UTV gone. All DTivo now

[Kenster]

After a couple of months practicing on a DTivo upstairs I finally replaced my UTV with a DTivo for our main TV in the den last week. Self install went well except for a 20 minute wait for D* to answer the activation line. The only problems:
1) Audio out to my Toshiba TV produces a lot of static. I switched cables and switced between Audio Out 1 and Audio Out 2 but this had no effect on static. That would lead one to believe that the problem is with the TV except that when I plugged the UTV back in there was no static. I just disconnected the DTivo to TV audio and run everything through my DVD amp and all is good, but I would rather have the option of audio through the amp or just the TV.

2) Programming the remote. I set up the remote so that the power button would turn on both the TV and and DVD/sound system at the same time. The sound system volume is controlled by the DTivo remote also, but the MUTE function will not work. According to the directions I followed, if you program the remote to control volume is should also control mute, right?

Some things that I do not like about DTivo vs UTV:
1) There is no "record" icon in the program guides to show you that the program is set up to be recorded.
2) You have to jump through hoops to set up a season pass where with UTV you could just click "record" twice and it was done. And, if you want to get rid of a 'season pass' all you had to do was click record one more time in the program guide.
3) Menus on the DTivo are not very intuitive. For example, if you want to make sure that something is going to be recorded, you have to go to
"DirectTV"/Pick Programs to Record/"To Do List." Now, to me, Having to go through "Pick Programs to Record" does not sound like the place you would look for shows that are already set up to record. Same with Season Pass manager. I think a better place would be under "List." There, instead of just a list of things you have recorded, there could be the "To do list" and the "Season Pass" list.
4) Conflict resolution. When you have a conflict between recordings why does it only tell you what the conflict is on one tuner? We don't tell the DVR what tuner to record a program on when we set a season pass. If there is a conflct, it should show what is programmed on both tuners so you can make a choice what not to record. UTV has a much better "resolve this conflict" function.
5) No "Stop" button. Again, it's not very intuitive to have to go to "List" to stop a playback. And "Clear" instead of "DELETE" can be confusing since "CLEAR" is also used to clear the screen of overlays such as program guides," program "info" etc.
6) No "folders" for recorded programs.
7) List of recorded shows does not tell you how long the recording is.
8) No indicator to tell you how much recording time you have left on the disk.
9) No "history" function to check to find out why a certain program did not record. For example, with UTV, you could go to "history" and it would tell you that the program was pre-empted by the network.
10) The frequently mentioned 'slow program guides' plus UTV would build guides two weeks in advance.
11) Fast forward max speed is not even close to UTV's FF max speed.

Having said all of that, I am getting use to the DTivo, I like it just fine, and there are some things I like better vs UTV.

1) The search function with the list that automatically builds as you start typing in the Oiaja board. This saves a lot of time.
2) Half the monthly fee vs UTV is nice.
3) Who knows how long UTV will be around?
4) My bride quickly learned the basic functions of DTivo, a definite concern for many of us.
5) Ability to adjust start and stop time of recordings. I assume DTivo is program based recording like UTV, right? IF so, how often would you really need to adjust the time, except maybe to extend football games.

Overall, it's a keeper!

[jdspencer]

I won't be able to answer all of you questions. But, here's a few to ponder.

In the do not like list.
3) The short cut to the To do list is TiVo button and then 2. Try other numbers to see what the other shortcuts do.
5) Press Live TV button to stop playing a recording.
6) You can sort the NPL using a hidden function. With the NPL displayed, press Slow-0-Record-Thumbs Up This turns on the sort function. It will stay until the unito is restarted. Then at the bottom of the NPL you will see a note to press disply for the sort oprions, these can be shortr circuited by 1 to sort by record date, 2 to sort by expiration dtae, and 3 to sort alphabetically.

Many of your others have been requested a lot.

And, you should vist the TiVo Community forum for a bunch more info.
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/index.php?s=

[bonscott87]

I'll try to give some tips on some of your points.


2) You have to jump through hoops to set up a season pass where with UTV you could just click "record" twice and it was done. And, if you want to get rid of a 'season pass' all you had to do was click record one more time in the program guide.

It's only two clicks on a Tivo as well. Click the record button, choose season pass and you are done. Ok, maybe 3 clicks.

3) Menus on the DTivo are not very intuitive. For example, if you want to make sure that something is going to be recorded, you have to go to
"DirectTV"/Pick Programs to Record/"To Do List." Now, to me, Having to go through "Pick Programs to Record" does not sound like the place you would look for shows that are already set up to record. Same with Season Pass manager. I think a better place would be under "List." There, instead of just a list of things you have recorded, there could be the "To do list" and the "Season Pass" list.

jd gave you the shortcut. I have a button on my remote that take me right to the To Do list. It's labled "List". If you have a programmable universal remote you could program a quick macro to perform the shortcut jd mentioned.

4) Conflict resolution. When you have a conflict between recordings why does it only tell you what the conflict is on one tuner? We don't tell the DVR what tuner to record a program on when we set a season pass. If there is a conflct, it should show what is programmed on both tuners so you can make a choice what not to record. UTV has a much better "resolve this conflict" function.

Agreed.

5) No "Stop" button. Again, it's not very intuitive to have to go to "List" to stop a playback. And "Clear" instead of "DELETE" can be confusing since "CLEAR" is also used to clear the screen of overlays such as program guides," program "info" etc.
Just hit the left arrow button. Takes you back to the program listing. Or you can also hit the Live TV button as jd mentioned.

6) No "folders" for recorded programs.

A big need. If we ever get 4.0 we'll get it.

7) List of recorded shows does not tell you how long the recording is.

Not sure how UTV does this but if you go into the program description it will tell you how long the recording is.

9) No "history" function to check to find out why a certain program did not record. For example, with UTV, you could go to "history" and it would tell you that the program was pre-empted by the network.

There *is* a nice history function on D'Tivo. Go into the ToDo list and very first option is "Recording History". It will show you all programs it has and hasn't recorded and why.

10) The frequently mentioned 'slow program guides' plus UTV would build guides two weeks in advance.

DirecTivo's guide is exactly the same as the UTV guide. Same source, the DirecTV advanced program guide. DirecTivo's also goes out 10-14 days, depending on the channel.

Slowness: If you use the Tivo style guide it's pretty quick and robust. DirecTV style guide is indeed horrid. Don't use it is my recommendation.

11) Fast forward max speed is not even close to UTV's FF max speed.

All I know is 3 times FFW on a DirecTivo will zip through a commercial break in about 10 seconds or less. How much faster do you need? I've never used an UTV so I don't know how much faster it is. Oh, if you visit the Tivo Underground and search there are some codes you can enter to increase or decrease the FFW speeds.

5) Ability to adjust start and stop time of recordings. I assume DTivo is program based recording like UTV, right? IF so, how often would you really need to adjust the time, except maybe to extend football games.

Yes, it is name based but quite a few networks don't start or stop their shows when they say they do. Sci-Fi is bad for example so my season pass to Stargate for example is padded to start 1 minute early and end 1 minute late. Showtime is another that can sometimes be 10 minutes off. And of course NBC, FOX and the others will actually "bleed" a show an extra 30 seconds to a couple minutes into the next timeslot from time to time. Basically, get to know your shows, adjust padding as needed.

Overall, it's a keeper!
Enjoy!

[Kenster]

I'll try to give some tips on some of your points.



Not sure how UTV does this but if you go into the program description it will tell you how long the recording is.

In UTV, the "now playing" / "My shows" list would look something like this:

Friends 30 minutes
CSI Miami 60 minutes
Tammy Does Tivo 120 minutes

There *is* a nice history function on D'Tivo. Go into the ToDo list and very first option is "Recording History". It will show you all programs it has and hasn't recorded and why.

Don't know why I never noticed that. Thanks for pointing it out.

DirecTivo's guide is exactly the same as the UTV guide. Same source, the DirecTV advanced program guide. DirecTivo's also goes out 10-14 days, depending on the channel.

Okay, I guess I didn't look far enough. But if it's the same source, why does it take so dang long? Plus, UTV showed a lot more channels on the screen.


All I know is 3 times FFW on a DirecTivo will zip through a commercial break in about 10 seconds or less. How much faster do you need? I've never used an UTV so I don't know how much faster it is.

UTV FF speeds are 15x, 60x, and 300x. A big difference. Plus, on UTV if you click the FF one too many times, it doesn't kick you back to normal speed. It stays at 300x. I don't use FF for commercials. I use the 30 second skip. But I don't want to use the 30 sec skip to ff through half a movie.


Enjoy!

Thanks for the tips and advice. I was afraid I would touch a nerve on somebody and get flamed. I really don't mean to be critical, just making observations and seeking some instruction.
Cheers.
Ken

[Kenster]

One more thing... I forgot to mention DTivo's lack customizable personal program guides. In UTV, you can set up any number of guides and call them whatever you want, "All Channels", "Favorites," "Movies," "Sports," "Home Improvement." etc.
With DTivo, you have the default "Channels I receive," and "Favorites." Basically leaving only "Favorites" as a guide to eliminate the channels you will never watch, but forcing you to keep everything else in one guide. So you have to click through dozens of channels to find say, "Turner Classic Movies," where, if we could customize the DTivo, like UTV, you could just switch to the "Movie" guide.
Has there been any talk of this kind of improvement?

[SnowFade]

UTV FF speeds are 15x, 60x, and 300x. A big difference. Plus, on UTV if you click the FF one too many times, it doesn't kick you back to normal speed. It stays at 300x. I don't use FF for commercials. I use the 30 second skip. But I don't want to use the 30 sec skip to ff through half a movie.

When you're fast forwarding through a recording, if you hit the "skip to end" or "30-second skip" button (the little one just below Fast Forward), it will skip to the next 15-minute tick mark in the recording bar. I don't blame you for not wanting to FF through a movie, but with this, a couple of clicks gets you pretty much where you need to be, and then you fast forward to the exact spot.

[Kenster]

I'd rather use that button as a 30 second skip, not the tic mark skip. But thanks for the suggestion.

[Greg Bimson]

That's the beauty of it, Kenster. When is normal play mode, the button is used as a 30 second skip. While in fast forward or rewind mode, it skips to tick mark.

[bonscott87]

One more thing... I forgot to mention DTivo's lack customizable personal program guides. In UTV, you can set up any number of guides and call them whatever you want, "All Channels", "Favorites," "Movies," "Sports," "Home Improvement." etc.
With DTivo, you have the default "Channels I receive," and "Favorites." Basically leaving only "Favorites" as a guide to eliminate the channels you will never watch, but forcing you to keep everything else in one guide. So you have to click through dozens of channels to find say, "Turner Classic Movies," where, if we could customize the DTivo, like UTV, you could just switch to the "Movie" guide.
Has there been any talk of this kind of improvement?

I agree, it would be a nice thing to have. However, if you truely get to a Tivo lifestyle you'll almost never be watching live tv or using the guide anyway. Setup all your season passes and wishlists and you'll always have something to watch. Also, I never use the guide to find something to record, I use the various advanced search functions.

I'll give an example. I want to check the latest Sci-Fi shows and movies. Go into search, choose themes, choose Sci-Fi. Now search on "0". Over on the left is shows a list of titles starting with 0 (or A if there are no numbers). Now just arrow over to that list and you can scroll though a complete listing of all Sci-Fi stuff for the next 10+ days. Do the same for Musicals, or Sports/Football/NFL or whatever trips your fancy. Also, you can make wishlists for various themes and use them as a sort of saved search. I can't even remember the last time I used the guide to search for a program to record unless I knew it was something on in a few hours and I knew what channel it was on. ;)

Have fun!

[Kenster]

That's the beauty of it, Kenster. When is normal play mode, the button is used as a 30 second skip. While in fast forward or rewind mode, it skips to tick mark.

Aha! Another revelation! Thanks for sharing.

[ccwf]

8) No indicator to tell you how much recording time you have left on the disk.
[…]
11) Fast forward max speed is not even close to UTV's FF max speed. TiVo's top fast forward speed is 60× which is UltimateTV's second fastest fast forward speed. To skip over large sections of programming, use skip-to-tick as others have mentioned.

Many people use autorecorded suggestions as a makeshift free space indicator since suggestions are deleted whenever necessary to make space for other recordings.† Total the amount of time for the recorded suggestions to get an estimate of the space remaining.

† Unless you are watching it. Programs in the middle of being watched are never deleted.

[Topochicho]

4) Conflict resolution. When you have a conflict between recordings why does it only tell you what the conflict is on one tuner? We don't tell the DVR what tuner to record a program on when we set a season pass. If there is a conflct, it should show what is programmed on both tuners so you can make a choice what not to record. UTV has a much better "resolve this conflict" function.


The Season Pass Manager is also a priority list. Items higher on the list will be given recording priority over others below them.
When you get a recording conflict, the reason they only show you the one show is because you have already (theoretically) decided between the 2 current shows by having them arranged the way you do on the Season Pass Manager list. ... Not that I personally feel this is the best method but at least there is a reason.

[bwarning]

You can remove any channel that you do not want to use from the channel you receive list.