Series3 and 9.3 SUGGESTIONS issue?

[WebG]

So I've always had my S3 set to record TiVo suggestions. (Why? Because that's part of the fun of TiVo!)

So every day I'd come home and find anywhere from 10-30 shows waiting for me at the bottom of my "Now Playing" list. Some I would watch, most I wouldn't and just delete. Similarily, my TiVo Suggestions screen would often be 6+ pages long. The shows that TiVo suggested would be about 90% in line with what my show ratings would indicate that I might want to watch, so while I may not choose to watch those shows, they were certainly close to the right ballpark.

Since receiving the update, the Suggestions screen is maybe 2-3 screens long, and TiVo is only recording maybe 5 programs total during the day.

I called TiVo, but they said that the 9.3 update didn't touch how Suggestions were handled (they implied that I needed to use the thumbs to rate programs, as if this were my first TiVo rodeo). And no, it's not a space issue - got plenty of availability on the drive.

Has anybody else noticed issues with the number of Suggestions TiVo is throwing your way and then actually recording?

[bkdtv]

Many software updates rebuild both the guide data (resulting in a slower box for 2-3 days) and the suggestion information. It may take a few days, or even a week, before see a comparable number of entries on the suggestions screen.

[WebG]

Many software updates rebuild both the guide data (resulting in a slower box for 2-3 days) and the suggestion information. It may take a few days, or even a week, before see a comparable number of entries on the suggestions screen.

Thought about that too and I hope that's the issue, but it has been at least 7 days since I've had the update and things seem to not have changed. Any other thoughts?

[Evilmonkee]

Was going to post about this because my tivo isn't recording suggestions anymore either. In my case, I have recently(a day or two ago) repeated the guided setup in the hopes of solving a non-related channel lineup issue I'm having. That being the case with the guide data, should I expect suggestions to get back on track within the next week?

[WebG]

A minor update -- it's been 2+ weeks since I got 9.3, which should be more than enough time for TiVo to finish whatever re-indexing it needs to do.

And the verdict is... TiVo still isn't recording all the items in the Suggestions list. Today for example, TiVo hadn't even changed the channel on one of the tuners to record some random thing from a different station. Trust me, when I'm used to seeing 20+ items waiting for me in the evening, I know that TiVo is changing channels at least once on both tuners.

So, for me, I'm equating this to the latest software as everything was fine before then. I've called it into TiVo, but they don't seem to think (a) it's a problem; or (b) that it's a problem from their end.

Bleh. I may be in the minority of TiVo owners who actually liked using the Suggestions feature, but I do miss having those random programs recorded. If this is the worst thing that I could complain about, then I guess I'm not doing so bad.

[mattack]

It never records "all the items in the Suggestions list". Those are just things it thinks are suggestions.

It records the ones when there's free disk space and you're not actively using the Tivo.

[rainwater]

Was going to post about this because my tivo isn't recording suggestions anymore either. In my case, I have recently(a day or two ago) repeated the guided setup in the hopes of solving a non-related channel lineup issue I'm having. That being the case with the guide data, should I expect suggestions to get back on track within the next week?

Guided setup will definitely cause suggestions to slow down or to not record for a few days. It isn't uncommon for it to take longer than a week to get back to normal depending on how often you use the thumb ratings during that time.

[AbMagFab]

You sure you have enough free space? I'm betting you only have space for like 7 shows now, where you had space for 30 before.

Suggestions work like they always have.

[WebG]

You sure you have enough free space? I'm betting you only have space for like 7 shows now, where you had space for 30 before. Suggestions work like they always have.

Quite certain that I have enough free space, but I appreciate the thought. The majority of what I record is not HD, so I would hope that I'm not anywhere close to the 300+ standard hours of availability. Yes, when I have two or three HD movies stored, I do get fewer suggestions recorded... that doesn't seem to be the case.

As for the other commenter suggesting that I shouldn't expect to see all Suggestions recorded, that's true... but there is a big difference even on what's being displayed on the TiVo Suggestions screen between a few weeks ago and now, regardless of which programs TiVo decides to actually record or not.

[doconeill]

I haven't done any quantitative analysis, but at least prior to 9.3, I personally thought that that my THDs were far to "aggressive" at wanting to record suggestions, to the point of being annoying, compared to my DirecTiVos.

I think it is a little less aggressive now.

[joelkfla]

It seems to me that my Series 3 is less likely to change channels now. The problem of trying to record a suggestion while I am watching live TV and the other tuner is busy, as well as the problem of using the second tuner for a recording that has the same start time as the current tuner's program's end time, seem to be fixed.

Maybe the algorithm to decide whether a user may be watching live TV has been loosened up, which could cause less suggestions to be recorded.

[Resist]

I also have noticed I am not getting as many suggestions being recorded with 9.3, and yes I have plently of space on the HD.

[WebG]

I haven't done any quantitative analysis, but at least prior to 9.3, I personally thought that that my THDs were far to "aggressive" at wanting to record suggestions, to the point of being annoying, compared to my DirecTiVos.

I think it is a little less aggressive now.

You're right - "less aggressive" may be a better term. I can't imagine that 9.3 would have toggled back the Suggestion recording frequency (how is TiVo to know whether you're actively watching the program tuned in or not during the day? Same way it does it while you're watching live).

I rebooted TiVo over the weekend. Still doing the same (or lack thereof) thing. Bleh. I can't imagine it's because TiVo can't find *anything* worth watching for me... I've got a years worth of Thumbs ratings in there, and the suggestions were pretty much spot on up to this point.

[Resist]

Actually I haven't had any Tivo suggestions in a few weeks. What is up with that? I have been thumbs upping all kinds of shows and still nothing is being recorded.

[doconeill]

Actually I haven't had any Tivo suggestions in a few weeks. What is up with that? I have been thumbs upping all kind of show and still nothing is being recorded.

Have you checked to see if the recording of suggestions may have been disabled somehow?

If you haven't recently, you may want to try a reboot. That might get it to reindex the guide information.

[Resist]

I checked and rechecked everything. It just recorded 2 shows just after my last post, but hasn't recorded anything since.

[doconeill]

If you look under Find Programs/Suggestions, are you seeing programs listed?

I just took a closer look at my main unit. I seem to be getting from 1-6 suggestions recorded a day. This seems a bit low, but a lot closer to what I got with my DirecTiVo units than wht I had pre-9.3, where I could have a dozen or more a day.

Again, this is subjective, but I'm noticing that the TiVo is asking less often (if at all) if it can change the ACTIVE tuner to record a suggestion, which it should never do. I think this may have been part of the "assigned tuner" issue, where a recording was assigned to a particular tuner beforehand, regardless if that tuner was active and the other idle.

I'm not sure if its still asking about the non-active tuner, if it was used recently.

It also no longer complains when I try to change the channel while a suggestion is recording - it used to give the "are you sure?" message, even if it was only a suggestion.

[bobfrank]

Last week my wife pointed out to me that our S2DT in the bedroom hadn't recorded a suggestion for just over a month. I checked to see if suggestions had been turned off accidentally somehow, but it hadn't. I checked Programs/Suggestions and there was nothing there except instructions to use the thumbs up to have TIVO record suggestions.

I turned suggestions off and then back on. Still nothing.

I finally turned suggestions off and rebooted. Then I turned suggestions on and rebooted again. Then I added some more thumbs up to a few programs.

By the next day we had plenty of new suggestions recorded and listed in Programs/Suggestions.

All the steps might not have been needed, but that's what worked for me.

[WebG]

I've turned suggestions on/off, but hadn't tried rebooting during that process. If that works as a solution, then I will know within a day or two.

Can't do it tonight -- too much stuff on between now and midnight.

[Resist]

I still have no suggestions being recorded. Tonight I will try rebooting and see if that corrects things.

[WebG]

Well, I rebooted, then turned suggestions off, rebooted, and turned them back on. TiVo said it needed to reindex before it could start displaying suggestions, so I let it do its thing. I couldn't tell if today's suggestions listing was significantly better or not, so I'm going to wait to see how the weekend holds up before declaring this as a valid solution for this weird problem or not.

[bobfrank]

My TIVO said nothing about reindexing. Also I rebooted as a last step after turning suggestions back on.

I still don't know which steps were necessary, but that is what worked for me.

[Resist]

I rebooted my Tivo and I still am not getting suggestions.

[Resist]

Last night my S3 suggestions recorded one show. It was nothing I gave a thumbs up for. I unplugged my S3 and rebooted again, today I still don't have any new suggestions. Funny, before 9.3 I was getting all kinds of suggestions, like 10 to 20 a day.

[AbMagFab]

Last night my S3 suggestions recorded one show. It was nothing I gave a thumbs up for. I unplugged my S3 and rebooted again, today I still don't have any new suggestions. Funny, before 9.3 I was getting all kinds of suggestions, like 10 to 20 a day.

Maybe it just got tired of recommending things to you when you'd never watch them? It tried, and tried, and you just wouldn't listen? So now it's just giving up, and seeing how you like it?

:p

For what it's worth, I'm getting the same level of suggestions as before (about 5-15 a day).

Habe you tried clearing you thumbs? Perhaps something you rated got it all confused?

[WebG]

well, it's been a week or so and TiVo is still being stingy with its suggestions. If this is related to an undocumented 9.3 feature, I'm very disappointed.

[Resist]

Maybe it just got tired of recommending things to you when you'd never watch them?Nope as most of the things it used to record I watched and kept them as thumbs up.

Update: Today Tivo suggestions finally recorded about 10 shows!

[Poochie]

Bumping this thread since it sounds like the issue I'm still seeing.

My S3 hasn't recorded a suggestion since 5/23. It has plenty of free space (Recently Deleted had 12-15 programs, etc), and I ensured suggestions was turned on in Messages & Settings. I even "permanently deleted" those Recent Delete'd programs. When I went to Find Programs > Suggestions, I didn't see a list of programs, just a screen describing the Suggestions feature with a purple background.

It used to be quite good at recording plenty of suggestions.

What's the remedy? Just keep waiting it out? Reboot the S3?

[Poochie]

A follow-up to my own query, in case others stumble upon this issue.

First, the suggestion-recording had stopped at 5/29, not 5/23 as I originally listed. I doubt this is particularly relevant.

Second, I ended up rebooting the S3 in the middle of last week as it had locked up completely.

Anyway, when I came back from a long weekend, it had appeared to resume recording suggestions at its normal rate. So all appears to be well again.

[alyssa]

Anyone find a solution to the 'suggestions not recording" issue?

I've got 9.3a, a s3 and have tried the suggested fix from the tivo.com site but am still in the wait period.

[Resist]

Mine seems to be suggesting just fine now. It seems you have thumbs up everything all over again. I also rebooted.

[alyssa]

I found a method posted on the tivo help site which did the trick.
uncheck suggestions, reboot, check suggestions, reboot, wait a few hours & suggestions were listed in the suggestions page.

[randymel]

Hey I'm having the same issue - my Tivo used to record a lot of suggestions, but now it never does. I checked and it's still set up to record suggestions (in other words - that feature hasn't been accidentally turned off). I have plenty of disk space, and my Tivo isn't busy recording stuff i told it to during the day. I will try to reboot like someone here suggested and see what happens - I just wanted to let y'all know there are others out there with this problem. I liked to watch some of Tivo's suggestions also :)

[randymel]

Oh I forgot to say that I never use (and never have used) the thumbs up or thumbs down buttons, but Tivo used to record lots of suggestions for me. It doesn't record anything for me anymore. I'm not sure when this started happening (as far as when the upgrade happened, etc.). My software version is 9.4.

[doconeill]

Oh I forgot to say that I never use (and never have used) the thumbs up or thumbs down buttons, but Tivo used to record lots of suggestions for me. It doesn't record anything for me anymore. I'm not sure when this started happening (as far as when the upgrade happened, etc.). My software version is 9.4.

FYI, although you don't use "explicit" thumbs, the TiVo does learn from "implicit" thumbs when you manually record something or set up a season pass, so it does try and learn from it. The implicit ones are always thumbs up, though. It is more accurate if you use both ups and downs.

[randymel]

I understand what you're saying, but that doesn't explain why I used to come home to several Tivo suggestions, and now I never get any. I have never used the explicit thumbs.

[rainwater]

I understand what you're saying, but that doesn't explain why I used to come home to several Tivo suggestions, and now I never get any. I have never used the explicit thumbs.

You may need to reset your thumbs. It's possible you have too many thumbs up and down that TiVo can no longer find a suitable program to record. Also, you may not actually have as much room as you did before so the times in which suggestions are available is much smaller.

[SCSIRAID]

My S3 has stopped recording suggestions. None have recorded in the last 7 days. I usually get about 10 a day but suddenly... they stopped.....