Series 2 MRV frustration

[westside_guy]

Ever since the fall 2007 update, multi-room viewing (MRV) between our two Series 2 TiVos has become close to unusable - and this is a feature we use (or used to use) a lot. The actual show transfer speeds - if you manage to you get to that point - are as fast as they ever were (just in case someone says "maybe it's the network"); but browsing the remote TiVo is 1) maddeningly, mind-numbingly, painfully slow; and 2) made even more maddening because, if you switch back to the program list after viewing a show's description, it now inexplicably jumps back to the top of the show queue (see #1 as to why that's such a problem).

I'd waited through a few system updates, hoping it would address what apparently is a widely reported problem; but there has been no significant improvement.

Now I've seen and heard TiVo's vague comments about how Series 3 compatibility is "somewhat" affecting performance on Series 2 boxes; but c'mon. What about this broken software situation is supposed to encourage me to give TiVo several hundred more dollars?

I'm at the point where I'm thinking about buying a Mac Mini, rolling my own PVR system and dumping TiVo altogether. I know it'd cost more (the old argument for going with TiVo), but I feel like I'm paying my 20 bucks a month for crap right now.

This probably will come across as just pointless venting; but maybe I'm holding onto a sliver of hope that someone has a magic bullet somewhere. However at this point I'm pretty certain that person, if he/she exists, doesn't work for TiVo...

[greg_burns]

but browsing the remote TiVo is 1) maddeningly, mind-numbingly, painfully slow; and 2) made even more maddening because, if you switch back to the program list after viewing a show's description, it now inexplicably jumps back to the top of the show queue (see #1 as to why that's such a problem).

I tried viewing the program details on a show on our remote Tivo. Then back arrowed out. The hot dog jumped to the top of the page (didn't stay on the show I had selected), but not the entire top of the Now Playing List.

Also, between my S2 (a 240) and my S3 I don't see any speed issues whatsoever. Just tried it the other way as well. :confused: Maybe, I'm just lucky.

What model S2s do you have?

[westside_guy]

Both are TiVo TCD540080 (Series 2, 80hr single tuner) models.

[jjberger2134]

but browsing the remote TiVo is 1) maddeningly, mind-numbingly, painfully slow; and 2) made even more maddening because, if you switch back to the program list after viewing a show's description, it now inexplicably jumps back to the top of the show queue (see #1 as to why that's such a problem).

I'd waited through a few system updates, hoping it would address what apparently is a widely reported problem; but there has been no significant improvement.



First off, what do you mean by mind-numbingly slow? I too, have noticed a significant slowdown while browsing my other TiVo. However, my waits between pages is generally 5-10 seconds. While that is certainly slow, it is not mind-numbing.

Second, it is my understanding (loosely speaking) that TiVo does roughly 2 service updates per year (one summer, one winter). Generally, about halfway through each update they patch all of the bugs. In my estimation, we are close to a patch since the last update rolled out somewhere in Oct/Nov (I do not remember when). With that said, I think they will fix this issue because it seems that everyone is effected by the slowness.

Finally, there are some very good people who work at TiVo who browse and post on this forum. They are always dedicated to helping individual users and provide service updates, when appropriate. Some of those are TiVoJerry, TiVoStephen, and TiVoPony and I think all three of them hold those magic bullets you speak of. It just takes time to implement.

[greg_burns]

However, my waits between pages is generally 5-10 seconds.

Not discounting anything you guys are saying, but just for comparison... I can barely count 2 mississippi between pages from either box.

The 540s always seem to be slower for some reason. IIRC, 7.3 (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=311257) was a horrible problem for the 540s for just overall performance. Hopefully they can fix whatever the issue is.

[jjberger2134]

I can barely count 2 mississippi between pages from either box.


You are very lucky.

[westside_guy]

First off, what do you mean by mind-numbingly slow? I too, have noticed a significant slowdown while browsing my other TiVo. However, my waits between pages is generally 5-10 seconds. While that is certainly slow, it is not mind-numbing.

My wait between every single operation on the remote TiVo is generally on the order of 7-10 seconds, and sometimes longer. Even if I were new to TiVo, I'd still consider that rediculously slow. Since I'm not new to TiVo, I know that MRV doesn't need to be anywhere near that slow - prior to the fall update it was most certainly very useable.

When other people have complained about this problem, TivoPony has pretty much said (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5615625#post5615625) "we know the interface is slow now, and it may not be possible to speed it up much" (the first paragraph of his post is what's relevant to this). That's the same thing I've heard from TiVo's customer support - so I'm afraid I don't share your faith in TiVo's technical prowess anymore.

[HDTiVo]

If you look up mind numbingly slow in the dictionary you see a screen shot of a remote TiVo's Now Playing List.

I think that's what he means.

[steve614]

I just got a new Tivo HD, so I'm new to MRV with my S2 540.
My navigation wait times have been no longer than 7 secs (counting 1-1000, 2-1000, etc.).
Of course my Tivos are pretty empty right now. If they were full, I would expect the wait time to increase.

ETA: My MRV navigation is slower when a transfer is in progress.

[greg_burns]

Of course my Tivos are pretty empty right now. If they were full, I would expect the wait time to increase.

Just another point of references, both my S2 (a 240 w/ 160GB) and my S3 (750GB) are completely full. :o

[gigaquad]

Sorry to bump an old thread, but this I just saw this. Has anyone found a workaround?
It's these goofy little time eating (21 seconds to browse here!) updates that really make me want to just turn the kid's computer into a PVR and say to heck with it.

Oh, do I pine for the days before we had to worry about fall updates borking the machines!

[westside_guy]

Since I started this thread with a complaint, I thought I should follow-up with a note that it's no longer relevant. At some point over the past couple of months, TiVo pushed a software update that fixed this problem COMPLETELY. Browsing our other Series 2 box is now as quick and speedy as it ever was - there is no noticeable lag at all.

So thank you, TiVo, for recognizing that this was a problem, and for fixing it.