TiVo testing banner ads during fast-forwarding?

Has TiVo started testing their new program to place banner ads up on screen while you're fast-forwarding? Haven't noticed anything unusual on the ol' TiVo we keep around Engadget HQ yet, but a bunch of people over at the TiVo Community Forums have been complaining about banner ads popping up when they try to fast-forward through the commercials of some shows. Apparently it's not the mere presence of the ads that they seem to find bothersome as much as it's that the banners take up most of the screen while you're fast-forwarding, making it hard to tell when the show you're watching has resumed. We're all for TiVo trying to make a buck where they can, but right now might not exactly be the best time to alienate your customers with something like this, you know?

P.S. - If you haven't already, it's probably a good time to implement that 30-second skip tweak for your TiVo remote.

[Via PVRblog]

[Jon Maddox @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Good thing I quit using my tivo. Its all RSS + Bittorrent for me :)

[mikey @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

My tivo's hard drive just went bust (again!) These series 2 run the damn things into the ground, my second hard drive in 2 1/2 years. I'm considering getting a HD dvr from my local cable company -- it comes out to about 5 bucks a month, versus the 70 dollars i'd be paying to replace my tivo drive (which i assume will last about a year). I have a lifetime on the box, so i wouldn't buy another tivo. What do you guys think?

[John Merryman @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

CableCo DVRs are awful. I have one, in addition to my TiVo (series 1 with an upgraded 120gb Seagate hard drive). The only reason I have the cableco DVR is because TiVo doesn't have a standalone DVR for HDTV yet. I've also heard bad things about the reliability of the Scientific Atlanta DVRs (of course you won't pay for that, but it's a hassle to loose your programming and deal w/ the cable company when they break). My advice, get a new HD for your tivo, or buy a new one and take the HDD out of it so you can keep your lifetime sub.

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

If your TiVo keeps killing your hard drives, then you need to buy better hard drives or look at the environment around your TiVo.

I've never had a drive go bad in my TiVo. What are you using? The TiVo will take anything, so just find a drive that's got good thermal ratings (so it won't get hot in that barely-ventilated case) from a reliable manufacturer, and you should be good. If your drive is continuously dying, then you'd better buy an air conditioner. No other DVR is going to be any more reliable; they all use regular old IDE drives.

[mikey @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

I live in a very nice place and have a lot of equipment with great ventilation -- i suspect the problem is with the tivo's power supply or that it's not spinning the drive down enough. I bought my last drive from weakknees, and they are very reputable when it comes to quality drives. This being the second drive that's died (restarting the tivo and freezing over a long period of time), i'm not sure if i want to put anymore money into it....All my other equipment runs perfectly well, so it's not that.

[mikey @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

PS the lifetime subscription is built into the serial on the motherboard...buying a new box means a new subscription. Unless you guys know a way around that...

[chris stone @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

i have a scientific-atlanta (SD, not HD) and it works like a champ... never had a lost show.

my friend has the HD model and it crashes all the time while watching content. he has to physically get up and unplug the box to reset it.

[mikerm19 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Use Tivo and pay for it with commercials and banner ads, OR, use a program like GB-PVR, etc. for FREE, skip the commercials, no ads, record what you want when you want, have 2 or three tuners if you want, link it to your video collection, even your music collection. Why pay for TiVo? If you have an old 1GHZ or so machine laying around just use that, or buy a cheap one.

[Marshall @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

I have had TiVo for years, and I don't mind them adding ads-while-fast-forwarding at all. What's the big deal?

[ThomD @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

I haven't seen the banner ad, but something has changed in the last couple of days. When fast forwarding, pressing the play button used to rewind slightly (to compensate for reaction times. ) That slight rewind doesn't seem to work any more.

[Matt @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

The big deal is isn't the reason we are fast forwarding is to not watch ads. 30 second skip is better anyway if they ever lose that i'm gone.

[Anthony @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

My TiVo just crashed tonight for the first time. I was fast forwarding through some commercials and all of the sudden it wouldn't stop. Then it just restarted itself. I hope that they didn't add the banner thing to mine :(

[David Deane @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

"The big deal is isn't the reason we are fast forwarding is to not watch ads."

So instead of not watching the ad as you fast forward past it, you will be not watching the pop up as you fast forward past it.

What, pray tell, is the difference?

Now, if these ads make it harder for people to accurately fast forward, that's something TiVo needs to fix.

But the idea that one should be upset about a pop up that one can ignore just as easily as one ignores the fast forwarded material, mystifies me. There are better things to be upset about.

[Scott RC @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

I'm not too keen on the 30 second skip. After using my Tivo for 3 years, I've gotten good at adapting my reaction time to Tivo's set-in reaction. When I tried the 30 second skip, I had to press it between 6-8 times throughout an episode of Law & Order, each time pausing for like a split second to see if it was a show or commercial. When it finally gets to the show, I've usually missed a second or two of dialogue. Feh on the 30 second FF.

So, let's solve the problem instead of implementing a bandaid. Have TiVo show less obtrusive ads during fast forward.

[mike @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

LMFAO

IRONY...

What's the sales pitch now? No annoying audio?

[Chip Thomas @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

#2 I'm a fellow lifetime subscriber. I'm not buying another tivo until they release the High Definition ones. (Otherwise I'll have to buy another in short order.)

Make sure you replace your hard drive with a 5400 rpm drive. And periodically check the temperature inside your tivo using the System menu to make sure it's not getting too hot inside your unit.

#8 You want more ads? What do you work in advertising?

aside:
If I pay for a service I should have some control over what ads I see. At least offer me an ad free option at a higher cost. And whatever you do, don't insert ads into the interface and tell me not to complain about it. I was happy before.

[Marshall @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

I don't care at all about skipping ads, per se; I care about watching what I've recorded with as little interruption as possible. I don't use the 30-second skip feature; I do it manually by fast forwarding on the second speed tick and hitting the instant replay button once or twice after I overshoot.

If they flash an ad on the screen for the 2-5 seconds it takes me to move across the commercials, no problem, so long as it doesn't interfere with my ability to do so. If, on the other hand, the ad obstructs my view of what I'm skipping, and I find myself overshooting/backtracking more often... I'll be annoyed. Annoyed enough to leave? Maybe, at that point.

[Shane @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

I had heating concerns with my Comcast DVR so I picked up a small cooling fan from ebay (search for "cooling fan"). it plugs in to the power outlet on the back of the DVR box and has dropped the temps of the box drastically! Well worth it. I still keep my Tivo Series 1 box as a backup to my Comcast DVR, but recording in HD is hard to give up now.

[Alex @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Are people really surprised that this "feature" has been implemented? I mean after all, TiVo is in business to make money. If they feel as though adding ads will make them so dough they you better believe they are going to do it. It's true that this might alienate some customers however; this seems to be a risk they are willing to take.

[Chris @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

One word, ReplayTV. Love mine. There is more than one PVR on the market.

[Halogen8 @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

The big deal is that the new ad's will most likely hinder my ability to skip commercials. Actually, with their new software, I'm already having problems, as my TiVo is alot less responsive to the remote.

While its probably written in the TOS somewhere that TiVo can do what they want with the software, its not good business to piss off your loyal customers. Word gets around fast, and for a company that isn't doing great financially, it seems like a dumb move.

I think that if TiVo feels the need to add these "features" customers should have the option to opt out. This way they could offer the TiVo to go feature along with banner ads. It would be give and take, instead of just take, take, take.

[derek @ Dec 19th 2005 12:12AM]

Just had my first experience with this while watching 24. Came on during the 1st 2 commercial breaks. It is very annoying and if I wasn't watching something like 24 where it is easy to see the difference between commercials and the show its going to be very hard to catch the ends of the breaks.

But...I don't pay for tivo (tivo basic) so I guess I shouldn't be complaining. The 30 sec skip doesn't work on the toshibas either