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TiVo's Latest Offering Detects and Skips Ads, Adds 4K Capability

Posted by timothy on from the fondly-remember dept.

As described by The Verge, the newest generation of TiVo is in some ways a step backward: it comes with fewer tuners than some earlier models, and less storage as well. However, two big features that distinguish the company's new Bolt DVR may entice users anyhow: it adds 4K recording, and (probably of use to more people, given the scarcity of 4K content, not to mention its file size) also can recognize and skip commercials, a feature that users have sorely missed as a mainstream feature in standalone DVRs for quite a while. (And it's possible that broadcasters will come up with a way to kill the commercial-skip function as they did with Dish's AutoHop.)

85 comments

  1. Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    To the tune of $360 a year. Not counting the upfront purchase.

    1. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by amoeba1911 · · Score: 1

      The new bent box design is a hint of what they think of their customers... "get bent."

    2. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by will_die · · Score: 3, Informative

      One year is $150 that $360 is probably for the lifetime. Also the bolt comes with 1 year included.

    3. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by rsmith-mac · · Score: 4, Informative

      One year is $150 that $360 is probably for the lifetime. Also the bolt comes with 1 year included.

      Correct on the yearly plan. However for the lifetime plan it's worse than that. The lifetime (All-In) plan is $600: https://support.tivo.com/articles/Essential_Summary/TiVo-Payment-Plans-and-Policies

      The Bolt unit itself is another $300, so the total pricetag for a lifetime TiVo setup comes to $900.

    4. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whose lifetime?

    5. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by ortholattice · · Score: 3, Informative

      Whose lifetime?

      Not sure what they're fine print says, but I still have an original Tivo series 2 from 2001 with a lifetime subscription, and they still honor it with schedule updates and occasional software updates even after I've moved several times.

      It's hooked to an old analog over-the-air TV with a digital TV converter, and the Tivo controls the converter just fine via its remote control sensor. It's impressive the number of channels available free with digital over-the-air, compared to the old analog, with hundreds of future program selections at any time. Obscure old sci-fi movies playing at 3am and so on that I'd never be aware of otherwise.

      Of course I have the commercial skip hack programmed in. Unlike the newer Tivos where the hack just fast-forwards for 30 seconds, the old Tivo instantly skips 30 seconds ahead, which I find much nicer.

    6. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by ortholattice · · Score: 1

      "their" not "they're".

    7. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by dreamchaser · · Score: 1

      We've had Tivo since the Series 2, and we always opted for the lifetime subscription. It is cheaper in the long run, for us at least, given the amount of time we tend to keep them. We were recently discussing upgrading our Prime to a Roamio, but I am leaning more towards waiting to see how the Pro version of this new box stacks up, both cost and feature wise.

      And to be fair the membership isn't rent, unless you mean renting a lot of the useful features. It will still function as a dumb DVR if a subscription is expired.

    8. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Just became a Tivo customer over the summer.

      The Roamios can be set to do the 30 second skip as opposed to the scan. I don't recall the button sequence, but it can be done.

      Tivo-renewed (refurbished?) ~$50 plus ~$350 lifetime I think for the sale during the summer. Then got a price match after the 30 day return period was up to match the ~$250 lifetime price from the previous sale. This was one of those 500GB models that does OTA and cable both by the way.

      Comcast is the reason why I became a Tivo customer. They raised the DVR (and HDDTA) prices July 1st in my area.

      I assume the SkipMode works by looking for black screen transitions or whatever they're called, assuming I understand what I read like one time. I think I heard some whoever tried putting black frames within the show to confuse the software in the past.

    9. Re: Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wtf do you keep some old analog tv kicking around

    10. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by will_die · · Score: 1

      I still have the original TiVo 1, it was returned to the store as being broken worked with no problems, that I got the lifetime for and it still gets channels. I need it for the IR blaster capability.
      I have had to replace the hard drive a couple of times but that is it; and I have to adjust manually for the time changes.

    11. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by rsmith-mac · · Score: 4, Informative

      Whose lifetime?

      The lifetime of the DVR. So until it breaks outside of the warranty period or becomes outmoded.

      https://www.tivo.com/buytivo/popups/popup_servicePlans.html

      An All-In Plan (a) lasts for the lifetime of your TiVo device (not your lifetime), (b) is not transferrable to another TiVo device (except in certain warranty replacement/repair cases)

    12. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 2

      "their" not "they're".

      Don't worry about him - he's such a looser.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    13. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Worth noting that TiVo DID NOT HONOUR life time subscriptions in the UK for TiVo Series 1; service was withdrawn when it became uneconomic for them to continue. I will never buy another product from them.

    14. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by b0bby · · Score: 1

      Yeah, it seems to me that the ChannelMaster DVR+ is the only DVR I'd consider over a media PC. It seems crazy to have to pay that much for relatively simple data. Of course I'd just be using it for OTA, not cable.

    15. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Based upon the content of current tv subscriptions, I would preferably shoot myself than ever pay those whores for the incessant reruns, violence, and child prostituition that TV has now evolved into. The news channnels for fuck sake are pure propaganda or worse, glorified talk shows pretending to be newsworthy.
      I will, however, continue to download as many hi-def movies, as much music as I can handle, books, software, and anything else I damn well please at my leasure.
      Sharing is caring bitches. TV, on the other hand, is like wiping your ass with your bare hand and then pretending that the guy next to you wants some.

    16. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Same here. I have a lifetime sub on a series 2 that I bought about a year ago for about $150. No subscription fee EVER. Just the $150 that I paid for it. It has a 1 TB hard drive, so I haven't had to delete very much so far. (And of course, I have the 30-second skip programmed). Love it! I don't think I'll ever use a cable provider's DVR.

    17. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by SScorpio · · Score: 1

      I don't think the 30 second skip vs scan is a button sequence.

      I remember there being a option right in the settings menu to configure the behavior. I'm a little fuzzy on it since I've had it for almost two years, so it's been a while since I modified that setting.

    18. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh, yeah. Forgot to say that I still use TivoToGo software, so I can transfer my recordings to my PC and view them there, or re-author to burn to DVD.

    19. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      On the romeo it is the button on the bottom right of the remote. it looks like this:

      ->|

      That skips 30 seconds I believe, I don't know of any changes that you need to make to configure it differently though as I just fast forward.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    20. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      I have been very happy with my Romeo Plus and Tivo Mini. I have 6 tuners, but never seem to use more than 4 at a time, and that is only for short periods. The skip feature of this new one would be nice, but I am sure it will be overridden in no time by the broadcasters.

      I also run the Mini over a wireless bridge, which works, I am not sure why they don't recommend running it over wireless.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    21. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by SScorpio · · Score: 1

      There is a setting that lets it instantly jump 30 seconds, or you can make it automatically fast forward. 30 seconds.

      The sequence thing being mentioned is that the 30 second skip used to be locked out of the remote. But if you entered a series of key presses it would enable it.

    22. Re:Still have to pay RENT after you buy it by jarlsberg71 · · Score: 1

      I have had many TiVo's for many years. (between family and friends) and there have been times where they will let you xfer a lifetime license to another device. Has happened on more than one TiVo. I know the plural of Anecdote is not data, but I have never had anything but excellent service from them.

      --
      E8B8B
  2. Bribes will do by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As seen in the AdBlock drama, bribes and buying out companies still is the best way to "kill the commercial-skip function".

    The nice parts are that those paying more can "differentiate" themselves, Tivo makes a handsome sum... win-win, I'd say!

    Consumers? Oh -- those matter as much as chicken or pigs in a farm. Perhaps PETA material, sooner or later.

  3. But why does it suffer from brewer's droop? by Chrisq · · Score: 1

    But why does it suffer from brewer's droop?

    1. Re:But why does it suffer from brewer's droop? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2

      Fixed link.

      My theory, which goes for the PS3 as well: it stops you putting any other device neatly on top of it, making it seem more awesome (hopefully to your Tivo-less friends who come over) thanks to it being at the top of the stack.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    2. Re:But why does it suffer from brewer's droop? by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

      It may also be for airflow. If it is only just in its cooling envelope, then the gap underneath allows more air to flow around it and the curve on the top prevents anything else going on top and so allows the top to work as a heatsink.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    3. Re:But why does it suffer from brewer's droop? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It may also be for airflow. If it is only just in its cooling envelope, then the gap underneath allows more air to flow around it and the curve on the top prevents anything else going on top and so allows the top to work as a heatsink.

      I might believe that, but ... the older flat TiVo boxes had the heat-generating power supplies inside and this new warped box puts the power supply outside in a wall wart. On top of that, TiVo boxes use old, cheap CPUs and chipsets that wouldn't suffer the kind of overheating issues that gaming consoles like the xbox 360 did.

      No. This new TiVo has a warped appearance simply because TiVo fired all their in-house device design staff and the external company hired to do the design work needs something distinctive to put in their own marketing portfolio.

    4. Re:But why does it suffer from brewer's droop? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      It's to stop people blocking the air vents. Can't rely on other manufacturers to put reasonable height feet on their devices, or not exhaust heat right into your intake vent. If you make people dedicate a shelf to your product it will get better airflow, and thus a lower failure and return rate.

      What we need is a standard, like 19-inch racks, but with cooling specified. Intake at the front, exhaust at the back. Has to look nice for living rooms, and accept most existing equipment. All it really needs to be is a self-certified logo.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    5. Re:But why does it suffer from brewer's droop? by SScorpio · · Score: 1

      Actually, TiVo has a rack mountable product called the TiVo Mega.

      http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/09/tivo-announces-tivo-mega-a-rackmount-dvr-with-six-tuners-and-24-tb/

  4. This is going to get ugly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In the blue corner: The advertisers! In the red corner: The ad blockers! Paying both of them: You!

    1. Re:This is going to get ugly by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1
      Perhaps they could think about making less offensive commercials.

      Because if you watch any daytime TV, you come away with the knowledge that: You gotta sue someone.

      All present day prescription medicines can make you go nuts , but you can sue someone then

      All men use catheters

      All women are really leaky and ooze stuff.

      There's a very limited time to sue for vaginal meshes even though the commercials have been airing for 5 years now.

      MESOTHELIOMA!

      100 percent of humanity is constipated

      There are so many awesome weight loss products out there that everyone is underweight by now.

      And the toppper - I turned on the TV at around 7 one morning, and an infomercial was on. Vaccum cleaner stuff. Not too surprising. But then it went to a break and a commercial played, then back to the infomercial. Now commercials have commercials!

      Since commercials make up around 50 percent of programming these days, companies like Comcast are stuck between a rock and a hard place partially of their own making. If people skip commercials, they have a problem with advertisers. If people don't want to spend 200 a month to see all those vaginal ooze and stick this up your wingwang so you can pee commercials, then the cord cutting that is happening will simply accelerate.

      tl:dr version - TV sucks today.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  5. So less space and fewer tuners... by Viol8 · · Score: 1

    .. but hey, it saves you having to press the manual fast forward button a few times! Well they've sold it to me!

    Not. What a joke.

    1. Re:So less space and fewer tuners... by jfengel · · Score: 1

      It's more about the overall viewing experience than pressing the button. Ads interrupt the story being told. Even if it's only for a moment, kicks you out of the story and you take a moment to re-adjust. Especially if you overshoot and have to scan back to find the part where the show resumes.

      Hardly the worst crime in the world, but this is all about entertainment. Your feelings about it aren't incidental; they're actually the only thing going on here.

      Interestingly, sometimes those interruptions are built right into the show. If you watch some TV shows on DVD, without the commercials, you'll find that there are weird shifts and repeats. They're where the commercials went, and they're bringing you back into the story after a break. With no break, it looks a bit odd, though anybody who's ever watched regular TV has no trouble figuring out what just happened. And are usually glad they didn't have to sit through the actual commercial.

      Though increasingly, the best TV is often on networks that don't have commercials at all. Their target isn't divided between the advertisers and the audience; all they want is for people to like it enough to subscribe to the channel.

  6. Welcome to 2004 TIVO! by Lumpy · · Score: 0

    MythTV has been doing this for well over a DECADE.

    --
    Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    1. Re:Welcome to 2004 TIVO! by ZESTA · · Score: 3, Informative

      MythTV has supported CableCARD and 4K for over a decade? Does it even support CableCARD tuners now?

    2. Re:Welcome to 2004 TIVO! by Enigma2175 · · Score: 1

      Sure, I use a CableCard for Myth. The issue is that it is highly dependent on what your cable company allows, if they have the 'copy never' bit set on their programming then it will be pretty much useless. I haven't ever run into a problem recording something with my cable co. but they could pretty much disable my ability to record on a whim.

      --

      Enigma

    3. Re:Welcome to 2004 TIVO! by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

      It's useless if they have anything except 0x00 (Copy Freely.) Even 0x01 (Copy Once) won't work.

    4. Re:Welcome to 2004 TIVO! by vivek7006 · · Score: 1

      The only thing that works with Comcast in my area (Sacramento, CA) is Windows7 Media Center. It allows me to record all copy protected stuff including HBO and Cinemax. Not sure what my options are after Microsoft abandons windows7 ...

  7. ReplayTV all over again by crow · · Score: 1

    I remember when TiVo first came out. ReplayTV came out at almost the same time. ReplayTV was more expensive, but had lifetime listings included. Ultimately that proved to be a bad marketing decision, and would have probably led to the company's demise if the lawsuits hadn't effectively killed it first.

    ReplayTV had already upset the networks with it's 30-second skip button, but the feature that led to major lawsuits was the automatic commercial skip.

    It's a shame they didn't both survive and compete on features. I wonder what TiVo would have come up with by now with more competitive pressure?

    1. Re:ReplayTV all over again by REden · · Score: 1

      ReplayTV and Tivo came out at about the same time. Both were similarly priced, and ReplayTV also went to the low-unit cost and subscription model. (not just lifetime units)

      TiVo did a much better job of marketing, but IMHO ReplayTV had a slightly better product. (I found the Tivo UI annoying and slow.)

      The 4000 and 5000 units had automatic commercial skip, and the networks sued ReplayTV into bankruptcy. The final model had commercial skip disabled, but it was too late. Eventually the company was gutted and sold for parts/patents.

      On 7/15/2015 DNNA (the final owner of the guide service) declared bankruptcy and guide service stopped (The community has found ways to provide guide data!) DirectTV still owns the patents and the name.

      It will be interesting to see if Tivo is sued out of existence as well.

      --
      --- If it's worth doing, it's worth doing in Perl!
    2. Re:ReplayTV all over again by ArmoredDragon · · Score: 1

      ReplayTV lacked the legal muscle to defend ad skipping (being sued by basically every television media company in existence is NOT cheap,) however Dish had enough to make muster. And now that there's legal precedent behind it, Tivo is safe to go ahead with it.

  8. I wonder if TiVo is long for thisworld by 91degrees · · Score: 1

    With "cord-cutting" becoming more common, and increasing dissatisfaction about the networks' reluctance to offend anyone, I can see most of the people who like this sort of gadget to instead spend the same on a selection of On-demand services.

    1. Re:I wonder if TiVo is long for thisworld by will_die · · Score: 1

      They are still profitable but keep decreasing in users.
      This does have some neat features for the cable cutting people with it being able to connect to most internet tv program services, you can specify a TV show and it will try to pull down the episodes from all sources be it OTA or streaming.

    2. Re:I wonder if TiVo is long for thisworld by RevRagnarok · · Score: 1

      The newest models fully integrate the main on-demand and online services. If I search for a show, it shows me that it's available on Comcast or Amazon Prime. You can even add OnePasses (previously Season Passes) for shows like Amazon's Bosch, so it shows up in your main "Now Playing" to remind you to watch it.

      --
      I should put something clever here. Maybe someday.
    3. Re:I wonder if TiVo is long for thisworld by internerdj · · Score: 1

      I've been tempted to scoop up a roamio OTA and an antenna. I know it would pay off over time but that is quite a chunk of money. That would get a good share of what we watch. On-demand "features" skip disabled ads. I'm also not particularly tempted to replace my satellite bill with a bunch of smaller streaming bills especially when support for any particular service on any particular device is hit or miss.

    4. Re:I wonder if TiVo is long for thisworld by 91degrees · · Score: 1

      I'm also not particularly tempted to replace my satellite bill with a bunch of smaller streaming bills especially when support for any particular service on any particular device is hit or miss.

      The absence of standardisation here is one of my bugbears. My Sony TV supports Netflix and iPlayer (The must-haves in the UK), but players for the other major channels seem to be missing.

      Still, you can get cheap android based devices, and Android itself is a fairly stable standard. Even Amazon's fork for FireTV seems to be pretty well represented, and the devices are cheap enough I don't mind throwing it out if it does become obsolete in a year or two.

    5. Re:I wonder if TiVo is long for thisworld by T.E.D. · · Score: 1

      Its a very good question. We are probably the prototype of a TiVO house. I have 3 hooked up, and 3 more obsolete ones lying around.

      Thing is, we're looking at getting rid of cable, and without cable two of my TiVO's are nearly useless, and the newest one is just a Netflix/Youtube/Hulu box. Its Youtube is really inferior too, as it doesn't allow live stream feeds. I have to watch USL soccer matches on my computer instead. It doesn't support lots of the other streaming services, and if the "no live Youtube" is any indication, probably never will.

      What's more, why do I need a static TV? My old Samsung pad is superior in about every way, can download any streamer's apps, and I can take the thing with me throughout the house. The only think I really need the TV for is watching shows with more than one person at the same time, and for that purpose I should just be able to send a phone/pad feed to it.

      TiVO doesn't support that. So it just doesn't do what I need anymore.

    6. Re:I wonder if TiVo is long for thisworld by enjar · · Score: 1

      We are a TiVo house who cut the cable cord years ago. We are currently running a Series 3 and a Premier, both with lifetime service. Both models happily record programming from the antenna, so we get the programming you can't get from streaming there, particularly NFL football from our local team (all local games MUST be televised in the local area, per FCC regs -- so I can watch all games), plus the dramas my wife enjoys and a bunch of PBS stuff. Not everything makes it onto a streaming site, and I've had season passes that turned into one passes that I set up years ago that still work fine.

      Both TiVos also connect to Netflix, so I don't need a separate box for that. I use an XBox to get Amazon Prime, although IIRC they added that to Premier.

      If the Bolt gets a HBO Now client, I could do streaming and OTA recording with one box and one interface, organized in one place. The OnePass thing is really nice, it can find what you want on broadcast or many of the subscription services (or not ... you can just tell it to get stuff off broadcast or off streaming)

      TiVos are also ridiculously easy to repair. If you can replace a hard drive or power supply in a desktop PC, you can keep a TiVo alive a really long time. My Series 3 HD was activated in 2000 and is still working just fine, recording HD content from an antenna with no complaints. It just keeps working.

    7. Re:I wonder if TiVo is long for thisworld by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      My Romeo Plus supports streaming to portable devices. There is also the Tivo Stream to upgrade older devices:
      https://www.tivo.com/shop/deta...

      I also only need 1 Tivo with the + as it has 6 tuners. The Tivo Mini is how I connect up the other TV in my house.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
    8. Re:I wonder if TiVo is long for thisworld by T.E.D. · · Score: 1

      The thing is, none of that matters if I don't have cable, and TiVO doesn't support the services/service types I want to use. And it will never support everything I can get on my computer and/or Android devices because it is one company's own black box, not a public platform. So the fact of the matter is that I need the streaming to go the other way. TO my TV, not from it.

    9. Re:I wonder if TiVo is long for thisworld by Coren22 · · Score: 1

      Than go buy a chromecast. Though for those who already have a Tivo, it acts as a chromecast.

      --
      APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
  9. Dish Auto-Hop works by jjhues7676 · · Score: 1

    I have Dish. As long as you watch the show 24 hours later it will skip commercials automatically.

  10. founder left tivo by ProfBooty · · Score: 1

    I had a meeting with James Barton (former CEO of Tivo and main inventor on their original patents), and he said they didn't implement commercial skipping and all the other features that ReplayTV (sending shows over the internet, etc) had because they didn't want to be sued.

    Barton left Tivo a few years back and I guess the new leadership isn't worried about that stuff anymore.

    --
    Bring back the old version of slashdot.
  11. They KNOW what I want! by bradgoodman · · Score: 0

    Fewer tuners, less storage AND 4k resolution?! Take my money!!

    1. Re:They KNOW what I want! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Four tuners is still a lot, and maybe they're betting that more and more content will be streamed rather than recorded..

    2. Re:They KNOW what I want! by wbo · · Score: 1

      Looking at their website I am not even sure the Bolt supports 4k. Their marketing mentions 4k all over the place but their specs pages appear to use UHD and 4k interchangeably which really makes me wonder if it truly does 4k or if it is really just supports UHD.

      4k has a wider aspect ratio (17:9 instead of 16:9) and a different color space than UHD. Most of the cheaper (relatively speaking) consumer TVs and displays appear to be supporting UHD but not 4k but some of the higher-end displays tend true 4k at a 17:9 aspect ratio.

      Much of the UHD content I have seen was originally shot in 4k and then cropped to fit the UHD aspect ratio. Often the colors are a bit wrong as well because they didn't correct for the different color space, so I try to stick to 4k whenever possible.

    3. Re:They KNOW what I want! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At the risk of missing the intentionally pedantic tone, UHD and 4K are interchangeable in the consumer space, and universally refer to the resolution 3840 x 2160, which provides an image in the currently preferred native 16:9 aspect ratio.

      Can you tell us how you "stick to 4K [as opposed to UHD]" and what content is available to consumers in 4K? What gear do you use and how do you get the content? My understanding is that such content is generally only available in the professional arena (e.g. public or private cinemas) that conform to the DCI specification for delivery and playback, and only available to private parties that are plugged into the so-called Bel Air circuit. The closest that consumers get to a cinema experience is the 2K (as opposed to 1080p) content provided by Prima Cinema, which has an upfront cost of $40,000 - $35K hardware and $5K for 10 movie rentals at $500/each.

  12. Wait, what? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    (And it's possible that broadcasters will come up with a way to kill the commercial-skip function as they did with Dish's AutoHop.)

    What are you smoking, autohop is alive and well.

  13. With TiVo's push into overlaying ads on content... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 1
    ... it wouldn't surprise me if TiVo sold ad space for the times that the TiVo skips a recorded ad.

    .
    From what I've been reading, lately TiVo has been very aggressive in overlaying ads along the bottom portion of the screen when recorded content is being watched. Also, the ads are being placed throughout the TiVo menus and even on the "Discovery Bar". Apparently, with the end of the patent money in sight, TiVo is turning their DVR into yet another screen for the advertisers to use.

  14. CableCARD by tepples · · Score: 2

    MythTV is free software distributed under the GNU General Public License. I was under the impression that copyleft and CableCARD support were mutually exclusive. Or what am I missing?

  15. Auto Hop is neutered by tepples · · Score: 1

    I thought the Dish Auto Hop embargo got stretched out to 3 or 7 days for several key channels as a condition imposed by the networks for affordable retransmission rights.

  16. Serial copy management flags by tepples · · Score: 1

    But can MythTV transcode CableCARD-sourced video to Android and Apple if it is marked "copy once" or "copy never"? Or are the five tuners solely for OTA?

    1. Re:Serial copy management flags by Enigma2175 · · Score: 1

      But can MythTV transcode CableCARD-sourced video to Android and Apple if it is marked "copy once" or "copy never"? Or are the five tuners solely for OTA?

      Nope, it can only transcode stuff that is copy freely. Of course, none of its competitors can do that either so it's not like that's a deal-breaker.

      --

      Enigma

    2. Re:Serial copy management flags by tepples · · Score: 1

      Then I guess MythTV's features aren't so compelling to people who live in the service area of a cable company that has chosen to put restrictive flags on all channels.

    3. Re:Serial copy management flags by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

      With more and more cable companies switching to encrypted digital channels only unfortunately that is the case; however, for people who abandoning cable altogether, MythTV does give them a way to record OTA shows.

      --
      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  17. VOD, except for sports by tepples · · Score: 1

    and maybe they're betting that more and more content will be streamed rather than recorded

    Especially with the "TV Everywhere" video-on-demand offerings available over the Internet as a perk for subscribers to participating multichannel pay TV providers. The hardest thing to get on demand as I understand it is sports, but there's a strong tradition of watching sports live, or at least (in the case of baseball or American football) delayed by no more than two hours so that the viewer can fast forward past all the downtime.

  18. What's the point of Tivo anymore? by swb · · Score: 1

    Any one of a zillion boxes will stream content from the major streaming providers and so much of cable's content is available online already.

    I've owned Tivos since series 2, but have cut out cable to the "basic" package of local channels only, mostly to appease my wife and son (who has pretty much moved on to Netflix anyway).

    I have 3 Series 3 boxes right now, but when they go I can't see a reason for replacing them. I already have other boxes which do Netflix/Amazon/Hulu.

    1. Re:What's the point of Tivo anymore? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      1) TiVo's auto-suggest is a great way of discovering new content effortlessly
      2) TiVo's UI is phenomenal, no other DVR has come close.

    2. Re:What's the point of Tivo anymore? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree with both points. It's also worth noting that the "universal search" function - i.e. searching across multiple content providers for a given item and presenting all the results together - works almost flawlessly with TiVo, whereas Apple, Roku and others are hit and miss depending on the particular query.

      Of course, a prerequisite for using TiVo is a more-than-passing interest in browsing and watching TV. If you know pretty well what you want, where to find it, have some technical ability and have an adequate internet connection, then the value of this service is diminished.

    3. Re:What's the point of Tivo anymore? by swb · · Score: 1

      Of course, a prerequisite for using TiVo is a more-than-passing interest in browsing and watching TV.

      Which really means "cable TV" -- I can't see spending $300 for a new Tivo + $150 a year for a no-content-included Tivo subscription without the giant cable plan content feed to go with it. There's not enough on the broadcast channels to make it worthwhile with an antenna or my bare-minimum cable plan.

      And for that kind of money with Amazon Instant, Netflix and Apple content already on my TVs I can buy a lot of seasons of shows that aren't on Prime or Netflix.

  19. Don't trust them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... also can recognize and skip commercials ...

    They had this much needed feature once before and then pushed an update to remove it after complaints from advertisers. I'm sure that advertisers will complain again and again an update will be pushed turning it off. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

  20. Re: MythTV has done this for years by maccodemonkey · · Score: 1

    TiVo can transcode and download to iOS and Android devices as well, and it supports Cablecard. It can even remote stream from your TiVo in case you forgot to download.

  21. Misleading title. It doesn't "detect" anything by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    According to the information from Tivo, it doesn't detect anything. Instead, a team watches the shows and marks where commercials start and stop.

    The upside is that there is no way ad companies can defeat it. The downside is that you'll get this feature some 24 hours after broadcast, and only for prime time shows on most major networks - not all networks.

    It's got limited value.

    1. Re:Misleading title. It doesn't "detect" anything by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2

      I'd love that job. You get to watch TV and make an overwhelmingly positive contribution to the human experience.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    2. Re:Misleading title. It doesn't "detect" anything by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm fairly certain the job includes a quota of marking commercial breaks for like 30 hour long shows per hour. So you won't actually be watching...

  22. Tivo Opinions by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The good (Tivo HD, no clue about latest hardware)

    You can download content from Tivo to your computers in unmolested mpeg2 format with open source utilities. This does not apply to premium/HBO which I am much too poor to afford.

    Reasonably trivial to backup, restore, upgrade/replace hard disks thanks to snazzy MFS utilities.

    Replacement power supplies and fans are readily available.. unless mainboard goes TU at which point your at the mercy of Tivo to repair your gear.

    Tivo itself has been reliable.. no hardware/software glitches to speak of and while lifetime subscription made the device a little pricey circa 2008 it wasn't that bad. Anyone who pays the monthly fee will be taken to the cleaners over the years.

    The bad

    Tivo spies on everything you watch and do and uploads it all to the Tivo mothership.

    Tivo removed video RSS function in a software "update" if you used Tivo to watch Internet podcasts sucks to be you.

    Commercials creeping into menu system and in pause screens... Fast clearing code fixes this for the most part yet it must be entered manually everytime Tivo reboots.

    All in all if I had to do over again I would have found a cablecard tuner and software media player. A little more work but I absolutely hate being treated like a string puppet with vendor managed cloud shit. See what happens when you rely on vendor (cloud crap) they can and will change terms and functionality to whatever suites them at any time and there isn't crap you can do about it. You don't like that they added more commercials or took functionality you cared about away? Fuck off we're Tivo we don't care.

    Otherwise when motherboard dies or mpeg2/cablecard is obsoleted I'm done with TV. Not worth the cost.

  23. Re: MythTV has done this for years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    MythTV works with Cablecard.

    Transcode to iOS/Android is ffmpeg, not MythTV. Different program.

    nice +20 ffmpeg -i MYTHTV_RECORDED_VIDEO.mpg -strict experimental -acodec aac -ac 2 -ab 160k -vcodec libx264 -s 640x480 -pix_fmt yuv420p -preset slow -level 30 -maxrate 10000000 -bufsize 10000000 -b 1200k -f mp4 -threads 0 OUTPUT_ANDROID_FILE.mp4

    Downloading or remote streaming is also another program. I suggest Apache & Firefox (or Chrome). But if you have a more full-fledged system, VLC is quite nice.

  24. Re: MythTV has done this for years by UnknowingFool · · Score: 1

    Yes and no. MythTV works with CableCard but not DRM. So it can only record shows that the cable company says is freely copyable. With more and more channels and shows being flagged as copy protected, the CableCard compatibility is less useful.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  25. SageTV by lhowaf · · Score: 1

    It's now open source. Best DVR ever.

  26. Still not directv support by blackanvil · · Score: 1

    Still no support for hd satellite feeds. When the new high speed internet connection arrives in a few weeks, I think I'll just switch to downloads-only for tv watching, and scuttle the dish.

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