NEW TiVo Search

[davezatz]

New TiVo Search (beta) lands on Series3 and TiVo HD boxes Wednesday. I've got some thoughts and a few pics (http://www.zatznotfunny.com/2009-01/tivo-beefs-up-search-functionality/), and Megazone has even more pics (http://www.gizmolovers.com/2009/01/07/tivo-unveils-an-all-new-search-interface-which-is-familiar/).

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TIVO TRANSFORMS THE TV WORLD ONCE AGAIN BY OFFERING A NEW WAY TO SEARCH & DISCOVER CONTENT

Introduction of New TiVo Search Means Channel Surfing is a Now Thing of the Past Find What You’ve Been Missing

LAS VEGAS, NV. January 7, 2009 -TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), the creator of and a leader in television services for digital video recorders (DVRs), today showed the future of television, unveiling a redesigned TiVo Search feature that offers improved search results with a completely new High Definition design, all at no additional charge. TiVo Search brings users the power of choice, offering millions of pieces of content not available via cable or satellite, along with thousands of linear TV choices. Delivered via broadband, TiVo Search combines a graphics rich experience with simplicity and relevancy that makes it a truly revolutionary way to get more out of your TV.

“What Google did for the Internet, TiVo is now doing for the TV, bringing people a combination of excellent search results and innovative discovery that can’t be found anywhere else,” said Tom Rogers, CEO and President of TiVo Inc. “TiVo has always been known as the best way to watch what you want, when you want it. Now we’re taking that to a new level, using TiVo technology to find just the right program from hundreds of channels and thousands of broadband options, all in seconds. It is clear TiVo is leading the way in providing more choice, and also leading the way in finding content quickly. TiVo Search is a new way to find what you’ve been missing.”

TiVo Search takes advantage of extra screen size afforded by high definition televisions by showing more details about a highlighted program than ever before, eliminating the need to dig down into each and every program to learn what it is about. It ensures the most important information is surfaced right up to the screen you’re already on, equaling less navigation and quick, accurate results.

“One of the best things about the new TiVo Search feature is how it works as a discovery engine, helping users find content they didn’t even know they could get,” said Jim Denney, Vice President of Product Marketing at TiVo Inc. “We’ve added a new discovery bar that gives a quick guide to relevant content, and the search experience incorporates content from broadband sources like Amazon Video on Demand and YouTube. The newly tuned search engine also displays the most popular search results of the day automatically, even when typing only a single letter. Searches work not with just the first word of a title, but any word of the program, which is especially handy when looking for programs with specific search words.”

The new interface not only displays in high definition, it has a focus on finding high definition television content. TiVo search automatically recommends high definition television channels and episodes when users schedule a program to record. Additionally, users can now browse shows season by season and select any episode they want utilizing a robust episode guide. Depending on availability users may record content from cable/antenna, download it from Amazon Video on Demand, or use WishList searches to record it the next time the content is broadcast.

Seeing equals believing, and the new TiVo Search is no exception. Starting today broadband connected TiVo Series3, TiVo HD, and HD XL subscribers can experience a beta version of the feature on their TiVo DVR, which can be found under Music, Photos, and Showcases. For an online preview and to provide your comments and feedback on this new search tool to TiVo visit www.tivo.com/tivosearch.

[ZeoTiVo]

For an online preview and to provide your comments and feedback on this new search tool to TiVo visit www.tivo.com/tivosearch.

Irony :D

Page not found
Hmmm... Seems we couldn't find what you were looking for.

[davezatz]

Irony :D
Page not found
Hmmm... Seems we couldn't find what you were looking for.

Ha. ;) TiVo's m.o. has been to usually launch those pages in the AM when the press release hits the wire. Though if you look at my pic of the UI, you'll see a different link here to the tivocommunity. Hmmmm as well.

[George Cifranci]

Gizmodo has pics here (probably the same ones) if you can't get to that page...

http://i.gizmodo.com/5125062/tivo-search-is-the-future-of-tivo

[bkdtv]

Gizmodo has pics here (probably the same ones) if you can't get to that page...

http://i.gizmodo.com/5125062/tivo-search-is-the-future-of-tivo
The pictures at gizmodo look pretty cool to me. I'm not sure why some other sites are using low-resolution shots; much of the effect is lost.

[Peter Redmer]

We just set up a new forum here exclusively for discussion on this beta feature - there's an announcement in all forums with more info. You can post in the new forum area here:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/searchfeedback

[nrc]

Live now on my S3. And awesome. There's still some occasional slowness in the response to remote inputs but not enough to cause problems. I love the way they let you select among upcoming showings, rentals or purchase for a program. Love the episode guides and love the cast galleries.

Must have access to this from any program entry (guide, current program, now playing) as soon as it's out of Beta.

Kudos Tivo.

Created a new thread for first impressions in the beta forum and copied this in there.

[TiVoPony]

Irony :D

Page not found
Hmmm... Seems we couldn't find what you were looking for.

It may be possible that there was some confusion about the definition of 'midnight'.

Our team was working to midnight pacific. And I'm happy to report that everything was up and ready per schedule. ;)

Pony

[lafos]

Very nice. I just tried it out and it is very responsive and the interface is easy to use. Hope there's a way to adjust the font size. Some of the text is hard to read at the distance I sit.

[NotVeryWitty]

This looks like a nice major upgrade to Swivel Search, but one thing that will keep me from using it is if it runs as slowly as Swivel Search (and other HME apps).

I have 20 Mbps Fios internet service, and a wired connection to the Tivo, but I still suffer from frequent long pauses when doing any HME-based operation. (I wonder if being on the east coast adds any delay in accessing the Tivo servers.)

TivoPony, would you care to comment on whether Tivo has addressed the HME slowness issues with this nice new feature? I'm sure it works great inside the walls of the Tivo building, but out here in the real world not as well.

[I just read over the comments on Dave Zatz's site -- sounds like the slowness problems are still there. :(]

[NotVeryWitty]

I just tried it out and it is very responsive
Hmmm, that sounds encouraging. I'll be interested to hear other people's experiences...

[vstone]

I hope this doesn't include as new feature that showed up on my S2. Whenever I pause I get the option to go search for relared content. You can disable for the remainder of a recording, but you can't turn off the feature.

[wm2008]

I wish they would concentrate on fixing existing issues which are core to the product rather than adding new features.

[Mindflux]

I wish all the items that make use of 'typing' in the TiVo would be uniform. One menu's "keyboard" is 4 characters wide while another is 3.. (or maybe it's 4 and 5 but whatever).

So I go use the Wishlist and see:

ABC
DEF
GHI

Then I go use some other tool and see:

ABCD
EFGH


All of these should be uniform. Bleh! Now this one is even wider than any other I've seen (if I'm remembering right).

[ZeoTiVo]

It may be possible that there was some confusion about the definition of 'midnight'.

Our team was working to midnight pacific. And I'm happy to report that everything was up and ready per schedule. ;)

Pony

I figured I was just a bit ahead of the 'schedule' but could not contain myself due to the irony of the not found message. Kudos on a nice step forward to being the google of media in the living room and the concept of the open acknowledged beta via use of HME app. This could propel TiVo into an even faster turn around time on adding and searching content.

[RoyK]

I hope this doesn't include as new feature that showed up on my S2. Whenever I pause I get the option to go search for relared content. You can disable for the remainder of a recording, but you can't turn off the feature.

I think you would be safe betting that it will.

[Allanon]

Just tried the beta but it was unusable, very long pauses every few seconds. The first pause was so long I thought the Tivo froze and I was ready to reset the Tivo.

[rdodolak]

It may be possible that there was some confusion about the definition of 'midnight'.

Our team was working to midnight pacific. And I'm happy to report that everything was up and ready per schedule. ;)

Pony

The new search beta did show up on my TiVo around midnight pacific. Now, is there any news on if or when new HD TiVo screens will be coming for the rest of the menus?

[TolloNodre]

I wish all the items that make use of 'typing' in the TiVo would be uniform. One menu's "keyboard" is 4 characters wide while another is 3.. (or maybe it's 4 and 5 but whatever).

So I go use the Wishlist and see:

ABC
DEF
GHI

Then I go use some other tool and see:

ABCD
EFGH


All of these should be uniform. Bleh! Now this one is even wider than any other I've seen (if I'm remembering right).

It might be helpful to explain why 'uniform' width is desired by you.

[berkshires]

There is often a problem with 16:9 apps when using a CRT due to overscan causing the loss of some info around the edges.

[erwos]

I wish they would concentrate on fixing existing issues which are core to the product rather than adding new features.
IMHO, the core GUI's almost complete non-use of HD resolutions is a problem that needed to be fixed. This is a very good first step, from what I've seen. If they can tackle the speed issues, they'll be totally on the right path.

[Mr Flippant]

I've tried it and like the HD interface. I really like the episode and cast member listing. Another good feature is the general subject and sub-topic listing. For instance entering "foot" will display Football then below that College Football, NFL Football etc... Then each sub-topic has episodes within.

I was really hoping that this would be the time for Netflix searches to be on the Tivo side. Unfortunately not. Movies even in my Watch Instantly list were not included in the search, instead I am given an option to buy it from Amazon. I hope Netflix listings would be added. Netflix should see this as an opportunity for exposure.

Lastly I am hoping it will speed up some as well. Had a few instances of the "Please Wait" dialog popup where I began to think I was going to have to restart the box. Also when I explored the Amazon interface and then selected to not buy the movie I got kicked out ofthe beta search altogether losing my search string.

[Mindflux]

It might be helpful to explain why 'uniform' width is desired by you.

How'd you like it if your keyboard with on your desktop changed on a whim?

It's desirable so I always know that "D" is always the farthest right character at the top. Yes I can use my eyes to distinguish when it's not.. but uniformity would lead to accelerated use of the search functions and wishlists and so on and so forth. Either that or give us full IR keyboard support.

[puffdaddy]

I believe that the "network remote" listener (that TiVo first added in software version 9.1 to provide Crestron support) provides the ability to enter keyboard keystrokes. This would approximate full IR keyboard support.

[chrisph]

I really want to like this, but, unlike other posters' experiences, my response time is not quick at all.

There seems to be a several second lag (4 - 8 seconds) after every button push.

I am hoping this gets worked out soon, as I really want to try this out.

[MickeS]

I will try this out later, but no matter how it works, I can say that I love that they are finally taking advantage of the 16:9 screen.

[TiivoDog]

I really like the new search and prefer it to Swivel Search, which I also thought was a quality enhancement. The page layout is quite good and I really like how content is linked/mapped to the search, as well as the flow for one to record or rent/buy via Amazon - I would like to see other purchasing avenues incorporated, such as Netflix and others as more content provider relationships are forged. Also, no unnecessary lag time reported here - maybe it's related to my speedy Internet provider :)

Thus far, I think this was pretty well done and I am looking forward to this being blessed as a production application - now, just give me my damn 'widgets' per the posts(s) I have over on the Suggestion Avenue Forum!!!!!!!!

[dmbpj]

I look forward to trying this tonight, but from reading, I too wish they would add Netflix along with Amazon.

[JohnBrowning]

How'd you like it if your keyboard with on your desktop changed on a whim?

It's desirable so I always know that "D" is always the farthest right character at the top. Yes I can use my eyes to distinguish when it's not.. but uniformity would lead to accelerated use of the search functions and wishlists and so on and so forth. Either that or give us full IR keyboard support.

Real keyboard support would be good. I'd like to see the option of a cellphone T9W input mode! That would be much quicker than the current style.

[TolloNodre]

How'd you like it if your keyboard with on your desktop changed on a whim?

It's desirable so I always know that "D" is always the farthest right character at the top. Yes I can use my eyes to distinguish when it's not.. but uniformity would lead to accelerated use of the search functions and wishlists and so on and so forth. Either that or give us full IR keyboard support.

Well, the keyboard on my phone, laptop, Mac and work computer are all different. So I guess I learn to adapt.

But if your vision is an issue I could certainly see where uniformity would be a high priority. Hence why I asked.

[thehepcat]

I'm happy with the new search. definite improvement over the existing search.

[Scyber]

I like it. I never used the old search too much, but this new search might get me to use it more. It would be great to see netflix content their too (with the ability to add it to my instant queue).

I did have an issue trying to setup a season pass for the new season of 24. It bounced me back out to the Music, Photos, & Showcases menu when I selected season pass.

[lrhorer]

It may be possible that there was some confusion about the definition of 'midnight'.
The opposite of mid-day?

Our team was working to midnight pacific. And I'm happy to report that everything was up and ready per schedule. ;)
'Forgot the workd was round, did you? :D

[dmbpj]

this is going so slow for me

[nrc]

Well, the keyboard on my phone, laptop, Mac and work computer are all different. So I guess I learn to adapt.

All of those keyboards probably have largely the same format: QWERTY. Most other devices that have full keyboards (and even some that don't) use that same basic format.

Consistency is a basic precept of good user interface design. That's why it's puzzling that a company that is known for it's UI is all over the place with it's text entry UI.

[Mindflux]

All of those keyboards probably have largely the same format: QWERTY. Most other devices that have full keyboards (and even some that don't) use that same basic format.

Consistency is a basic precept of good user interface design. That's why it's puzzling that a company that is known for it's UI is all over the place with it's text entry UI.

PRECISELY.

[MickeS]

I just tried this out. While I can't speak for the reliability of the search function (I only tried a few search terms), I LOVE the new interface and the functionality!

[dmbpj]

I like the interface, but the sluggishness is terrible

[yunlin12]

Very cool, just found out Joss Whedon appeared in a Veronica Mars episode.

[MickeS]

I LOVE this new interface. The navigation was smooth, the information sensibly organized, and it looked great.

A few problems though:
1. The first 4-5 times I tried to use it, selecting "TiVo Search Beta" did nothing. It sat for a few minutes, then I went back to the main menu. After that, it worked fine again. I WAS doing a guide update call at the same time, though I don't know if that's related or not.

2. The interface was lagging occasionally in response time by about 2-3 seconds at first. I navigated around, and it worked OK, but sometimes lagged. However, I went out to the main menu and did some other stuff, then went back in to search, and it was all of a sudden much speedier - every keypress reacted with the same speed as in the normal TiVo interface.

3. When going to YouTube through a search result, YouTube was REALLY slow, with a lag of 10 seconds at least on keypresses. I have no idea if this is because I went there through TiVo Search or not, but YouTube has not been that slow for me before.

4. After coming back to TiVo Search from YouTube after interrupting the video halfway through, the video stayed on the screen as the background in TiVo Search - search still worked, but it had the YouTube video as a background instead of the regular background. Only way I could get rid of it was going to main menu and back.

A few minor distractions, overall I think this is a great interface! I LOVE the episode guides, and the way the UI lets you pick seasons, for example.

[Mr Flippant]

Well tonight I needed to do a search. My first reaction of course is to go search by title. Ibstead I went and used the new search. I then realized it was much slower than the current search and in the long run I will use the faster one more often. It would be great to speed this up.

[spacelysprockets]

I love the interface, I absolutely hate the slowness. It is unbearably, unusably slow for me.

35 seconds from the menu to the search.
Type in "UNI" then wait 18 seconds before it will accept movement for "T"

Tried it again a few minutes later, same result.

TiVo is hardwired, and internet speed is 6mbps.

If this can be RELIABLY and CONSISTENTLY as fast as the normal search, it's an absolute, total winner.

If the speed doesn't improve substantially, it's an abomination.

[nrc]

When I tried it in the early morning hours the interface seemed very responsive. This evening it was just absolutely unusable. I understand TiVo's reasoning for the remote application approach, but particularly for text input it's really kills the experience.

The problem is that even if you improve it, the nature of the net is going to inject random latencies that are going to make experience less than ideal. This is why technologies like Flash are popular for highly interactive web pages even though it's absolutely contrary to many other web best practices.

At a minimum TiVo needs to find a way to handle the text entry part locally. Waiting for the response to a cursor input when you're selecting characters is absolutely maddening.

[wmcbrine]

I'd suggest getting a better network connection, because HME is not likely to change.

[nrc]

I'd suggest getting a better network connection, because HME is not likely to change.
I have 8Mbs which is well above average for the U.S. If Tivo can't provide satisfactory performance for most of it's users then this feature isn't going to have much impact other than to create frustration.

[NotVeryWitty]

I'd suggest getting a better network connection, because HME is not likely to change.
If Tivo takes this attitude, this is doomed to fail. :o

[turbobozz]

If Tivo takes this attitude, this is doomed to fail. :o

++

HME apps are too slow for primary interface tools.
Also I detest the keypad text entry... especially when hitting left arrow one too many laggy times bumps you back out of the tool/UI/app you are using.
(Severely annoying to me.)

TiVo needs to fix these (at least in future products) for their UI to remain viable and competitive.

[dmbpj]

I love the interface, I absolutely hate the slowness. It is unbearably, unusably slow for me.

35 seconds from the menu to the search.
Type in "UNI" then wait 18 seconds before it will accept movement for "T"

Tried it again a few minutes later, same result.

TiVo is hardwired, and internet speed is 6mbps.

If this can be RELIABLY and CONSISTENTLY as fast as the normal search, it's an absolute, total winner.

If the speed doesn't improve substantially, it's an abomination.
I feel the same. I also have a fast connection.


I tried it this morning and it whizzed around at 7am. In primetime it was unusable and frustrating.

[wmcbrine]

I have 8Mbs which is well above average for the U.S.Latency is the key here, not bandwidth.

If Tivo takes this attitude, this is doomed to fail. :oI'm not TiVo, but I have some knowledge of HME, and I can tell you -- it's easy to say "At a minimum TiVo needs to find a way to handle the text entry part locally," but how would you fit that in to the existing scheme of HME? Well, the answer is that you wouldn't. HME just doesn't work that way. It would be too high-level a construct.

Of course TiVo could replace (or supplement) HME with some new system that did more work on the TiVo side. Don't hold your breath.

[Iluvatar]

Latency is the key here, not bandwidth.

I'm not TiVo, but I have some knowledge of HME, and I can tell you -- it's easy to say "At a minimum TiVo needs to find a way to handle the text entry part locally," but how would you fit that in to the existing scheme of HME? Well, the answer is that you wouldn't. HME just doesn't work that way. It would be too high-level a construct.

Of course TiVo could replace (or supplement) HME with some new system that did more work on the TiVo side. Don't hold your breath.

Understandable, but considering the direction TiVo is going with these new HME apps I think it would be a wise decision to develop a next-gen HME framework with these types of issues in mind.

[turbobozz]

Understandable, but considering the direction TiVo is going with these new HME apps I think it would be a wise decision to develop a next-gen HME framework with these types of issues in mind.

Like client side text entry widgets and some other client side UI stuff so that the TiVo doesn't have to wait for a server response to update the UI for *every* click.
(I'm assuming that's how HME's work now.)

[ZeoTiVo]

Understandable, but considering the direction TiVo is going with these new HME apps I think it would be a wise decision to develop a next-gen HME framework with these types of issues in mind.

Bear in mind we do not have a road map of where this is all going. TiVoPony has that but has opted not to publicly post it for any competitors.:)

However some speculation on this is fairly straightforward.
This HME app is a BETA and by using HME TiVo can take in feedback and make changes that we would all see on our TiVo DVRs tomorrow with no need to push out an update. Use of HME allows them to do a large open BETA and not break boxes or have long turnarounds.
HME was not necessarily chosen in itself as the final form of this. I think for the Series 3 HME is the final form but the in design series 4 will very likely be more Java based as it will need to run OCAP in a sandbox for tru2way to begin with.
So what is learned from adding in the HME TiVo Search adn getting the open BETA feedback from a significant base of users can be pulled into the UI design for the series 4 almost directly. This search for media to watch right away is at the heart of how a next generation Media Server should base all its functions around. The series 4 should not be your daddy's DVR but something much more.

as for interaction with a back end server for data and graphics and to hook up to the media downloads, well a connected living room is just that. there really is no way to make a useful media search tool that resides mainly in the DVR without giving that DVR the power and the cost of a PC to sort and catagorize things.


I can recall patiently doing things on the internet with a 56K BAUD modem and literally watching the web page draw itself as it took 20 seconds to load a simple text and some graphics. People would see me doing that and go, Man how you can deal with that. I smiled and said someday we will have big ISDN pipes or cable company big pipe and this will all go a lot faster and more people will use it. IPTV is kind of at that analog modem stage where simple content is very useable and more detailed content is there for adapters who are willing top deal with the limitations.

So I suspect TiVo will do the balance act - after all no one HAS to use TiVo Search on the series 3, and be ready for the next big thing as the hardware and bandwidth allow for it to go mainstream and move from users who put up with BAUD modems to users who only want snappy web pages over a cable modem.

[mchief]

CEO Rogers was on CNBC this afternoon talking about the great new search.

[bkdtv]

This HME app is a BETA and by using HME TiVo can take in feedback and make changes that we would all see on our TiVo DVRs tomorrow with no need to push out an update. Use of HME allows them to do a large open BETA and not break boxes or have long turnarounds.

HME [running remotely from a TiVo server] was not necessarily chosen in itself as the final form of this.Quoted for emphasis.

[wmcbrine]

I can recall patiently doing things on the internet with a 56K BAUD modem and literally watching the web page draw itself as it took 20 seconds to load a simple text and some graphics.Noob. In my day, we had *300* bps modems, no graphics, and no Internet -- just local BBSes and $ervice$ like Compu$erve. The text came in at reading speed. And we liked it! :D

[ZeoTiVo]

Noob. In my day, we had *300* bps modems, no graphics, and no Internet -- just local BBSes and $ervice$ like Compu$erve. The text came in at reading speed. And we liked it! :D

well I left off the really hoary stuff ;) Though for me I waited for per month Internet versus by the hour so I joined in at 1200 baud Prodigy :eek: - but I did not want to scare the young folk with scary stories.

[kiko]

I tried it last night here in Honolulu, and it was so painfull, even after waiting 10 minutes for the main screen, and then every key was at least another minute. My Internet is DSL 11Mb not shabby as dsl goes.

Even trying to get back to any other screen was more than 2 minutes.

[MickeS]

I tried it tonight, and again it took 4-5 tried to get the app launched.

However, once it launched there was ZERO lag - everything ran as if it was the regular TiVo interface. And I only have 256k op /1.5M down Internet. :)

It did however lock up on me. I searched for "CH" for American Chopper, went to the program info screen and selected "Record Next Episode", and then I got the "Please Wait" indicator, for like 2 minutes. I clicked on the TiVo button and left the search app, and checked my To Do list. The show was scheduled to be recorded as I had requested.

Also, "Record Next Episode" seemed like a weird wording. There were 2 shows listed, one 1/10 and one 1/17. The one I selected to record was the 1/17 one. To call that "Record Next Episode" seems odd. Shouldn't it be "Record this episode" at that time? I could se using "Record Next Episode" as the label if you're on the main program description screen, but when selecting an individual episode, it should say "this" instead... IMO. :)

I LOVE that the search is not alphabetical by default, but instead goes by "best match/most popular" or whatever it's called. Makes much more sense.

It was a little weird though for search settings to be accessed by pressing the "Clear" button.

[dmbpj]

this search is terrible

[bkdtv]

this search is terribleCould you be more specific? Give TiVo something to go on so they can improve it.

[nrc]

Latency is the key here, not bandwidth.Yes, but that's irrelevant to the average user. If it doesn't work well with a typical internet connection it will fail.

I'm not TiVo, but I have some knowledge of HME, and I can tell you -- it's easy to say "At a minimum TiVo needs to find a way to handle the text entry part locally," but how would you fit that in to the existing scheme of HME? Well, the answer is that you wouldn't. HME just doesn't work that way. It would be too high-level a construct.

HME already allows you to create active resources in the form of streams or images playing on your TiVo. Active resources are already high enough level to respond to key inputs on their own (play or pause in a music stream, for example). There's no reason that they can't add a new active resource type that would handle user input and send resource status events when characters are selected.

This forum was created to get feedback on this new search. The resounding response has been that it's not responsive enough. "Get a better network connection" isn't a solution and suggesting it isn't helpful to anyone.

[nrc]

Also, "Record Next Episode" seemed like a weird wording. There were 2 shows listed, one 1/10 and one 1/17. The one I selected to record was the 1/17 one. To call that "Record Next Episode" seems odd. Shouldn't it be "Record this episode" at that time? I could se using "Record Next Episode" as the label if you're on the main program description screen, but when selecting an individual episode, it should say "this" instead... IMO. :)

I noticed this as well. "Record Next Episode" when you've selected a specific episode is very confusing. I don't want the "next episode" I want the episode that I selected.

[ZeoTiVo]

Yes, but that's irrelevant to the average user. If it doesn't work well with a typical internet connection it will fail.

this being a Beta and TiVo already posting to us about how they are finding backend things to fix to improve performance, it seems kind of too soon to prejudge how this will play out performance wise.
Sure 4 second lags and Please wait icons that seem to be waiting for Godot are not a 'shipping' product. I can wait 2 seconds though if I know those 2 seconds are being spent churning some back end data to present me a nice screen full of the details about a show or movie along with the cast and with extras from You Tube, etc.

The latency issue will boil down to those for whom the app just seems to always hang. That would possibly mean there is a latency problem for that user and no amount of tweaking anything TiVo wise will fix that. In fact that is why an overloaded HME server becomes so noticeable and without proper session timeouts coded in will just crash the server. TiVo is most likely finding the places that show up on a large server load now.

[rdodolak]

I think I might have found a strange display issue and was wondering if anyone else can replicate this to rule out any issues on my end?

I've tried this under the following shows (Battlestar Galatica, House, Stargate SG-1, Heroes, etc) and it seems to be the same for all of them. Select a show, select Bonus features, select Related items. The Please Wait icon moves to the upper left hand corner of the page before taking you to a standard def??? Amazon Products screen. However the Amazon Products screen seems to have a pseudo widescreen aspect ratio which has a 2" black bar on the left hand side and a 1" black bar on the right hand side.

[MickeS]

I think I might have found a strange display issue and was wondering if anyone else can replicate this to rule out any issues on my end?

I've tried this under the following shows (Battlestar Galatica, House, Stargate SG-1, Heroes, etc) and it seems to be the same for all of them. Select a show, select Bonus features, select Related items. The Please Wait icon moves to the upper left hand corner of the page before taking you to a standard def??? Amazon Products screen. However the Amazon Products screen seems to have a pseudo widescreen aspect ratio which has a 2" black bar on the left hand side and a 1" black bar on the right hand side.

The "Amazon Products" screen for me is in the middle of the screen, so the left/right black bars are both the same width. You're right, it's not widescreen, but not 4:3 either, it's somewhere inbetween.

[rdodolak]

The "Amazon Products" screen for me is in the middle of the screen, so the left/right black bars are both the same width. You're right, it's not widescreen, but not 4:3 either, it's somewhere inbetween.

Hmm ... I wonder why the left/right bars are showing up differently on my display? After a bit of experimenting, it appears even 4:3 content on my TV isn't center and is off by 1". Now I just had the optical block on my TV replaced the other day, but I also usually only watch widescreen HD content so probably wouldn't have noticed it.

I ran the overscan and geometry test screens after the repair and everything seemed ok. I guess I'll have to do a bit more investigation and try taking the TiVo out of the loop to see if it is the TiVo which has the problem. However, that will have to wait until tomorrow since it's too late tonight.

EDIT: It wasn't the TiVo ... somehow my alignment was messed up even though I checked it and made any proper mods after the repair. Reran the test patterns and realigned and now everything is perfect. I guess I could say that the beta uncovered an issue with the settings on my televeision!

[Joe3]

:o:oGave it a another try 24hr latter,

Still slow and rebooting. :mad:

No problem with HD streaming so my internet can handle it.

I have to call it a disappointing experience and I won't be going back to it anytime soon.

Tivo, you can't blame this one on cable unless they are doing something to the stream after it picks-up heavy use which would be unlikely and hard to prove.

Good forward thinking does little with poor execution, beta or no beta.

:o

[angel35]

[QUOTE=Joe3;6981399]:o:oGave it a another try 24hr latter,

Still slow and rebooting. :mad:

No problem with HD streaming so my internet can handle it.

I have to call it a disappointing experience and I won't be going back to it anytime soon.

Tivo, you can't blame this one on cable unless they are doing something to the stream after it picks-up heavy use which would be unlikely and hard to prove.

Good forward thinking does little with poor execution, beta or no beta.

:o[/QUOTE[/ How can i stop rebooting??:confused:

[gibby]

can someone tell me how to get this
I am a beta tester but I don't see this in my que and I have done several tivo updates and still no new search ??

[steve614]

It's on the Tivo (Series 3, HD, HD XL) under the Music, Photos & Showcases menu.
It's labled "Tivo Search Beta".

[gibby]

It's on the Tivo (Series 3, HD, HD XL) under the Music, Photos & Showcases menu.
It's labled "Tivo Search Beta".

Ahhhhh
thank you
what a dummy I am sometimes