TiVo update brings pause menu ads to Series3 & TiVo HD owners
By Richard Lawler 
posted Apr 6th 2009 3:34AM
posted Apr 6th 2009 3:34AM
Read - TiVo's Pause Menu Spam Hits S3/HD Units
Read - TivoHD Overview, Q&A, Setup, Tips
posted Apr 6th 2009 3:34AM
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I'm new to TiVo (had my box about a month). I'm loving it so far, but these ads aren't cool. Thank goodness it can be disabled.
I am glad TiVo is giving us the ability to permanently turn that new feature off. A lot of people buy a TiVo just to avoid having advertising inundating them at every second of the day. We still have popup ads on many/most stations. HBO is the classiest of all--they do not have an onscreen logo while you watch a show, nor do they popup junk on the screen. Too bad I can't just subscribe ONLY to HBO.
I have given it a lot of thought though… It is probably a lot cheaper to rent the movies and TV shows I like to watch on DVD than pay a monthly cable bill. The only problem is that you first have to wait a few months to start watching a show.
So, does that code also give me 30 lives?
Not to defend annoying advertising, but the only time I pause is when I leave the room; and if I'm fast-forwarding I'm not savoring the full unadulterated picture and wouldn't much care about some bar ad being there. Seems like that's the best possible place to put an ad -- I'll never notice it or care. I'd be more upset if I were the advertiser.
I'm the opposite--the most common reason for me to pause is because I want to take a closer/longer look at what's on the screen. The most common example is The Simpsons, since they hide fleeting visual gags in most episodes. If I have an ad atop the scene I'm attempting to examine, that would get old FAST.
The permanent removal of the progress bar is a really bad solution, as I usually use that bar to navigate my way especially through sporting events. Not cool.
The best way around this that I can figure is the part where they say the ads only appear once per recording. If you see an ad, unpause then repause and it should be gone. However, I bet it's only a short matter of time until TiVo puts them there during every pause.
So I wonder how long it will be before Tivo starts forcing us to watch the commercials they push out? Makes the Moxi DVR more appealing.
Nothing about the Moxi DVR is appealing. Even if my Tivo played nothing but ads 24/7 I wouldn't go near another Moxi ever again. I'd rather stick forks in my eyes.
So you pay them $13 or whatever a month so that they put ads on your screen - freaking BRILLIANT!! I wonder how soon people will stop putting up with that crap and give these companies the finger.
I'm so glad that I have a htpc which REMOVES the existing ads in my shows without me doing anything, doesn't push ads on me and *gasp* is free ... I know it's a strange concept ...
Yeah, I should give my TiVo HD the middle finger. Cause, you know, the Comcast DVR is so great.
Comcast DVR is $15/mo; TiVo is $10.75/mo plus $1.50/mo for the CableCards. That means that having TiVo SAVES me $2.75/mo over the Comcast DVR.
TiVo has text ads. The Comcast DVR has graphical ads in the guide, which take up half of the room for the guide (so you can only see 4 items at once) and which are selected any time you scroll down.
TiVo lets me upgrade the HDD, in my case to 500GB. The Comcast DVR is 160GB and you can't upgrade it because you don't own the box (and they can charge you $500 if you do).
TiVo doesn't randomly lose recordings.
TiVo's UI is considerably better. It's faster, better looking, and easier to use than the Comcast DVR.
TiVo lets me transfer recordings to my PC.
TiVo has Netflix support.
So, yeah, OK. I don't like the ads. But I knew what I was getting into. Most DVRs have ads. At least the ones on TiVo aren't as annoying as the Comcast guide ads.
And, really, for less than the Comcast DVR per month, it's a pretty good deal. Yeah, I paid $180 upfront for the box. But that means that I own the hardware, which means that I can upgrade the hardware. 20 hours of HD recording time sucks. Comcast's UI sucks. The TiVo doesn't.
Um... This came out months ago and then just disappeared. It's not on my Series 3 and I sure hope it doesn't come back like you are suggesting.
TiVo's been pretty good about not advertising TOO much.
What came out months ago were little pop-up ads as you fast forwarded. It lasted about a week, from either people complaining too much, or companies found it not worth their money since Tivo owners are basically anti-advertisement to begin with, so why bother trying to force them to watch ads?
What this story is about is when you press PAUSE the little pop-up ad thing appears. Totally different.
More than likely it will have the same fate. It's pointless trying to advertise on a device that is specifically bought to avoid advertising. Companies aren't dumb, they wont toss their money away by doing this. Tivo might use it as leverage in promotional deals and whatnot, but I dont think it'll ever be a serious money making medium.
I still see those popups when fast forwarding on my S3 once in awhile. They're really rare though. Maybe I see/hear (1/2 the time I don't even see it because I tend to FF at 3x but I hear the little ding noises) it twice a week max.
Is someone seriously considering comparing a TiVO Series 3/HD to a Comcast DVR?!
Comcast = Little League
TiVO = The Pros.
There is no comparison, not even in the same league. The Comcast DVR will record your shows, but the interface is amateur, it's slow as all hell (like when you are browsing through on-demand) and like the previous poster Brian said above, there is no support for add-on drive space. I have a 500 GB external on mine Series 3 as well. I have NEVER hit the limit and I record nothing but HD all the time and keep all my LOST's and I even have the 6 Phillies World Series games from last year kept "until I delete". (Basically, This means the DVR just chalks that drive space off as unusable when you do "until I delete".) But the point is, I can record, record, record and just keep them around until I get to them. You just build a spare library for when there is nothing on plus all your season passes always tape. There is a much more intuitive design in the TiVo's search-ability and season pass tool than that of Comcast's.
TiVo is for people who really enjoy TV and want the big daddy DVR that drives hard. If you record a show or two a week, get the Comcast DVR. You'd be disappointed with TiVo because it would overkill for what you really need.
But there is no comparison. TiVo Series 3/HD with 2 cable cards is the way for the ultimate TV geek to go.
Tivo used to say "tv your way" now tivo says "tv our way" and you still have to pay for tv their way! tivo wont even give out an email address to complain about their "new features". Or comment on their service. Its obvious that tivo does not care about their paying customers. The moxi and verizon fios and cable companys dvrs are all going to be getting better and most people will dump tivo as soon as a better options become available and that day is coming soon! So tivo should care what their paying customers think.