SD v HD menu choice?

Likewise encountered that for the first time tonight, on my way to Netflix. Cound not get to Netflix until I switched over to HD menus. I don't like HD menus.

I'm going to hope that TiVo doesn't really care if I choose to miss out on the benefits of HD menus, and that they will correct the error in an upcoming update.

 

There are no SD menus on the Series 5 TiVo's. No further development is being a done on SD menus.

 

Is there a fix to this new aspect problem?

I'm viewing in 480 and the recent change his completely messed up all VOD stuff (Netflix, Yahoo)

Everything is stuck in a squeezed/cropped mess and changing aspect in the video menu doesn't do anything to change it at all.

 

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I have what may be a related problem with my tivo premiere using an SD TV. I cannot even access video on demand, as the link is not working. When I select "video on demand", I get a standard message titled "Video applications and menus". It has the instructions about how to set up HD menus, which is not applicable to my SD TV, and the menu choice is already properly set for SD. When I click on the bottom to exit the screen, it sends me back to Tivo Central, a vicious circle. A power off/on cycle failed to restore it. Having called Tivo customer support, they told me that I would have to check my wireless adapter, which has a 55% signal, which, however, is no different than previously. They told me that I would have to hook up my Tivo box directly to ethernet, which is a big deal. I would have to take the tivo to the ethernet source and plug it in, but there is no way to hook it up to a TV there. Tivo says I can then call them and they can check signal. The customer rep denied Tivo having done any internal program changes in last week. However, from various message posts in the community forum, it suggests to me that some internal Tivo change has caused this problem, Before I go through the hassle of the wireless check, I'll wait to see if "they" fix it somehow.

 

That sounds like a smart strategy. Clearly something changed within the last couple days.

I don't mind if no further development is done on SD menus -- they give all the functionality I want.

 

That was customer dis-service.

Nonsense that this new re-route in the menu for "tivo on demand" forcing us to choose the HD menu has anything to do with your internet connection..

Holy incompetence!

FYI My Tivo is connected via cat5 ethernet and I have the same issue...IT ISN'T THE STUPID INTERNET CONNECTION!

It's a menu change, of course Tivo changed something...

Maybe customer dis-service didn't get the memo

Really don't want to have to switch to HD... we have a very nice "old" 36" Cathode Ray picture tube TV and are just fine with it..

Customer service is closed now so I'll get on the horn when they are available...

Gonna be more than a little PO'd if I have to buy a new TV to use the TIVO box I purchased for my current TV 4 years ago and worked just fine until now...


will post my findings ..sometimes you have to wonder about the way these companies operate...

 

You really bought a 36" CRT 4 years ago? sorry but you are not Tivo's target demographic IMNSHO.

 

The TiVo was bought four years ago.

 

I thought I read that you could use the menus on an SD TV? I know that with our S3's we recorded and played HD channels for years before we finally upgraded our 35" SD CRT to a new HD TV in 2010. I don't think displaying the menu's in HD would be any different.

On the other hand, you can get a 42" Vizio from Walmart for $398. That's an inch shorter than your current 36" but almost 8" wider. Or a 46" Samsung (on their website with free store pickup) for $498 for which is 1" taller and 11" wider. For us the quality improvement of viewing in HD would be worth the extra cost and I almost wish we had done it earlier although we were saving for a much larger TV.

Scott

 

We have hugely enjoyed our 47" LG HD TV since we bought it 4 years ago. And we prefer Tivo's SD Menus, which have functioned great until a few days ago when something changed.

Now, attempts to get to Video On Demand bring up the notification "Switch to HD Menus for more video and application features" and the only way to click through to Video On Demand is to switch Settings to HD Menus. I don't need any more video and application features (and don't see any more in HD Menus), and have a hard time believing that Tivo cares whether or not I continue using SD Menus.

If Tivo support is not aware of the change then I am hoping it was just intended to be a means of promoting HD Menus, and a future change will allow us to click past the notification to view Video On Demand options via the SD Menus. If not, no big deal for us, just an annoyance requiring a visit to Settings each time we want to use Video On Demand. For those with a SD TV I understand it would be more than an annoyance.

 

I want to offer a word of caution against trying an HD menu on an SD TV. Attempting to try the HD menu with altered settings obliterated the TV image into snow and distorted lines, so that I couldn't even identify what to click to go back and revert to the prior SD setting. I had to call Tivo support who helped me recover the SD image. Originally using component video connection, I was able to "force" the tivo box to automatically reset to the SD menu by temporarily switching to composite video connection, with a power off/on reset. I then manually restored the settings for the video display for the SD menu and reconnected my component video. Also, having tweeted about the issue, @tivosupport saw it and responded. They are now aware of the problem and "working" on it.

 

I'm having the same issue. I have a newer tv but far prefer the standard menus. The HD menus remind me of the over busy ones that are on cable company dvrs--exactly what I pay tivo to avoid.

 

Could be worse. The Series3 owners have lost YouTube and Amazon entirely.

Both YouTube and Amazon have made changes on the backend that will prevent older apps from working. TiVo has apparently only released updated compatible apps for the HD menus for the Premier and Roamio.

 

This is what I got back from Tivo Customer Support when I asked about SD menus today.

"The video on Demand services are no longer gong to be available in the SD menus. Only the HD menus will have access to those services. I do apologize for the inconvenience."

Which is very poor for those of us who have older TV sets and cannot get the HD menus to work at all.

*sigh* Why Tivo.... why?!?!

 

I imagine TiVo said to himself: "TiVo, we have a limited budget to maintain and improve our VOD menus. If we have to do them twice, we'll almost double the man-hours to develop and test duplicated menus. If we choose doing just the SD version, we're pleasing someone who isn't willing to spend money on a new television to get a greatly improved picture, so either they don't have a lot of money to spend or they don't care very much about TV. On the other hand, if we improve the HD menus we'll please someone who's willing to spend some bucks and is enthusiastic about his video experience. Paying a bonus this quarter will only happen if I get our software out on time and under budget. And I love that bonus more than life itself."

If you were in that position, what would you do?

 

HORSECR@P!!!

There is NO significant development effort required to support VOD access from the SD menus. TiVo changed the VOD access menus on Series 3 and 4 menus recently without any service upgrade at all. All Series 4/5 VOD is handled by standalone apps that can be just as easily launched from an SD menu as an HD menu.

What's difficult to develop for SD is OnePass. In fact, I would advise all SDUI users who want to maintain an ability to revert to the SDUI at any time for any reason to avoid adding streaming folders like the plague, as these have corrupted my SDUI shows list both times I tried to use them. Fortunately, deleting the streaming folders fixed the SDUI, but it's clear that streaming folders are not friendly to the SDUI.

But make no mistake: OnePass is the real reason TiVo wants to force VOD users into the HDUI. TiVo, Inc. wants you to create streaming folders so they can monitor what programs you stream and add that info to their giant data mining engine, and push more targeted ads, er, um, "suggestions", at you in the assault, er, um, "discovery" bar at the top of the screen.

If you don't like this policy, tell TiVo support they can force into the HDUI, but they can't force you to use OnePass, and you're going to boycott that particular functionality unless/until that adopt a more subscriber friendly attitude to SDUI users.

 

Pardon me; I did not realize you had inside information.

 

Sorry, nothing personal and no offense intended.

But I don't need inside info to recognize the obvious; it doesn't require a significant development effort to create a menu hook that starts an app. If an S4 could start the Netflix or other VOD app from the SD interface last week, it could just as easily do it today if TiVo allowed it. I’ve invoked the apps from both UIs and there's no difference whatsoever once you're in the app.

Now maintaining support for older and totally different apps on S2s and S3s is a different story. TiVo's hand could be forced on that issue.

But dropping SDUI VOD support on the Premieres is just TiVo Inc. putting its own business interests ahead of the convenience of its long time customers, plain and simple.

 

Well? What do you call a company that doesn't consider its own business interests? Bankrupt, that's what. Particularly weighed against the interests of a group of customers who have proven that they do not intend to spend any money.