Had Virgin for a week ...

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  • carl.waringcarl.waring Posts: 35,587
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    I really don't understand the problem some people seem to have with the UI. But then I suppose my having used the same one since 2002 has something to do with it :D
  • dannylaudannylau Posts: 926
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    I really don't understand the problem some people seem to have with the UI. But then I suppose my having used the same one since 2002 has something to do with it :D

    It took me a week or so to get used to it, now I much prefer it to Sky's or the V+
  • Ernie_CErnie_C Posts: 2,841
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    the wishlists are really useful... americas "fall" season shows have begun and because at least one of them is in my wishlist, so far one has begun recording without me needing to beaware it was restarting...

    ..of course, series links have the same functionality and all my series links are picking up the new series.
  • dannylaudannylau Posts: 926
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    My "pilot" wishlist picked up gotham next monday
  • JimothyDJimothyD Posts: 8,868
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    I think VM TiVo is the better system, but Sky has a slightly better UI. Hopefully the forthcoming TiVo update will make VM's UI better than Skys.
  • DarthFaderDarthFader Posts: 3,880
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    JimothyD wrote: »
    I think VM TiVo is the better system, but Sky has a slightly better UI. Hopefully the forthcoming TiVo update will make VM's UI better than Skys.

    Just little things I miss like being able to choose where I start something and pressing play to go back to previously watched show.
  • War OnWar On Posts: 1,448
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    DarthFader wrote: »
    Just little things I miss like being able to choose where I start something and pressing play to go back to previously watched show.

    Out of interest, although you still have the odd thing you miss, have you started to like it more than when you first got it?
  • RedOrDead36RedOrDead36 Posts: 1,629
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    DarthFader wrote: »
    .... Love the broadband, hate with a passion TiVo. The UI is horrid. On Sky+ I could press play and go back to the previous playback and start it with another press. On demand I could stop it and then start later from the place I left off. No dynamic EPG? No excuse for that.

    I know exactly what you mean. People bang on about features of TiVo etc but the UI is extremely clunky and awkward to navigate. On Sky it's seamless navigating the menus. For this supposed advance in technology you are correct there is no excuse.

    I've had NTL/Virgin forever and they've always had clunky UI's on whatever box they have. Navigating that yellow box highlighting menu's etc a real pain in the backside.

    Apparently TiVo UI is being upgraded in the near future but experience tells me not to have high expectations.

    Not sure if it's something to do with cable feed vs satellite feed or the type of programming code for used for the boxes but for whatever reason Virgin and Cable TV in general cannot match the seamless transition that Sky has across their UI.
  • carl.waringcarl.waring Posts: 35,587
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    I know exactly what you mean. People bang on about features of TiVo etc but the UI is extremely clunky and awkward to navigate. On Sky it's seamless navigating the menus. For this supposed advance in technology you are correct there is no excuse.
    It's easy to have an easier UI when the system doesn't do as much :)

    I had to laugh the other week when Sky+ were trumpeting their new "smart series link" feature; something that Tivo has has since the S1 in 2000! :D
  • Ernie_CErnie_C Posts: 2,841
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    It's easy to have an easier UI when the system doesn't do as much :)

    I had to laugh the other week when Sky+ were trumpeting their new "smart series link" feature; something that Tivo has has since the S1 in 2000! :D

    ...but, unless someone can advise me otherwise, it's not really smart, just multi-series. The new series link can't re-schedule clashed recordings, like TiVo can.
  • dannylaudannylau Posts: 926
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    Ernie_C wrote: »
    ...but, unless someone can advise me otherwise, it's not really smart, just multi-series. The new series link can't re-schedule clashed recordings, like TiVo can.

    I had a power cut a few weeks ago and the tivo rescheduled all the recordings it had missed because of this
  • carl.waringcarl.waring Posts: 35,587
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    Now that's brilliant :D
  • 56up56up Posts: 839
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    DarthFader wrote: »
    Just little things I miss like being able to choose where I start something and pressing play to go back to previously watched show.

    There is a similar feature on the TiVo. I think it only works when you are on live TV. Try pressing the LEFT key and it will take you to the resume playing screen on the recorded programme you were watching. I admit it would make more sense to use the play key as the Sky+ box so this feature could be available from more screens.

    It's been 10 years since I had Sky+ but I think the TiVo even now has more features than the latest Sky offerings. For instance, when watching a programme you can press the guide key, the programme you are watching is relegated to a PIP screen, leaving you free to peruse the guide and schedule a recording if you wish. I have no modern experience of the Sky boxes so do not know if it can so that.

    And there are a load of remote shortcuts and I'm sure I only know a fraction of them.
  • carnivalistcarnivalist Posts: 4,565
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    56up wrote: »
    .... On changing to TiVo, my immediate reaction was to ask to go back to the V+. I found it idiosyncratic and not very intuitive to use. Now, I would not go back unless there was a very compelling reason. For instance, a feature I miss when I watch a programme recorded on my Pana HDD recorder is the "skip back" on FF - took a bit of getting used to, but I now dislike not having it available.

    My suggestion, put your prejudices aside and find what the TiVo will do. You could come to love it.

    Completely agree. As some in this thread will no dout recall, I was fiercely anti-Tivo when I first got it. I had been accustomed to using a relative's V+ when I lived with them and found Tivo unintuitive and over-complicated. However after finally getting to grips with it and experiencing the Tivo Eureka Moment, as its known in the trade, I've realised that in general it is largely only the fact that it does so much that can make it infuriating for some people in the initial stages. I say "largely" because there are still a few annoyances, but these are far outweighed by the advantages.

    The fact that everyone seems to have a different favourite feature might give you some idea of its comprehensive fuctionality. Mine is the "explore" and wishlist functions that allow you to find out just about everything about a program and grab it when it comes on - i.e information on when its being repeated, when other episodes are being repeated, when it was first shown, who was in it, what they had for breakfast; plus the ability to put Tivo on guard duty and nab a programme you might have missed, or want to see again, at some unknown future date when it is eventually repeated (as most things are) even if if a broadcast isn't scheduled in the immediate future.

    I do still think that there are people who won't have the inclination or patience to get to grips with Tivo, so it might be nice to have an alternative, but I have to say that Tivo rewards perseverance immensely. I would be very reluctant indeed to be without it, which is something I never thought I'd say, In fact I have to hold my hands up and issue a "mea culpa" to those I had fierce arguments with on here (although certain people could perhaps be a bit more tactful when debating with sceptics).

    Along with the broadband, TIvo is what keeps me with Virgin. Fortunately, unlike Virgin Mobile, my experience of VIrgin Media has improved hugely in recent years. Whereas Virgin Mobile make me want to ram a bulldozer into their HQ, Virgin Media has been nothing like the infuriating fiasco it was a few years ago.
  • giorgoxxigiorgoxxi Posts: 48
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    I have both at home, and Tivo is far superior. A lot of people have been so used to Sky that immediately dislike the "change" to the Tivo UI, which is based on different navigation concepts, but once you understand these you realize how easy Tivo is to navigate. Also once you get used to Tivo you realize the sheer amount of features it has that Sky is missing.

    There is a reason why Sky is scrapping their current box and coming up with a new much more advanced box, they simply had to in order to keep up with Tivo.
  • t33v33t33v33 Posts: 260
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    It's some time since I last posted on here, but find it interesting that the Tivo usability debate rumbles on.

    I still have both, Sky+ as my main box and Tivo as the secondary box, so can compare the two. There's no doubt Tivo wins with the functionality, and the extra tuner is the killer, but it's the user interface and navigation that still trip me up with Tivo. It doesn't help that the buttons lost their print on the remote ages ago either, so I end up guessing what some of them now do!

    For me, Sky keeps that part simpler (yes I know it's easier because it has less functions), but that suits me. The UI feels more hierarchical too, which means more button presses but is more traditional.

    Then again I like things kept as simple as possible.
  • MrGiles2MrGiles2 Posts: 1,997
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    I have had Virgin Tivo for some time now; my only quibble is that you cannot change the sound mode from Dolby Digital to DTS which you can on my Samsung Smart TV and my Blu-Ray players, I have two, one Samsung, the other Sony. The Tivo sound isn't as expansive as other systems.
  • JethroUKJethroUK Posts: 6,107
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    DarthFader wrote: »
    .... On Sky+ I could press play and go back to the previous playback and start it with another press. On demand I could stop it and then start later from the place I left off. .

    You'll trade that minutiary for TiVo Wish Lists once you have had TiVo long enough to find them absolutely flicking brilliaaaàaaaaaaaaaaant
  • MrGiles2MrGiles2 Posts: 1,997
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    MrGiles2 wrote: »
    I have had Virgin Tivo for some time now; my only quibble is that you cannot change the sound mode from Dolby Digital to DTS which you can on my Samsung Smart TV and my Blu-Ray players, I have two, one Samsung, the other Sony. The Tivo sound isn't as expansive as other systems.

    I agree absolutely. My Samsung TV is switched to DTS Sound via my Denon Receiver when I watch Freesat, but if I watch it via the Tivo Box, the sound isn't quite as good. Some channels, such as ITV HD sound ok, but BBC HD can be bassy and dull. Match of The Day is worse, the sound seems muffled. It is the same when I watch other BBC Programmes, the sound needs updating.
  • TestingTimesTestingTimes Posts: 308
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    It's a copyright issue as far as Virgin are concerned. They only let you stream the content rather than download.

    As far as the US boxes go, i'm not sure.

    They are havering I'm afraid. If that was the case, you'd not be able to download from Sky's On Demand or on their Sky Go Extra service. It's actually down to their implementation of their on demand network as far as I can tell.
  • dannylaudannylau Posts: 926
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    They are havering I'm afraid. If that was the case, you'd not be able to download from Sky's On Demand or on their Sky Go Extra service. It's actually down to their implementation of their on demand network as far as I can tell.
    Incorrect Sky's broadband isn't fast enough to play it back in real time so they have to download
  • TestingTimesTestingTimes Posts: 308
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    dannylau wrote: »
    Incorrect Sky's broadband isn't fast enough to play it back in real time so they have to download

    Twaddle I'm afraid. They made the decision (an was widely publicised) to use progressive download to prevent people with lower speeds suffering from buffering and load timeouts. If your comments were true, then I'd not be able to use Sky Fibre Broadband or anyone's fibre broadband product on Sky's On Demand service :o
  • stuntmasterstuntmaster Posts: 5,070
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    Twaddle I'm afraid. They made the decision (an was widely publicised) to use progressive download to prevent people with lower speeds suffering from buffering and load timeouts. If your comments were true, then I'd not be able to use Sky Fibre Broadband or anyone's fibre broadband product on Sky's On Demand service :o

    Exactly what dannylau was saying, not fast enough.

    Sky Fibre is fine though but its more expensive than infinity and i know alot of people still on sky's free ADSL service.

    Fortunately, Virgin has the most superior on demand system known to mankind.

    Not only do you have direct network streaming from the Head End, but you also got a tasty 10meg broadband directly in the box, expansable to 20meg should VM decide it's needed.

    This is why we have Connected red button, sky's ADSL wouldn't cope with it, and they don't want two systems.....

    Course we are getting an app store eventually. Can Sky do that?

    I find the TiVo ui very easy to use. it's just like a browser. left for back and right for forward! I do find it amusing when people don't like that yet they use it on IE, Firefox and chrome....

    About the sound, as far as im aware TiVo never had DTS. The US TiVo Premiere XL had THX cert but the Roamio doesn't I think. Carl will correct me if im wrong.
  • carl.waringcarl.waring Posts: 35,587
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    About the sound, as far as im aware TiVo never had DTS. The US TiVo Premiere XL had THX cert but the Roamio doesn't I think. Carl will correct me if im wrong.
    Normally I would but on this particular point I don't have a clue. However, some quick basic research confirms you are correct.
    What does THX® Certified mean and why is that important?
    TiVo Premiere XL4 is THX Certified. The THX Certification ensures optimal audio and video reproduction and enables seamless integration with other THX components
    TiVo Premiere XL4 was put through extensive video analysis, running the device through a series of performance tests. These tests ensure the accurate recording and playback of content with the correct color, contrast, and black/white levels without softening the picture or producing digital artifacts
    The THX Certified TiVo Premiere XL4 will maintain the sharpness and details found in the original cable or off-air signal and enable audio throughput that is "movie theater quality" if your audio-video receiver supports THX audio-video quality
  • muppetman11muppetman11 Posts: 2,832
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    Twaddle I'm afraid. They made the decision (an was widely publicised) to use progressive download to prevent people with lower speeds suffering from buffering and load timeouts. If your comments were true, then I'd not be able to use Sky Fibre Broadband or anyone's fibre broadband product on Sky's On Demand service :o
    Correct its more a limit of the technology (ADSL) than Sky as a provider , many people have lines with Sky BB (ADSL) which are more than capable of streaming HD On Demand content.

    The BBC IPlayer streams HD to anyone with a connection of 3mb or greater , Netflix stream HD 1080p at around 5-6mb or greater.
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