I’m not sure if this is related to your problem but I was unable to watch a downloaded episode of Dr. Who from Amazon on my S3. The download completes, but when I try to play it I only get sound and no picture. However, I don’t have any problems downloading and viewing the same episode on my TiVo HD, just the S3. The S3 may have decoding problems with some foreign programs.
Some British shows will not Netflix stream on Tivo S3 but do on other devices.
I have a Tivo Series 3 and use it to stream Netflix, but I have found that some British shows will not stream properly, though they WILL stream properly on any other Netflix appliance (Roku, Wii, Xbox, Blu-Ray) using the same connection. I contacted Tivo since the issue seems to be with their app, but their response was that it was not their problem. Yeah right. Pretty disappointing since I bought my first Tivo in 1999.
The shows with issues keep re-retrieving about every 3 to 5 seconds and never really get the video and audio in sync. I called customer support on this some time ago when I first saw it; nothing seems to have been done so I thought I would do some troubleshooting and see where the problems lie. These issues are 100 percent repeatable every time for each show; if a show works, it always works and if a show doesn’t work, it never does. Here are some I have checked:
British shows where problem this occurs:
Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey
The Worst Week Of My Life
That Mitchell and Webb Look
Pulling
Masterpiece Mystery: Inspector Lewis
The Peep Show
Skins
Men Behaving Badly (U.K.)
A Bit of Fry and Laurie
Hotel Babylon
Mr. Bean: The Whole Bean
Fortysomething
Shameless
Top Gear
British shows that DO view properly:
Luther
Gavin and Stacey
The IT Crowd
Doc Martin
Sherlock
Being Human
I have never seen this on a non-British show.
Has anyone seen anything remotely similar, or could they check it and see if they have a similar issue? Tivo support was steadfast that they will do nothing about it, though if it were more widespread maybe they would fix their app as least to the level of a $50 Roku box?
ANY thoughts appreciated. I ditched cable in favor of more Netflix and so many shows I want to watch are unwatchable, and I have no interest in having to buy another piece of hardware to fix something that Tivo should fix in software.
Thanks,
Wayne
Problem found: After being able to talk to someone at Netflix who has seen this problem, it appears the issue is with the firmware in the Broadcom chip in the Tivo Series 3 (which is not in the other units). It has some trouble handling data at 25p, but there was little such content when the chip was certified and so it slipped through. There is no sense in Netflix decertifying the chip, as it is not used in any new designs and Broadcom has no incentive to fix the firmware on an older device such as this.
So I broke down and bought a Roku box, which basically puts the Tivo interface to shame. The input switching is unfortunate as it was nice to have my Netflix queue as a "Now Playing" option but the improved interface, video quality and features of the Roku is worth it.
Thanks for all of the input everyone.
Wayne
The shows with issues keep re-retrieving about every 3 to 5 seconds and never really get the video and audio in sync. I called customer support on this some time ago when I first saw it; nothing seems to have been done so I thought I would do some troubleshooting and see where the problems lie. These issues are 100 percent repeatable every time for each show; if a show works, it always works and if a show doesn’t work, it never does. Here are some I have checked:
British shows where problem this occurs:
Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey
The Worst Week Of My Life
That Mitchell and Webb Look
Pulling
Masterpiece Mystery: Inspector Lewis
The Peep Show
Skins
Men Behaving Badly (U.K.)
A Bit of Fry and Laurie
Hotel Babylon
Mr. Bean: The Whole Bean
Fortysomething
Shameless
Top Gear
British shows that DO view properly:
Luther
Gavin and Stacey
The IT Crowd
Doc Martin
Sherlock
Being Human
I have never seen this on a non-British show.
Has anyone seen anything remotely similar, or could they check it and see if they have a similar issue? Tivo support was steadfast that they will do nothing about it, though if it were more widespread maybe they would fix their app as least to the level of a $50 Roku box?
ANY thoughts appreciated. I ditched cable in favor of more Netflix and so many shows I want to watch are unwatchable, and I have no interest in having to buy another piece of hardware to fix something that Tivo should fix in software.
Thanks,
Wayne
Problem found: After being able to talk to someone at Netflix who has seen this problem, it appears the issue is with the firmware in the Broadcom chip in the Tivo Series 3 (which is not in the other units). It has some trouble handling data at 25p, but there was little such content when the chip was certified and so it slipped through. There is no sense in Netflix decertifying the chip, as it is not used in any new designs and Broadcom has no incentive to fix the firmware on an older device such as this.
So I broke down and bought a Roku box, which basically puts the Tivo interface to shame. The input switching is unfortunate as it was nice to have my Netflix queue as a "Now Playing" option but the improved interface, video quality and features of the Roku is worth it.
Thanks for all of the input everyone.
Wayne
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Odd. I should try an Amazon download of one of the failing shows on Netflix; I suspect that Amazon and Netflix are encoded quite differently (one being download and one streaming) but it might give me more ammunition. If you have Netflix, can you check any of the shows listed to verify my situation? I only have one Tivo and so can't really get another data point easily
Thanks,
Wayne
Thanks,
Wayne
At a guess it may be to do with UK TV generally being 25fps (based on the PAL system) vs. US TV which is generally 30fps (from NTSC).
Puzzled that any UK TV shows work if that's the case - Luther might be "filmed" at 24fps like a movie but the IT crowd won't be as it's studio recorded.
My only other suggestion is that the ones that work have been remastered for NTSC DVD at 30fps and the Netflix sources are using those as the basis of the streams.
As I'm in the UK where we can't get Netflix or S3 Tivo it's hard to be more help
Puzzled that any UK TV shows work if that's the case - Luther might be "filmed" at 24fps like a movie but the IT crowd won't be as it's studio recorded.
My only other suggestion is that the ones that work have been remastered for NTSC DVD at 30fps and the Netflix sources are using those as the basis of the streams.
As I'm in the UK where we can't get Netflix or S3 Tivo it's hard to be more help
Oh, in great detail. Their first response was "Well, since SOME movies play it must be the fault of Netflix", to which I responded "Did you not see the part of my message where I explained EVERY Netflix app I could find (Wii, Blu-Ray, Roku, Xbox) can play these with no problem and the only one who can't is the Tivo app?" They basically just ended up saying there is nothing they will do about it and when I specifically asked, they specifically REFUSED to forward the issue to engineering for a look.
Considering I bought my first Tivo the FIRST they were ever available at (now closed) Circuit City in 1999, the service response on this has been quite disappointing. I mean, if they don't want to support streaming, no problem, but don't do it halfway
It certainly MUST be something related to what you say, but then one step further down the line that causes the subsequent Netflix encoding to baffle the Tivo Netflix app. Thanks for the detail; I'm sure it is quite close to what you are saying but unless Tivo wants to fix their Netflix app I am a bit stuck.At a guess it may be to do with UK TV generally being 25fps (based on the PAL system) vs. US TV which is generally 30fps (from NTSC).
Puzzled that any UK TV shows work if that's the case - Luther might be "filmed" at 24fps like a movie but the IT crowd won't be as it's studio recorded.
My only other suggestion is that the ones that work have been remastered for NTSC DVD at 30fps and the Netflix sources are using those as the basis of the streams.
As I'm in the UK where we can't get Netflix or S3 Tivo it's hard to be more help
I experimented with Men Behaving Badly (UK) earlier (only one episode), and it worked fine for me. This was on a TivoHD (652).
If I get time, I will try some of the other shows...
Edit: I'm assuming you have a S3 (648)?
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I might not experience any problems.
If I get time, I will try some of the other shows...
Edit: I'm assuming you have a S3 (648)?
I might not experience any problems.
I do indeed have an S3. One other person who responded had an S3 and had problems with two of the same shows, but those are my only data points. Thanks for taking the time either way...:up:I experimented with Men Behaving Badly (UK) earlier (only one episode), and it worked fine for me. This was on a TivoHD (652).
If I get time, I will try some of the other shows...
Edit: I'm assuming you have a S3 (648)?
![]()
I might not experience any problems.
Just because NetFlix is getting it right for all of those other apps is no guarantee that they're getting it right fot the TiVo app.Oh, in great detail. Their first response was "Well, since SOME movies play it must be the fault of Netflix", to which I responded "Did you not see the part of my message where I explained EVERY Netflix app I could find (Wii, Blu-Ray, Roku, Xbox) can play these with no problem and the only one who can't is the Tivo app?" They basically just ended up saying there is nothing they will do about it and when I specifically asked, they specifically REFUSED to forward the issue to engineering for a look.
Considering I bought my first Tivo the FIRST they were ever available at (now closed) Circuit City in 1999, the service response on this has been quite disappointing. I mean, if they don't want to support streaming, no problem, but don't do it halfway
I do agree that TiVo ought to take more of an interest in getting to the bottom of this problem, however.
They should be your champion, wearing your colors as they ride onto the field to do battle with NetFlix on your behalf.
Unless they'd like to change their advertising to "Get a TiVo for cable and over the air, and enjoy all of these other program sources as well, if they actually work as advertised, but if not, you're on your own".
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