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General discussion

Clarification about Comcast, TiVo, and Listings

by DaveTheBA-QA Sep 10, 2007 1:27PM PDT

Been a while since I've written, but I was away and am now catching up on the BOL podcasts.

In Episode 547, a woman wrote in to complain about the Comcast TiVo and how un-TiVo like it is by recording repeat and new showings when she only wants new shows.

Comcast was blamed, TiVo was shamed, but no one mentioned the box maker, Motorola. During a side conversation with a TiVo team member who worked on the project, he stated "It was the most painful project I've ever worked on... I have no idea how anyone has been able to develop anything on a Motorola settop." My response "Welcome to my world." Motorola is years behind in developing state of the art settop boxes. However, Motorola has a heavy market presence and replacing all of them throughout Comcast's network would cost in the billions. (yes, with a 'b') So for now, Motorola will continue to be a player within and outside of Comcast.

In Episode 548, someone replied to the complaint stating it wasn't TiVo's fault, but Comcast's fault because they're listings aren't properly flagged. Tom, you said "Call Comcast ask the 'Will you set your flags right."

Tom, Tom, Tom... *sigh* Um, actually..... Comcast, nor any of the major cable companies, create the program data. They purchase it from external parties. TV Guide provides program data to Comcast, Cox, Charter, Time-Warner, RCN, Cablevision, and others within the U.S, as well as Shaw, Cogeco and Rogers in Canada, and cable companies in Brazil, Mexico, and Columbia.

There is a single database that feeds not only the cable operators, but TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Online, TV Guide Channel. So if a program is not flagged as a Repeat within your Comcast TiVo guide, it won't be flagged as a repeat in any of these other outlets.

TiVo gets their program listings from Tribune Media Services. Like TV Guide, they provide program data information to cable operators, newspapers, magazines, online sources, and others.

Uh Tom, doesn't c|net own TV.com? Where does that site get it's listings? So if a program's data is wrong on TV.com, should I complain to you? *snap*

Keep up the great work.

Guidemaker Dave

Discussion is locked

6 Posts
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yep
by mementh Sep 14, 2007 8:22PM PDT

Your right 100%.. makes it a PAIN to record things like the cobert report and daily show.. (recording the EXCAT same show 5 times in one day)


Honestly there is no fix for it that comcast or tivo could do

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Those 2 shows are extra odd
by milkky Sep 15, 2007 6:33AM PDT

I have a DirecTV TiVo, in case that makes a difference, but I get the 5 repeat versions ONLY on Mondays--the TiVo records only the new ones for the rest of the week and weekend. But, come Monday, get multiples of each episode again!

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Monday Monday
by prlaba Jan 21, 2009 1:09AM PST

My guess is because your Season Pass is set up to keep at most 5 shows.

Try deleting the four of the five Monday shows and see what shows up by the end of Tuesday.

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Thaks for trying
by milkky Jan 26, 2009 5:21AM PST

I always did as you suggest--delete all the dupes--and it worked just fine all the rest of the week, then blew up again on Monday. And I always had the pass set to keep all the episodes, not just 5, in case I got behind because of a vacation or something. Typically, we watched each epsiode the next day, so the TiVo was zeroed out each day (for that show)

My eventual solution was to set up a manual recording for every night from 11-12 (so I swept up Colbert as well). Also then takes only 1 spot out of the DirecTV ridiculously low limit of 50 passes.

So, still a mystery and an annoyance.

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its who makes the guide your box uses that is the issue
by mementh Jan 26, 2009 10:46AM PST

(comcast rep on forums for own personal enjoyment and not to represent comcast)

The maker of the guide your box uses is not properly labeling whats new and whats a repeate, sadly its hard to resolve this difficulty.

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Agreed.
by milkky Jan 26, 2009 8:41PM PST

That's always been my belief. Although I wondered a little whether any responsibilty/blame should also go to Comedy Central since they provide the intial info to the guide people.

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