Update around the corner...

[mikerr]

From the VM forum:

This week we have begun a limited pilot of our next TiVo software release.
This new software includes many new improvements as well as key
developments that will enable the launch of future products.
We’ll be rolling it out to everyone well before Christmas.

Here’s a sneak peek of what you can expect:

• Spotify Support: We’ll support Spotify’s high quality streaming format,
  which will enable the Spotify Premium App on the TiVo platform.
  
  
• Red Button: This update adds extra functionality necessary to support
  Red Button services developed by our channel partners, such as BBC, ITV,
  and Sky Sports
  
  
• TiVo App support: We've enabled the connection of your TiVo box to iOS
  devices through your wireless router to use our fantastic TiVo app, which
  allows you to control the TiVo box, browse, search and manage recordings
  all from your iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch.
  
  
• A new look for YouTube: We’ll support Google’s completely revamped
  YouTube app, which allows for a more relaxed viewing and browsing
  experience, and supports HD video!
  
  
• Full BBC iPlayer integration: We’ve changed the way Catch-up TV through
  BBC iPlayer works. Every BBC iPlayer programme will now be available
  through Search & Browse, including much more HD content, and
  you’ll never use up a tuner for BBC iPlayer viewing.
  
  
• Express Series Links: Create a Series Link with default settings at the
  click of a button.
  
  
• Multi-tap text entry: Use the number keys on your remote like a mobile
  phone for text entry for typing into search.
  
  
• Automatic Padding: We’ve had tremendous feedback from customers
  about clipped recordings, so we’ve installed a default level of padding
  for all recordings.
  
  
• Improved Parental Controls: We’ve made some changes with PIN entry
  requirements to suit every household. In the new update, PIN challenges on
  pre-watershed playback of programmes in My Shows become optional.
  We’ve also added the ability to require PIN to access any application.
  
  
• Skippable Music Playlists: Playlists on Music on Demand will be skippable
  by track
  
  
• Live Pay-per-view Events: Live pay-per-view events become bookable
  with your remote control.
  
  
• HD Upscaling: As promised on this forum, we’ve addressed the issue with
  our picture quality and this new update features better standard definition
  picture quality with improved upscaling.
  
  
• Connection reliability: HDMI and SCART compatibility improved.
  
  
• Info and Stop button functionality improved: You’ll be able to use the
  ‘info’ button in the TV programme guide and the mini guide, while the Stop
  button now works as you would expect.
  
  
• Video Preview for every channel: Every channel will keep playing in the
  TV Guide window, including all the Sky channels.

Network ports are open now in 15.2, so various remote apps work on iphone and android,
unfortunately not streaming yet.

[Paul Webster]

Largely as leaked a while ago - and very welcome.

[kandinsky]

Better late than never.....

[mikerr]

TiVo App support: We've enabled the connection of your TiVo box to iOS
devices through your wireless router to use our fantastic TiVo app

When the app is out, we should be able to play with the network port

It's a pilot in only 2 areas at the moment (Crawley and Cambridge) for 3500 customers updated with v15.2 today,
and *whispers* it seems to have multi room streaming turned on !

[mikerr]

First reports show:

UI is much faster (some say 3-4x)
Automatic padding is 1 min before, 4 mins after

[Zaichik]

The automatic padding thing has really annoyed me. A small number of very vocal people on the Virgin forums who are too lazy to add padding to the few (BBC) programmes that need it kick up a stink, so Virgin introduces mandatory padding and forces the rest of us to remove it from the majority of recordings where it's not needed to avoid clashes and wasted disc space!

At least give us the option to turn it off!

[OzSat]

I personally think that a global adding setting should be there - but user definable in the settings menu.

I also find that programmes that tend to start early need 2 minutes to start.

The One Show usually needs three to catch the intro.

[mikerr]

Disk space isn't an issue nowadays, surely !
and it won't cause clashes (clipping in settings should be turned on)

Apparently it can be turned off on each season pass / recording as desired (its the default which has been changed).

I agree this and the (bizarre) reminder issue a vocal minority are moaning about are forcing VM / TiVo to add these features ahead of others.

[Zaichik]

Originally Posted by mikerr

Disk space isn't an issue nowadays, surely !
and it won't cause clashes (clipping in settings should be turned on)

Apparently it can be turned off on each season pass / recording as desired (its the default which has been changed).

And that's precisely my point. The vocal minority have moaned about a need to manually add it to recordings to avoid the end being cut off some of them when they over-run so now the rest of us have to manually remove it from the majority of recordings.

Space can be an issue if you record lots of HD shows.

And, as I understand it, clipping will only cut the padding from the lower priority show in the clash. This presumably means that if the later show is lower priority, you will lose the 4 minutes that the earlier show is automatically set to overlap by.

[cwaring]

Originally Posted by Zaichik

The automatic padding thing has really annoyed me. A small number of very vocal people on the Virgin forums who are too lazy to add padding to the few (BBC) programmes that need it kick up a stink, so Virgin introduces mandatory padding and forces the rest of us to remove it from the majority of recordings where it's not needed to avoid clashes and wasted disc space! At least give us the option to turn it off!

Not to mention the completely redundant 'reminder'

I replied too soon

Originally Posted by mikerr

I agree this and the (bizarre) reminder issue a vocal minority are moaning about are forcing VM / TiVo to add these features ahead of others.

[OzSat]

Originally Posted by Zaichik

And, as I understand it, clipping will only cut the padding from the lower priority show in the clash. This presumably means that if the later show is lower priority, you will lose the 4 minutes that the earlier show is automatically set to overlap by.

The lower priority show will be the one lowest down the series link manager - it could be the earlier programme.

[Johnny_boy]

No mention of searching music on demand? This is a real pain just now, it can take 5-10 mins to get to a track

[mikerr]

[Tony Hoyle]

Cool... so it doesn't work? Or don't you have two tivos

[davezatz]

Originally Posted by mikerr

Do you also have Spotify and the updated YouTube app you could photograph and share? Much obliged.

[TIVO_YORK99]

To get a Tivo in another room, would I have to pay an activation fee and installation fee?, or is it free with an additional £6.50 to pay per month (I'm on M+ TV)

[Major dude]

Originally Posted by TIVO_YORK99

To get a Tivo in another room, would I have to pay an activation fee and installation fee?, or is it free with an additional £6.50 to pay per month (I'm on M+ TV)

I think it is £49.95 one off + £6.50 @month for us on M+. See the other thread on this.

[RichardJH]

At the moment activation is free but £49.95 installation.
So 2nd Tivo 500GB is one off £49.95. 1TB will cost an extra one off £49.95 for the box.
I opted for the 500GB as my 2nd box because with the future streaming option the 2nd box won't need to record as much. My existing 1TB box is normally running at 85% full

[mikerr]

Originally Posted by davezatz

Do you also have Spotify and the updated YouTube app you could photograph and share? Much obliged.

Spotify app isn't on there yet - v15.2 adds support for spotify streaming, so the app will just appear one day soon.
TiVo apps can be added at any time without needing a software update.

The youtube app seems to have been rolled back, but here it was:

[Gostwycke]

Does the update still require us to add padding?

My Humax FreeSat box did not require any padding. The start and end times were transmitted with the program so it started and stopped recording at just the right places. This does not seem to be the case with Tivo.

Are there any plans to change this? Are there technical reasons why Tivo cannot do the same?

[cwaring]

Originally Posted by Gostwycke

Does the update still require us to add padding?

No. The update will auto auto-padding.

My Humax FreeSat box did not require any padding. The start and end times were transmitted with the program so it started and stopped recording at just the right places. This does not seem to be the case with Tivo.

Are there any plans to change this?

No.

Are there technical reasons why Tivo cannot do the same?

Yes. A dynamic EPG requires input from the broadcaster but cable is a closed system and their EPG is out-sourced to third-parties.

To be honest, I've managed fine for over ten years without one

[VirginMediaPhil]

Actually, VM are considering a dynamic EPG, as stated on the official Help & Support forums. They have said though that it would take a while to implement it and it would not be controllable (i.e. would be on all the time).

[cwaring]

Fair enough. I don't go on there so didn't know that.

[Tony Hoyle]

Ooh... http://community.virginmedia.com/t5/...ht/true#M25113

"The software update has begun and is being done region by region."

[TIVO_YORK99]

The word on the street is that the upgrades will start tomorrow and be finished by Friday.

[cwaring]

Last I heard it was due to start in the middle of November so this is great news

[TIVO_YORK99]

I was hoping that you were going to ask me for a link Carl, then I could give a link just saying streets but you didn't ask for one

Here is the link I read anyway,

http://community.virginmedia.com/t5/...ek/td-p/814939

I know you don't read that forum (don't blame you, bunch of whiney people moaning about reminders). Its hard to wade through the posts to find decent information.

The thread has now been updated by Nick Ontiveros who seems to be high up in Virgin and he says that they'll announce the update dates sometime this week. Sounds like you may be right with mid november.

[cwaring]

Originally Posted by TIVO_YORK99

I was hoping that you were going to ask me for a link Carl, then I could give a link just saying streets but you didn't ask for one

Well I had been out all at a radio networking (people, not stations) meeting in Manchester so was quite tired and didn't spot it

[mikerr]

According to Media Boy over at cableforum, he has been given TiVo update dates for 15.2 :


17 November:
Basildon
Grimsby
Nottingham

21 November:
Aztec
Guildford
Lewisham
Manchester
Preston
Reading
Portsmouth
Southport

22 November:
Barnsley
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Haringey
Hayes
Knowsley
Luton

23 November:
Belfast
Birmingham
Brighton
Cardiff
Coventry
Croydon
Derry
Gateshead
Leeds
Leicester
Northampton
Warwick
Wearside
Wolverhampton

24 November:
Andover
Ashford
Bromley
Colchester
Derby
Hemel
Kirklees
Liverpool
Newton Abbot
Norwich
Oxford
Seven Kings
South Herts
Southampton
Stafford
Stoke
Swansea
Swindon
Teesside
Uddingston
Wessex
York

http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/35...-post4197.html

Also spotify likely to appear pretty much immediately afterwards (25th/28th ?)

The Spotify app is being tested as we speak. We'd like to launch it as close to the update going live to the entire TiVo population as possible.
Nick Ontiveros
TV Strategy, Digital Entertainment

http://community.virginmedia.com/t5/.../806045/page/2

[deshepherd]

Originally Posted by mikerr

According to Media Boy over at cableforum, he has been given TiVo update dates for 15.2 :

....
21 November:
Aztec
...

For anyone confused as to why Virgin might be sending updates to a 16th century Latin American civilization then I think "Aztec" refers to their Aztec West site (which is about 200m from where I'm currently working!) which serves the Bristol area