tivos EPG is it free?

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#428609 18-Jan-2011 21:16

old3eyes:
allan: it's just part of the deal, no ongoing subscription required. Once you connect and your device is registered to the Tivo service, the EPG is part of the deal.

Wouldn't bet it will stay that way forever. If sales drop they have two options. Start charging a monthly or yearly service fee for the EPG or bail out of NZ.. They could of course open retail sales up to every big box seller and IPS as they do in Ozz.

They couldn't do that as it specifically states the following on the telecom tivo website

http://www.telecom.co.nz/mytivo/pricing

What about additional costs?

Once you've paid the full amount for the TiVo media device it's yours to keep and there are no on-going subscription fees.

Spong

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#428612 18-Jan-2011 21:28

I got the HNP (free of charge, but that's another story) and actually think it's worth the money, although I haven't bothered with the much criticised TiVo Desktop software they supply. I transfer programs I want to keep using kmttg and use Vuze, for torrent downloads, and as a server for my TiVo. It does a good job of converting downloads to a format the Tivo can use, then they transfer to the TiVo's HDD and are available immediately. It's a pity transcoding is necessary at all, but Vuze makes it very easy and fast. It's a real pity this isn't possible with MySky yet.

Tivo upgrades to operate with the new OzTivo EPG, support and service. Over 400 performed here so far. See: www.hillcrest.net.nz

robbyp

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#428626 18-Jan-2011 22:02

Spong: I got the HNP (free of charge, but that's another story) and actually think it's worth the money, although I haven't bothered with the much criticised TiVo Desktop software they supply. I transfer programs I want to keep using kmttg and use Vuze, for torrent downloads, and as a server for my TiVo. It does a good job of converting downloads to a format the Tivo can use, then they transfer to the TiVo's HDD and are available immediately. It's a pity transcoding is necessary at all, but Vuze makes it very easy and fast. It's a real pity this isn't possible with MySky yet.

I purchased it, and think it is worth it too. The software that comes with it is useless, as the converted video and sound is always out of sync and the video quality is poor (if I downscale it), so I use kmttg and that is perfect.

minimoke

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#429147 20-Jan-2011 11:59

Kiwi1971:
allan:
reven: oh one more question, does the remote have any learning abilities? ie can it turn on my tv as well and switch it to the correct input? (i know i could just use a harmony one or something, but i prefer to use the actual devices remote when possible).

Yes there's a list of common TV makes with codes (if I recall correctly) that let's you turn TV on/off, volume, TV interface port, etc. I had no trouble getting it going with my Samsung.

Couldn't get it to recognise my Pioneer Plasma [PDP-436XDE] but I have a harmony 785 which I use instead of the stock remote. I actually find it performs better than the stock one. More responsive, less direct pointing neeeded.

DSL

I've found the remote pretty good. I got it to learn my Panasonic TV without to much difficulty - I just used the codes shown on the list. I have also got it to work my Yamaha amplifier so it changes/mutes the volume. That was a bit more of a task as I had to try each individual hidden code loaded into the remote before I found the ones that worked the Amp but got there in the end.

reven

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#429377 20-Jan-2011 22:19

well i took the plunge and bought a tivo at telecom. $360 if a telecom customer, sadly im not, so cost me $450 but with free wifi adapter (really silly a thing this big doesnt have it built in).

first impressions.

- wow, its huge, they need to make it the size of a mac mini
- took ages (5 to 10 minutes) to just turn on.
- interface is ugly and needs a refresh and a better resolution (hd version + sd version?)
- i have to wait 24 hours to activate my tivo, so no EPG until then, thats useless. cant believe that the tivo is pretty much useless for 24 hours, really really bad first impression
- remote is a little ugly, but feels nice and buttons are nice and soft. found the codes for my LG tv on the net (no LG brands listed in the interface) so it can turn my tv on/off, volume + source button
- no 1080p kinda disappointing, but since theres no 1080p content not that bad (would make an interface look better, but thats it)
- on screen display should be at the bottom of the screen, at the top is annoying, especially the size of it

but having said that, i think im going to like this. i would love for them to make it smaller and fix the 24 hour activation BS.

also does anyone know if the tivo Glo remote works with the nz tivo?

mattwnz

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#429378 20-Jan-2011 22:25

reven: well i took the plunge and bought a tivo at telecom. $360 if a telecom customer, sadly im not, so cost me $450 but with free wifi adapter (really silly a thing this big doesnt have it built in).

first impressions.

- wow, its huge, they need to make it the size of a mac mini
- took ages (5 to 10 minutes) to just turn on.
- interface is ugly and needs a refresh and a better resolution (hd version + sd version?)
- i have to wait 24 hours to activate my tivo, so no EPG until then, thats useless. cant believe that the tivo is pretty much useless for 24 hours, really really bad first impression
- remote is a little ugly, but feels nice and buttons are nice and soft. found the codes for my LG tv on the net (no LG brands listed in the interface) so it can turn my tv on/off, volume + source button
- no 1080p kinda disappointing, but since theres no 1080p content not that bad (would make an interface look better, but thats it)
- on screen display should be at the bottom of the screen, at the top is annoying, especially the size of it

but having said that, i think im going to like this. i would love for them to make it smaller and fix the 24 hour activation BS.

also does anyone know if the tivo Glo remote works with the nz tivo?

I think it should activate faster than that, I recall mine activated within a few hours, as I don't recall any issue with the epg not working initally. The interface is quite clunky and dated, and casper is quite laggy but not much can be done about that. The size isn't really an issue for me, because it isn't much larger than a vcr, and it is hidden in the cabinet. I think you will be happy with it.

Lenovo

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reven

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#429381 20-Jan-2011 22:28

i was just more shocked with the size, its a computer, my mac mini is more powerful and about 1/3 the size.

the source button is nice, i only need the one tivo remote to switch to xbox/mac mini/tivo.
so happy with the remote.

but yeah, its big.

Spong

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#429385 20-Jan-2011 22:41

I'm 80% certain my EPG populated almost straight away. It was only Caspa that couldn't be used fully for 24+ hours. You can force your TiVo to connect to the mothership and update the EPG.
Go to Tivo central (double press the top TiVo button)/ Read new messages and settings/Settings/network/Connect to TiVo Service Now. You can also check it's connecting to the network here.

I feel the interface is way better than the fuggly MySky one. Sure it could be better, but it has to serve both SD and HD users I guess. I guess the long boot time is because it runs Linux. In general, I've never had to restart mine. Someone mentioned that it reboots occasionally in the middle of the night by itself. One glaring omission is the inability to see how much HDD space you have left. If you get the HNP, you can use kmttg to report disk usage. I believe the TiVo version we have has been superseded with a nice slim version in the USA. With a warehouse full of unsold units here in NZ, I guess we may never see that one here.
In the meantime our TiVo's are "retro VCR" style

Tivo upgrades to operate with the new OzTivo EPG, support and service. Over 400 performed here so far. See: www.hillcrest.net.nz

reven

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#429427 21-Jan-2011 07:39

Spong: I'm 80% certain my EPG populated almost straight away. It was only Caspa that couldn't be used fully for 24+ hours. You can force your TiVo to connect to the mothership and update the EPG.
Go to Tivo central (double press the top TiVo button)/ Read new messages and settings/Settings/network/Connect to TiVo Service Now. You can also check it's connecting to the network here.

tried that, network tests are all fine (except for the port one). i set it up last night around 9pm and this morning (7:45am) the guide is still unavailable and says it needs to be activated. maybe its a manual process and someone has to actually activate them? if so i suspect it should be done by the time i get home from work (if not ill call up support).

im use to an xbmc, boxee, mediaportal, even gbpvr interface. they are years ahead of the tivo interface, well in terms of looks. i get the impression they designed it for a 20" SD tv :) they really need to have a HD interface, make the info OSD smaller and higher resolution etc.

old3eyes

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#429430 21-Jan-2011 08:35

reven: i was just more shocked with the size, its a computer, my mac mini is more powerful and about 1/3 the size.

but yeah, its big.

Maybe because it's always on and the large size is for air flow???

My EPG downloaded within a few minutes of setting up my account at TiVo.. The only thing that I have found that it off. I have my TiVo and Popcornhour at my HT rack connected via a 8 port switch which is connected to another 8 port switch with the rest of the computer gear. If i turn the TiVo on in this configuration it will not get a IP address from the DHCP server however If i bypass the local HT switch and power on it does get a IP address then I can put the local switch back in the loop again. strange. The Popcornhour does not have this problem..

Are you using the default EPG or the other one in landscape mode??

Regards,

Old3eyes

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#429434 21-Jan-2011 08:46

I have 2 and both activated very quickly after completing the online form. I know there was a post by someone here last year about activating taking a while so it might be a random thing.

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Kiwi1971

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#429436 21-Jan-2011 08:54

reven: well i took the plunge and bought a tivo at telecom. $360 if a telecom customer, sadly im not, so cost me $450 but with free wifi adapter (really silly a thing this big doesnt have it built in).

first impressions.

- wow, its huge, they need to make it the size of a mac mini
- took ages (5 to 10 minutes) to just turn on.
- interface is ugly and needs a refresh and a better resolution (hd version + sd version?)
- i have to wait 24 hours to activate my tivo, so no EPG until then, thats useless. cant believe that the tivo is pretty much useless for 24 hours, really really bad first impression
- remote is a little ugly, but feels nice and buttons are nice and soft. found the codes for my LG tv on the net (no LG brands listed in the interface) so it can turn my tv on/off, volume + source button
- no 1080p kinda disappointing, but since theres no 1080p content not that bad (would make an interface look better, but thats it)
- on screen display should be at the bottom of the screen, at the top is annoying, especially the size of it

but having said that, i think im going to like this. i would love for them to make it smaller and fix the 24 hour activation BS.

also does anyone know if the tivo Glo remote works with the nz tivo?

I think you have mentioned the interface being ugly before. I am not sure if you are having the same experience as other people but mine is very smooth and well defined. Have you got your output fixed at 1080i? I'm not sure this affects the EPG or menus though, I would assume so.

Also i don't remember waiting for the EPG to populate once I had the internet connection working.

Yeah, reboot takes an age, agreed.

I find the 1080i broadcasts perfectly acceptable HD. Lots of detail on textures etc. Some 1080i quality is better than others. I remember watching Hellboy last year and being amazed at how good it looked, detailed skin textures on the creatures etc. Other stuff is good but not really noticably better than some good SD content. Possibly something broadcast in 1080i but not from an HD source. IS that possible?

Yeah the Glo Remote works, I think there is a thread about it on here somewhere early last year maybe.

I'm sure you'll love the TiVo once you've told it what not to record. For a while it thought I loved everything on the Chinese channel. :)

DLS

reven

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#429441 21-Jan-2011 09:09

thanks guys.

- connection is fine, i have an ip address all the connection tests work it did download some data which took around 5 minutes and processed all that fine. but when i press the "Guide" button it says its not activated. my router can see the tivo and is connected.

Are you using the default EPG or the other one in landscape mode??

everything is default, didnt know there was another one.

I think you have mentioned the interface being ugly before. I am not sure if you are having the same experience as other people but mine is very smooth and well defined. Have you got your output fixed at 1080i? I'm not sure this affects the EPG or menus though, I would assume so.

yeah tv picture quality is fine, its running at 1080i over HDMI. i was meaning more the menus, the fonts are a little blurry they arent as smooth as they could be if they bumped up the interface.

reven

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#429442 21-Jan-2011 09:11

just logged into tivo at work, it appears genie is now working so i think its activated, will check when i get home. i suspect it maybe a manual process (since it appears to have been activated during business hours)

anyone from TiVo here?

reven

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#429443 21-Jan-2011 09:12

oh and the online tivo recording is amazing, a lot better than having to open and configure a webservice on a HTPC to do this. especially with changing ip addresses etc.

big + 1 for tivo on this.

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