Still only 30 min buffer?

[CallMeBob]

Do the new boxes still only have a 30 min buffer or is there any way to extend the time?

[magnus]

Should there be more? How much more? Configurable?

[aaronwt]

What does a larger buffer do for you?

[Resist]

I would prefer a 60 minute buffer. Lets say I get home around 6:40PM, turn on my TV and a show I would like to record is currently being buffered. If it started at 6PM I can get the whole thing recorded. With only a 30 minute buffer, this would not be possible.

Granted the trade off would be recording space, but I could live with that.

[T1V0]

tivo has had pieces of code in there for this since at least 8.x, but it's incomplete. it's not that difficult to pull off, and the loss of recording space is minimal

*shrug

[bkdtv]

Dish Network has a 60 minute buffer. DirecTV has a 90 minute buffer. Moxi has a 90 minute (average) buffer. The latest Time Warner and Brighthouse DVRs have a 90 minute buffer.

A 30-minute buffer is no longer competitive with new cable and satellite DVRs; hopefully, TiVo realizes that.

[magnus]

When they do.... I want it configurable. Just like it is for TWP and a hacked box.

It's all well and good to have 90 minute buffers just to be the same as others but I don't want to use up all that hard drive space for 2 tuners x 90 minutes.

[JSearfoss]

I agree. All the other DVR's I have had had a bigger buffer. As you say it makes it much easier to watch a movie if you turn on the TV in the middle of the movie that was already playing. The buffer should actually be variable. It should buffer the whole movie that is currently playing. When the movie is over the buffer is cleared and the next movie is buffered. That way you can catch any movie if you need to. If they must have a set buffer space I would vote for 2 hours.

[magnus]

@JSearfoss A 2 hour buffer for each tuner? That means that you will have ~ 41 hours.

[mattack]

I would prefer a 60 minute buffer. Lets say I get home around 6:40PM, turn on my TV and a show I would like to record is currently being buffered. If it started at 6PM I can get the whole thing recorded. With only a 30 minute buffer, this would not be possible.

Though if you hit record at 6:40, you MIGHT actually get the whole thing.. since "30 minutes" apparently isn't actually hardcoded.. it's just *at least* 30 minutes and (IIRC) depends upon the bitrate of the current channel or something like that.

(In other words, you often get part of the PREVIOUS program when trying to record the current show.. which is a pain..)

[gweempose]

I agree that it would be ideal if the buffer were configurable. This way, everyone could adjust it so it best fits their needs. Personally, I wish I could set it so the buffer would automatically utilize all of the available free space on the machine. This is how it worked on ReplayTV, and I kind of miss it.

[CallMeBob]

Should there be more? How much more? Configurable?

Yes, there should be more. How much? At least and hour per tuner. Configurable? Sure, why not? Then everyone can be happy.

I never understood why people on this forum seem to think that what they want is the only way things should be. If you like a 30 minute buffer...great. I haven't had Tivo since I left D* years ago. I currently use a cable DVR and I'm thinking about switching to the Premiere. Currently my Moto DVR has and hour buffer on both tuners, which I actually like. Why can't Tivo make it configurable so that everyone can be happy? Makes sense to me.

What does a larger buffer do for you?

What does a larger buffer hurt? Especially if it is configurable and you can keep your 30 mins?