The Official AVS TiVo "Series4" Premiere topic - Page 17

I'm having a strange problem that I can't figure out a solution for. By way of example lets say its 9:55pm. If I pull up the guide it has the 10pm slot at the left side. If I want to see what else is on during the 9:30-10:00pm slot I have to go back a slot. But worse, I can NOT record what is on ANY channel at 10pm. If I try to record I am instead switched to that channel. This is annoying if I happen to pull up the guide at 9:55pm and see something on the same or any other channel at 10pm. Instead I have to go to the channel I want to record, wait until its 10pm and then choose to record it.

Instead of Select, press the Record button.

Or the Info button.

I use the record button.

Although personally I would rather it not show the shows for 10pm until it's 10pm.

I can't answer your double DMA question(although it sounds like someone else thinks it can handle it) but do you have a land line? I use a land line for my guide updates(on a Tivo HD) and it takes maybe 2 or 3 minutes/download. At 56kb(or more than likely 52kb) it sure wouldn't take much with HS internet. Even with version downloads it's never caused a problem hogging the phone line(unlike Windows when I had dialup that would take DAYS!! to download all the various service packs). The Tivo just doesn't take much kb(I suppose unless you get into watching things online).
I came from a DVDR and a VCR before that and Tivo is miles ahead of both. With Tivo just setup season passes for your favorite programs and never worry about time changes day changes, repeats etc. Tivo only records what you want. I wouldn't go back to time based recording, name based recording is where it's at.
With the Primere you'd have to buy a phone line adapter to access dialup, the HD had it built in.

Thanks, that's excellent info on dialup, I should have no problem with my cap. On the zip code, reading between the lines at their forum it looks like probably no problem either - they tell anyone with a problem to check zapit for channels, and zapit is regional, not just directing you to your home DMA.

I guess the only thing left is whether or not I can get it to work on my wireless. Technically I'm networked because I have a wireless internet connection, but I don't use it as a network, it's just my connection. Adding a device to a network should be cake, but it took me into the 4th day to get a reliable connection when I first set this thing up lol.

I am considering this Tivo Premiere. I only have the slowest speed DSL with a one outlet wired modem. It is not fast enough to watch moving video without a lot of pauses even on the computer, so the connection on the Tivo would be strictly for guide data and the occasional software update.
What would the consequences be of just occasionally connecting the Ethernet wire to the Tivo in the night when the computer is not in use? It seems that it could do the above functions within a few minutes once it saw an Internet connection. My greatest concern would be if there was a "no Internet connection" type warning every time I used the Tivo. Of course, the alternative would be to get the dial-up phone adapter.

A better option would be to get a Network Switch for the modem, or even hard-wired into a multi-port wifi router. The Premiere is designed for an always-on Internet connection, and you would get an error message in the HD menus if operated the way you described.

Whew! I've made it through the whole thread. OK... didn't read EVERY word, but still..

New Premier owner... in fact new to TiVo, though I've had Dish DVRs until now. I'm still confused on a couple of things:

When I set up a Season Pass, why does it ask me if I want to automatically record? Isn't that the whole point? I'm not really sure what I'm telling it to do when I say yes or no. Why would I set up a Season pass if I did NOT want it to automatically record??

Next... I use this box strictly for OTA. I have a good internet connection to it for programming - but only watch OTA. Is there a way to turn off all or most of the crap that it suggests for me - like PPV and NetFlix and such?

Next... Let's say I want to record anything that has to do with gymnastics. I tried looking under the sports category, and there's nothing there. Best to just enter "gymnastics" into my wishlist?

We'll start with those. Thanks for any help!

(btw, a spare usb-wireless keyboard sure makes text entry easier... except for the terrible delay of the UI sometimes).

My Tivo HD wishlist for Gymnastics has Sports: Gymnastics under Category. It finds everything for me relating to Gymnastics, I'm also OTA. I would think the Premiere would be similar.

It sounds like maybe you were setting up a wishlist, not a season pass?

These are two different things, and each has a use. A season pass is simply for shows currently airing where you know the title. This will give you the option to record all episodes, or new episodes only, plus other options like how many to keep, how long, etc.. To set this up, an episode of the show has to be airing in the next couple weeks (within the guide data).

OTOH, wishlists are mainly for favorite actors, directors, sports teams, or key words where you may or may not want to automatically record the show/movie/event. A wishlist can also be used for shows, movies or events where there's no guide data available but you want it to record if it ever comes on in the future.

Well, I've looked at all the pretty little boxes that show up under sports and none of them seem to say gymnastics. Bobsled, yes. Poker, yes. But no gymnastics that I can find! I'll keep looking. If anybody knows where it might be, I'd love to hear it.


Being a TiVO newbie, I may very well have confused them at some point. I'll bet that's it, and I'll give it another look.

So if I have a wish list search, the default seems to be not to record it? If I leave it like that, what does it do with any shows it finds?

Thanks guys.

Nothing unless you later change it to Record. A non-recording Wishlist item does nothing at all (it just sits there) until you select it; then it searches. Non-recording Wishlist items are useful for repeatedly finding Premieres (of movies on a particular channel), Series Premieres, Season Premieres, movies released in a particular year (just search for the year, like 2009, as a keyword) as well as actors, directors, sports teams, etc., as DaverJ said.

Thanks. Clears that up... except the part about why the default would be not to record. Seems that most people searching would actually want to record? But I guess I'll get used to the extra step.

Now... back to categories. It doesn't appear that I can just choose Sports:bicycles (or gymnastics or whatever). I have to choose Sports:bicycles:something_more_specific. Can't I just tell it to grab EVERYTHING with bicycles in it this way? Or do I need to go back to wish list? Seems that categories would be the perfect area for what I want... but it always forces me to pick something within the secondary category.

Just to clarify, Wishlists are not the major function of the TiVo -- it's more of a secondary option to use on occasion to assist in creating a list of extra shows, movies, sports, etc., you might be interested in based on what's available. The automatic recording of this list an option, and your point that the default option should be to record this list is valid, but remember, this way of search is simply to create lists of available content. It's also a powerful tool to set up advanced searching and auto-recording options. I would guess many TiVo owners don't use Wishlists, or at least try the feature out but don't really save many.

The main function of TiVo is searching for particular shows by title. When you find the show you are looking for, recording that show is the default next step, and setting up a Season Pass for auto-recording every episode is the next option.

Wishlists are a key feature of Tivo that distinguish it from all other competitors. Used properly, they can make your life a lot easier. I have ARWLs setup for all of my favorite sports, and I never miss an event nor do I have to worry about what it records.

The poster needs to review this thread, specifically the Tivo Tips section.

Have to disagree here. Wishlists are really a powerful multi-faceted tool, which can operate alongside and complement SeasonPasses. Sure, you can use them as a simple search query to find stuff you want to record by other means (SeasonPass, manual record, etc). Keep in mind though that SeasonPasses are limited to a single channel. WishLists can record anything, anywhere, at any time, based upon your criteria. I find them very handy to follow my favorite sports teams, record a set of award shows, or record a show who's name changes from season to season (i.e. Survivor).


The main function of TiVo is to record shows you want to watch. SeasonPasses are one mechanism to make those recordings happen. WishLists are another.

While "wishlists" don't really distinguish the TiVO from all others, I find it a VERY important aspect of the DRV experience. I had it on my Dish DVR - called "DISHpass"

Anyway - thanks for all the great replies and help. I'll check out the tips link next.

After talking to you guys spending another afternoon fooling with the UI... then spending a second attempt at reading clear through the manual, I'm feeling much more confident that this is going to work.

You might've had DISHpass before but it's the same as SPs on Tivo. You'll find that Wishlists are much more powerful because you can selectively record what you want without the stuff you don't, using keywords or phrases to include and exclude.

For example, I have an ARWL that gets NASCAR races, but not qualifying or practice, and only Sprint/Nationwide (no trucks). I don't know another DVR that can do that with one pass setup.

Got it. Yes, I realize that Wishlist is more powerful than the DishPass... I'm just saying that other DVRs at least have this basic functionality of finding shows that don't yet exist on the schedule - something that I find very powerly all by itself.

I've got a pretty good handle on things now! Even figured out the gymnastics thing... and the difference between browse and search (that was my gymnastics problem, btw).

New question: When the disk is full of "deleted shows" and "Tivo suggestions" and it is time to make room for a new recording... what is removed from the disk first? Seems to me that both of these items could keep the disk filled up consistently... so if one is removed before the other, eventually the disk will be full of ONLY deleted shows or ONLY Suggestions. How's that work?

deleted always gets removed first. that's why they're deleted. if you wanted them, you'd have kept them.

Good answer.

But again... that functionality for saving recently deleted items exists. And the manual says they'll be there until something else needs the room. Seems like the TiVO suggestions could easily fill the disk, making the deleted folder useless? I won't worry about. Just curious as there have been a few times that I've accidentally deleted a show before my wife could watch it. oops.

You've just about got it. You're exactly right about the intent of Recently Deleted. It's there as a safety precaution in case you fat finger something and accidentally delete a recording.

In order to recover disk space for future recordings, recordings sitting in "Recently Deleted" are removed first, then Suggestions, then shows in Now Playing which are NOT marked for Keep Until I Delete. Unless your disk is VERY full of recordings still sitting in Now Playing, you shouldn't see shows being pruned from there in order to make room for new stuff.

How do I get rid of the Acid Reflux ad banner that keeps popping up just about every time I pause? I don't mean by pressing the Down key every time, I mean permanently. Or is this just the thin end of the wedge for intrusive advertising through Tivo?

you can't. I just put the "clear progress bar immediately code" since I don't want to see the bar anyway. If I do I can just hit play again.

After you've hit down on the ad, hit SELECT PLAY SELECT PAUSE SELECT

only works in classic mode, but once you switch back to HD menu it sticks.

done

Thanks to you guys, and a bit of time fooling around, I seem to have the "big picture" of how this works now, and I'm pretty happy with it.

But now I need to take a big step backwards and ask an amazingly basic question:

How do I STOP a recorded show that I'm watching? As there is no stop button, pause seems to be the only option. But then what? Normally when I stop a show it is because I'm done watching it for whatever reason (I padded the end, and didn't need to watch all the way to the end, etc). On my Dish box, I'd press stop, and it would ask me what I wanted to do next - including delete. On the TiVO How do I stop the show I'm watching, and most quickly get to a menu where I can delete the recording and start watching another? right now I'm using pause, then the TiVo button, and drilling down into "my shows." There must be a more direct way.

Left arrow on the directional pad (not the reverse button).

Thanks! That's the ticket! I guess a stop button wouldn't have been subtle enough.

Now... there MUST be a handy list of this type of shortcut for the Premier. Anybody have a pointer? I sure couldn't find this little item in the owner's manual! I've seen a shortcut list for the older units, but they don't all translate to the new UI.

It's not really a shortcut. It's just a logical extension of the navigation system. In the SD menus, there is always a small arrow to right when an item is highlighted. While most people tend to press the select button instead, you can press the right arrow to navigate into the menu or action. Thus, the left button does the opposite and navigates _out_ of the current menu or action.

FWIW, I use the TiVo button (top of the remote) as a stop. I don't have the preview window active, so it stops the recorded show I'm watching and takes me to TiVo Central. Then navigating to the show just watched allows to resume from that point as the default option.

TIP - each push of the TiVo button toggles between TiVo Central first and My Shows.