[chiguy50]

I'm ready to be Hydrated.

Be careful what you ask for!

 

[chiguy50]

Everything is working, though I have a simple setup. No audio system, etc. It's much more modern and I love the high-res artwork assets and text.<snip>

kmttg seems to work but I haven't done an in-depth check.

Overall, it's not bad but there is a lot of fine tuning still necessary.<snip>

Thanks for that quick, down-and-dirty evaluation.

Since you have already verified kmttg operability, could you please go back and check on the backdoor code functions? This is a high-priority item for some of us. Thanks again.

 

[chiguy50]

No, the "mischaracterization" was on your part, and how did I just know you would be the first attacker? Since you enjoyed them so much (had to dig for those cherries, did you?), let's have more quotes. Hey, let's start with the very first words of the article.

"As time goes by, TiVo gets harder to love."

"But while TiVo's recording capabilities are still second-to-none, and its integration with streaming services is still a clever idea, the Bolt Vox's additions only paper over deficiencies in TiVo's app platform and hardware."

And what I am sure was your absolute favorite, ironically right before your first quote:

"Beyond those gripes, I imagine some TiVo enthusiasts will be dissatisfied with design changes in general, and with some particular things like the replacement of the old dual-pane TV guide with a more traditional grid."

And the full version of your second quote:

"It's all the more tragic, then, that TiVo's streaming app support is still lacking."

We can pick cherries and throw them at each other all day, let's not and just finish the same way the article does. As you say, shall we let it stand on its own?

"The TiVo Bolt Vox will mainly appeal to diehard cable subscribers who might not mind the investment in TiVo's hardware and services. But as more people give up cable TV in favor of antenna channels and streaming services, the squeeze on TiVo seems unlikely to let up."

Any attempt to spin this article as positive shows that it was not read, but skimmed for anything that could be used to support one's position. But please, attack some more. I've popped corn.

I think that the tone of the article itself is misleading given the concluding statement that Diana quoted. But I have to agree with Diana: the take-away from the reviewer's assessment of Hydra specifically (as opposed to the TiVo Bolt Vox in general) is very positive. There is nothing equivocal about his characterization of Hydra as "a major improvement."

 

[chiguy50]

I'm not associated with TiVo in anyway, so this just my opinion based on 30 years in the software business.

Eventually everyone will be moved to Hydra. At some point it will be too onerous to maintain two operating systems. When that happens is unknown, but it likely won't be anytime soon. But I don't see them keeping both supported forever. In the near term Encore will be "stabilized" and no further development will be done on it (just bug fixes) and in a few years it will become unsupported.

I have no current interest in upgrading to Hydra, and I believe you are correct that it won't be forced on us anytime soon.

But I am reasonably confident that when I do upgrade--possibly in as little as a few months from now--most if not all of the significant bugs will have been worked out and perhaps, just perhaps, some of the valid user complaints will have been addressed as well.

 

[chiguy50]

It works 100% fine for me, no problems at all. It was mostly people with minis with the problems and the ones that don't like some of the changes complaining. Just the like the internet, the people that do not like something are way more vocal than those happy. Most people that are happy probably do not even post much.

That's the thing: I don't want to have to endure communication glitches between my Roamio Pro and Mini due to Hydra. Not to mention the apps that are awaiting certification.

I was actually eager to upgrade on day one just for the newer UI experience (I guess that's the opposite attitude to those who don't like the changes), but since there are no functional improvements that I can't live without and Gen3/Encore is working for me just fine, I am happy to wait a while longer while the TiVo elves smooth out the edges on our shiny new toy.

 

[chiguy50]

It is interesting,to me, that a bunch of systems and sites have recently updated their look and interface and certainly the updates generally haven't made people happy - companies seem to want to change looks rather than add features - making many features even harder to use

My impression of late (as a general observation and NOT specifically relating to TiVo) is that these graphic updates often mask a downgrade in user-friendly functionality driven by the relentless search for savings in corporate operating costs. And the more ballyhoo surrounding the announcement of impending changes, the more likely that the provider is trying to mask this downgrade.

In fact, I would not be surprised if business schools were teaching this technique under the rubric of some principal such as "The Mencken Rule."

"No one in this world, so far as I know - and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me - has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby."