[Bagpuss12]

I recently had a message sent to my Tivo box telling me not to unplug it for the next few weeks as there is going to be another early hours of the morning update. Anyone know what this is for and is it going to change anything for the user??

[dante01]

I think the most anticipated change will be the introduction of reminders, something many users have requested since the VM TiVo was initially launched.

Here's a brief outline of what is expected from the version 15.3 update:

• Record and Reminders - Reminders, where even if you do miss the reminder pop-up, you still won't miss your show as TiVo will still record it for you.
• General stability updates for TiVo and interactive services
• HDMI connection reliability improvements – Some of you who've seen this issue should see a reduction in the number of invalid HDMI error messages.
• Global settings – You can now set default recording options for new single recordings, Series Links, and WishLists
• Streamlined Video On Demand Search – You can now find and play your favourite video on demand shows in a flash

[PaulBox]

They all sound like good improvements.

[snooper]

I hope the reminders will change over the channel like the V hd box did as its a big omission for me on the Tivo.

[richard plumb]

Got the update already - first I noticed was the 'record and remind' when selecting a program from the guide. But there is no remind only. Surely the main point of remind is that I want to watch immediately, otherwise I'd just record it. Can't work out what's different in the on demand section but anything is better than how it was

Edit: just checked 'record and remind' and it popped up a reminder (huge thing covering most of the picture)
- ok, watch now
- no I'll watch later
- cancel the recording

I left it alone and it auto switched the channel and is recording it

[mike7]

Originally Posted by richard plumb

Got the update already - first I noticed was the 'record and remind' when selecting a program from the guide. But there is no remind only. Surely the main point of remind is that I want to watch immediately, otherwise I'd just record it. Can't work out what's different in the on demand section but anything is better than how it was

Edit: just checked 'record and remind' and it popped up a reminder (huge thing covering most of the picture)
- ok, watch now
- no I'll watch later
- cancel the recording

I left it alone and it auto switched the channel and is recording it

Have they improved on the clumsy way it searches for programmes in BBCiplayer? I find the 'going on line' approach very annoying and a backward step on how it was with the V+.

[DavidT]

Originally Posted by richard plumb

Got the update already - first I noticed was the 'record and remind' when selecting a program from the guide. But there is no remind only. Surely the main point of remind is that I want to watch immediately, otherwise I'd just record it. Can't work out what's different in the on demand section but anything is better than how it was

Edit: just checked 'record and remind' and it popped up a reminder (huge thing covering most of the picture)
- ok, watch now
- no I'll watch later
- cancel the recording

I left it alone and it auto switched the channel and is recording it

My TiVo has been upgraded too. Apart from "record and remind" I can't see any other changes. The SD menus are still there which is a major failing and very disappointing that after all this time VM have not sorted them out.

David

[KingersF]

Originally Posted by DavidT

My TiVo has been upgraded too. Apart from "record and remind" I can't see any other changes. The SD menus are still there which is a major failing and very disappointing that after all this time VM have not sorted them out.

David

I know it's easy to say "How hard can it be...?" but the jarring crash when going from sharp to fuzzy text is terrible.

Come on VM how hard can it be?

[DavidT]

I think TiVo could be a great device but at the moment it is just shy of being an OK device.

Basic playback and recording is OK but then again it was also OK on the old V+, the GUI is OK but let down by being slow and of course the horrible SD menus, the extra features like YouTube are a waste of time. One last thing I dislike is the physical design and the lack of a display, a small point I know but I miss not being able to see what channel I am on or how far into a recording I am by simply looking at the STB.

David

[snooper]

Just got 2 tivo's in swap outs for my V boxes and agree more better options could be on the tivo tbh. Has anyone ever contacted Virgin via there online forms and suggested the updates they would like. Surely if we all get together its worth a shot or at the very least we have had our say. If they just keep doing updates they think people want then we will never get anywhere.

[dicklodge]

Originally Posted by DavidT

My TiVo has been upgraded too. Apart from "record and remind" I can't see any other changes.
David

You can now set some (not all) of the recording defaults. You can now distribute up to a max of 5 minutes of padding before and after a show.

You can change the max number of shows that you want to keep. But, most infuriating to me, you can't alter the 'Keep until' setting. It stays at 'Keep until space needed'. I always change that setting to 'keep until I delete', so Express Series link remains useless to me.

[dicklodge]

Originally Posted by carl.waring

Ten, actually. 5 before and 5 after (Though mine's set to 0 for both!)

TBH I was going on what I'd read because I have mine set to zero. But I've just tried it and it is 5 max, not 10. There is a note on the screen to the right saying that it is only 5 max.

[carl.waring]

Indeed. Which is why I deleted my original post. I though I had done so before anyone could quote it. So that's weird

[dicklodge]

Originally Posted by carl.waring

Indeed. Which is why I deleted my original post. I though I had done so before anyone could quote it. So that's weird

Gotta learn to be quicker at deleting Carl. Or, probably better, check your facts before posting to say that someone else has got it wrong

[carl.waring]

So I'm not perfect. Never said I was

[ggrant]

Originally Posted by richard plumb

Edit: just checked 'record and remind' and it popped up a reminder (huge thing covering most of the picture)
- ok, watch now
- no I'll watch later
- cancel the recording

I did a little test the other day and found the following:

- ok, watch now (You'd think this would cancel the recording and switch channel, my TiVo changed channel but still recorded).
- no, I'll watch later (I assume this means it will record).
- cancel the recording (I would think that this just did the same as dimissing a reminder).

[meltonboy]

Warning - After the update i found that a few old shows (recorded as singles not series links) were suddenly about to be time deleted.

I happened to scroll down the my shows list and found a few egg timers. They had been changed to "keep until xxx" by the update. Easy enough to make it "keep until i delete", but i might not have noticed it for a while as it was on older shows far down the list.

Shows recorded on a series link were not affected - as they had always been "keep until i delete"

MB

[carl.waring]

As has been mentioned before, that message is wrong and should read "...may be deleted", not "will be deleted". Unless, of course, you have very little space left, in which case they may well be deleted

A re-boot will re-set them.

[KingersF]

Just in case this helps anyone else...

My TiVo box had been reporting no interactive services for nearly a week so I finally called 151 for help.
Long story short I switched it off and on again and it did an update and an auto-restart and then sat on another "updating, please wait" message for ages with an unusual set of LEDs on (3 green on the left, 1st and 3rd red record lights and a blue one to the far right).
Girl on 151 said it's broken and booked me an engineer.
I left it alone but when I checked some hours later it was all working again and I now have the new firmware.

I can only assume that the overnight download had failed in some way and my rebooted kicked it off again.

[KiLLiNG-TiME]

Originally Posted by DavidT

One last thing I dislike is the physical design and the lack of a display, a small point I know but I miss not being able to see what channel I am on or how far into a recording I am by simply looking at the STB.

David

You know the one thing i do love about the tivo is the physical design, as i hated the glowing neon face that was my V+HD box damn thing was less bright on standby & to be honest i just want to watch my tv not look at lights every where same with my amp & blu ray player all displays are off untill needed. After all lets face most channels have those horrible "dog" on screen anyway so i find it hard not to know what channel i am on.

[Jules S]

Doesn't sound as though there's actually much useful stuff in this update, bar quality / reliability fixes. That's a real shame, like (I think) many people on here, I want to really love my TiVo, but there are way too many user interface failings to allow that to be the case.

As Snooper said previously, where do we lodge our desperate pleas for updates / additions / improvements to the service? I have a list of stuff I'd like to see fixed, and want it to get straight to the teams responsible for managing the development of the service.

[dicklodge]

Originally Posted by Jules S

As Snooper said previously, where do we lodge our desperate pleas for updates / additions / improvements to the service? I have a list of stuff I'd like to see fixed, and want it to get straight to the teams responsible for managing the development of the service.

Possibly a start if you add them to this thread. Not sure how much gets fed back to the tivo teams, but it is the official VM Tivo forum so who knows?

What Would You Like To See In Tivo 15.4 Update - Help & Support Forum

[dante01]

Wanting more drastic alterations to the GUI is going to prove problematic. Even if Virgin hear what you are saying then it would be up to TiVo in the USA to make any amendments and not Virgin Media. This is the problem with out sourcing.

You are more likely to attract the attention of Virgin Media if you post opinions on their own site rather than here:
TiVo - Help & Support Forum

The box is sans a display because of costs. It is cheaper to make without one than includes one. The cisco version of the hardware is derived from a cable STB that did originally have a display.

The outer casing is Virgin's doing and cheap plastic, cheaper than the shiny finish of the standard STBs and Its aesthetics are a matter of opinion, but I see nothing revolutionary or of note in this respect. The case looks as though someone without any product design skills has attempted to meld a PS3 with a SKY HD box? Virgin appear to have tried to continue the design of its superhub on through to the TiVo, but with cheaper materials?


Anyway, this is off topic and a firmware update's primary function is to rectify bugs and glitches apparent in the setup as a whole and not redesign the GUI.

[KiLLiNG-TiME]

Originally Posted by dante01

The case looks as though someone without any product design skills has attempted to meld a PS3 with a SKY HD box?

I like miine simply becasue i can't see it

[dante01]

Originally Posted by KiLLiNG-TiME

I like miine simply becasue i can't see it

Poking yourself in the eyes with a blunt stick is no solution to the problem!

[snooper]

Having just got a Tivo last week how often do they do updates on em, ta

[dicklodge]

Originally Posted by snooper

Having just got a Tivo last week how often do they do updates on em, ta

The update prior to this was, I think, November 2011; version 15.2

Features such as multi room straming and apps, such as ipad, won't need an update; they can be added when they are ready to the current software. In fact, they didn't need 15.3; they could have been added to 15.2.

[carl.waring]

Originally Posted by dicklodge

The update prior to this was, I think, November 2011; version 15.2

Those were major updates, of course. They do minor ones without telling anyone.

Features such as multi room straming and apps, such as ipad, won't need an update; they can be added when they are ready to the current software. In fact, they didn't need 15.3; they could have been added to 15.2.

Except that those features also require permissions from the broadcasters/studios concerned so, although the functionality is there, other things need to be in place too before they can go ahead with it.

[dicklodge]

Originally Posted by dicklodge

The update prior to this was, I think, November 2011; version 15.2

Features such as multi room straming and apps, such as ipad, won't need an update; they can be added when they are ready to the current software. In fact, they didn't need 15.3; they could have been added to 15.2.

Originally Posted by carl.waring

Except that those features also require permissions from the broadcasters/studios concerned so, although the functionality is there, other things need to be in place too before they can go ahead with it.

Covered by 'when they are ready'.

It was rumored that rights may have been an issue; it may have been solved now.

It was rumoured that VM wanted a foolproof network connection method; that may have been solved now.

It could be other things. So, 'when they are ready' covers it

[dante01]

Originally Posted by dicklodge

Covered by 'when they are ready'.

It was rumored that rights may have been an issue; it may have been solved now.

It was rumoured that VM wanted a foolproof network connection method; that may have been solved now.

It could be other things. So, 'when they are ready' covers it

The features are only apparent because the software is derived from TiVo's US software. US citizens are given a constitutional right to do much as they please with content they record, but UK copyright law prevents the same features from being utilised here in the UK. Virgin would like to employ these features, but cannot do so without each and every one of the content providers agreeing to waver their copyright on the content in question or without the UK's copyright laws being changed/revised.

The features do work and were tested prior to the public launch of the VM TiVo by a select few beta testers.

It is rumoured that if the features are ever unlocked then you'll only be able to share content between TiVo boxes and you'll not be able to stream to (or from) a PC or other such device.