OK, love my TiVo. The interface is better than my two cable TV choices and DirecTV and what other satellite viewing there is. Also better than streaming services which think they know me (or whomever’s account I’m watching) and make me search, one letter at a time, for what I want. Just put them in alphabetical order, fer cryin’ out loud!
Anywho, the reason I started this thread is to see if anyone else still has an old-man-get-off-my-lawn TiVo.
If so, then I have an issue with mine. In the past, I had been able to pause live Program #1, watch Program #2, pause Program #2, and go back to watching Program #1. But lately, some channels, cable, mainly, won’t allow me to do this. The local OTA channels (through the cable) allow it, but not the HBOs and SHO and many other cable networks. Wondering if this is a TiVo thing or a cable thing, since the TiVo uses Tuners (5) from the Cable Provider. Maybe some networks told the Cable Company not to allow it, so we have to record it or watch live and the commercials, which ruins the whole reason for TiVo.
Searching TiVo community, I found someone with the opposite problem: he WANTS to go to live every time he switches back and forth. I’m going to check the settings.
But, it’s weird that it only does it to me on certain networks and not others.
Spectrum’s Tuning Adapter keeps blinking yellow.
Go to two stores that tell me the same thing. Tuning adapters are being phased out, so we don’t have them in the store.
So, no premium channels (and even some mid-level channels) until I get a working tuning adapter.
Stay tuned…
We got one shortly after they went onto the market, and then when we switched from Cable to DirecTV, we made sure to get one of the DTV boxes with TiVo built in.
When we upgraded to high def service from DTV maybe 10 years ago, they had moved away from TiVo for DVR services.
About 7 years ago we quit DTV due to cost and reception issues and have been relying on streaming services since then.
(Tip: Services like YoutubeTV are a good way to wean yourself from cable/satellite to streaming.)
Probably cutting the cable soon. Spectrum will not support the TiVo, and their DVR sucks (if it is the same as it was 20 years ago), and I’m not paying for two of them, much less one.
Streaming with shitty commercials it is, I guess.
OK, since I am the household “expert” of spreadsheets, I’ll be handling the duties of determining how much the streaming we want, based on the networks we want, will cost.
I’m guessing, before I start, that there is no perfect streamer or two for us, and that streaming, as a business model, is an exact match for cable’s bundling bullshit (you have to buy a lot of networks you don’t want for the privilege of getting the networks you do want).
Back in a mo’.
OK, this article seems to have the best info. Tell me if I’m wrong.
Looks like YouTube TV has most of the cable and local networks. But then have to add special content of the other streamers, like Prime, Hulu, Disney+, Max, etc.
If I need to watch LA Kings, that will be a shit-ton extra, and that will include a lot of sports about which I care not. So, goodbye LA Kings.
These numbers are outdated, had to look at each streamers website instead.
Now, looking at Spectrum Streaming as well, but I can’t seem to find it without a box with a DVR, and their DVCR, if experience has told me that it they would not have improved it and if anything have made it worse, sucks.
Yay, my spectrum service, all of it, is out.
Another technician coming tomorrow.
Meanwhile, having family over tonight, and my wife depends on the internet to follow recipes.
She’s going to work now to print one out
Bump…
Added Frontier and YouTubeTV, currently on hold with Spectrum trying to disconnect
Maybe I’ll go to more Kings games with all the money I save, since I won’t see the games anymore.
Just discovered (before the new service)that I REALLY hate watching commercials. My brother said that on YouTubeTV you can FF through the content, but not the commercials. So, I’ll probably watch less, get more premium streaming apps, or read more books. Kind of hating the fact that we got rid of the Family Library recently. I had no place for over 500 books, though.
Will test the YouTubeTV cloud DVR, provide a review that I know you’re all awaiting.
Cannot find the cable stations. Everything is a “search.” Point: TiVo.
Not sure what will happen if a live sports game goes over its time slot. I would add 3 hours to an NHL Hockey Playoff Sports game, because you never know (sometimes, even that isn’t enough). YouTubeTV doesn’t allow me to add time. Point: TiVo.
That said, once I found Champions League in the search, I had it save all instances, and I think I got even the Spanish ones. So, I will simply search for the EPL, have it keep all of them, then choose only one or two that I’ll watch in boring real time instead of what I do now, which is watch as many as six per weekend in faster-forward time. Point: YouTubeTV.
I’m watching a lot more MAX and TCM. Currently watching “Don’t Look Back” (1967) a Bob Dylan documentary about his exploits in London in 1965. Old way was to check the TCM listings once a week or so to see what is coming up, record it, then watch at my leisure. half-point to YouTubeTV for assisting with on-demand. The interface sucks terribly, though. Just effing alphabetically instead of categories! Why oh why are the dozens of Godzilla movies each under four categories? half-point: TiVo.
No more Dodger games. Tie.
No more majority of Kings games, as YouTubeTV doesn’t carry Bally’s Sports. Point: TiVo.
TV bill is about $100 less. Point: YouTubeTV.
So, I’m ruing this a bit, but Spectrum was going to destroy the use of TiVo anyway, and had already dropped several channels from the Cable Card.
Awaiting the day that TiVo simply creates its own “streaming” company like a YouTubeTV with all of the cable stations and, mainly, its TiVo interface. Internet says it has it, but I’m skeptical.
Re sporting events running long - I think, but am not positive, that YTTV catches most major events that do run long, auto-extending the recording. I’m not positive of that, however, because I almost never watch sports other than real football (soccer).
Re finding cable channels on YTTV - look under “live”, and you will find a semi-conventional channel guide. If you poke around under preferences, there’s a place where you can customize which linear channels are shown and their order. (I recommend doing any re-ordering on a computer via a web browser.)
It’s still not conducive to old-fashioned channel-surfing…but that’s helped wean my wife off linear TV viewing to the point I may quietly cancel our YTTV subscription and see if she notices.
So, I apparently have to watch a whole game, all the way to the idiot talking heads afterward in order for the game to be taken off the “library.” No “delete” option. You know what had a delete option? TiVo.
Having trouble getting through an NFL Football game in under an hour.
And, I still cannot watch the soccer at 130% speed, to watch four matches in three matches’ time. Game nearly is not as athletic at normal speed. Good news is that every EPL and Champions League match is “saved” in the “library,” which has no limit in capacity (TiVo had a limit – point YouTubeTV).
No continuous FF option for YouTubeTV. Point: TiVo.
Honestly, why don’t these two companies just merge, keep the TiVo features (I know why they won’t: need the ad revenue, and TiVo’s main selling point is skipping ads) AND interface, with delete button and continuous FF AND skip forward, and keep YouTubeTV’s no maximum storage capacity. I’d sign up in a heartbeat.
TiVo Interface is optimal: left side of screen had channel listings for now; right side of screen had show listings for the highlighted channel for the next several hours, AND you could look even further ahead until the schedule “ended.”
YouTube interface is a jumble. It also relies on the TV’s remote, as all of the streaming services we have. TiVo’s remote is also optimal.
Just too bad I can no longer use the TiVo as both my cable services are converting streaming.
Oh, well, profits beat customer service.