dylanemcgregor
11-02-2009, 06:59 PM
I like music videos, not all the time, but occasionally. When TiVo first launched Music Choice downloads it seemed like a good way to catch up with what the kids were listening to these days, and it gave us something to watch if one of was interrupted for a few minutes while we were watching TV. Even in the beginning it had things that could have been better. It would have been nice to have some kind of playlist or "play all" feature. Even better would be able to set-up automatic downloads of your favorite artists (or maybe even suggestions based on other artists you've downloaded). But all in all, for a free addition Music Choice wasn't too bad. Lately though it seems to have gotten close to useless.
The way I've used it in the past is generally to browse by genre and pick a bunch of stuff out that I either haven't heard of or might have heard the bands name, but didn't know the music. Every couple of months I might go through and pick out 30 or 40 videos that seem interesting. They tend to take some time to download, so I can't go and listen to them right away. I try to listen to a few at a time when I have time.
The last couple of times I've done this though most of the videos are set to expire almost immediately. I downloaded a bunch of stuff on Halloween night, and at least 10 songs have already been deleted, with a bunch more flagged for deletion. This is not the first time this has happened either. I'm just not sure I understand the use case for this feature. Are they expecting people to just select one video to download, wait 10 minutes or so for it to download, watch and delete right then? I could go to Youtube and get instant gratification if that is what I wanted. :confused:
I've discovered a few bands via Music Choice. MGMT and Silversun Pickups I had never heard of until I saw them here, and I bought the records for both. Against Me! and Amy Winehouse I'd heard of, and had some early stuff, but watching the videos on Music Choice caused me to go out and buy more recent albums. The only way that works is if I actually have a chance to watch the videos though, if they delete them before I've even had a chance to watch, then they just wasted the cost of the bandwidth.
I know no one from TiVo is reading this, and I also know that if they were there is most likely nothing they could do (except maybe give me a play all feature). I'm sure the restrictions are being placed by the content holders, but I just wish someone could explain the point of these kinds of restrictions. OK. End Rant.
The way I've used it in the past is generally to browse by genre and pick a bunch of stuff out that I either haven't heard of or might have heard the bands name, but didn't know the music. Every couple of months I might go through and pick out 30 or 40 videos that seem interesting. They tend to take some time to download, so I can't go and listen to them right away. I try to listen to a few at a time when I have time.
The last couple of times I've done this though most of the videos are set to expire almost immediately. I downloaded a bunch of stuff on Halloween night, and at least 10 songs have already been deleted, with a bunch more flagged for deletion. This is not the first time this has happened either. I'm just not sure I understand the use case for this feature. Are they expecting people to just select one video to download, wait 10 minutes or so for it to download, watch and delete right then? I could go to Youtube and get instant gratification if that is what I wanted. :confused:
I've discovered a few bands via Music Choice. MGMT and Silversun Pickups I had never heard of until I saw them here, and I bought the records for both. Against Me! and Amy Winehouse I'd heard of, and had some early stuff, but watching the videos on Music Choice caused me to go out and buy more recent albums. The only way that works is if I actually have a chance to watch the videos though, if they delete them before I've even had a chance to watch, then they just wasted the cost of the bandwidth.
I know no one from TiVo is reading this, and I also know that if they were there is most likely nothing they could do (except maybe give me a play all feature). I'm sure the restrictions are being placed by the content holders, but I just wish someone could explain the point of these kinds of restrictions. OK. End Rant.