# How to "navigate the guide?



## John Quaglino (Aug 5, 2003)

What is the best way to navigate the guide? I just switched over from E* and man is this guide slow. I understand that it will get better over time. In the meantime, how do I speed my way in the guide. If I use the DirecTv guide (Grid) is there a way to jump forward 4 hrs, 8hrs, 1 day, etc. How do you look beyond the current day in the List Guide?


----------



## spanishannouncetable (Apr 23, 2002)

Switch to the TiVo-style guide. The software is optimized for it and it's much faster.

When either guide is displayed, hit the small button just above the Guide button (Info, Display, whatever it's called) to bring up the Guide's sub-menu. Go down to the date and change it to any day up to 12-13 days in the future. Hit the small button (I think) to go back to the guide which now displays the program info for the selected date.

The DirecTiVo offers several more efficient ways of looking for shows to record than browsing the grid or TiVo-style guides. Try them out and put E*'s way of doing things behind you for good


----------



## John Quaglino (Aug 5, 2003)

I'm learning but sometimes I just want to browse!


----------



## schmoo34 (May 12, 2004)

I'm sorry, but E*'s way of menu searching blows this away. Unless you know specifically what you are looking for, D* isn't helpful. If you are like me and like to "browse" E* has it figured out.

If you use the channel up, channel down button, you can move through your guide quicker...I am still learning about ways of making it faster...for instance fast forward and rewind jumps the guide by a time block as well. It definitely helps.

The list guide (alternate way of browsing) is nice if you are looking for something on a particular channel but you got to go through it one channel at a time (very cumbersome) so going back to the guide and applying some of the above techniques is your only route.

You can try sorting on just movies or some subcategory but I've found that what the guide considers to be a movie is not what I consider to be one and it misses things.

I have come to rely on Tivo's suggestions. I religioiusly use the thumbs up and down and it is getting smarter. Jury is still out on how good it is


----------



## narnia777 (Mar 28, 2003)

Use the channel up and down to browse a page of channels at a time, not just one. Once you get used to the tivo list guide is cool, several hours of programming at once and several channels.

Jim


----------



## Tusk (Nov 14, 2002)

After 4 days with D*, I've found that I really like the Tivo list guide. My main problem is I have no idea where the channels are located in the guide yet.  Still in a E* mindset.


----------



## rrbhokies (May 10, 2004)

Wife likes to set certain kids shows to record M-F every week. On E*, she could select the show from the guide and set it right there. However, with Tivo, it appears you can only do this by going and setting a completely manual timer, and then you have to select the time and channel manually. It's a little more frustrating, but not the end of the world. However, just curious if there is an easier way that we're missing to be able to do this.

Also, if we want to just record every M,W,F each week, we'll have to set up 3 individual timers like we did with E*, correct?


----------



## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Huh? I'm a bit confused, but did you setup a season pass? Use the guide (either one), find the show in question, select it and then setup a season pass. You could also do a search by title if you don't want to use the guide. Season Pass is the key thing that makes it a Tivo.

If you just want to do MWF instead of every day then yes, you'll need to use 3 timers. Or use a Season pass and cancel the Tues/Thurs recording in your ToDo list every week.


----------



## rrbhokies (May 10, 2004)

bonscott87 said:


> Huh? I'm a bit confused, but did you setup a season pass? Use the guide (either one), find the show in question, select it and then setup a season pass. You could also do a search by title if you don't want to use the guide. Season Pass is the key thing that makes it a Tivo.


For example, Berenstein Bears is on oodles of times per day on PBS with different episodes. She only wants a couple of episodes on there at any time. Season Pass doesn't make sense because the DVR will be filled with Berenstein Bears and nothing else.



bonscott87 said:


> If you just want to do MWF instead of every day then yes, you'll need to use 3 timers. Or use a Season pass and cancel the Tues/Thurs recording in your ToDo list every week.


Agreed, 3 timers appears to be the best way, which is fine, but you should be able to select the show and then have control over what days and what times to record. You shouldn't have to do a manual timer to initiate the process.

Another issue is with a show that's on at 8PM and again at 11PM. TIVO season pass wants to record the 8PM show, not the 11PM because the 1st run is at 8PM. However, we don't want it to record at 8PM. On my 2nd DVR which is just using a single tuner, if it's recording at 8PM, I can't watch anything else. Again, it seems like I have to bypass the season pass feature and use a manual timer to accomplish anything.

Maybe it will still take some getting used to, but the Season Pass in many cases seems to be total overkill and goes to the exteme in one direction taping everything in it's path when it feels like taping it, versus the other extreme where everything is done manually, show by show, by the user.

I was hoping there was some kind of Middle ground here. Season Pass works great for American Idol and Survivor, but not for shows like Tech Live, Screen Savers, Berenstein Bears, etc. that have multiple showings during the day and TIVO picks the most inopportune times to record.


----------



## FlyingDiver (Dec 4, 2002)

rrbhokies said:


> I was hoping there was some kind of Middle ground here. Season Pass works great for American Idol and Survivor, but not for shows like Tech Live, Screen Savers, Berenstein Bears, etc. that have multiple showings during the day and TIVO picks the most inopportune times to record.


Try experimenting with the "Keep at Most" and "Keep until" options in the season pass. If you set "Keep at Most" to 5, and "Keep until I delete", then you'll have (at most) 5 episodes saved, and new ones will not get recorded until you delete one of the old ones. If you did that for your kid's shows, you could delete the episodes they don't like, or that they get tired of, and a new one will fill in soon. In the meantime, your disk doesn't fill up.

joe


----------



## FlyingDiver (Dec 4, 2002)

rrbhokies said:


> Another issue is with a show that's on at 8PM and again at 11PM. TIVO season pass wants to record the 8PM show, not the 11PM because the 1st run is at 8PM. However, we don't want it to record at 8PM. On my 2nd DVR which is just using a single tuner, if it's recording at 8PM, I can't watch anything else. Again, it seems like I have to bypass the season pass feature and use a manual timer to accomplish anything


You're trying too hard (hmmm. Seems like I make the same comment with a lot of Windows users trying to use a Mac). Set the season pass for the show. Don't worry about what time it tries to record it. If you want to watch live TV at that time, change the channel. The unit will pick some other time (like three hours later) to record that show.

Better yet, if there's a show on at 8 that you want, tell it to record THAT show. Put it higher in the season pass list so it has priority. The Tivo will record it, then record the other show at 11 since it wasn't able to record it at 8.

joe


----------



## rrbhokies (May 10, 2004)

FlyingDiver said:


> Try experimenting with the "Keep at Most" and "Keep until" options in the season pass. If you set "Keep at Most" to 5, and "Keep until I delete", then you'll have (at most) 5 episodes saved, and new ones will not get recorded until you delete one of the old ones. If you did that for your kid's shows, you could delete the episodes they don't like, or that they get tired of, and a new one will fill in soon. In the meantime, your disk doesn't fill up.


You know, that makes a lot of sense, and after giving it some though actually makes it better than E*!!! The reason is wife would always tape 3 episodes per week of Berenstein Bears and sometimes, we'd have 10 episodes built up on the DVR. This way, you set a limit as to how many to keep. That's actually quite sweet!! No more complaining with wife about having too many of certain shows stacked up in the DVR!!!



FlyingDiver said:


> Don't worry about what time it tries to record it. If you want to watch live TV at that time, change the channel. The unit will pick some other time (like three hours later) to record that show. joe


I think you're right about thinking to hard about this. I'm trying to make TIVO act like my E*. It's going to take a while to get used to the season pass and really figure out how it can help me and actually make my life easier than a bunch of manual timers like I did with E*. You're comment was right on the money. If I'm home at 8PM and it's taping, just stop it and start watching live TV. It'll still tape at 11PM.

However, what happens if the recording has started and is in process? Let's say it's 8:15PM and I come home and cancel the recording and start watching live TV. Is Tivo smart enough to know that I never really taped the episode and will tape at 11PM, or will it think that I had taped it and then skip the 11PM showing? I guess I just need to experiment with it.

Appreciate your advice and thank goodness for these message boards as they have been invaluable to learning the ins and outs of these units!!

Go TIVO!!!!!


----------



## rrbhokies (May 10, 2004)

Is there any way to sort any of the various lists alphabetically? In particular, "Now Playing" and "Tivo Suggestions"....


----------



## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

rrbhokies said:


> However, what happens if the recording has started and is in process? Let's say it's 8:15PM and I come home and cancel the recording and start watching live TV. Is Tivo smart enough to know that I never really taped the episode and will tape at 11PM, or will it think that I had taped it and then skip the 11PM showing? I guess I just need to experiment with it.


You know, that's a good question. I've never tried it, but then I don't really watch a whole lot of live TV. Just experiment with it. Cancel that 8pm show at 8:15. Then around 10pm or so check your ToDo list and see if it plans to pick up the 11pm showing. I'm pretty sure it will since it never did record the whole show.

Now some networks are really bad with guide data. TechTV is bad. They were famous for The Screen Savers having generic guide data so that the Tivo (and any other DVR like Replay or UTV) wouldn't know what episode was new or old. Thus it would record them all to be sure. Daily Show and other Comedy Central show also suffer from this. Sportscenter on ESPN is another. If you find a program that is like this, then you'll probably have to resort to a manual season pass (what you are calling timers). It's the only time I use them, when the network provides bad guide data. And the best thing you can do is complain to the network and the show in question that their guide data isn't correct and Tivo users aren't watching their shows because of it.

One thing I do with an NFL Network program is KAM 3, delete as needed. That way it will always have the most current 3 episodes and it will keep recycling them.

I remember way back when, when I got my first Tivo (about 4 years ago now). I had to learn to "trust" it that it would record my shows. I'd say after about a month I trusted it and have let 'em go every since. Even now I still find little tricks that are cool.

Oh, stop by the Tivo Community at www.tivocommunity.com TONS of information about Tivo.

Have fun!


----------



## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

rrbhokies said:


> Is there any way to sort any of the various lists alphabetically? In particular, "Now Playing" and "Tivo Suggestions"....


While in Now Playing:

*S*low *0* *R*ecord *T*humbsup 

Then hit Display and you can sort Alphabetically.

This is a back door code and you'll have to re-enable it if your Tivo reboots (for a software upgrade or power outage).

There is a sticky at the top of the forum with a bunch of little tricks like this.


----------



## Tusk (Nov 14, 2002)

For all you veteran Tivo users, how accurate is the first run guide information for the major networks. If I set a SP for CSI for first run, I am hoping it will record the new show from 8-9 on Thursday but not pick up any reruns during the week. However, what if the episode is not designated as first run? Will the Tivo record it because it is not sure, or will it skip it because it does not specifically indicate first run?


----------



## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

I'd say the networks are all pretty excellent, say 98%. But then CSI is actually the only thing on the major networks I record.  And yes, CSI is fine. I created a season pass 2 years ago and haven't looked at it since. It records each week just fine. Even adjusts to "special" times (90 minute episode) or if a new one is on another night. That's what a season pass is meant to do. There aren't any reruns during the week to worry about anyway with CSI. I have another season pass for those reruns shown on SpikeTV. Season passes are channel specific. Wishlists however could be used to span across all channels.

Hope that answers your question.


----------



## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

bonscott87 said:


> I'd say the networks are all pretty excellent, say 98%. But then CSI is actually the only thing on the major networks I record.  And yes, CSI is fine.


Uh, there was a hiccup a few months ago with _CSI_ because the episode originally scheduled was replaced at the last minute because of a hot Yankee's/Red Sox playoff series. It reaired a few weeks later, but wasn't marked as an original.

Another troublesome series that I watch is _Yu-Gi-Oh_! This weekend's episodes are first run episodes, but the guide information says that the episodes originally aired on 4/8 and 4/9. Gotta bug somebody about that.

Also, _Wolf's Rain_ isn't able to be set up as a season pass, so I had to set it up as a Wishlist entry.


----------



## rrbhokies (May 10, 2004)

bonscott87 said:


> While in Now Playing:
> 
> *S*low *0* *R*ecord *T*humbsup
> 
> Then hit Display and you can sort Alphabetically.


Works great!!! Love these easter eggs. Noticed yesterday though that something must have downloaded the reset the units because I had to reset the 30sec. skip and clock display. Does putting your TIVO in Standby mode cause this to happen? Do I even need to put it in standby mode? I guess I'm so used to turning things off, I always select Directv Central and put it in Standby mode when I'm done.


----------



## rrbhokies (May 10, 2004)

bonscott87 said:


> You know, that's a good question. I've never tried it, but then I don't really watch a whole lot of live TV. Just experiment with it. Cancel that 8pm show at 8:15. Then around 10pm or so check your ToDo list and see if it plans to pick up the 11pm showing. I'm pretty sure it will since it never did record the whole show.


I canceled Screen Savers 45 minutes into the show, and then later went into the Season Pass, and it didn't show that it was going to tape the rerun this morning 8AM. I'll check when I get home and see if it did or not, but even as of this morning, it didn't show that the 8AM episode was going to tape. We'll see.



bonscott87 said:


> One thing I do with an NFL Network program is KAM 3, delete as needed. That way it will always have the most current 3 episodes and it will keep recycling them.


So, what happens if wife has a Season Pass for Berenstein Bears and has it set for "Keep at most 3" and "Save Until Space Needed"? After it records 3 episodes, will it stop recording until she deletes one or it runs out of space? Or on day 4, will it overwrite the first episode?

What about the scenario where it's set as "Keep at most 3" and "Save until 5/20"? What about the scenario where it's set as "Keep at most 3" and "Save until I delete"?

The user manuals are useless for describing how TIVO really works. These are the weakest manuals I've ever encountered. I really need to understand how the TIVO season pass behaves with all the different options that are available.

Thanks everyone for their help.


----------



## Mark Holtz (Mar 23, 2002)

rrbhokies said:


> Works great!!! Love these easter eggs. Noticed yesterday though that something must have downloaded the reset the units because I had to reset the 30sec. skip and clock display. Does putting your TIVO in Standby mode cause this to happen? Do I even need to put it in standby mode? I guess I'm so used to turning things off, I always select Directv Central and put it in Standby mode when I'm done.


No, the codes stay in effect until the receiver is somehow rebooted (either through power failure, accidential disconnection, or system upgrade). It isn't really even necessary to put it in standby mode.


----------



## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

rrbhokies said:


> Noticed yesterday though that something must have downloaded the reset the units because I had to reset the 30sec. skip and clock display. Does putting your TIVO in Standby mode cause this to happen? Do I even need to put it in standby mode? I guess I'm so used to turning things off, I always select Directv Central and put it in Standby mode when I'm done.


Your Tivo probably downloaded a software upgrade and then reset itself (which is the only time it will do that). If the Tivo is reset or if there is a power outage, you must re-enter the codes for the 30 second skip and clock display. In other words, it's very rare.

Placing the Tivo in standby mode will not cause problems. All the standby really does is turn off the video output and on some receivers, stop buffering.

I like placing my receiver in standby mode. I'm using a wireless video distribution system and I don't want my neighbors watching whatever is on 24 hours a day. It's also a habit from my old Dish Network days.


----------



## FlyingDiver (Dec 4, 2002)

rrbhokies said:


> So, what happens if wife has a Season Pass for Berenstein Bears and has it set for "Keep at most 3" and "Save Until Space Needed"? After it records 3 episodes, will it stop recording until she deletes one or it runs out of space? Or on day 4, will it overwrite the first episode?
> 
> What about the scenario where it's set as "Keep at most 3" and "Save until 5/20"? What about the scenario where it's set as "Keep at most 3" and "Save until I delete"?


I'm pretty sure (but I can't swear to it), that the "keep at most" options will keep the most current programs (deleting the older ones), UNLESS you have that SP set for "Keep until I delete" or "Keep until <date>". Those options set specific deletion logic. In those cases, since the Tivo isn't allowed to delete any of them, it also won't record any new ones.

In the first case you list (delete until space needed). It's very straightforward. Anything else where you're limiting the number of episodes to keep, and also trying to specify how long to keep the program, something has to give. I think the Tivo leans towards not recording, so it never has to delete anything early.

But what do I know? I just converted from Dish three months ago.

joe


----------



## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

If you have say KAM set to 3 and delete as needed when day 4 comes up then it will replace the episode on day 1. Thus you'd have day's 2-4. On day 5 it will replace day 2 thus you'd have day 3-5. It will always keep the 3 most recent episodes. I use this most for old shows like Married with Children or Seinfeld where I just want a few on there to watch when I've got nothing else to do.

If you set it to KAM 3 with "save until I delete" then it will record 3 episodes and then never record again until you actually delete one of them.


----------



## spanishannouncetable (Apr 23, 2002)

And remember, it's "Keep at *MOST*", not "Keep at *LEAST*".

If you set it KAM = 3 and "until space needed", it WILL delete one of those 3 early to record something else if it really, really needs the space. It will never keep more than 3, but it could have less than that. *Any* recording marked with a yellow dot + "!" is fair game to be automatically deleted if necessary.

Also remember, your TiVo isn't "taping" anything. It's recording, or you can TiVo a show, but the word "taping" has got to go


----------



## Tusk (Nov 14, 2002)

This may have been mentioned elsewhere, but if you are currently in the Tivo Live Guide, here are two tricks.

If the channel on the left side is highlighted, then the fast forward button moves you ahead 30 minutes in the guide and the rewind button moves you back 30 minutes. (I know this one has been mentioned.)

If a program on the right side is highlighted, then the fast forward button advances you to the next higher channel and the rewind button takes you to the previous lower channel. To me, it seems to move faster than using the up/down arrows on the left side.


----------

