Comments on: Is TiVo Working On An All-New User Interface?

By: MegaZone

MegaZone — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:35:56 +0000

There has been no indication that they are stopping support for the S2 code base that I’m aware of. Yes, the S2 got 9.3.1 while the S3/HD went to 9.4, but TiVo has never said that the S2 will not get more updates. And, given that the S2DT is still manufactured and sold, and is the *only* model sold in Canada and Mexico, let alone accounting for the vast majority of the installed base, it seems highly unlikely that they will cease updating the S2 code base in the near future.

That said, there is no question the TiVo HD is the flagship product at this time and development will focus primarily on the S3/HD platform. And, of course, that hardware supports features the S2 hardware does not, so there will be things the S2 never gets.

By: coldtoes

coldtoes — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:30:00 +0000

This looks really interesting. My one concern is whether there would be a way NOT to see live TV while navigating the menu. I always hit the TiVo button immediately when I turn on the TV so I don’t spoil anything I’m planning to watch later. Based on some of the other comments about the ribbon, a “view ribbon” yes/no setting might be desirable, but TiVo tends towards consistent interfaces and not providing people with options like that.

@lundberry – Didn’t realize they were stopping support on the S2 codebase. Yikes. Maybe that’ll be the thing that finally pushes me to shell out for HD. (Sad, I know.) The economy’s not helping, however.

By: lundberry

lundberry — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 07:26:36 +0000

Because of the way Tivo works they would either push it all or nothing with a new interface like this. Because they try to ensure that all new features get pushed to as many people as possible they would not intentionally keep two code bases any longer than absolutely necessary. It was not to long ago that slowly started the stoppage of support of the S2 code base. They split the code bases at 9.3.1 I believe. What you will see happening is Tivo either enacting a new UI or not.

I think that if this is an accurate mockup which I am not necessarily positive is true it would probably be assumable that they figure that you are going to be streaming content to it not necessarily downloading ie doing something like the roku box. Unfortunately by the time I made it to the site today the video’s had been pulled from youtube.

The suggestions that are made if they are made early might be nice like suggesting new shows for this fall when they become available to schedule would be very convenient. Additionally I think that this feature would be convenient for some more obscure shows that are similar to current shows watched. I do not have enough time to find similar shows and will usually only discover them after a period of time when other people will suggest them during conversations.

By: cckrobinson

cckrobinson — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 02:15:56 +0000

I absolutely love it. Tivo has needed to overhaul the UI for years. The current UI is simple and functional, but I believe Vista Media center is quite a few steps ahead. I can’t see Tivo automatically pushing a new UI down to everyone. There are tons of current users that could care less about additional features and a new look and feel would scare them. Hopefully tivo will offer the new UI as an available SW update. I’ll be the first to sign up. I really hope Netflix integration is around the corner. I’m excited about Tivo again!

By: Rich W.

Rich W. — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 01:45:46 +0000

I’m not thrilled with the new top bar either. I can’t think of a time I’ve wanted to use the menu while watching my show (I know others have). If I’m watching a show, I focus on that, if I’m using the menu I want to focus on that. Also, I don’t like that fact that a bar that I don’t see me ever using takes up 1/3 of the screen. I rather have that space used so I can see more of the menus on the screen. e.g. when I’m browsing my list of recordings, I’d rather see 3-4 more rows of content than that bar. Other than that – it looks a lot better and it’s formatted for HD unlike now with the stretched SD menus.

By: Gryphon

Gryphon — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:42:09 +0000

Social networking as part of the UI? Come on, now. Are we gerbils? If you see something on TV you think a friend of yours might like, disconnect your brain from the TiVo for 20 seconds and send him an email. Sheesh.

(Can’t say I’m too enamored of the thing they want feedback about in the top image, either. Too much like those irritating ad banners at the tops of websites. But then I’ve never had much use for You Might Also Like features, so don’t go by me.)

I do like the bit about organizing television shows by season and episode, though, like everything else a TiVo does regarding show identification and sorting, that’s dependent on the networks bothering to provide the right information to whoever does the indexing, and that, in my experience, isn’t something they put their brightest people on, as a general rule.