Tivo2 operating help, please? (1 Viewer)

[Aaron H]

Well,

I'm REALLY trying not to be frustrated again with TIVO. I got one last Christmas, and after dealing with the channel changing delay problems (though I was still changing channels with the cable box remote), the Tivo suddenly changing channels on my wife in the middle of her favorite show, I returned the Tivo last year with a really bad taste in my mouth.

Well, I just picked up an open box Tivo2 60 hour unit from best buy and got it hooked up. I wanted to try it out again since everyone just loves these things. I have a couple of questions, since there was no manual, I was hoping someone could help me with.

1. Channel change is still VERY slow. I think this is going to be the deal breaker again. No way to channel surf. I have the IR hooked up to the cable box and I choose the FAST code when selecting my cable box from the setup. When going channel up/down or going directly to a channel by number, it takes almost 5 full seconds for the channel to switch. VERY frustrating.

2. How can I tell Tivo to not record anything or switch to a show that it recommends? I went to My Tivo last nite to watch a show I had recorded, and there was 6-7 other shows there. I deleted them all. I'd also like not to get propmted to switch to the show that Tivo recommends.

3. Channel banner. I selected "quick disappear". When going channel up/down, it goes away very quickly. But when I am on, for example, channel 07, and press 2-0-1 to go to HBO, on top of the 5 seconds it takes to actually switch the channel, the banner stays over the whole screen for another 5 seconds or so. It's like you're trying to watch the show and it just doesn't want to let you or something.

If anyone can assist with any of the above problems, that'd be great, especially #1. That's frustrating enough that I'm not going to keep it if it takes 5 seconds to change the channels.

Aaron

 

[jeff peterson]

Try this website...everything you'll ever need to know:
Tivo Community Forum

 

[Aaron H]

Ugh....after reading a few posts, I see that my problem #1 above is common, and there doesn't seem to be a solution. Man, that's a bummer.

Aaron

 

[Andy L]

TiVo does take a long time to change channels because it has to start recording into its buffer when you change the channel. There is no way around this. I find myself watching less live TV and was never much of a channel surfer anyway, so this doesn't bother me too much.

You can turn off Suggestions so TiVo will only record the shows that you ask it to record. To do this, go to Messages & Setup/My Preferences/TiVo's Suggestions and then check 'No, Don't Record TiVo's Suggestions".

I haven't noticed the banner problem that you described. I too set it for the shorter duration and that seems to take effect no matter how I change channels. The thing that I wish I could change is that the digital cable banner appears in addition to the TiVo menu when I change channels. Makes for a pretty cluttered screen for those 3 seconds or so.

 

[Stephen Tu]

I'm REALLY trying not to be frustrated again with TIVO. I got one last Christmas, and after dealing with the channel changing delay problems (though I was still changing channels with the cable box remote), the Tivo suddenly changing channels on my wife in the middle of her favorite show,

I think that was covered in an earlier thread -- cable box remote shouldn't be used at all; shove it in a drawer (or return to cable company if they are charging you money to rent it). Second problem can happen, but only if all of (1) favorite show wasn't set to record (just set the Tivo to SP all favorite shows, and this will never, ever happen), (2) suggestions are enabled, and the Tivo remote hasn't been touched for at least half an hour, and the user doesn't dismiss the "OK to change channels" prompt within the timeout period.

1. Channel change is still VERY slow. I think this is going to be the deal breaker again. No way to channel surf. I have the IR hooked up to the cable box and I choose the FAST code when selecting my cable box from the setup. When going channel up/down or going directly to a channel by number, it takes almost 5 full seconds for the channel to switch. VERY frustrating.

5 seconds is an extremely long time, probably longer than it should be; 2-3 secs is more typical. Quite possibly you are using an inferior combination of settings. There are two options, "send 3 digit channel numbers" and "send enter after channel change", that you should try (both separately, and together). It's possible that Tivo is sending 2 digits, but your cable box is waiting for a possible 3rd digit, or enter key, for some timeout period before it decides that the 2 digit number is what you really wanted. You may also experiment with other cable box codes to see if they work better.

Also, channel surfing should become nearly irrelevant -- just pop up the live TV guide and search through the guide for what's on. I used to surf constantly, but was broken of that habit within a week. Using the guide is just a lot more efficient ...

2. How can I tell Tivo to not record anything or switch to a show that it recommends? I went to My Tivo last nite to watch a show I had recorded, and there was 6-7 other shows there. I deleted them all. I'd also like not to get propmted to switch to the show that Tivo recommends.

Go to "Messages & Setup", "My Preferences", "Tivo Suggestions", and turn them off, if you really hate this. However, I'd suggest leaving them on, and training it with the thumb buttons (don't go overboard with thumbs down), because they do actually start catching some shows you might like. You don't have to delete them or manage them in any way, because they delete themselves if it needs space to record your shows. The suggestions are always the first to get axed, before any "expired" shows. They are just temporarily occupying space that would otherwise be completely empty. They only prompt you to ask if it's OK to record if Tivo thinks it's idle; i.e. you are watching live TV and have not hit the remote at all for half an hour. About the only time this should happen is if you were say watching an HBO movie or some other commercial-free thing in the live buffer.

If you just record everything, like many Tivo users start to do eventually, it will never prompt you to switch. Recording everything, and watching through Now Playing (as opposed to "live TV") has many advantages; no suggestion prompts, can't accidentally change the channel and wipe out your live buffer, pause at any time and don't have to worry about the 30 min buffer limitation. Only defect is an extra second to delete the program when done.

3. Channel banner. I selected "quick disappear". When going channel up/down, it goes away very quickly. But when I am on, for example, channel 07, and press 2-0-1 to go to HBO, on top of the 5 seconds it takes to actually switch the channel, the banner stays over the whole screen for another 5 seconds or so. It's like you're trying to watch the show and it just doesn't want to let you or something.

The Tivo banner can be dismissed instantly with the "clear" button. 2-0-1-enter-clear. Also, the banner has 3 modes, one that has full description, one with just the title bar, and another small one with just the channel. You can cycle through these with the right arrow button when the banner is up.