Here’s a feature that I didn’t know was possible. According to a TiVo.com knowledgebase article, the TiVo Glo remote (Series 3 remote
Has anybody successfully used this feature? If yes, I’d love to hear how well it worked….
Recently I went ahead and added my local Fox affiliate (33-1) to my Series 3 as a new OTA (over the air) channel. Right away, I noticed that my TiVo didn’t have guide data for Fox 33-1. Instead, my S3 would display “To be announced” whenever I accessed the guide data for this channel.
After doing some research I stumbled upon a form on TiVo.com where you can request a change to the guide data. Within two hours of submitting the form, I received an email from TiVo letting me know that the problem was being worked and that it should be resolved shortly. Once I got home from work, I noticed that my TiVo had received a new message. Sure enough, the message indicated that Fox 33-1 had been added as a new channel! Thanks to TiVo’s excellent customer service, I am now able to view the guide data for Fox 33-1 and ultimately schedule recordings on this channel.
I don’t know about you but, I’ve never seen customer service like this in my life… Great job TiVo!
Mahalo.com has published a rather extensive guide on how to setup a Series 2 TiVo. If for some reason you don’t find this guide helpful, you could head on over to TiVo’s website where you can watch a number of videos that will walk you through the process.
In reality, it really is extremely easy to setup a TiVo DVR. Let me know if you are having a hard time getting your TiVo setup. If I can’t help I’m sure somebody else on this site will be able to help….
Recently I noticed that TiVoDesktop was having a difficult time rendering thumbnails for certain images (screenshots to the left). After spending some time investigating the problem, I came to the conclusion that all of the images that are “broken” where at one point rotated using OS X’s Preview on my MacBook. For some reason TiVoDesktop does not like how I rotate and then save the image using Preview.
Has anybody else experienced this problem?
TiVoLovers is reporting that the newly released TiVo HD is having a number of video issues even after a recent software update. The issues seem to be linked to Scientific Atlantic CableCARDs. If you’re having any pixelation problems with the TiVo HD, you might want to check out the post over at TiVoLovers as well as a thread on TiVoCommunity.com. According to TiVoLovers, TiVo is aware of these problems and they are working on a fix.
I’m really not surprised that there are issues with the TiVo HD. Most first generation devices have problems early on. TiVo has always been good about fixing their software so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a fix soon.
Dave Zatz recently sent me a link to a post on TiVoCommunity in which the author (lessd) talks about why you should be cautious about buying a used TiVo. According to lessd, a friend of his (I assume Les is a guys name) purchased a used TiVo at a yard sale only to find out that the TiVo could not be activated since the previous owner owed back service charges. A TiVo CSR is looking into getting the problem resolved but according to lessd, the rep doesn’t know if the situation can in fact be take care of. No matter how this situation turns out, you might want to consider this problem before you go ahead and buy a used TiVo.
Has anybody else encountered this problem?
On June 12th I blogged about how my Series 3 TiVo was making a lot of noise and how it had me worried. Well, after receiving several great comments, I decided to call TiVo in order to see if I could get a replacement. Getting a replacement S3 was surprisingly easy. The tech that I worked with agreed that there was probably an issue with my Series 3 and that it shouldn’t be making as much noise as it was. Within a couple of days I received a brand new Series 3 TiVo on my doorstep.
As soon as my Series 3 arrived I called Time Warner Cable (TWC) to see if I could get the CableCARDs that I was using with my broken TiVo paired up with my new S3. The customer service rep that I spoke with told me that since the cards were going to be installed in a new S3, they had to send out an installer. I tried to explain to the rep that all she needed from me was the CableCARD id from each of the CableCARDs as well as the host id from my TiVo. The rep seemed totally confused and she insisted that I needed to setup an appointment for an installer to come out to my house.
Needless to say, I wasn’t happy with having to have an installer sent out to my house. I’ve been extremely busy as of late and the last time I had TWC come out to my house it wasn’t a good experience. Because of this, I decided to call TiVo to see if there was something they could do for me. The TiVo rep that I talked to offered to three way call TWC to see if we could get the cards paired over the phone.
Even with the TiVo rep on the phone, I was unable to convince TWC that they didn’t need to send out an installer. Since I wasn’t able to get TWC to agree to simply take the required information, I decided to setup an appointment to have the cards “installed” in my replacement S3.
The appointment that I setup took place yesterday (6/27). The TWC installer showed up at my house around 11:15 to install two CableCARDs in my S3. The tech was extremely knowledgeable and he seemed a little irritated that TWC couldn’t simply take the necessary information over the phone. Along with installing both CableCARDs, the tech also provided me with some information about switched digital which has me a bit concerned (more about this in a future post).
In conclusion, I am extremely happy with the quality of TiVo’s customer service. Returning my broken Series 3 was extremely easy. Also, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that TiVo was willing to three way call TWC to see if we could get the CableCARDs paired over the phone without having to send out an installer. As far as TWC is concerned, I am once again irritated by how difficult they make it to get two CableCARDs. Hopefully I never have to call Time Warner again :).
Have you had a similar experience with TWC or your cable company?
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Thanks for the TiVo rewards referral Alexander & Rafael! I really do appreciate it. As always, you can send me a referral by entering my email address (raianoat AT gmail DOT com) when you activate your TiVo.
Take a listen to my Series 3 TiVo. Does it sound like something is wrong with it? The sound never seems to go away even after I reboot. Is this normal for the Series 3 or does my Series 3 have issues? Let me know if your S3 makes the same sound…
I’m getting a little worried that I may have to ship my S3 back. I’d hate to have to go through getting two CableCARDs to work with a new S3 now that I have two installed in my existing S3 (more on this later tonight or tomorrow).
If you answered yes to the title of this post, you might want to head on over to PVRBlog where there is a detailed set of instructions on how to get TiVo Desktop 2.4 to work with Vista (2.4 currently does not work with Vista). The instructions are a bit of a hack so just be careful….
This email was so sad that I decided to share it with everybody. Can somebody help? I don’t have a lot of experience with hooking a TiVo up to a DirecTV receiver.
Can’t get my Series 2 TIVO IR to change the channels on my new Directv D11 receiver.Have verified w/ Directv the receiver is IR and not RF. I have spent 2-3 hrs on the phone w/ Tivo techs who can’t get it to work. It seems I’m being forced to drop Tivo and switch to Directv DVR. Any comments or solutions?
