[mythtv-users] tv programs that run long
Michael T. Dean
mtdean at thirdcontact.com
Thu May 19 03:05:31 UTC 2005
On 05/18/05 21:07, Fedor Pikus wrote:
>On 5/18/05, Dan H Orlic <dan.orlic at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>>Just thought I should let you know... I own a tivo and the same exact
>>thing happened to me. The last moment of Gilmore Girls was cut off. So
>>she can say that!
>>
>Tivo is only as smart as the programming data, ... Tivo does seem to push
>updates a little faster *sometimes*, but again, this is an issue with
>schedule provider, not myth itself.
>
>
Does TiVo actually push data? I thought TiVo got its data via a dial-up
connection that it makes once per day. Or, are you talking about
DirectTiVo--which probably gets data off the satellite feed.
...
OK. So I decided to answer the question myself. It seems TiVo has new
"Series 2" DVR's to which you can attach a USB network adapter (not
provided) to allow the DVR to make use of your network. If the network
has a shared broadband connection, the DVR can be configured to use it
to connect to the TiVo service. If configured to use broadband, the DVR
will connect to the TiVo service every hour (
http://customersupport.tivo.com/knowbase/root/public/tv2056.htm ). If
you do not have a TiVo series 2 or your Series 2 is not configured to
use broadband, your DVR makes a connection via dial-up--which can take
as much as 36 hours.
So, at this point, it started to look like TiVo with broadband access
would in fact receive updates every hour. Then, I found
http://customersupport.tivo.com/knowbase/root/public/tv1521.htm , which
says that DVR's using broadband to connect to the TiVo servers will
check for remotely-scheduled programs every 15 minutes and DVR's using
dial-up will check at a random time once every 24 to 48 hours. (With
TiVo, you tell the TiVo service to record a program and the service
tells your DVR, instead of telling your DVR directly as with Myth.)
During these scheduled-program-checking connections, the DVR only checks
for remotely-scheduled programs--it does *not* download any program
guide data. Program guide data is only retrieved at a randomly-selected
time every 24 to 48 hours regardless of how the DVR connects to the TiVo
service.
I couldn't find anything definitive on the DIRECTV DVR (DirecTiVo), but
it seems that it uses dial-up to get the full guide data, but in the
absense of a dial-up connection will use the 2-3 days of guide data
available via the satellite. Therefore, it seems plausible that in the
event that schedules changed at the last minute and DIRECTV updated the
guide data being broadcast via satellite, the DirecTiVo could receive
and respond to the update. Whether it actually happens that way (i.e.
whether DIRECTV actually updates the data and whether the DVR can
respond to changes) is a whole other question.
Therefore, it would seem that TiVo does not get updates any quicker or
more reliably than Myth. The DirecTiVo, OTOH, may in fact receive
updates that are "pushed" out via satellite.
Mike
Oh, and here's my favorite (from
http://customersupport.tivo.com/knowbase/root/public/tv1521.htm? ):
For 4 to 8 hours after making your connection to the TiVo service, your
Program Guide Data may show "TBA" with descriptions that read "Program
titles and descriptions available soon." This means that your DVR is
indexing. During this time, you can watch any channels and use any play
features (fast forward, rewind, and pause). You cannot record until the
indexing is finished.
So, at a randomly-selected time every 24-48 hours it makes a connection
to TiVo service and then can only be used to watch TV--and not to
record--for 4-8 hours while indexing. Therefore, it seems that a TiVo
is 5/6 DVR and 1/6 DVP (since for approximately 1/6 of the time, it can
only be use to play--not to record--programs).
BTW, what could they possibly be doing during indexing that takes 4-8
hours? An 8088 should be able to prep guide data in less than 4-8 hours...
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