TiVo Service ending on 31 October 2017

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#1729192 3-Mar-2017 00:06

Jaxson: Mysky is probably the closest alternative.

And ironically that is what the Tivo was marketed against. It was like Mysky, without having to pay the subscription. Interesting to read old articles about the service, and when TVNZ and Spark were involved, it looked like they were looking at getting advertisers involved to service on ongoing costs associated with the EPG etc. That was obviously big mistake they made, seling a product that requires that ongoing service in order to work. Where as the overseas Tivo is a lot cheaper to buy, but you pay a monthly subscription plus you get other paid content.

dickytim

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#1729224 3-Mar-2017 07:39

I spoke to SWMBO about this and she agreed that if it were $5 a month and we could keep the convenience of the Tivo we'd do it in a heartbeat.

Yes I am a Geek and could get something going on my HTPC but she is definitely not, and like most users wants something that will just work!

I have a single tuner Hauppauge TV card, and with WinTV it does seem to support series link, but I was duped into buying the 4400 unit that has 4 tuners, but one for each input type!

I think I'll upgrade this to a dual tuner card as it has a remote etc. It really is a PITA as now the PC has to run 24/7 to get the most out of the set up.

I am genuinely interested if anyone finds a set top box with 320gb+ storage, a great interface with series link etc. to replace the Tivo.

DMCM

78 posts

Master Geek
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#1729278 3-Mar-2017 08:54

mattwnz:

Jaxson: Mysky is probably the closest alternative.

And ironically that is what the Tivo was marketed against. It was like Mysky, without having to pay the subscription. Interesting to read old articles about the service, and when TVNZ and Spark were involved, it looked like they were looking at getting advertisers involved to service on ongoing costs associated with the EPG etc. That was obviously big mistake they made, seling a product that requires that ongoing service in order to work. Where as the overseas Tivo is a lot cheaper to buy, but you pay a monthly subscription plus you get other paid content.

That's what I find hard to figure out - what would be the cost of maintaining an EPG? What would you have? A server with a web service or similar that picked up something maintained in a DB? In terms of funding it, ff there were originally ~20K tivo users, and now there is maybe < 10, say 5K, and they paid $5 per month, then you have $25K to support it.

I'm assuming my assumptions are way off - must be.

robfish

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#1729288 3-Mar-2017 09:18

I feel as though my posts are being ignored, or at least misread.

Yes you do need to be tech savvy to set up a MythTV system but once set up you just use it.

My wife is disappointed to lose TiVo because that is what she is used to but I know she will be fine with MythTv.

The frontend, whether it be MythTV or Kodi, is IMHO more user friendly than TiVo.

Have a look for MthTV screenshots e.g. https://www.mythtv.org/detail/mythtv and https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Screenshots

Rob

DMCM

78 posts

Master Geek
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#1729296 3-Mar-2017 09:27

robfish:

I feel as though my posts are being ignored, or at least misread.

Yes you do need to be tech savvy to set up a MythTV system but once set up you just use it.

My wife is disappointed to lose TiVo because that is what she is used to but I know she will be fine with MythTv.

The frontend, whether it be MythTV or Kodi, is IMHO more user friendly than TiVo.

Have a look for MthTV screenshots e.g. https://www.mythtv.org/detail/mythtv and https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Screenshots

Not by me! So if I went the Kodi route, I just need a HTPC (I prefer windows 10) and Kodi installed?

ResponseMediaNZ

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#1729297 3-Mar-2017 09:28

robfish:

I feel as though my posts are being ignored, or at least misread.

Yes you do need to be tech savvy to set up a MythTV system but once set up you just use it.

My wife is disappointed to lose TiVo because that is what she is used to but I know she will be fine with MythTv.

The frontend, whether it be MythTV or Kodi, is IMHO more user friendly than TiVo.

Have a look for MthTV screenshots e.g. https://www.mythtv.org/detail/mythtv and https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Screenshots

The joy of TiVo is I don't have to think about it. My kids and anyone in the house can use it. I don't have to keep a system up todate...

I will not setup a MythTV because I don't want the hassle simple. I want a a TiVo device that does it all still...

For the average user as well that's not tech savvy why should they have to learn something they don't understand plug and play is where its at.

Mighty Ape

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robfish

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#1729308 3-Mar-2017 10:02

DMCM: Not by me! So if I went the Kodi route, I just need a HTPC (I prefer windows 10) and Kodi installed?

Kodi can be your frontend (and can run on many different devices and OS's)

For MythTV you still need a backend (which can be in the same box under or behind your TV)

Rob

DMCM

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Master Geek
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#1729309 3-Mar-2017 10:08

So it can be a single box (HTPC), running Kodi and also myth TV, on Windows 10? This is the sort of thing that takes it right away from being a Tivo swap-out. This is not a criticism - just an observation.

robfish

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#1729310 3-Mar-2017 10:10

ResponseMediaNZ: ........plug and play is where its at.

I would suggest that you have come to the wrong place for Plug and Play.

With MythTV (I think) that you still have the option of building a box (or getting someone to build it for you) and then putting in by your TV set. If you do not plug it into your network security updates are not going to be important.

Rob

Gilco2

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#1729311 3-Mar-2017 10:11

robfish:

I feel as though my posts are being ignored, or at least misread.

Yes you do need to be tech savvy to set up a MythTV system but once set up you just use it.

My wife is disappointed to lose TiVo because that is what she is used to but I know she will be fine with MythTv.

The frontend, whether it be MythTV or Kodi, is IMHO more user friendly than TiVo.

Have a look for MthTV screenshots e.g. https://www.mythtv.org/detail/mythtv and https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Screenshots

not by me. That's why I started my thread rather than hijack Tivo with mythtv. But since mentioned I am having another look at mythtv after your posts here and then looking at mythtv site. Pity Mythbuntu is no more although existing still supported

HTPC Intel Pentium G3258 cpu, Gigabyte H97n-wifi motherboard, , 8GB DDR3 ram, onboard graphics. Hauppuage HVR 5500 tuner, Silverstone LC16M case, Windows 10 pro 64 bit using Nextpvr and Kodi

robfish

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#1729314 3-Mar-2017 10:14

DMCM: So it can be a single box (HTPC), running Kodi and also myth TV, on Windows 10?

The backend and frontend can be on the same box. If so you do not need Kodi on that box.

One of the great things about MythTV is that you can have multiple frontends (I have 6).

MythTV was initially built on Linux but apparently now you can build it on Windows

See: https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/MythTV_on_Windows

I see no benefit of putting it on Windows though.

Rob

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DMCM

78 posts

Master Geek
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#1729316 3-Mar-2017 10:20

robfish:

I see no benefit of putting it on Windows though.

That may be an understatement! https://www.mythtv.org/wiki/MythTV_on_Windows

Jaxson

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#1729323 3-Mar-2017 10:39

robfish:

I would suggest that you have come to the wrong place for Plug and Play.

Seriously, this is a TIVO thread, in the TIVO forum, not MythTV!

HTPC discussion have their own separate forum. I don't see anything new around MythTV / KODI etc in terms of a TIVO replacement box etc.

The appeal for TIVO was that it was fairly simple UI and a reliable box, bar the DOA units. Mines run happily for 5 years, started almost instantly (as it was never really off) and could be up and running super easily for all users.

Discussion as this point revolved around:

Is there any hope of keeping the EPG service going, answer is probably not. Unfortunately not even a monthly subscription model has been offered. Bottom line is TIVO was operationally a flop in NZ, and everybody wants to wash their hands of it. They all want out, and this was the last piece remaining preventing them from fully forgetting it ever happened.

Is there any hope of sideloading the EPG data/re routing to a new source that's extracted this from the freeview MHEG5 EPG or the full sat EIT data EPG. Answer there is a faint maybe, but being pripriatary TIVO software/tech, they're not going to be helpful. Will come down to sniffing the data in and out and seeing what's what.

What other plug and play boxes exist as alternatives, of which MySky is probably the closest (albeit at a cost). Panasonics don't seem to get a good rep from most users, as being buggy/unsupported with updates. Many units have to have their own native EPG's overridden to mash in the freeview MHEG5 EPG, which is inherently pretty slow and limiting. Hence in some ways they're all a much of a muchness around the EPG side of things.

Philosophical concepts, such as do we even need a TIVO replacement, with the addition of freeview plus etc? On demand catchup options probably provide a lot of what we were recording anyway, but not usually at the full HD offerings of live terrestrial freeview TV. I've found the UI around the freeview plus stuff coming in from the side on smart TV's pretty jarring to be honest, and that's where TIVO's simplicity shone through with elderly users etc.

And then finally what other non plug and play options are there, at which point the HTPC approach of the likes of MythTV/Kodi etc come into it. I'm keen on an Xbox One as my main unit, given it plays Blurays, and via VLC can now play X.265 HEVC files directly off a network file share location, without the need for prior transcoding, and it has full IR harmony remote integration. I'll be considering if there's any chance of getting the USA Xbox tuner working here. That would be the best option for me personally I think, if it ever took off. By the looks of it now though, it can't function as a DVR, so that's close to useless, but may have some future potential.

The MythTV is worth a look, although having a PC running 24/7 somewhere to record like TIVO did seems a bit weird, but I guess that's exactly what TIVO was doing. Is there any chance of linking VLC on the Xbox One to a MythTV backend somewhere/using VLC to read direct from a shared location where the files have been recorded too. I wouldn't mind using a web interface on the iPad etc to book scheduled recordings to the backend, and then using the Xbox one to browse that location and read the file for example.

need2noy

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#1729345 3-Mar-2017 11:18

I have 4 tivos in various rooms in the house. I have tivo desktop so I can transfer recordings from the playlists from any tivos to other tivos in the house. Would this function still be operational after 31 October as I only read that it will only be the EPG, seasonal pass, wish list and Genie features, there was no mention of Tivo Desktop feature. I paid top dollar for three of my tivos back in 2009 as well as the software for the Tivo Desktop and I expect to get some kind of compensation for them as I was told at the time they would last for many many many years, and now 8 years later the plug is being pulled and we are being advised to dump our tivos and replace it with something else. I think that is disgraceful and I am quite sure under the consumer guarantees act there would be some form of compensation for our loss. If I had knew at the time these devices only had a lifespan of 8 years I would never had purchased them. Also the free data that was given to Telecom/Spark customers was quite tiny because when they stopped that few years ago it made no difference to my data usage whatsoever. I think the consumer is owed something, be it monetary compensation to put towards an alternative device comparable to tivo or they need to keep some feature going such as the EPG which won't render tivo as completely useles. NZ CGA law should cover us and protect us in situations like this.

DMCM

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#1729347 3-Mar-2017 11:27

Someone just build me low spec HTPC with an approx Tivo sized SSD running something half decent that will record terrestrial TV!

If all the freeview channels were available on-demand, we would be having a different conversation I think. Is it just Prime that is the odd one out - i.e. not available on-demand?

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