[cwoody222]

US Patent 7,418,053 — System and method for managing content on a digital video recorder. Specifically covers (among other things) organizing recordings using folders or groups by title or series.
US Patent 7,124,316 — Covers content-based navigation of stored video programs. Focuses on navigating and sorting stored programs based on metadata.

Both currently held by Xperi

Your capacity for making declarative statements when you don't have any actual source or knowledge on the topic never ceases to astound

The features mentioned was sort recordings by genre and sort by alphabetical order or reverse chronological order.

I am aware that Xperi holds many patents.

I am also aware that the patents you quoted from have stopped any number of other DVR software products having features such as sorting recordings by genre, via metadata, and sorting recordings into folders by show title.

Your post does nothing to prove that these features are missing from the DTV Stream due to any held Xperi patent.

I stand by my take that these features are not available on the DTV Stream because it is not a fully mature product and those features have yet to be prioritized by the software development teams.

Particularly I can’t imagine something like reverse chronological order or alpha order would ever make it to the top of a prioritization queue.

 

[JimmyK7]

Those reports are correct for new TV customer plans. Existing customers, at least for now, can keep their existing CableCARDs (but not receive new ones) as long as the customer does not change their service(s). Those existing customers have not been forced to stop (at this point) using their CableCARD. A number of people have chosen (usually to save money, sometimes to get a new feature) to change their service plan, which means it is a new service (and the old one is deleted from the account, even if the names that customers see look similar, the internal codes are different), and that means no CableCARD will be supported (as new services cannot use/add a CableCARD). In those cases of chosen change, the customer was informed that the change would delete the CableCARDs, and they accepted that change. Some people have encountered problems with their TV service, and chosen to not work the issues, and just moved on knowing that the ending of CableCARD support is going to eventually happen anyway. There was also an individual for which lightning likely killed all electronics (including the CableCARDs) for which I suppose you can blame your assigned deity for forcing that customer to stop using CableCARDs.

Thank you for the detailed response. Either I am very lucky or our Xinity is the exception to the "rule." I have changed our plan and our services several times and doing so has had no impact on our CableCARD functionality (we have 3). I've had channels added and then had them deleted (usually to see a specific sporting event). I've changed my internet service and I have added an Xfinity DVR. All, I am happy to say, had no impact on our CableCARDs.
Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket.

 

[ungivenglory]

US Patent 7,418,053 — System and method for managing content on a digital video recorder. Specifically covers (among other things) organizing recordings using folders or groups by title or series.
US Patent 7,124,316 — Covers content-based navigation of stored video programs. Focuses on navigating and sorting stored programs based on metadata.

Both currently held by Xperi

Your capacity for making declarative statements when you don't have any actual source or knowledge on the topic never ceases to astound

Directv, dish network & other cable providers made deals with TiVo after lawsuits were filed regarding them using technology protected by patents etc. Nothing is preventing them as far as I know.

 

[CommunityMember]

Both currently held by Xperi

And, you might be amazed to learn (although your IP lawyer would not, perhaps consult them next time before posting), almost all products (both hardware and software) end up licensing one or more patents from their rights holders, and that is the normal process of doing business (no STB, including TiVo, would exist if the patented technologies they use were not licensed for others to use as well).

 

[cwoody222]

And again, the minor features which started the IP talk were, “The main thing I don't like about Directv Stream is the DVR recordings can't be sorted or narrowed down into categories like shows, movies, news, sports, etc. You can't even reverse the chronological order or alphabetize the recordings list.”

There’s nothing to indicate that the reasons the DTV Stream don’t have those minor, minor sorting features has anything to do with IP or IP licensing.

It’s much more likely those features don’t exist on the DTV stream just because the DTV stream programmers just haven’t coded those options yet. Will they in the future? Who knows. Will most customers care? Doubtful.

 

[spiderpumpkin]

And again, the minor features which started the IP talk were, “The main thing I don't like about Directv Stream is the DVR recordings can't be sorted or narrowed down into categories like shows, movies, news, sports, etc. You can't even reverse the chronological order or alphabetize the recordings list.”

There’s nothing to indicate that the reasons the DTV Stream don’t have those minor, minor sorting features has anything to do with IP or IP licensing.

It’s much more likely those features don’t exist on the DTV stream just because the DTV stream programmers just haven’t coded those options yet. Will they in the future? Who knows. Will most customers care? Doubtful.

I hope the Directv Stream customers care. It takes forever to scroll down the recordings list.

 

[mfiman]

Really? So the reports from people on this site and others who've said they've tried to get new CableCARDs from Spectrum and Xfinity and being told "No, we don't issue new CableCARDS," are bogus?

You're mixing up two different things. Many (most?) companies are no longer issuing new cards. Even you have one and it stops working...you may no longer be able to get a replacement. That's all true.

However, if you have an existing card and it is working well, it is very rare (as far as I can tell) for a company to tell you that they are going to drop support for your card, requiring you to seek an alternative. That may eventually become common...but not yet.

 

[JimmyK7]

You're mixing up two different things. Many (most?) companies are no longer issuing new cards. Even you have one and it stops working...you may no longer be able to get a replacement. That's all true.

However, if you have an existing card and it is working well, it is very rare (as far as I can tell) for a company to tell you that they are going to drop support for your card, requiring you to seek an alternative. That may eventually become common...but not yet.

I understand that. Hence, the word "new" in my post. When I asked the poster if he made the change on his own or if it was a decision forced by his cable company, I was asking if he had made a minor change and was then told by his cable company they were discontinuing his CableCARD support. I have read several reports of that occurring (a minor plan or internet change resulting in CableCARDs no longer working) with cable customers.
As you have stated, I, too, am not aware of any scenarios where a cable company has told a customer, "Effective x date, we are no longer supporting CableCARD technology." However, I HAVE read here and on other TiVo boards, posts from cable customers who have said they made what they considered to be a very minor change in their cable plan/service, and that change resulted in their CableCARDs no longer being operational.
Am I correct when I say that we can all agree that the life expectancy of CableCARD technology is reaching its end?

 

[ungivenglory]

I hope the Directv Stream customers care. It takes forever to scroll down the recordings list.

I understand exactly what you are talking about & would love to see it. Just not enough of us want the dvr to be closer to TiVo as far as I know. Directv stream does not have many customers to begin with & those who want to see the changes you are talking about is a very small percentage.

Hopefully I’m wrong but I don’t see any significant upgrades. The Cloud DVR has not changed much since it was released. They had one major update that added the Home Screen but kept the dvr the same.

I have seen a some customers say they called or posted on a thread directv monitors exactly what you brought up but I have not seen it much.

 

[dougdingle]

However, if you have an existing card and it is working well, it is very rare (as far as I can tell) for a company to tell you that they are going to drop support for your card, requiring you to seek an alternative.

As long as you ignore the tens of thousands of letters they sent out to TiVo customers telling them that support of cable cards is coming to an end.

Perhaps the cablecos were just being 'sarcastic'.

 

[mfiman]

As long as you ignore the tens of thousands of letters they sent out to TiVo customers telling them that support of cable cards is coming to an end.

Perhaps the cablecos were just being 'sarcastic'.

Warning that it's coming to an end (with no specified date)...is far from the same as saying it is ending next week.

But why quibble? As I have said in other posts, the writing is on the wall...in ALL CAPS...cable cards are headed for extinction...and TiVo cable DVRs will thus die as well. It could be next month. It could be two years from now. But it's happening. For me, I decided not to stick around and wait. I signed up for YouTube TV last month...and will dropping my Comcast service (and thus my TiVo recording ability) in the next month or so.

 

[dougdingle]

Warning that it's coming to an end (with no specified date)...is far from the same as saying it is ending next week.

I got that letter quite a while ago, and it was somewhat obvious it was written by attorneys and was some kind of legal requirement or weaseling.

Perhaps that fulfilled their legal obligation and people like me will wake up one day and no longer be getting any channels, just a screen telling them their cable cards are no longer authorized.

Like you, I plan on being gone by then.

 

[JimmyK7]

Like you, I plan on being gone by then.

Diehard, here. They'll have to pry my TiVo DVRs from my cold, dead hands. I figure the longer I hold out, the more potential for someone to develop a DVR that's closer to TiVo than what's currently out there.

 

[morac]

But why quibble? As I have said in other posts, the writing is on the wall...in ALL CAPS...cable cards are headed for extinction...and TiVo cable DVRs will thus die as well. It could be next month. It could be two years from now. But it's happening. For me, I decided not to stick around and wait. I signed up for YouTube TV last month...and will dropping my Comcast service (and thus my TiVo recording ability) in the next month or so.

For me dropping TiVo with Comcast and switching to YouTube TV now because it will end at some point in the future is like saying I’m going to move to a more expensive house because my current one will be torn down at some unknown point in the future. I’d end up paying much more for YouTube TV and lose local offline playback.

 

[spiderpumpkin]

Followup on a few Directv Stream related items.

Apparently, some users have seen a new DVR Recordings layout with A-Z and categories being tested on their Gemini/Osprey devices. I personally have not seen this yet but I hope it is released soon.

Also, Directv Stream recently implemented the ability to record everything live in the guide from the beginning. I really find this handy when I'm browsing the guide and see a show, movie or event that I didn't record in advance.

 

[mfiman]

For me dropping TiVo with Comcast and switching to YouTube TV now because it will end at some point in the future is like saying I’m going to move to a more expensive house because my current one will be torn down at some unknown point in the future. I’d end up paying much more for YouTube TV and lose local offline playback.

I respectfully disagree. First, I am actually spending less money now on Sonic Internet + YouTube TV than I was for Comcast Internet/TV + TiVo. Second, it isn't just that the metaphorical "house" will be torn down at some point in the future. It's that the viability of the house is being constrained in the present — including an inability to add additional cable-card-requiring devices and (at least in some cases) to service existing ones. Third, now that I have made the shift, the biggest surprise for me is that I actually prefer YouTube TV over TiVo in many ways. The obvious biggest loss is the lack of permanent offline recordings. But in exchange, I get 4K broadcasts (which I didn't with my Roamio), I have no need to switch HDMI inputs anymore, I get much better sports features/coverage, more modern options (such as easy multi-screen of live TV), much greater ability to view recordings when I am traveling (because storage is in the cloud) and on and on. Plus Sonic fiber is much faster and more reliable than Comcast's cable internet. Overall, if I had realized how smooth (and positive) the transition has been, I would have done it a year ago. The final bonus is that I no longer feel like I have a guillotine over my head. Comcast can do whatever it wants and it no longer affects me.

TiVo was fabulous for me in its day — and much better than any alternative at the time. I have no regrets about my decision to go with TiVo. But times change. And now I have no regrets about saying goodbye to TiVo.

 

[mfiman]

One more plus of YouTube TV over TiVo that I did not list above: No more separate hardware to purchase and support. That means I no longer have to worry about my Roamio hard drive breaking down...or sudden failure of a mini Lux (which has happened several times) or whether I should purchase a new DVR to get upgraded features (but then have to get a new lifetime subscription).

 

[bareyb]

My TIVO still works so far. Why aren’t you guys that lost cable card support just getting a DVR box from Xfinity? I assume they still make them right? Then if the Internet goes down you still have something to watch.

 

[astrohip]

My TIVO still works so far. Why aren’t you guys that lost cable card support just getting a DVR box from Xfinity? I assume they still make them right? Then if the Internet goes down you still have something to watch.

Have you ever used the X1? I have (at this time) a TiVo, a DirecTV Genie, and an X1. Ratings:

Tivo: 9.5
Genie: 7
X1: 2

I'm going to switch to DirecTV Stream sometime this fall. Can't stand the X1. I told myself I'd never stream as a main source, that I always wanted a physical DVR. The X1 has made me change my mind.

 

[waterchange]

My sister's Roamio died (blinking green light = possible motherboard issue). So I bought a lifetime Bolt locally. The online cableCARD activation page would not work ... it returns "We're sorry - an error has occurred. Your CableCARD was not paired with your device." Calling into Xfinity and their overseas support is useless. But the Comcast_Xfinity support on reddit is helpful and they sent the cableCARD activation signal. Unfortunately the TiVo isn't able to find any channels. This is more venting than anything but if there's any suggestions on things to try, I'd appreciate it. I just followed up with Comcast_Xfinity on reddit to see if they have any other suggestion to get the cableCARD paired and am awaiting to hear back.