# Folders - When will be able to organize recordings into folders?



## LawHawk (Mar 8, 2013)

Is there a reason why we don't have folders on DirecTV? Is it just me, or has DirecTV completely overlooked this critical element of good user interface far too long? I would love to be able to sort programs I record into Kids, Movies, etc.?

I'm guessing they think we don't want it, because surely it would be easier to implement than other features they've added. Am I the only one who wants folders?


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

I'd like to see arbitrary named folders, and also a special feature of folder support for households with several viewers that watch the same shows:

The ability to place a given recording into several folders simultaneously. That way, each viewer could have their own folder, and they could add programs to it as they desired. When they were done viewing it, their delete command would only delete from their folder. The last user to delete it from "their" folder would be prompted with additional options like: "Delete from folder" (which would leave the recording in the "Root" folder) or "Delete from DVR".

I think this is a logical option for a "Home Media Center" like the Genies.


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## Jacob Braun (Oct 6, 2011)

I would love to see folders or tagging, or something like user folders. With four TVs, two HR24s and an HR34 it is getting increasingly difficult to manage the 2TB of storage spread out across the home. We only have two users in our home. If I watch something I would like the ability to delete it from where I can see it's playlist, but still leave it where the other user in the house can see it. I can't imagine how trying it would be with four people in a house on one Genie+3 Clients.


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## Diana C (Mar 30, 2007)

Try 4 people, 4 HR2x DVRs (3 with 1TB drives), 1 Genie and 7 viewing locations.


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## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

Just curious. Does anyone do that? It would be interesting to see how it works. I haven't seen a DVR that does folders. Does Tivo do it now?


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

Does anyone offer this feature now? Does Tivo offer this feature now?


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## Jacob Braun (Oct 6, 2011)

I know Dish offers custom folders on the 922 and Hopper but I don't know how well they work.


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## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

JBv said:


> I know Dish offers custom folders on the 922 and Hopper but I don't know how well they work.


thanks.


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

LawHawk said:


> *Is there a reason why we don't have folders on DirecTV?* Is it just me, or has DirecTV completely overlooked this critical element of good user interface far too long? I would love to be able to sort programs I record into Kids, Movies, etc.?
> 
> I'm guessing they think we don't want it, because surely it would be easier to implement than other features they've added. Am I the only one who wants folders?


It been well ask here, but as you well soon be told by someone here, we only represent only a small portion of DirecTV customer base and therefore don't figure into their bottom line.

Unlike the butterfly in North Africa that is supposed to be able to start a hurricane, our wants have little effect on DirecTV.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Well replaytv had it years ago.


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## Billzebub (Jan 2, 2007)

Drucifer said:


> It been well ask here, but as you well soon be told by someone here, we only represent only a small portion of DirecTV customer base and therefore don't figure into their bottom line.
> 
> Unlike the butterfly in North Africa that is supposed to be able to start a hurricane, our wants have little effect on DirecTV.


HUH???


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

inkahauts said:


> Well replaytv had it years ago.


I knew that was coming.....if a modern HD version of replaytv were released it would be very popular, maybe even more popular than the craptastic Tivo....


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## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

inkahauts said:


> Well replaytv had it years ago.


And doesn't DirecTV own the remains of ReplayTV?

I think there are lots of features we should have that could be easily implemented but are not for whatever reason (Think easy access to the TODO List), yet we gets lots of random features that IMHO few people use, but they sound good on commericals.


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## Mike Greer (Jan 20, 2004)

I'd like to see folders come to DirecTV DVRs but I'd also just like them to leave the firmware alone.... :grin:


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## LawHawk (Mar 8, 2013)

Herdfan said:


> And doesn't DirecTV own the remains of ReplayTV?
> 
> I think there are lots of features we should have that could be easily implemented but are not for whatever reason (Think easy access to the TODO List), yet we gets lots of random features that IMHO few people use, but they sound good on commericals.


Seriously. Give me the choice between folders and the new "voice search" on the iPhone app and I'll take folders all day long. And I bet the cost of developing and implementing folders would be about 10% of what they spent on the voice search.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

There's so many things DIRECTV could do IMHO that would allow you to easily par down and sort and search through a playlist. I sometimes wonder if some people don't record as much as they could because of how difficult it is to navigate the playlist and par it down when multiple family members are recording several things.


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## cypherx (Aug 27, 2010)

They could integrate plush metro like graphics with a quick smooth scrolling & screen transitions, including a dashboard view, send to tv, and other Comcast X2 like features see link for screen shots and examples:
http://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/news-feed/introducing-x2


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## fleckrj (Sep 4, 2009)

I would be happy if the list was in alphabetical order rather than ordered by the date on which it was recorded. I really have no need for folders.


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

cypherx said:


> They could integrate plush metro like graphics with a quick smooth scrolling & screen transitions, including a dashboard view, send to tv, and other Comcast X2 like features see link for screen shots and examples:
> http://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/news-feed/introducing-x2


Sure they could if the the plush metro like graphics werent the biggest pile of crap on the planet ruining the latest version of Windows....why would I want the same graphics to screw up my DVR? fleckrj, you cam change your sort order to be alphabetical...


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## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

LawHawk said:


> Seriously. Give me the choice between folders and the new "voice search" on the iPhone app and I'll take folders all day long. And I bet the cost of developing and implementing folders would be about 10% of what they spent on the voice search.


I kind of laughed at the voice search, too. Thought it was a gimmick. Then I tried it and thought "nice gimmick." Now I find myself using it more than the key in search. It surprised me. Could I live without it, sure. But it actually works. (Although it had a very tough time finding the Artie Lange Show in a noisy car environment.)


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

fleckrj said:


> I would be happy if the list was in alphabetical order rather than ordered by the date on which it was recorded. I really have no need for folders.


You can sort alphabetically now, A-Z or Z-A.


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## cypherx (Aug 27, 2010)

CCarncross said:


> Sure they could if the the plush metro like graphics werent the biggest pile of crap on the planet ruining the latest version of Windows....why would I want the same graphics to screw up my DVR? fleckrj, you cam change your sort order to be alphabetical...


I don't like metro on a desktop, particularly a dual screen workstation designed for multitasking. However it works better designed in the "10 inch ui" tablet touch form or the "10 foot ui" leanback (I can read and navigate from my sofa) design perspective.

More so the sense of context it conveys when smooth scrolling, navigating into and out of screens. Through graphic motion and animation, the system creates a sense of context and depth, which completes the experience.

Applying this to folders, selecting a folder and seeing the contents "slide out" from underneath it (similar to an iphone / ipad like screen animation) would convey a sense of belonging... ie) these items came from ... descended out of this folder.


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## chevyguy559 (Sep 19, 2008)

I think it would just be nice to be able to select which DVR's list to display, not just Local or All. My son's DVR is constantly recording his shows so they are always at the top....it would be nice to unselect his DVR from the lists in our bedroom and my office but leave them in the living room, his playroom and his bedroom.


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## Herdfan (Mar 18, 2006)

chevyguy559 said:


> I think it would just be nice to be able to select which DVR's list to display, not just Local or All. My son's DVR is constantly recording his shows so they are always at the top....it would be nice to unselect his DVR from the lists in our bedroom and my office but leave them in the living room, his playroom and his bedroom.


Been asking for this since day one.


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## yosoyellobo (Nov 1, 2006)

Billzebub said:


> HUH???


http://www.amazon.com/Chaos-Making-Science-James-Gleick/dp/0143113453/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370993996&sr=1-1&keywords=chaos+theory

My introduction to Chaos Theory and to Edward Lorenz who discover the Butterfly Effect.


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## upsss (Apr 1, 2011)

tonyd79 said:


> Just curious. Does anyone do that? It would be interesting to see how it works. I haven't seen a DVR that does folders. Does Tivo do it now?


Dish can do it on their VIP series, I am not sure about their Hopper. You can create as many folders as you wish and you can name them whatever you want. Once you record something you can move the recording to any of the folders you want. This is one of the features I am missing the most since I switched from Dish to Directv.


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## Drucifer (Feb 12, 2009)

upsss said:


> *Dish can do it on their VIP series*, I am not sure about their Hopper. You can create as many folders as you wish and you can name them whatever you want. Once you record something you can move the recording to any of the folders you want. This is one of the features I am missing the most since I switched from Dish to Directv.


Surprise Dish doesn't point that out in their ads then.


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## upsss (Apr 1, 2011)

This isn't a new feature for Dish, it has been around for many years. I didn't have the Hopper when I left Dish but I am almost sure that it has this feature as well. I still cannot understand why Directv doesn’t have this feature and they make you scroll through all your recordings to find something.


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## 456521 (Jul 6, 2007)

A bit off topic, but when sorting alphabetically why don't they ignore "The" in "The ABC Show"? Is there a way to ignore first words such as "The", "A", etc? This is pretty basic so it might be a setting that I missed.


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## inhd40 (Jan 26, 2013)

I can see it now: Advanced Sorting Fee $5.99, with a 2.00 credit for 3 months for new customers.


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## ep1974 (May 22, 2010)

RunnerFL said:


> You can sort alphabetically now, A-Z or Z-A.


Would really like to be able to sort my recordings in any order. It can be done in the series manager.


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## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

ep1974 said:


> Would really like to be able to sort my recordings in any order. It can be done in the series manager.


You mean you want to move shows up and down in your list? To be specific, that is not "sorting." That is ordering. Just making it clear because if you ask for sorting, people are going to think "alphabetical" or "date" or "viewed status" when they hear sorting.


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## ep1974 (May 22, 2010)

tonyd79 said:


> You mean you want to move shows up and down in your list? To be specific, that is not "sorting." That is ordering. Just making it clear because if you ask for sorting, people are going to think "alphabetical" or "date" or "viewed status" when they hear sorting.


Sorry, I meant sorting as in the series manager. Then you could place any recording in any order. You could group your common recordings together such as movies or sports. To me, it would be easier to find. What do you think?


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

pdxBeav said:


> A bit off topic, but when sorting alphabetically why don't they ignore "The" in "The ABC Show"? Is there a way to ignore first words such as "The", "A", etc? This is pretty basic so it might be a setting that I missed.


They never have ignored "The" even after we've been requesting that for years now.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

ep1974 said:


> Sorry, I meant sorting as in the series manager. Then you could place any recording in any order. You could group your common recordings together such as movies or sports. To me, it would be easier to find. What do you think?


Like he said though, that's not sorting, that's ordering.


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## ep1974 (May 22, 2010)

RunnerFL said:


> Like he said though, that's not sorting, that's ordering.


I stand corrected.....Ordering.


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## inkahauts (Nov 13, 2006)

Well we could have ordering of a sort if they'd let us create folders. I see no point in it for an entire list, alphabetical and newest (or their reverses) should be plenty if we'd also have folders and proper filtering capabilities.


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## 456521 (Jul 6, 2007)

RunnerFL said:


> They never have ignored "The" even after we've been requesting that for years now.


Three years?? Wow. Sometimes you have to wonder if they even use their own products because there's really no other explanation for a basic thing like this.


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## RunnerFL (Jan 5, 2006)

pdxBeav said:


> Three years?? Wow. Sometimes you have to wonder if they even use their own products because there's really no other explanation for a basic thing like this.


Far more than just 3 years, more like 7.


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## tonyd79 (Jul 24, 2006)

ep1974 said:


> Sorry, I meant sorting as in the series manager. Then you could place any recording in any order. You could group your common recordings together such as movies or sports. To me, it would be easier to find. What do you think?


I guess I would use it to put some important stuff on the top but I don't usually have much on my dvr at any time so I don't have trouble keeping track.


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## LawHawk (Mar 8, 2013)

pdxBeav said:


> A bit off topic, but when sorting alphabetically why don't they ignore "The" in "The ABC Show"? Is there a way to ignore first words such as "The", "A", etc? This is pretty basic so it might be a setting that I missed.


They also do this when you use the iPhone app to view a channel and sort by show... some channels, the "T" listings are longer than all the rest of the letters combined. You would really thing that ignoring "the" is a problem that has been solved by a million programmers on a million platforms. This is one where you can really stand on the shoulders of giants, DirecTV.



inhd40 said:


> I can see it now: Advanced Sorting Fee $5.99, with a 2.00 credit for 3 months for new customers.


I swear to God I would pay it. I would pay more than that in fact. I love to go on HBO/Cinemax/Showtime/Starz recording binges and hoard movies on the DVR, but then it becomes really hard to find something to watch littered among the movies.

I think a "first world problems" meme would be appropriate here... I'm really feeling sorry for myself :grin:


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