Guide

[timstack8969]

Will we ever see an "Onscreen Guide" from TIVO which we can still see "LIVE TV" in the right hand corner of the screen???

[astrohip]

Will we ever see an "Onscreen Guide" from TIVO which we can still see "LIVE TV" in the right hand corner of the screen???
I think this is difficult to answer accurately unless one works in TiVo's software dept. But if I had to bet, I'd put my money on *no*.

This is one of the few things my cable DVR does better than the TiVo. However, it's not that big an issue. I find it's only handy when you are watching something live, and want to see what else is in the guide (and the cable DVR guide is a POS IMHO). And I don't watch much live. Sometimes in bed at night, if I get there before my wife, I'll put on some cable porn, and then bring up the guide to hunt around. I can keep an eye on the T&A while I guide-surf. You too? :eek:

Seriously, it's just not a big feature. Would be nice is TiVo added it, just like a FSI, but not high on my list of what keeps me awake at night.

Now if the cable DVRs would add the slight skipback when you press play after FF2X, that would make them almost usable. :D

Edit to add: I just remembered a thread a few weeks ago, where the poster was trying to defend how big a feature this was. He claimed it saved him hours of time by being able to watch shows while looking thru the guide. I can only imagine how much fun it must be to watch your favorite shows in a 3" square box in the upper corner of a TV. :rolleyes:

[JimSpence]

IMHO, if you absolutely need to look at the guide while watching live TV, then pause live TV while you do it. :)

[TiVo Troll]

I can only imagine how much fun it must be to watch your favorite shows in a 3" square box in the upper corner of a TV. :rolleyes:

A PIP image of whatever is currently playing on a DVR can be useful; most cable DVR's have it in one form or another. But, absent that, an option to just keep playing the audio from either 'live' or recorded programs when using any of TiVo's multiple menu screens would be even better.

[ZeoTiVo]

I have never had a need for such a feature given that I can pause whatever is on at the time. Also I rarely even use the guide except to answer a specific question which takes about 1 minute usually. Others may feel different of course but i can think of buches of more useful features

- ability to make and organize my own folders
- a more wide ranging search feature
- ability to had (and or not) in wishlist searches

[ZeoTiVo]

A PIP image of whatever is currently playing on a DVR can be useful; . actually since it is 90% of the time a show I am recording to watch in the future I would find a PIP of what is currently playing to be quite UNuseful.
The guide is a slightly different thiung as it asssumes you are already in the process of watching live TV

[TiVo Troll]

On most DVR's it's possible to bring up the EPG without interrupting a recorded program that's currently playing.

[ZeoTiVo]

On most DVR's it's possible to bring up the EPG without interrupting a recorded program that's currently playing.
That specific scenario would be a handy ability for some.

[astrohip]

There is something that the cable DVR does, similar to the guide PIP concept, that is handy. And I wish TiVo would mimic.

To turn captions on/off on an S3 requires leaving the picture while you punch the request in. Very disruptive. No matter how quick you are, the show will stop for a second or two while you toggle the caption settings. I know it drives my wife crazy when I have to do it (I require captions to watch TV). The cable DVR caption process is similar to the guide, in that you can do it without leaving the video. It just brings up an onscreen menu that is quicker than the S3 menu, and your show is still playing in the background. It's so quick, that even I--who is anal about not missing a second of a show--can do it without pausing, and without missing anything. TiVo should change their caption toggle method.

Remember, not all cable DVRs are the same; your software *will* vary.

[etz]

The PIP guide is something I very much would not like. The other day I was using a friend's cable DVR and I really didn't like how their guide was so much shrunk in order to make room for the PIP. IIRC, it had 4 rows of programs, vs. the 8 that I see now now with TiVo. More rows makes it much easier to scan and read. I like how the TiVo guide is sort of semi-transparent so you hear the program and can still watch, at least if it's something that doesn't require 100% visual attention.

OTOH, I wish I could do the same semi-transparent guide (and all the other programming screens) while playing an already recorded program.

[bkdtv]

Tivo has already added PiP to its software for Comcast's Motorola DVRs. Screencaps below from January '07:

http://www.tivolovers.com/Photos/CES2007/

[TiVo Troll]

Tivo has already added PiP to its software for Comcast's Motorola DVRs. Screencaps below from January '07:

http://www.tivolovers.com/Photos/CES2007/

From the bottom of the above link:
A quicker download of the pix (http://www.tivolovers.com/Photos/CES2007/original-index.html).

[Bierboy]

I don't understand the issue here. When using the TiVo Live Guide, it's translucent enough to see what's going on behind it and the sound is still there. I had a Sony DHG unit for several months and did have that small window, but it really didn't help much being that small (and that was on a 51-inch screen!).