[TKnight206]

Mods, if there is a post like this that exists somewhere that I've overlooked, please delete this thread.

Just noticed a message on my Roamio that "TiVo Suggestions will no longer be supported." "Soon you won't see new Suggestions recordings."

Also, they say, "The TiVo Experience brings you great ways to discover new shows, and now we're consolidating our discovery features into our TiVo+ app."

Isn't TiVo+ only available on TE4 (Hydra) and not TE3 (Encore)? For those of us who stuck to TE3 because of the interface (the never-Hydra group), it feels like we're losing something without a replacement. Although, I admit, I haven't tried Suggestions after all these years.

EDIT 1/28/2023: I don't know if this affects TE3. I thought I saw another message on one of our devices saying something different. Maybe they made a mistake?

Finally got the notification today that it doesn’t apply to TE3.

For anyone reading this, it sounds like it is only affecting those on TE4/Hydra. Us TE3 users I guess don't need to worry, but I'd feel better if I saw a message on my Roamio indicating this.

 

[jfh3]

Not a fan of the change, though as a TE3 user that explains why I can’t find the Tivo+ app.

 

[justen_m]

Not sure when this is going into effect, but I just checked my TE3 Roamio and Bolt and both are recording suggestions right now. So for TE3, TiVo is removing functionality with no replacement. Nothing new there.

 

[FullerVoice]

I'm really disappointed by this. TiVo automatically recording things it figured I'd like based on my thumbs-up and thumbs-down ratings and dropping them conveniently in the Suggestions area has been the main reason I've given TiVo my money over the years (and stayed with TE3). With this feature gone, there seems to me to be no big reason for me to keep using TiVo rather than some other service that offers built-in DVR functionality. Sigh.

 

[kdmorse]

Not sure when this is going into effect, but I just checked my TE3 Roamio and Bolt and both are recording suggestions right now. So for TE3, TiVo is removing functionality with no replacement. Nothing new there.

One has to wonder if they're actually going to push a TE3 update to break it, or if that will only happen to TE4. I've completely lost track of whether TE3 suggestions are reliant on feedback from the Tivo servers, or if they're still local and independent based only on guide data (which they were when launched). And I don't entirely trust Tivo to have correctly targeted the PTCM to the right boxes, given that they don't entirely consider TE3 as a thing that exists any more.

That said... When the guide data switched to Rovi, suggestions on TE3 became almost useless (in my opinion). I mean, just completely random unrelated junk. I was a big supporter of Suggestions up until that point, having used them for nearly 20 years, and even I gave up on them at that point. It used to be that if I forgot to record a new program, I could count on the Tivo to have picked it up as a suggestion anyway, but that hasn't been the case for a good number of years.

(Seriously, I just checked. Literally recording "Sponsored Infomercial" off a infomercial subchannel, and "School of Golf" off the golf channel as we speak).

 

[srm59]

I don't like this change at all. That's one of the main benefits of Tivo. Are they going to discontinue the thumbs up and thumbs down now too?

 

[LoadStar]

I don't like this change at all. That's one of the main benefits of Tivo. Are they going to discontinue the thumbs up and thumbs down now too?

Already discontinued on TE4, is it not?

 

[kdmorse]

I don't like this change at all. That's one of the main benefits of Tivo. Are they going to discontinue the thumbs up and thumbs down now too?

With no suggestions engine - Thumbs-Up and Thumbs-Down becomes more than a little bit pointless. So, probably, yes.

 

[cwoody222]

I don't like this change at all. That's one of the main benefits of Tivo. Are they going to discontinue the thumbs up and thumbs down now too?

Probably.

They serve no purpose outside of Suggestions.

Suggestions is a piece of history. It was a marketing tool of the TiVo from the aughts. “You’ll always have something to watch with TiVo!”

That’s no longer a problem that needs serving. Who in 2023 says “gee? I wish I had more tv to watch.”

I’m surprised it’s lasted this long.

 

[randyb359]

I am sad that they are going away although its probably been years since I watched anything it suggested. I rarely used it when the Thumbs up and down worked. After they took them away the suggestions became almost useless.

 

[moonscape]

I use suggestions mostly because my tivos run at near capacity and it’s a crude way to tell about how much space I have left. I know it’s bad to run at 99-100% but they don’t delete programs until I’m literally out of space and this razor’s edge works for me. I don’t recall the program from here I used to use to see actual space, but that was on my computer which I’m no longer always on. I live on my iPads now. I realize I shouldn’t keep them so full, but given I do, am pretty distressed by this change

 

[Jonathan_S]

Probably.

They serve no purpose outside of Suggestions.

Suggestions is a piece of history. It was a marketing tool of the TiVo from the aughts. “You’ll always have something to watch with TiVo!”

That’s no longer a problem that needs serving. Who in 2023 says “gee? I wish I had more tv to watch.”

I’m surprised it’s lasted this long.

Yeah, if they're not doing suggestions then there's no real reason to allow (and bother to track) thumbs up or down on shows.

(The keys themselves will still serve a purpose though [at least on TE3]; as they let you flip Wishlist keyword, title, etc. between REQUIRED, OPTIONAL, and EXCLUDED; which was wonderful when they added it to Wishlists way back in the day)

 

[reneg]

Haven't used suggestions in 23 years on Tivo, so I'm not going to miss them. Sorry for the folks that did use them and are now losing this feature.

 

[cwerdna]

I sometimes do find gems within the suggestions besides it sometimes recording eps of shows that I do like (e.g. Star Trek TOS and TNG). I am bummed about this.

 

[Rob Helmerichs]

Haven't used suggestions in 23 years on Tivo, so I'm not going to miss them. Sorry for the folks that did use them and are now losing this feature.

Yeah, same here...part of my setup routine for any new TiVo I've ever gotten is to turn off Suggestions.

(It's been a while since I've had to set up a new TiVo...I got my current one shortly after the Roamio went on sale, so that would be the Fall of 2013. That's by far the longest I've ever had a TiVo! Which I guess is both a tribute to how good the Roamio is, and a sad commentary on how little they've progressed since then, since I've never been tempted to upgrade.)

 

[morac]

I’m pretty sure the message was mistakenly sent out to TE3 boxes as I doubt they are turning off suggestions there.

I usually keep them on in the off chance I forget to record something and it gets recorded as a suggestion (it’s happened before), but with the prevalence of streaming, it’s usually just easier to watch it there.

 

[TKnight206]

I usually keep them on in the off chance I forget to record something and it gets recorded as a suggestion (it’s happened before), but with the prevalence of streaming, it’s usually just easier to watch it there.

With streaming, you may get 1080p picture quality, whereas with cable, you may be stuck with a 720p downgrade. Also, with streaming, you aren't dealing with a mess of reruns accidentally recorded as new. I do like having a local copy on my TiVo for my favorite shows.

 

[just4tivo]

For me suggestions was a benign feature that surprised me more often then I care to admit by recording something I would want to watch.

In the never ending search for how much less TiVo will provide for what we pay/paid for I'm not surprised.

 

[ChargersRule]

Being a Tivo fan (user) from the very beginning, it's like watching an old friend whither away, faster and faster...

 

[FullerVoice]

Already discontinued on TE4, is it not?

According to the TiVo person I spoke to when I bought my Bolt a couple years ago, it is indeed already discontinued on TE4 (much to my surprise, and why I've stayed with TE3).