The interface is a pain, especially if you're coming from TiVo. Everything that took 2-3 steps on TiVo takes like 12 on the Microsoft software. They don't have their threading act together, so the whole thing frequently freezes up for a few seconds with absolutely no indication (and then "thaws" and registers the 30 times you hit the "down" button).
Fast forwarding is a crap shoot. Sometimes it gets stuck in fast forward and needs to be rebooted. Often when fast-forwarding, it just jumps back to the beginning of the program.
Their "repeat" status is a total joke. It records everything regardless of whether it's new or a repeat (I understand that they rely on guide data for status, but it should be smart enough not to record the exact same program with the exact same description 3 times in a row).
When it's in "off" behavior, it frequently misses recordings, so you've got to leave the unit on all the time.
My favorite, though, was when daylight savings time ended and the software decided to compensate by changing recording settings for all of your shows to one hour after their actual time -- thus not recording anything.
All of this is documented in a thread on AVS forum, one that a supposed MS manager participated in for a while. Her last comment, though, after receiving a ton of complaints, was "software is hard." Priceless.
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(elaboration on suckage)
The interface is a pain, especially if you're coming from TiVo. Everything that took 2-3 steps on TiVo takes like 12 on the Microsoft software. They don't have their threading act together, so the whole thing frequently freezes up for a few seconds with absolutely no indication (and then "thaws" and registers the 30 times you hit the "down" button).
Fast forwarding is a crap shoot. Sometimes it gets stuck in fast forward and needs to be rebooted. Often when fast-forwarding, it just jumps back to the beginning of the program.
Their "repeat" status is a total joke. It records everything regardless of whether it's new or a repeat (I understand that they rely on guide data for status, but it should be smart enough not to record the exact same program with the exact same description 3 times in a row).
When it's in "off" behavior, it frequently misses recordings, so you've got to leave the unit on all the time.
My favorite, though, was when daylight savings time ended and the software decided to compensate by changing recording settings for all of your shows to one hour after their actual time -- thus not recording anything.
All of this is documented in a thread on AVS forum, one that a supposed MS manager participated in for a while. Her last comment, though, after receiving a ton of complaints, was "software is hard." Priceless.