TiVo undelete forthcoming!

You asked for it, you got it. According to one Engadget pal Dave Zatz, an upcoming Series 2 TiVo update will add a recently deleted folder to the gratification of anyone who's ever wrongfully deleted a TiVo show. So maybe now they'll actually take steps to make deleting shows a little faster and easier, ya think?

[BRT @ Jan 25th 2006 1:53PM]

Now, let's just hope they add the ability to have our Season Passes remember shows it recorded more than 28 days ago - otherwise I will have this folder filled with old Law + Order shows I have watched last month already.

[Bart Lee @ Jan 25th 2006 1:56PM]

Um, you know you can push the 'clear' button on the list view to delete something right?

[alps @ Jan 25th 2006 1:57PM]

if you have recently deleted shows being store isn't it goign to take up room on the hard drive? and i thought it was pretty easy to delete a show.

[evo @ Jan 25th 2006 1:58PM]

Not even a molecule of testosterone evident in that playlist...

[mike @ Jan 25th 2006 1:58PM]

Watch a lot of soaps, Dave?

[mertz @ Jan 25th 2006 2:02PM]

Good god. Who's awful shows are in that screenshot?

The CMA Awards?

Ellen's show?

Passions?

BEACHES?!?!!?

I think taste is more important than an undelete function for that person.

[Woolly Mittens @ Jan 25th 2006 2:02PM]

The deeper irony would be that pretty soon the MPAA will decide whom deletes what on your TiVo.

[michael @ Jan 25th 2006 2:03PM]

Of course, as always, those of us who spent $$$$$ to purchase the latest and greatest DirecTV HD DVR (with Tivo) won't see any of this.

Blah!!!

[Dual Boot @ Jan 25th 2006 2:05PM]

When you currently delete a show, it stays on the hard drive until something else is recorded over it. So no, it isn't going to take up more room than it already does.

[will ferrel @ Jan 25th 2006 2:05PM]

are the screen shots included with the article geared to the veiwing preferences of tech savy middle aged house wives. i mean beaches made me cry but passions? come on, you're better than that.

[Jon @ Jan 25th 2006 2:09PM]

Actually, all of the shows on that Tivo should be deleted.

[Secret Squirrel @ Jan 25th 2006 2:10PM]

Chicks dig TiVO too ;)

[khamel @ Jan 25th 2006 2:13PM]

all you do is hit clear and it goes right to the delete query. i guess if there is a recently deleted folder they can take the query out and it will automatically delete but thats probably too easy.

im sure the delete shows are still on the hd now but are deleted to make room for new shows as needed. now it will let you access them to undelte them, kinda like norton undelete.

[sean barrett @ Jan 25th 2006 2:26PM]

yeah glad to see youre putting your tivo to great use there

[Derek @ Jan 25th 2006 2:38PM]

Actually, I recognize some of myself in that Now Playing list...that man is gay.

[David @ Jan 25th 2006 2:38PM]

Someone needs to hand over their man card.

[missy @ Jan 25th 2006 2:46PM]

glad to hear that!!!

[wheelsee @ Jan 25th 2006 3:07PM]

and one is now left to wonder when there will be a delete all function mostly just for that particular one...something else to note they have had beaches for going on 8 months...

[Havanahjoe @ Jan 25th 2006 3:08PM]

The deleted items always remain in your hard drive. If you have bash access to your TiVo you can run several readily available tools that will undelete shows. The way the MFS system works it keeps all the .ty slices untill the space is needed and it's overwritten by a newer show.

It's nice to see they will add it to the UI. And I am one of the DirecTV users and I can do all the nice stuff already.

[Dave Zatz @ Jan 25th 2006 3:17PM]

Believe it or not, in certain areas men live with women. I even heard a rumor that some females own TiVo units! Then again, bad taste has been known to transcend genders and orientations. :)

[Jay @ Jan 25th 2006 3:22PM]

This screenshot makes me feel really bad about watching Smallville.

[jon @ Jan 25th 2006 3:41PM]

I burn all mine to DVD. After that, I REALLY want mine removed from the TiVo box. Skip the undelete update from my TiVo box please.

[Paul @ Jan 25th 2006 3:42PM]

If that's the list of shows you didn't delete, I can only imagine the uber-crapola that you trashed.

"Small Wonder"...delete
"Full House"...delete
"Country Music Awards"...gotta keep it
"Cop Rock"...delete
"Beaches"...that's a classic, gotta keep it
"My Two Dads"...I've got to get a bigger hard drive for this thing

[Jas @ Jan 25th 2006 3:44PM]

I just wanted to echo what someone else already said and say that the tivo in that screenshot belongs to the person with the worst taste in history.

[warrenpeace� @ Jan 25th 2006 4:23PM]

I hope that when this 'update' comes out there are some bloody wireless drivers. Right now it's a crapshoot to find one with a chipset that will work.

[MegaZone @ Jan 25th 2006 5:00PM]

warrenpeace - use the TiVo branded 11g adapter. You know it will work with any Series2, and it outperforms any other adapter that works with TiVo.

[sarnold @ Jan 25th 2006 5:27PM]

In the hopes that someone from tivo.com is reading this, I echo the original poster's hopes that deleting shows will become easier after this update. "I don't want to watch any of shows in the next two weeks" --> (a) go into the folder (b) wait (c) hit "clear" (d) wait (e) hit "select" or "right" (f) wait (g) go back to (b) until you're out of shows. Don't forget to wait.

When undelete is available, there's no longer any need to ask for confirmation. And the risk of losing data when one accidently hits the "clear" button on a folder/group is monumentally lower -- so offer that, too.

Nice unit, but deleting content is more effort than it could be. :)

[Jody @ Jan 25th 2006 5:32PM]

Are folders supported now, or is this a new feature also? I currently don't get folders on my Series 2, and yes I have the latest DL.

[sarnold @ Jan 25th 2006 5:43PM]

Jody, you can change the view of the Now Playing list by hitting and selecting options there, or by hitting '1' and '2'. '1' and '2' are both toggles; date/alphabetical and folders/no folders, for four different types of displays. I prefer groups in date order. Fiddle with it for a bit, you'll probably love folders soon enough. (And then you'll wish that you could delete an entire folder with one operation. :)

[Caldwell @ Jan 25th 2006 6:16PM]

what they need to do is as "sarnold" said is to make it so oyu are able to delete an entire folder. I have like 10 episodes of Criss Angel's show that i recorded when i went on vaction and set them to never delete. They are still there, and i went on vacation aobut 7 or 8 months ago it seems like.

[fetz @ Jan 25th 2006 6:30PM]

how about the add the ability to delete shows on your tivo from the tivo desktop!!! If I were to see what shows I wanted to transfer to my pc before bed I could see that tivo somehow thought I wanted to see 90210 and delete it immediately!

[Bob S. @ Jan 25th 2006 10:34PM]

I've "only" got a Series 1, so I'll never see this anyway, but I'm at a loss.

If it's so hard to delete a show -- and my S1 doesn't really make it seem a burden -- why does anyone need an undelete?

I've had my Tivo just about five years now, and I don't think I've ever deleted anything accidentally. Who are the people who need this?

As noted in a couple of replies here, the Tivo itself deletes shows only when it needs the room, so anything it deletes is probably going to be overwritten anyway. This new feature is strictly to undo user deletions, but ... well, I just don't get it.

I do note that I have plenty of programming on my Tivo, including the '04 and '05 World Series, on Save Until I Delete status. With an upgraded system (50 hours at best, 150 at basic quality), it's no big deal; I can still keep about two weeks of fresh programming while I wait to move the SUID'd shows over to burn to DVD.

So if you don't want something deleted, there's been a way to do that since Series 1.

I apologize if this seems to be a troll; it's a genuine question. I just don't see the workflow that creates the problem.

[Cyrus @ Jan 25th 2006 11:36PM]

ive just noticed how lame the GUI of tivo is its like some kid in corel draw made it with some drop shadows

[Steve M @ Jan 26th 2006 1:37AM]

I hope they fix the wireless network drivers as well. To the person who said it is easy to find a TiVo compatible wireless adapter, that was a few months ago. Most of the vendors have recently updated to new chipsets, and TiVo doesn't recognize them any more. It has become very hard to get a new Wireless adapter that works. Even TiVo was shipping adapters that weren't compatible when the got a new shipment in and hadn't tested them.

[more options is good @ Jan 26th 2006 1:39AM]

"I've had my Tivo just about five years now, and I don't think I've ever deleted anything accidentally. Who are the people who need this?"

Yes, you are being a bit trollish.

Try to imagine what it's like when you only have a single, 30 hour TiVo; you get in the habit of deleting a show after you watch it because harddrive space is at a premium; this was especially useful to do before there were folders, because when you have a full harddrive, going through a completely full Now Playing list is tedious. It's much easier to simply delete a show after you have watched it.

Then the deletign of the watched show becomes an automatic habit, and the situation eventually comes along when you have a show you intended to save for some reason (for instance, to burn it to DVD - so in answer to the other person earlier in this thread I have to point out: what do you do if the show is deleted before you get a chance to burn it to DVD?) and out of habit you delete the show after you watch it, forgetting that you needed to save it. Ooops!

Or maybe you have a roommate, wife, girlfriend, children, etc., and they delete it before you had a chance to watch it, etc.

Hence, the need for "undelete" (remember, most of us don't want to go to the trouble of "hacking" our TiVo boxes to get these extra features).

Of course, once I had folders, larger harddrives, and multiple TiVos, I got out of the habit of deleting shows after I watched them - but I only did so because there was no undelete feature.

I might start deleting them again if we get this undelete feature, because sometimes it is nice to clean up already watched shows and allow space for Suggestions and the like.

If I know I have a grace period before a deleted show is truly gone, I'll be less afraid of deleting a show.

[Phil @ Jan 26th 2006 1:43PM]

I'm thrilled about this delete folder but where is the WPA wireless security support upgrade?

[Mark @ Jan 26th 2006 1:51PM]

Of course, the NSA can already undelete your viewing habits...

[Chris McCaw @ Feb 1st 2006 2:20AM]

Paul, I liked 'Small Wonder'! :-( lol

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[Teeshot98 @ Apr 12th 2006 3:23PM]

Is the undelete feature available for the series 1 TIVO?

[Dennis Longcoy @ Nov 6th 2006 2:08PM]

Why doesn't TiVo have an "Delete All" function for the "Recently Deleted" folder?