[jsjames]

I just came back to Tivo from a Comcast DVR. Had a Sony SD Tivo in the past.

Anyway, a feature I got used to on my Comcast box is when browsing the onscreen guide, a red circle would tell me when looking in the guide what shows are going to be recorded. I do not see that here.
Do I relaly have to go back into the ToDo list to see that? I can't beleive that the Comcast DVR has a feature that the Tivo doesn't

 

[GoHokies!]

Welcome!

Yes, this is a long sought after feature that hasn't come up yet.

Use the link in my signature to tell Tivo that you want it.

 

[moyekj]

Even the To Do List is a very poor method of looking for conflicts on the Tivo since you have to descend into the Recording History portion of the list to look for things that won't record. When I used Motorola DCT3416 with Passport Echo their version of To Do List showed very clearly with special icons which programs would not be recorded due to conflicts on the same page as other items that would be recorded. Also once you cleared out a conflict the Passport Echo software would immediately update all items in the To Do List. With Tivo if you leave it to the last minute it may not even record a program previously not to be recorded because of a conflict.

Couple that with the Passport Echo ability for picture in menu (showing live or pre-recorded video in a corner window along with menus and grid guide) the Tivo GUI is certainly lagging in certain features with respect to some of the cable co. DVR software. You can hardly do any kind of management with the Tivo without getting out of playback or live video mode.

 

[jsjames]

I agree. I have always loved Tivo (even when I didn't have an HD version yet).
But the Comcast software has a lot of very nice features and is faster to access certain features than the Tivo. Pretty disappointed so far in the GUI.
I also hate not seeing the show while browsing the guide!

Hopefully they will address these issues.

 

[GoHokies!]

I also hate not seeing the show while browsing the guide!

The guide is superimposed, are you talking about not being able to see through it? Or are you talking about the lack of a picture-in-picture type window in the menus.

That's been discussed (heatedly at times) too - some people love it, others hate it (who wants to see spoilers while navigating the menu?).

 

[bkdtv]

I agree. I have always loved Tivo (even when I didn't have an HD version yet).
But the Comcast software has a lot of very nice features and is faster to access certain features than the Tivo. Pretty disappointed so far in the GUI.
I also hate not seeing the show while browsing the guide!

I take it you mean browsing the menus. You do see the show when browsing the standard Tivo guide because it is translucent.

As noted by the above poster, many people do not want the Tivo to show LiveTV as you browse the menus, because then you would see 'spoilers' for shows and sports currently being recorded. I don't want to see the score in the second quarter of the Skins game when I select the recording to start the first quarter.

 

[jsjames]

The guide is superimposed, are you talking about not being able to see through it? Or are you talking about the lack of a picture-in-picture type window in the menus.

That's been discussed (heatedly at times) too - some people love it, others hate it (who wants to see spoilers while navigating the menu?).

I am talking about the picture-in-picture type window. Like cable DVR's have (at least Comcast does). I see your point about the spoiler issue, but this is only while watching a show and looking at the on screen guide, not the full menu. I don't want to see the show while looking at the full menu either.
It's just nice to be able to browse the guide while a show isn't too exciting or you are watching a show live during commercials.

Keep in mind, I'm just getting back into TiVo after a few years. So I have to re-train myself also

 

[jsjames]

Also, to elaberate a little more. From my experience I have had this feature for years on the Comcast DVR and have never had an issue with a spoiler.

Not that it matters that we go back and forth on this. It's not a feature, so I guess it doesn't make a difference.

 

[moyekj]

BTW, Tivo has demonstrated in their OCAP based Tivo software (part of the Tivo/Comcast and Tivo/Cox software development program) that they are able to implement features such as above: improved To Do List showing conflicts and I believe also picture in menu among other things. So it seems like a conscious decision not to update the standalone box GUI, not some technical hurdle.