've had a SD-H400 for 2 years, and the 7.3.1 release has slowed my unit down greatly. Info display stays up as we surf, and it lags 1 or 2 channels behind. Other menu items are very slow.

Just got a S2DT last week. The first 3 days of use (before the 7.3.1 download) it's behavior was as I expected, smooth surfing, no delays in response to remote commands, great. After the download, same slow symptoms.

I know these have all been reported before, just wanted to share that some units megazone mentioned have been affected negatively.

[TiVotion]

There is a slowdown with 7.3/7.3.1. This is most noticable on 5xx series boxes because they've always been the slowest of the group. That covers all the 'nightlight' Tivos - the ones with the white oval, all Humax boxes, and the Toshiba RS-TX20 and RS-TX60. (NOT the SD-H400.) The S2DT is the least affected - it has the fastest CPU and twice the RAM as the S2s (64MB vs. 32MB). The older 1xx and 2xx S2s are also not as affected, they have a slightly faster CPU and use a discrete chipset, not the integrated chip used in the 5xx. So the CPU doesn't have to do as much, the chipset does some of the work. This covers all the solid black S2s, the Pioneer boxes, Sony SVR-3000, and Toshiba SD-H400. (The only real difference between 1xx and 2xx is the 1xx has USB1.1 and the 2xx has USB 2.0.)

Yep, this is dead on in my case. My S2 "nightlight" box is the one affected. The other 2 (Pioneer box and S2DT) are not. They are all running the lastest software version AFAIK.

[johnner1999]

I have been a tivo supporter for the past few years; have had friends and other family member buy them and love them like I do. My wife didn't even want one we I brought it home; whats this how much is it and you pay more money each month? Take it back NOW!

well fast forward three years...


We have three tivo's one of them a humax dvd burner and one a dual tuner all networked in harmony!

A month ago I broke down and picked up a SA8300-HD box from cablevision as CV keeps moving more and more of our regular channels to digital only. We tried using a non dvr STB from CV with our tivo's. PQ was not so great on our 50" HD tv - the other smaller TV it was not really an issue. Then the damn STBs seem to reboot a bunch and when they do they don't powerup so our tivo would just record blank screen.

With the SA8300 and 8300HD boxes in our home we have all dual tuners and HD on two of our sets. What we gain was pretty cool - we lost a bunch as well -- we loved Tivo it just worked and was simple plus streaming from unit to unit was COOL!

Today I'm going to cll and stop all service with tivo :( I just wish the guide info and ways to record on the SA boxes were even half as good as tivo; which they are not! But at the end of the day they do work and cost less to boot. If Tivo wants to give us a deal on at least one S3 I might change my mind. But no way can we afford to have three S3's -- we don't need HD in all rooms but we do want to watch the digital channels where and when we want to.


I hope this doesn't sound like a bash on tivo as I LOVE TIVO!


John

[craigo]

I was running through the menus the other night, and it must just be me, but my Tivos are performing extremely well, no slow downs or obvious bugs that I can see. Am I the only one? I read so many posts about the 7.3 slow down and I'm just not seeing it Oh well... see ya robbins. I think you may end up more frustrated with the Sat DVR's. But at least you'll be paying less!!! :)

Not just you...Mine is running fast as well.

[jerryez]

I notice that when I page thru the guide to programs load top to bottom. and the same with the now paying screen. Before, it loaded so fast that it was not noticeable. which way it loaded. You now have to wait for it to load to finish reading each page. Both my Humax and series II fill pages slower than before the latest update.

[MickeS]

I have been a tivo supporter for the past few years; have had friends and other family member buy them and love them like I do. My wife didn't even want one we I brought it home; whats this how much is it and you pay more money each month? Take it back NOW!

well fast forward three years...


We have three tivo's one of them a humax dvd burner and one a dual tuner all networked in harmony!

A month ago I broke down and picked up a SA8300-HD box from cablevision as CV keeps moving more and more of our regular channels to digital only. We tried using a non dvr STB from CV with our tivo's. PQ was not so great on our 50" HD tv - the other smaller TV it was not really an issue. Then the damn STBs seem to reboot a bunch and when they do they don't powerup so our tivo would just record blank screen.

With the SA8300 and 8300HD boxes in our home we have all dual tuners and HD on two of our sets. What we gain was pretty cool - we lost a bunch as well -- we loved Tivo it just worked and was simple plus streaming from unit to unit was COOL!

Today I'm going to cll and stop all service with tivo :( I just wish the guide info and ways to record on the SA boxes were even half as good as tivo; which they are not! But at the end of the day they do work and cost less to boot. If Tivo wants to give us a deal on at least one S3 I might change my mind. But no way can we afford to have three S3's -- we don't need HD in all rooms but we do want to watch the digital channels where and when we want to.


I hope this doesn't sound like a bash on tivo as I LOVE TIVO!


John

It doesn't sound like you're bashing TiVo... in fact, I'm not even sure what your problem with TiVo consists of, besides that the Series 2 doesn't have HD.

[jmace57]

There is a slowdown with 7.3/7.3.1. This is most noticable on 5xx series boxes because they've always been the slowest of the group. That covers all the 'nightlight' Tivos - the ones with the white oval, all Humax boxes....

Great - that's what I have left in SA - a 540XXX and a Humax. Both have noticably slowed down.

Jim

[NFLnut]

If the DirecTV DVR had a feature similar to Wishlists, then I would have no problem ditching TiVo even though I've owned TiVos since the beginning of 2000. Unfortunately, Wishlists are the one feature I use the most. Therefore, the fact that DirecTV dumped TiVo makes their DVR less attractive to me.

[ZeoTiVo]

Great - that's what I have left in SA - a 540XXX and a Humax. Both have noticably slowed down.

Jim

jsut as with 7.2.1 to 7.2.2 TiVo will get out a 7.3.2 before the end of the year.

[miller890]

A month ago I broke down and picked up a SA8300-HD box from cablevision as CV keeps moving more and more of our regular channels to digital only. We tried using a non dvr STB from CV with our tivo's. PQ was not so great on our 50" HD tv - the other smaller TV it was not really an issue. Then the damn STBs seem to reboot a bunch and when they do they don't powerup so our tivo would just record blank screen.


If the SA8300HD is rebooting that frequently it may be on its way out, you may want to pickup another one.

Depending on the firmware running on your SA8300HD box you may have a power-on option. Under settings you may have the option for power-on where the default is pressing the power or pressing power or any number button. With the power-on by number, when TiVo changes the channel it will power the SA8300HD on.