Tivo threat (1 Viewer)

[Michael St. Clair]

I don't know what your experience has been, but the hard drive on my TiVo is always doing something.

There are lots of housekeeping tasks like defragging and updating indexes as schedule data goes obsolete and so on. The processor is very slow, and the drives aren't that fast really (just fast enough to read/write video simultaneously - which may seem fast, but it's not when you consider the amount of data it manages), so housekeeping is done at a low priority pretty much all the time. And remember, it is always buffering live TV on whatever channel you have on. The drives are pretty much always busy.
I wonder if everybody complaining in this thread even has a Tivo?

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

Wear and tear is a non-issue. The TiVo hard drive is always spinning and always recording video. If it isn't recording a show you requested or a suggestion (if configured) then it's continuously recording the 30 minute Live TV pause/replay buffer.

 

[Jason Caudill]

Speaking of which (Ford reference). How many of you have dealer badges on the back of your cars, which you (most likely) paid more for than your Tivos? At first I was not very happy with Tivo for adding these adds without my consent (or being able to disable). But the more I think about it, I realize this happens everyday. The car thing (even though I insist they be removed or the dealership pays me for advertising), billboards on the side of publicly funded roads, the Internet, etc. I realize that this is different because my home is something I consider more private than my local interstate. But it has been interesting to think about this issue over the past couple of days.

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

Daniel, if you're going to disagree with Michael and me -- we've given a logical explanation that there is no additional wear and tear caused by the TiVo recording a sponsored program because the TiVo is always recording something regardless -- then I think the burden of proof is on you. Please elaborate on what you observed when you disassembled a TiVo that makes you disagree. You're entitled to have the opinion that what TiVo is doing is wrong but if you're going to bring up a technical reason to support your opinion then it has to be a valid one.

 

[Michael Reuben]

(such as an advertisment download, recording, playback), however, regardless of whether or not it is performed simultaneously to habitual use, is still added wear-and-tear.

Emphasis mine.
That's where the fallacy lies, at least with respect to standalone units. Recording the ads does not constitute "added use". The TiVo unit would already be recording whatever channel it was on for purposes of buffering. Recording an ad simply substitutes one use for another.
M.

 

[John Berggren]

I would love to see this practice used to highlight excellent programs that get cancelled for lack of viewership. So long as two things are maintained:

1) It only records if nothing else is being recorded.

2) It never overwrites anything the user is saving.

If only Greg the Bunny had it this good.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

That's where the fallacy lies, at least with respect to standalone units. Recording the ads does not constitute "added use". The TiVo unit would already be recording whatever channel it was on for purposes of buffering. Recording an ad simply substitutes one use for another.

Exactly. Not to mention that it is generally accepted (even by the drive manufacturers) that spinning up and down is harder on disk drives (and ultimately causes failure) than any other activity. Keep spinning!

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Michael(s): I now see what you're saying but your logic assumes that TiVO only pushes 30 minutes of programming at a time. While this may be true now, a lack of consumer protest might prompt them to download the rumored 6GBs of additional space reserved on each unit for advertisements ... at which point your argument is negated.

Daniel,

30 minutes at a time CONTINUOUSLY means 24 hours of recording a day.

A Tivo records 24 hours of programming a day. 24 hours a day. If there is no promo, this is 24 hours of scheduled recording, suggestions (if applicable), and buffering.

If it records a half-hour promo, then it records 23.5 hours of the regular stuff, and a half-hour of promo. Which still totals up to 24 hours.

No matter how you slice it, Tivo records 24 hours of material each day.

 

[MickeS]

Does this mean that if I turn on the TV at 2:45 AM, expecting to catch the previous 15 minutes of TV in the buffer, and TiVo is currently downloading the ads/promotions/ whatever, that means that there will be nothing in my buffer except the ads? Or does it record that simultaneously? It seems like it has to change the channel to do it, so I assume that there'll be no buffer for me.

Is this correct? If so, that would be the only objection I have against this.

/Mike

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

The TiVo does have to change the channel to record the stuff (there's no other way), and as usual changing the channel always clears the buffer. That's a valid technical objection. However, TiVo won't change the channel without first asking you if it's okay to do so. If you're not there to answer it then it assumes you're not watching TV and it has free reign.

I think it may be possible to avoid the "intrusion" by punishing the channels which pay TiVo to push content onto your box: remove the channels from your "Channels You Receive" list.

 

[Chris Muellen]

Regarding the Sonicblue issue, this was announced today. Because Sonicblue won on appeal, they will not have to share customer information with the entertainment industry.
Phew.

 

[Jason Caudill]

I think it may be possible to avoid the "intrusion" by punishing the channels which pay TiVo to push content onto your box: remove the channels from your "Channels You Receive" list.

I was wondering if this would work. If I remove the Discovery Channel, will I no longer get the ads? Or because I told it my cable company can it still find it?

 

[VinceS]

I am not a TiVo owner but have been considering one for some time and thought I'd chime in on this issue having found this thread this morning. Something about it is just plain wrong to me. Just because it's noted in their service agreemment doesn't give it any credit to me. I can't quite fully explain it yet but it's definitely added to the list of why I won't go out and buy one tomorrow.

Vince