Is Tivo really this smart? ...recording

[steelymatt]

I set up a Season Pass to record a show called Top10 on the hockey channel. It's been recording different episodes (e.g. "Top10 Goals", "Top10 Draft Picks", etc.) I have it set on First Run & Repeats. But the show is 5 years old so the episodes are all clearly repeats.

Some of the episodes are shown several times a day, but I only see one version of it on the DVR. Is it really smart enough to know not record multiple copies of the same show? I also think it may not be recording certain episodes once it's recorded and watch. In other words, it records Top10 Goals, I watch it and then it knows not to record that episode again.

Am I imagining these features or is the DVR really this smart? Thanks.

[CrispyCritter]

Yes, it keeps track of all shows recorded in the past 28 days and won't re-record them.
You can see what it does by looking at "Finding shows/todolist/recording history" and it will tell you why it is nto recording the duplicated shows.

[netringer]

Look at the show info. If it has an episode number or unique show description the TiVo won't duplicate it.

[wmcbrine]

Yes, it won't record an old rerun again for 28 days, or for as long as you keep it. It distinguishes each episode, not just new vs. rerun.

But this only works if the TiVo has good guide data for the show, which isn't always the case.

[steelymatt]

Wow, what a great feature! Is there any way to modify the days (28) to something like 365? Thanks for the info.

[moonscape]

Wow, what a great feature! Is there any way to modify the days (28) to something like 365? Thanks for the info.

Unfortunately no -

[jstrazz]

Yes, it won't record an old rerun again for 28 days, or for as long as you keep it. It distinguishes each episode, not just new vs. rerun.

But this only works if the TiVo has good guide data for the show, which isn't always the case.

That's correct... it doesn't work for Comedy Central Shows because it does not give good guide data. If you set up a season pass for "The Daily Show", it will record the same episode EVERY TIME IT'S ON. It doesn't matter how you set up the season pass.:mad:

[bkdtv]

That's correct... it doesn't work for Comedy Central Shows because it does not give good guide data. If you set up a season pass for "The Daily Show", it will record the same episode EVERY TIME IT'S ON. It doesn't matter how you set up the season pass.:mad:There is a workaround, of course, to grab only new episodes and ignore the repeats with a generic description.

From the TivoHD Overview, Q&A, Setup, Tips (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=419994) sticky.

Use the "Tupper Method (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5682671#post5682671)" to eliminate repeats of certain programs with bad guide data.

A few shows like The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Big Brother, and The Tonight Show don't always provide good guide data for their re-runs. These re-runs lack episode titles and they use generic descriptions. Without good guide data, a TiVo series recording can't determine whether these are new or repeats, so it "plays it safe" and records them all.

To get around this, the conventional wisdom is to create a repeating manual recording, such as M-F @ 11:00pm. However, new functionality added in the 9.1 software provides a more elegant solution. Here's how:


Create a new WishList under Find Programs -> Wishlists.

Enter the show title as a single Title Keyword (ex: Daily Show with Jon Stewart)

Enter the generic program description as a single Keyword (ex: A humorous slant on top news stories).

Select this keyword and press thumbs up/down to mark it with a minus sign (ex: -A humorous slant on top news stories).

Set the WishList to Auto Record with "First run only".

This will record all new episodes and ignore the repeat episodes with generic guide data. It replaces the season pass for the show. Examples:

Amazing Race
Title Keyword: Amazing Race*
Keyword: -Eleven Teams Of Two Travel The Globe
Keyword: -Reality Remix
Category: Interests:Reality

Colbert Report
Title Keyword: Colbert Report
Keyword: -Discuss current issues

Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Title Keyword: Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Keyword: -A humorous slant on top news stories

Late Night
Title Keyword: Late Night
Keyword: -Interviews and comedy sketches

Survivor
Title Keyword: Survivor*
Keyword: -I SHOULDN*T BE ALIVE
Category: Interests:Reality

Tonight Show with Jay Leno
Title Keyword: Tonight Show
Keyword: -Jay Leno interviews

If you want to always ensure that you get a HD version when available, remove (uncheck) the SD version of the appropriate channels from Settings -> Channels -> Channels List.

Note: Don't forget to remove your old season pass for the show from Season Pass Manager.

Full credit to Martin Tupper (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5682671#post5682671) for this tip.

[mattack]

That's correct... it doesn't work for Comedy Central Shows because it does not give good guide data. If you set up a season pass for "The Daily Show", it will record the same episode EVERY TIME IT'S ON. It doesn't matter how you set up the season pass.:mad:

Ignoring the wishlist workaround posted.. I have to defend Comedy Central *a tiny bit*.

They actually seem to have reliable guide data WHEN THEY HAVE NEW EPISODES. When they don't have new episodes and the regular Monday reruns.. it's the generic guide data.

So this week is hell of removing a lot of duplicates.

I'm only defending them a tiny bit since they *used* to NOT have even reliable data when they were doing new episodes.