Quick Tour
From TivoZA
| Table of contents |
TiVo Central
TiVo Central is the TiVo's main menu, all other TiVo functionality can be reached from it. When you start-up your TiVo you will be taken to TiVo Central. You can also access TiVo Central by pressing the button on your remote with the TiVo logo on it.
Now Playing
The Now Playing menu lists all your recorded shows as well as anything that is currently being recorded. The circles that appear next to the recording indicates how soon that recording will be erased.
From the Now Playing menu you can either press play on your remote to start playing the recording or alternatively press select which will list the options menu for that recording. When pressing select you are now able to specify when the recording should be deleted if you would prefer to change from its current setting, you can also choose to delete the recording now. TiVo remembers how far into each program you have already watched so if you are busy watching a show and switch to Live TV or another recording, you can go back to the Now Playing menu at any stage and select "Resume playing..." to continue watching where you left off.
TV Guide
Below is the on-screen TV guide, you are able to browse through all the listings on all the channels giving you access to a full months worth of guide data all while still being able to watch a show in the background.
At any point while browsing through the guide, or while watching a show, you can select to record something simply by pressing the record button. You will then be presented with the option of recording the show or to bring up the "Season Pass & other options" menu. If you are busy watching a show and you select record, TiVo will add the part of the show it already has in its buffer to your recording.
Pick Programs to Record
One of TiVo's greatest features is the way in which is manages the guide data. You are able to search for shows in a variety of different methods and are even able to ask it to record shows when they air, even if not yet listed.
Search By Title
The simplest method of finding a show you wish to record is to use "Search By Title".
You are able to limit the amount of shows searched by specifying a category but this is more useful when you are unsure of what is on, if you know what you want to record just select "All Programs".
You can now enter in the title of the show you wish to record, you do not need to enter in the full name as TiVo will match what you have entered so far with what is listed in its guide data. Once you have found the show you wish to record, select it and you will be taken to the recording menu.
Recording & Season Passes
You are able to reach the recording menu either by using the "Search By Title" feature above or when selecting "Season Pass & other options" from the TV Guide as explained earlier. If the show you are wanting to watch is a series you will be given the option to "Get a Season Pass", if the show is not a series or if you are only wanting to tape a single episode you can just select "Record this episode".
What is a Season Pass
When getting a season pass for a show you are asking the TiVo to record every unique episode of the show for you, there is no point in it recording repeats of shows already recorded. This means that if the show is repeated later in the week (or 3 times that same day as is the case on the series channel) the repeats will not be recorded. If you wish to record a show and it conflicts with a season pass entry, you are given the option of which recording should take precedence and TiVo will automatically find when a repeat of the other show is available and record that for you instead.
The beauty of season passes is that they require no manual intervention. The only time you need to actually set something to record is when there is a non series (i.e. movie, documentary, etc) you wish to watch or a new series is starting that you would like to get a season pass for.
If the show you wish to record conflicts with another show or if you simply want to see alternate times when the show will be aired, you can select "View upcoming episodes". If you have selected to get a season pass to the show you will notice (as below) that not all episodes are selected to be recorded. This is because using the season pass feature with the TivoZA guide data your TiVo can automatically determine what is a new episode and what is a repeat. When using a season pass, if for whatever reason (i.e. power failure) the TiVo isn't able to tape the recording for you at the scheduled time it will automatically determine when a repeat will be aired and tape that for you instead.
Season Pass Manager
The Season Pass Manager is used to prioritise your season passes. This is done so that if two shows that you have season passes for are on at the same time, the one with the higher priority will take precedence and be recorded. TiVo will then check for when a repeat of the show that had the lower precedence and wasn't recorded will be aired and it will record the repeat instead.
TiVo Suggestions
One of the other unique features TiVo offers is suggestions. Based on your viewing habits, thumb ratings and other factors, TiVo will determine what shows it thinks you may enjoy, these are known as suggestions. If your TiVo is sitting idle and has a reasonable amount of free space it will record the suggestions for you. Suggestions will never cause other shows to be deleted and will themselves be deleted if your TiVo needs the space to record a show you have requested to be recorded.
Search Using WishLists
Another nice feature TiVo offers is WishLists. This enables you to record a show based on who the actors are, who directed the show as well as being able to request a show to be recorded in the future when it eventually airs.
Actor Wishlist
You are able to search for shows and automatically get them recoded based on the Actors or Directors name.
Title Wishlist
Title Wishlist can be used in a similar way to season passes but unlike season passes they aren't channel specific. If you know the exact name of the show you wish to record then using the pause button you can put quotes around the title (i.e. "Friends"), if you only know the partial name of the show then you can leave off the quotes but keep in mind this may return more results.
To Do List
TiVo provides a To Do list where you can see all the programs that are scheduled to be recorded. You can also have a look at the "View Recording History" which lists all the programs that have been deleted as well as those that weren't recorded due to the show being a repeat or another show having a higher priority.
Record by Time or Channel
To allow for the more traditional type of recording, TiVo also allows you to search by time and channel as well as specify manual recording time slots. With the TiVo's powerful search capabilities, these should very rarely be needed but they are there just in case you want them.
Settings Menus
