[stuart628]

My wife and I cant get enough of the interface and how tivos work and keep your shows organized. They are in our opinion the best dvr and honestly I dont think many people would argue the most complete dvr there is. I think maybe hd homerun could compete a little but it generally takes third party software to accomplish its goals. The little bee boops and season passes and overall interface is second to none in my opinion and it wouldn't take much to make tivo great again. Get some apps out there that allow live tv (youtube tv) and heck even partner with google get bought out by them and be able to record said youtube tv would be amazing...I think if you allowed hulu live and youtube live tv on tivo and get some apps that are missing like espn and disney+ and foxsports people would rather buy a tivo then a roku, especially if you release the tivo android stick and maybe that is the direction they are heading but they arent far gone like everyone says..I know the pre roll ads are bad but man There is just something about tivo that brings me back every time, even the wife said the other night I do love those sounds when navigating and pausing etc. and she doesnt have a hard time finding her way around the tivo.

 

[JoeKustra]

You are using TE3?

 

[stuart628]

nope have not downgraded. Still using te4...I dont read a lot on te3 and dont know what I would miss out on downgrading to it (I have a bolt and mini vox)

 

[mde8965]

I agree it’s better than any cable box I’ve ever experienced. Other than cable card problems the only major complaint I have (even with TE4) is the lack of accuracy with the guide.
For instance I have a OnePass for a show and yesterday’s show in the guide had a type-O saying aired on 12/20/2019 when it was really 12/26/2019. Therefore since my OnePass option was “new only” it ignored the episode and did not record it.

 

[stuart628]

I agree it's better than any cable box I've ever experienced. Other than cable card problems the only major complaint I have (even with TE4) is the lack of accuracy with the guide.
For instance I have a OnePass for a show and yesterday's show in the guide had a type-O saying aired on 12/20/2019 when it was really 12/26/2019. Therefore since my OnePass option was "new only" it ignored the episode and did not record it.

I will admit I have not run into that one as the wife and I only record a handful of shows and all of are stuff is on OTA as we dont have a cable card...our setup is this Tivo (also have hulu commercial free so it pulls all those sources and netflix) that is run into a caavo box that also drives a fire stick and directv (only because it made my fiber internet cheaper and unlimited data we rarely watch directv not saying its bad just not great, we use it again for unlimited data on fiber and app logins through the fires stick). By the way the caavo is a great box as its search is great and auto tune to right input and app is amazing.

 

[greer1999]

I agree as far as DVRs go. Tivo is probably the best I've seen but... I suspect they will not be around 'long term' because of the way they are handling the streaming side of things. Streaming is the way many are going and Tivo couldn't be doing a worse job of it. They make bold claims in their marketing about their 'all-in-one' systems but Tivo makes about the worst streaming devices around. A $25 Fire TV stick completely blows away Tivo's steaming applications. Tivo's few steaming apps are generally years outdated, slow or just don't exist. Take their Showtime Anytime app for example - oh wait, there isn't one! They either need to rethink their streaming approach or just drop it. What they have is a joke.

Tivo DVR functionality = A
Tivo Streaming = F

 

[tommiet]

Home DVR's in general are going to go away as online (cloud) storage is going to take its place. TiVo is like Linux and will always have small cluster of dedicated followers. Cloud DVR's will kill the need for multiple hardware devices in our homes.

 

[tarheelblue32]

Home DVR's in general are going to go away as online (cloud) storage is going to take its place. TiVo is like Linux and will always have small cluster of dedicated followers. Cloud DVR's will kill the need for multiple hardware devices in our homes.

As long as you can record OTA streams there will still be physical DVRs.

 

[just4tivo]

As long as you can record OTA streams there will still be physical DVRs.

Not everyone streams or has cable or DBS and FREE OTA works just fine for them.

There are those who are happy not paying to watch TV so I hope that "as long as you can record OTA streams there will still be physical DVRs".

 

[Pokemon_Dad]

Although we turned off the beloved bee-boops long ago, we do love the (TE3) TiVo interface. But after a few moments of disorientation we quickly got used to Channels DVR, which we're running in parallel as a test alternative.

The ever-critical WAF was swiftly positive after discovering Channels DVR features like commercial skip showing up on every broadcast within 22 minutes, and adjustable FF/Rew intervals (7 sec back, 60 seconds forward seems best for us). We've also tried Plex and other alternatives, but prefer Channels.

Still, nothing is as polished as the TiVo interface, the TiVo commercial skip - when available - is more accurate, and we will keep our lifetime Roamio Pro until it crumbles into dust. (We kept our two HDs until their feet did just that!) At that point, if Xperi continues running TiVo into the ground the way Rovi did then we're gone.

 

[thyname]

Finally a nice post for a change. I am sick and tired about posts in these forum whining how bad TiVo is.

And who cares about streaming. Plenty of other cheap options for that. Heck... most of the TVs nowadays have streaming built in with apps and all.

 

[mde8965]

I for one won’t be a huge streaming kind of person until there is one app that will handle everything. And preferably in the same piece of hardware that feeds me my cable tv.

While TiVo has been bad at the streaming end nobody has been able to produce an one stop for all streaming app or platform. Apple tried but even they haven’t succeeded yet.

Now, when my Apple TV (or possibly Roku) can serve me my cable package with robust guide info, strong DVR abilities (cloud or attached HD based) and Apple TV+ includes everything that Netflix, Hulu, HBO go etc have all in one app that includes all the multichannel sounds formats and 4K ..then I’ll gladly say goodbye to TiVo. Heck with a one app to rule all I might even cut the cord.

it will happen. Likely sooner than later I hope

 

[Pokemon_Dad]

It didn't even occur to me to mention streaming in my previous message. We've moved on to Fire TV sticks and sets, and will probably never look back. The WAF was once again central to this decision: only after I added the Fire TV option did my wife start using streaming services regularly. The TiVo apps were too slow and too cumbersome, like an afterthought, and on our A93 Minis they've stopped working far too often. Maybe TiVo can catch up, but their new owners don't look any more capable of proper product management than the last bunch. (Again, we still love [TE3] TiVo as a DVR!)

 

[tarheelblue32]

Now, when my Apple TV (or possibly Roku) can serve me my cable package with robust guide info, strong DVR abilities (cloud or attached HD based) and Apple TV+ includes everything that Netflix, Hulu, HBO go etc have all in one app that includes all the multichannel sounds formats and 4K ..then I'll gladly say goodbye to TiVo. Heck with a one app to rule all I might even cut the cord.

it will happen. Likely sooner than later I hope

I highly doubt that will ever happen. There are too many different competing interests that all want you using their own app to ever be able to come together and allow one app to do everything unless the government regulators get involved and force some type of unified standard to make it possible.

 

[spiderpumpkin]

I use Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Hulu on my Tivo. I also like using the Tivo remote for these services. I also have those three apps on my TV and on a Firestick 4K but I still only view them with my TE3 Tivo Bolt Vox.

 

[kujo999]

Although we turned off the beloved bee-boops long ago, we do love the (TE3) TiVo interface. But after a few moments of disorientation we quickly got used to Channels DVR, which we're running in parallel as a test alternative.

The ever-critical WAF was swiftly positive after discovering Channels DVR features like commercial skip showing up on every broadcast within 22 minutes, and adjustable FF/Rew intervals (7 sec back, 60 seconds forward seems best for us). We've also tried Plex and other alternatives, but prefer Channels.

Still, nothing is as polished as the TiVo interface, the TiVo commercial skip - when available - is more accurate, and we will keep our lifetime Roamio Pro until it crumbles into dust. (We kept our two HDs until their feet did just that!) At that point, if Xperi continues running TiVo into the ground the way Rovi did then we're gone.

I agree that the commercial skip was a great value-add. Unfortunately, it only works on selected shows. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. So Tivo must be figuring out what people are watching the most and targeting those shows to annotate for skipping. I assume what they are doing is similar (if not identical) with how we've done it with ComSkip. Anyway, I don't expect that feature to be around long because the suits are probably losing ad dollars. But Tivo executed this feature very well IMHO.

 

[spiderpumpkin]

I agree that the commercial skip was a great value-add. Unfortunately, it only works on selected shows. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. So Tivo must be figuring out what people are watching the most and targeting those shows to annotate for skipping. I assume what they are doing is similar (if not identical) with how we've done it with ComSkip. Anyway, I don't expect that feature to be around long because the suits are probably losing ad dollars. But Tivo executed this feature very well IMHO.

I'm surprised they don't automate commercial marking like Channels DVR.

I'd rather they automate the commercial marking on more shows, and then use their personnel to scrub through them, check accuracy and make adjustments if needed.

Seems weird that they have people employed to manually mark commercials.

 

[Pokemon_Dad]

I agree that the commercial skip was a great value-add. Unfortunately, it only works on selected shows. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. So Tivo must be figuring out what people are watching the most and targeting those shows to annotate for skipping. I assume what they are doing is similar (if not identical) with how we've done it with ComSkip. Anyway, I don't expect that feature to be around long because the suits are probably losing ad dollars. But Tivo executed this feature very well IMHO.

I think the difference is that TiVo has contractors around the world doing that indexing by hand, while Channels, Plex, Kodi, and others offer automated indexing based on ComSkip.

That may be why TiVo takes longer to index shows, to save costs only indexes new shows not reruns, and often does not index news/talk shows at all. ComSkip in Channels DVR runs on all shows, is usually finished indexing within 22 minutes, and is great to have available on even the oldest reruns.

On the other hand TiVo's indexing is usually more accurate, because they're not fooled by a network's upcoming show ads, or the evil trick of playing ads within a box surrounded by the show's logo and other branding, or when the transmission is completely missing its own markers.

I'm surprised they don't automate commercial marking like Channels DVR.

I'd rather they automate the commercial marking on more shows, and then use their personnel to scrub through them, check accuracy and make adjustments if needed.

Seems weird that they have people employed to manually mark commercials.

Agreed! Some combination of automation and human editing is the standard in many industries now, including language translation. This is unfortunately not the only area where TiVo needs to catch up.

 

[tarheelblue32]

I'm surprised they don't automate commercial marking like Channels DVR.

I'd rather they automate the commercial marking on more shows, and then use their personnel to scrub through them, check accuracy and make adjustments if needed.

Seems weird that they have people employed to manually mark commercials.

I remember when the SkipMode feature first debuted, there was discussion on the forums that maybe having people manually mark the skip points would make it less likely that the content owners would be able to successfully sue TiVo over the feature than an automated process.

 

[MScottC]

Yes that was the discussion... they are effectively allowing viewers (albeit paid by TiVo) to share commercial location information rather than using some algorithm to automatically skip ads.