Lack of (new) features irratates me (rant)

[nvaughan3]

I love tivo, but there are serveral things that I think should be essential but for some reason, Tivo just doesn't feel the need to implement for whatever reason. TV watching may be better, but it sure doesn't save me time. No, this is a not a feature/suggestion request, because I've already done that, like I'm sure a gazillion others have too. Seems to me like Tivo is sitting on its ass, because it's sure not implementing many new features. (Ooooh, kidszone. :confused: )

1. I should be able to archive to a PC FROM the tivo. There's an option to save to a VCR, for god's sake, why can't I "send to PC"? Noooo, I have to fire up tivo desktop, set them to transfer, and then wait forever for the transfer to finish. Once that's done, I have to check back on the PC, make sure they transferred OK, then go back to the TV, and manually delete every one, making sure to compare dates and descriptions.

Why can't there just be an autotransfer that would verify and then delete (as an option?) If not from the TV, how about from the PC?

2. Lack of communication between the 2 tivo's I have REALLY pisses me off. If there is a conflict, how hard would it freaking be to automatically (as an option) have it record on another networked tivo? The limitations of the transferring abilities also is annoying. Why is deleting a show from one tivo from another not allowed? Or transferring a season pass? The networkability is nice, but it's a huge time waster when you have to manually delete shows or input season passes by hand.

3. Conflicts. AAARGG. :mad: There is NO easy way to find conflicts. Sure, there is the recording history, but if you (like me) have bunch of shows that air reruns 24/7 and you only watch first-run, it's filled with screen after screen of listings resulting from "this aired in the last 28 days". Great, I don't care. Let me filter that out so I can only see shows that didn't record because of season pass conflicts. Hell, put an icon beside it, make the different reasons different colors.

Maybe there would be a calendar that could show this information in a more accessible way, listing each recording for that day with conflicts/exceptions highlighted. Why do I need to spend hours every new TV season sorting conflicts out?

4. There really needs to be some way to mark recordings on tivo. For example, once one person has seen it, and wants to let the spouse know it's OK to delete it. Or mark for transfer. If I can't have auto-transfer, can you at least provide me with a way to easily remember what I have sent to my PC or another tivo? Like a history of the file?

There also should be a way to input text descriptions for programs that (frustratingly) do not seem to include them on airings. I'll take an oncscreen keyboard if that's what it takes. Just let me highlight it from tivo desktop and edit it.


There's GOT to be a service that's a bit more innovative. What again am I paying $20/month for? For program data and software updates that make my tivo slow as a pig?

Let us skin the GUI if you don't want to clutter it up for everyone. Or put in an advanced mode. Just give us something freaking useful.
.

[MickeS]

You're late. ;)

[nvaughan3]

ok. :)

[ADent]

I would like to see folder/groups on my S1 unit. Now that is a lack of features that irritates me.

[nvaughan3]

Hey, there's another ridiculously stupid interface quirk they fix to fix. Once I've deleted every show in a group, it brings me back to a screen that says "there are no more show in this group". Well woopty-freaking-do, let me just press one MORE button on the remote and take a nap while I wait for my tivo to respond.

"No honey, the batteries in the remote are not bad, Tivo just sent out a poorly-tested update."

And subscriber growtch is slow WHY? Because they dont LISTEN.

[MickeS]

And a free-space indicator!

You've got some good suggestions. We'll never see them, but they're good.

[ZeoTiVo]

I love tivo, but there are serveral things that I think should be essential but for some reason, Tivo just doesn't feel the need to implement for whatever reason.

There's GOT to be a service that's a bit more innovative. What again am I paying $20/month for? For program data and software updates that make my tivo slow as a pig?

Let us skin the GUI if you don't want to clutter it up for everyone. Or put in an advanced mode. Just give us something freaking useful.
.

all good ideas that would make the interface more useful but they would all be at the cost of speed. Every idea requires more data be kept and then brought back as the screens are drawn and of course more code to render the screen

[HeatherA]

1. I should be able to archive to a PC FROM the tivo. There's an option to save to a VCR, for god's sake, why can't I "send to PC"? Noooo, I have to fire up tivo desktop, set them to transfer, and then wait forever for the transfer to finish. Once that's done, I have to check back on the PC, make sure they transferred OK, then go back to the TV, and manually delete every one, making sure to compare dates and descriptions.

Why can't there just be an autotransfer that would verify and then delete (as an option?) If not from the TV, how about from the PC?

2. Lack of communication between the 2 tivo's I have REALLY pisses me off. If there is a conflict, how hard would it freaking be to automatically (as an option) have it record on another networked tivo? The limitations of the transferring abilities also is annoying. Why is deleting a show from one tivo from another not allowed? Or transferring a season pass? The networkability is nice, but it's a huge time waster when you have to manually delete shows or input season passes by hand.

3. Conflicts. AAARGG. :mad: There is NO easy way to find conflicts. Sure, there is the recording history, but if you (like me) have bunch of shows that air reruns 24/7 and you only watch first-run, it's filled with screen after screen of listings resulting from "this aired in the last 28 days". Great, I don't care. Let me filter that out so I can only see shows that didn't record because of season pass conflicts. Hell, put an icon beside it, make the different reasons different colors.

Maybe there would be a calendar that could show this information in a more accessible way, listing each recording for that day with conflicts/exceptions highlighted. Why do I need to spend hours every new TV season sorting conflicts out?

4. There really needs to be some way to mark recordings on tivo. For example, once one person has seen it, and wants to let the spouse know it's OK to delete it. Or mark for transfer. If I can't have auto-transfer, can you at least provide me with a way to easily remember what I have sent to my PC or another tivo? Like a history of the file?

I'll second these... these changes sure would make TiVo life a bit easier.

[Stanley Rohner]

I'm mad to.

I've requested a way I could control the TiVo with my cell phone for years now and they won't do it.
:mad:
:

[cwoody222]

3. Conflicts. AAARGG. :mad: There is NO easy way to find conflicts. Sure, there is the recording history, but if you (like me) have bunch of shows that air reruns 24/7 and you only watch first-run, it's filled with screen after screen of listings resulting from "this aired in the last 28 days".

I agree!

I hate all those "28 days" messages. It makes reviewing the History such a pain!

[tazzftw]

I'm mad to.

I've requested a way I could control the TiVo with my cell phone for years now and they won't do it.
:mad:
:
I'm still waiting for the day I can control TiVo with my mind.

OP: The lack of those features isn't the reason the number of subscribers are going down. There's no DVR that has those features, so customers obviously aren't going over there.

Answers:
1. Don't be a lazy bum.
2. Can I room with you? It'll be fun to delete all your shows from another room.
3. Don't record all those 24/7 shows. I too like pirates.
4. It's called COMMUNICATION between the two of you.

"I love tivo." Not with that attitude baby.

[porieux]

Those "answers" are not constructive at all, tazzftw.

[mattack]

I would like to see folder/groups on my S1 unit. Now that is a lack of features that irritates me.

It's not folders, and you probably already know this, but type slow zero record thumbs-up in the Now Playing list.

Far better than nothing, IMHO.

[porieux]

How about some basic things like more control over season passes.
For example, I have seasons 1-6 of King of the Hill on DVD, but I want
to record all the later season eps. Right now I have to go in and manually
delete every single show that I have on DVD in the To Do list every
few days...rididiculous. I should at least be able to put a date range
into the Season Pass, to say record all eps only from 2003 and newer.

Also you should be able to say you like something but don't want
it recorded as a suggestion (because you own it on DVD or whatever),

How about hyperlinking everything so I can click on an actors name,
or a show title, etc etc which brings up a results list of matching shows?
This would save so much time and be incredibly useful, don't you think?

TiVo was so awesome when it came out, and there have been some cool
improvements such as MRV but what about simple things that would
make a huge difference in usablity. Suprised there hasn't been more progress there.

[wolflord11]

Some ideas:

1. A Series 2 DT that actually controls 2 Sat feeds like the Directv Models do.

2. A Series 3 that works with Sat TV.

3. As for the Statement about more ideas being at the cost of speed, why not add Memory onto the Motherboard?

We have a CPU, we have a Hard Drive, we can get a Cachecard that adds memory, why not add memory onto the actual motherboard?

[mtchamp]

TiVo would have provided DirecTV with Series3 hardware and software if they contracted for it. They killed their supply deal with TiVo in favor of a house brand from NDS when News Corp took over DirecTV. TiVo nor anyone else can make and sell a DVR or set-top box of any kind that works with satellite without a contract. The FCC does not now require satellite companies like they now do cable companies via the cable card standard to open up their digital systems to allow any device like a Series3 to work with satellite. Satellite companies gets to sell or lease all the hardware and keep all the money. Your government at work.

[porieux]

There is no excuse for the lack of software improvements though.
Is the team that developed the software even there anymore?

[pkscout]

Here's the answer to that. It gets rehashed every few months. We all bought a CE device, a TiVo. There has never been a guarantee that new features would ever be added to the TiVo you bought.

Now will will continue on to the "but I pay a monthly fee for this software."

Answer: the monthly fee can be construed as a payment for ongoing guide data and infrastructure to support TiVo.

Let the round and round commence. I'll check back in three months. ;)

[rdrrepair]

It's not folders, and you probably already know this, but type slow zero record thumbs-up in the Now Playing list.
What does this do?

[porieux]

Here's the answer to that. It gets rehashed every few months. We all bought a CE device, a TiVo. There has never been a guarantee that new features would ever be added to the TiVo you bought.

Now will will continue on to the "but I pay a monthly fee for this software."

Answer: the monthly fee can be construed as a payment for ongoing guide data and infrastructure to support TiVo.

Let the round and round commence. I'll check back in three months. ;)


Well I bought 2 series two which had modest upgrades over series one, plus I would be willing to buy a new one to get new features, but they aren't offering anything. The S3 has some improvements, but not the kind I am talking about, and it also has features missing that were in series two.

You are arguing a straw man.

[mattack]

What does this do?

It (slow zero record thumbs-up) on series 1s gives you sorting ability in Now Playing.

Sort by record date (i.e. "normal"), expiration date, or name.. with 1 2 3 key shortcuts. I only ever use 1 & 3... but I swap between them A LOT. (Often sort by name, find a suggestion, select it, then go back to sort by record date to quickly "transport" to the bottom of the list..)

[classicsat]

Well I bought 2 series two which had modest upgrades over series one, plus I would be willing to buy a new one to get new features, but they aren't offering anything. The S3 has some improvements, but not the kind I am talking about, and it also has features missing that were in series two.

You are arguing a straw man.

They are getting upgrades. One is due out in the next few weeks.
Iti s just that, DVRwise, there isn't a whole lot of new features, just improving some features it has, and improving online features.

[richsadams]

And a free-space indicator!

Yes, Yes, YES! :up:

[astrohip]

Well I bought 2 series two which had modest upgrades over series one, plus I would be willing to buy a new one to get new features, but they aren't offering anything. The S3 has some improvements, but not the kind I am talking about, and it also has features missing that were in series two.

You are arguing a straw man.
Not offering anything? First, it's HD. 'Nuff said. It uses cablecards. While some have problems, I don't. And unlike the S2 and a STB, my cablecards never miss a channel change. And it has dual tuners (I realize there was a DTS2, but I had the single tuner S2).

I love my S3. But I will add, if you are not an HD addict, it makes far less sense. If you are, it's the ONLY way to go.

+1 on pkscout. How often do you get a new IE? Or new software for an iPod? TiVo releases updates--which contain both new features & bug fixes--two or three times a year. It's not open source freeware where the author posts new versions every week. Get over it. Love the one you're with. :D

[fergie8]

...
1. I should be able to archive to a PC FROM the tivo. There's an option to save to a VCR, for god's sake, why can't I "send to PC"? Noooo, I have to fire up tivo desktop, set them to transfer, and then wait forever for the transfer to finish.
...
.

Galleon's ToGo app performs that function fairly well. It allows you to a archive a show to your PC from any Series 2 TiVo on your network regardless of which S2 TiVo you're using at the time. Additionally, you can queue up multiple recordings for transfer and check back on any networked S2 TiVo at any time to get the status of the updates.

It's not perfect though, as it relies on the TiVos' Web Server interface. On my TiVos that feature seems to stop working from time to time, requiring a TiVo reboot to get it back on course. However that's not happening very often, so I haven't found that to be a serious drawback.

Granted, this feature is not built into the Tivos, but it is available for free. If someone were about to suffer a heart attack for lack of that feature, it might be a good idea to install Galleon on the PC and give it a try -- it could turn out to be a lifesaver. ;)

Cheers,

--
Michael

[porieux]

HD is great but not enough, especially for the price they are asking.

I want usability improvements. I've been using this damn thing for
8 years and there are tons of simple things that haven't been improved.

[HDTiVo]

I've been using this damn thing for
8 years and there are tons of simple things that haven't been improved.
That's because the folks at TiVo have already determined what is good for you, and they are not about to start offering things which might induce a level of satisfaction that is above accepted norms of tolerance.

Now if these Utopian beings were replaced with rapacious Capitalists bent on DVR World domination, all that might change, but consider the pain of those trampled in the process.

[ZeoTiVo]

all good ideas that would make the interface more useful but they would all be at the cost of speed. Every idea requires more data be kept and then brought back as the screens are drawn and of course more code to render the screen
about 6 months old post but still
they would all be at the cost of speed. Every idea requires more data be kept and then brought back as the screens are drawn and of course more code to render the screen


except for the FSI that is ;)

[classicsat]

about 6 months old post but still
they would all be at the cost of speed. Every idea requires more data be kept and then brought back as the screens are drawn and of course more code to render the screen


except for the FSI that is ;)

Well, they'd need to write a UI for that.
that is after the decide on a bar vs pie.
An actual free vs predictive free.