TiVo Community Forums Archives - HMO=Cool, but has burn-in issue

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HMO=Cool, but has burn-in issue
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Posted by: spelcheker

Love HMO, but it really needs a screensaver when playing MP3's.

I cringe at the thought of listening to a folder with a couple of hours of music in it, while having the screen show the title bar the whole time, in the same place on my widescreen rear-projection tv. I'm sure plasma owners have the same concern.

Yes, I know there are about a million work-arounds, audio out to your stereo instead of the tv, turning the brightness and contrast down, etc...

But how hard can it be to just have the tivo go to a blank screen after music has been playing for a while? Should be the most minor of software upgrades.

What I'd really like is some cool visualizations, like winamp or windows media player have, but I'm not holding out much hope for that.

Posted by: shady

The brightness does drop after you haven't touched the remote for a few minutes

Posted by: geoman47

Not exactly what you are looking for, but if you press the clear button you get a blank screen. Manual, but I just hit it before I set the remote down.

Posted by: skaeight

I used to have a replaytv which does have a screenssaver. I was very suprised that tivo doesn't have one. It is a feature that they really need to implement.

Posted by: mitchb2

quote:
Originally posted by skaeight
I used to have a replaytv which does have a screenssaver. I was very suprised that tivo doesn't have one. It is a feature that they really need to implement.

I agree, and not just for HMO but for paused video, too.

Posted by: pbanders

Considering that the Tivo has an Internet connection, I'd like it if I could get album info via CDDB or a similar service, like RealPlayer or WMP does. Visualizations would be nice, too, as well as a simple screen blanker.

Posted by: bedelman

With the units running version 5 of the TiVo software, the display doesn't dim but it does move around

Posted by: Dan203

Another burn in hazard are the white lines running around the edge of each of the menus. TiVo obviously realized this, as they feathered and softened the lines on the new 140 hour units.

Dan

Posted by: Gregd33

Screen saver has been discussed to death.. Yet still nothing from TiVo...

Why is this so hard to implement? While the moving of the song being played helps, blanking the screen(manually is nice but automatically is better - in case others in the house forget) is better.

This really NEEDS to be added in HMO as well as regular TiVo functions.. Paused, for example.

Posted by: spelcheker

Sorry guys, didn't realize I was dredging up an old issue, should have searched a little more thoroughly. I'm not in the Coffee House much.

Thanks for the clear button trick, I'll try that when I get home.

Posted by: Gregd33

quote:
Originally posted by spelcheker
Sorry guys, didn't realize I was dredging up an old issue, should have searched a little more thoroughly. I'm not in the Coffee House much.

Thanks for the clear button trick, I'll try that when I get home.

No, no, no... not at all... There NEEDS to be one.

I am glad these things come up so often since, maybe, TiVo may actually implement them.

Sorry if I came off rude. That was not how it was intended...

Posted by: skanter

quote:
Originally posted by geoman47
Not exactly what you are looking for, but if you press the clear button you get a blank screen. Manual, but I just hit it before I set the remote down.

Is that true??? How were we supposed to know that? Is it in the online manual?

Posted by: bedelman

quote:
Originally posted by skanter
Is that true??? How were we supposed to know that? Is it in the online manual?

It was in the Spring '03 supplement when HMO was first released.

BTW -- "Display" brings it back

Posted by: shady

quote:
Originally posted by bedelman
With the units running version 5 of the TiVo software, the display doesn't dim but it does move around

oh no - I hope we can turn that off. It's most annoying having stuff moving around in your peripheral vision.

Posted by: skanter

quote:
Originally posted by bedelman
It was in the Spring '03 supplement when HMO was first released.

BTW -- "Display" brings it back

"Info" does as well. Thanks for telling me about this, I had no way of getting it off, and I hate having visual junk on the screen when listening to music. I was actually turning my TV off, then on again when I wanted to see
song lists...

Posted by: skanter

quote:
Originally posted by bedelman
It was in the Spring '03 supplement when HMO was first released.

Where can that be found now?

Posted by: Hunter Green

Turning the TV off is a good solution, actually. The TV probably uses more electricity than the whole rest of the system anyway, so I only turn it on when I need to see what's playing or navigate to new tunes or playlists. Of course, if the TV is your only speakers, that won't work.

Posted by: TiVoBill

quote:
Originally posted by skanter
Where can that be found now?

There is an updated version of the Home Media Features guide on the User Guides page at www.tivo.com/guides. It's on the right hand column.

Posted by: skanter

quote:
Originally posted by Hunter Green
Turning the TV off is a good solution, actually. The TV probably uses more electricity than the whole rest of the system anyway, so I only turn it on when I need to see what's playing or navigate to new tunes or playlists. Of course, if the TV is your only speakers, that won't work.

I was under the impressionn that turning the TV on and off causes far more wear to tube and circuits then letting it run. For that reason, I prefer to leave it on (not much electricity used) than multiple on/offs.

SOAK, am I wrong about this?

Posted by: skanter

quote:
Originally posted by TiVoBill
There is an updated version of the Home Media Features guide on the User Guides page at www.tivo.com/guides. It's on the right hand column.

Thanks, Bill.

Posted by: smak

Bill probably went to bed last week subconciously saying to himself "features, features, features" to get that "option" out of his head.

-smak-

Posted by: Hunter Green

quote:
Originally posted by skanter
I was under the impressionn that turning the TV on and off causes far more wear to tube and circuits then letting it run. For that reason, I prefer to leave it on (not much electricity used) than multiple on/offs.

SOAK, am I wrong about this?

I think you are. That is, I think this used to be true, but has not been for quite some time. But even if there were some slight cost in lifespan of the TV tube, I think it'd still be worthwhile to turn it off when you're not using it. The electricity used by a TV tube is considerable; it's not anywhere near a dryer or refrigerator, but those two excluded, it's one of the hungriest things in your house, most likely. And that means costs to you, and costs to the world, in fuel usage, environmental impact of fuel-gathering, emissions, and all that.

On the other hand, using up a TV sooner means more landfill and more costs associated with manufacturing and shipping, but I think those are tiny by comparison. And really, how many times that you've bought a TV was it because the old one died? It's far more common to do it because you want a bigger or better unit anyway.

I admit most of the counts I talk about here are tiny little quibbly things. But it's those little things that add up into global effects -- both in your own wallet and in the impact on the whole world. So if the "damage" to the tube is tiny, why even account for it?

Posted by: TiVoBill

quote:
Originally posted by smak
Bill probably went to bed last week subconciously saying to himself "features, features, features" to get that "option" out of his head.

-smak-

I had to find every reference to "option" in our knowledge database and change it to "feature" so it's well ingrained in my mind. :)

Posted by: skanter

quote:
Originally posted by Hunter Green
I think you are. That is, I think this used to be true, but has not been for quite some time. But even if there were some slight cost in lifespan of the TV tube, I think it'd still be worthwhile to turn it off when you're not using it. The electricity used by a TV tube is considerable; it's not anywhere near a dryer or refrigerator, but those two excluded, it's one of the hungriest things in your house, most likely. And that means costs to you, and costs to the world, in fuel usage, environmental impact of fuel-gathering, emissions, and all that.

On the other hand, using up a TV sooner means more landfill and more costs associated with manufacturing and shipping, but I think those are tiny by comparison. And really, how many times that you've bought a TV was it because the old one died? It's far more common to do it because you want a bigger or better unit anyway.

I admit most of the counts I talk about here are tiny little quibbly things. But it's those little things that add up into global effects -- both in your own wallet and in the impact on the whole world. So if the "damage" to the tube is tiny, why even account for it?

Hey, I don't need an ecology lecture -- I recycle everything, don't waste electricity, don't own a car (bicycle for transportation) and don't flush the toilet for just urination!

The last TV I had DID die on it's own, and I DO think turning it on and off a lot will kill the tube. Are you sure about the facts of the electronics? Can you point me to any data on this?

Posted by: mitchb2

Flush your toilet. That's gross.

Posted by: skanter

quote:
Originally posted by mitchb2
Flush your toilet. That's gross.

Do you know how much water is wasted every time you flush? -- 5-7 gallons!

Pee a few times before flushing -- it won't kill you...

Posted by: ccwf

quote:
Originally posted by TiVoBill
I had to find every reference to "option" in our knowledge database and change it to "feature" so it's well ingrained in my mind. :)

I now notice typos (missing “;” in “ ”) in a couple of the old HMO pages here and here. I don't know if those typos were there all along or were introduced as a result of this change.

Posted by: Georgia Guy

quote:
Originally posted by skanter
Do you know how much water is wasted every time you flush? -- 5-7 gallons!

Man, that's old toilet technology. The toilets at my house use 1.6 gallons per flush. Time to "upgrade"?

Posted by: TiVoBill

quote:
Originally posted by ccwf
I now notice typos (missing “;” in “ ”) in a couple of the old HMO pages here and here. I don't know if those typos were there all along or were introduced as a result of this change.

Charles,

Thanks for the report. The strange thing is that IE for Windows displays those pages correctly, even though the HTML itself is clearly incorrect. We will fix them so that they show correctly on all browsers.

Posted by: ccwf

quote:
Originally posted by TiVoBill
The strange thing is that IE for Windows displays those pages correctly, even though the HTML itself is clearly incorrect.

IE and most other browsers have “features” like that whereby they will accept certain malformed HTML. These loose rules are convenient†, but they also allow mistakes to go unnoticed.‡

† Like the way most browsers will display bare &'s in this forum as expected even though the standards would require us to type & (or other escaped equivalent) when posting text with ampersands.

‡ Like the forum's bug with double-spacing in [php] code sections. vBulletin mistakenly tells browsers to show a blank line between every line of code in such sections. IE assumes that people wouldn't really want to double-space code and so silently ignores the commands to display the extra blank lines. But, of course, other browsers display the blank lines as instructed.

Posted by: Xab

quote:
Originally posted by skanter
Do you know how much water is wasted every time you flush? -- 5-7 gallons!

Pee a few times before flushing -- it won't kill you...

I agree, that's just gross.

Posted by: Hunter Green

quote:
Originally posted by skanter
Hey, I don't need an ecology lecture

It wasn't intended as a lecture, just an evaluation. I'm sorry if you took offense, none was meant.

quote:
and I DO think turning it on and off a lot will kill the tube. Are you sure about the facts of the electronics? Can you point me to any data on this?

Not to hand for consumer televisions, so unless you believe that it's the same as for modern computer monitors, nothing I can lay my hands on easily. I'm sure someone will be interested enough to do the research. Here's some references of dubious relevance: PC Guide. Sorry, I just don't have the energy to do more research than that.

Posted by: skaeight

quote:
Originally posted by Xab
I agree, that's just gross.

Chalk up another vote for gross. I agree you must have a really old toilet (5-7 gallons?). I hate the toilet in my newly renovated duplex, it's one of those new 1.6 gallon deals. When I build a house I think I'm going to have to either invest in a industrial strength pressurized toilet or look for a solution from north of the border.

But if I lived in NYC I would def not own a car. It's just not feasible for me to bike or use public transportation living in Central PA.

Posted by: skaeight

Concerning the issue of wear and tear on TVs. Turning them off and on does take life out of them. I know at least w/ my Sony Wega when I turn it on, it really kind of shakes (possibly bad description - think of degausing a PC monitor) when you turn it on. It also takes a little bit to warm up. AFAIK the heating up and cooling down is not good for electronic components.

I'm not saying to never turn your tv off. I just don't think it would be real good for it's health to turn it off and on 10 times in a row.

I'm don't know for sure, but it seems like computer monitors would be different than tv's in this regard. Computer monitors have actual power saving functions built into them. They will "sleep" after a set amount of time. They are technically on, but are using much much less power. W/ the possible exception of plasma screens, I don't think there are televisions that have power saving functions like computer monitors do.

Posted by: Georgia Guy

quote:
Originally posted by skaeight
I hate the toilet in my newly renovated duplex, it's one of those new 1.6 gallon deals. When I build a house I think I'm going to have to either invest in a industrial strength pressurized toilet or look for a solution from north of the border.

This subject has about worn out its welcome....but....you don't have to go to Canada. Get a Toto G-Max. 1.6 gallons, but you could probably flush a bowling ball down it if it would fit. Even better than those old 7 gal. dinosaurs.

Enough about that from me.

Posted by: Crrink

quote:
Originally posted by skaeight
Concerning the issue of wear and tear on TVs. Turning them off and on does take life out of them. I know at least w/ my Sony Wega when I turn it on, it really kind of shakes (possibly bad description - think of degausing a PC monitor) when you turn it on. It also takes a little bit to warm up. AFAIK the heating up and cooling down is not good for electronic components.

I'm not saying to never turn your tv off. I just don't think it would be real good for it's health to turn it off and on 10 times in a row.

I'm don't know for sure, but it seems like computer monitors would be different than tv's in this regard. Computer monitors have actual power saving functions built into them. They will "sleep" after a set amount of time. They are technically on, but are using much much less power. W/ the possible exception of plasma screens, I don't think there are televisions that have power saving functions like computer monitors do.

Your TV is supposed to degauss itself every time you turn it on.
For whatever reason, TV manufacturers don't give you a seperate button for the feature the way monitor manufacturers do.

Posted by: shady

quote:
Originally posted by Crrink
Your TV is supposed to degauss itself every time you turn it on.
For whatever reason, TV manufacturers don't give you a seperate button for the feature the way monitor manufacturers do.

I don't think my TV degausses itself when I switch it on. I've got a dark patch where I've had an unshielded speaker too close, and I'm told I can cure it if I degauss it.

Posted by: Crrink

During a move I stupidly put my TV right next to a stereo speaker and ended up with a green patch in the corner that wouldn't go away.
I did have to take it to a TV repair shop to get it fixed - the guy plugged in a big coil of wire, held it by the tube for a few seconds, and it was fixed.
Total charge - $0, total time - 5 minutes.

I think that the degaussing on TV's might not be as strong as the one that comes with monitors.

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