TiVo Community Forums Archives - How does the buffer work?

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How does the buffer work?
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Posted by: craig@rewind

I know how the pause buffer works but how does it work when you come in late? ie - it is 7:40pm and Eastenders (http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif ) started at 7:30pm. How would it know to record the 1st 10 minutes? Would you have to leave it on BBC1 before you went out?

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Posted by: Milhouse

The buffer records the last 30 minutes of the current channel and the buffer is cleared each time you change channel.

So, provided it was on BBC1 before you got in, you will have the last 30 minutes of BBC1 in the buffer. Careful though, I've been watching delayed TV (by several minutes) and then the TiVo wants to record a scheduled recording which requires changing the channel... what to do? Change channel and lose the end of the delayed program, or forget about the scheduled recording? Decisions, decisions. http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif

This minor "issue" as described above aside, the buffer is fantastic.

[This message has been edited by Milhouse (edited 11-08-2001).]

Posted by: Gram99

Lo Craig http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif

Posted by: pauljs

Don't get caught out.

If you start watching a program late and hit the record button you lose the chance to rewind through the buffer. As I understand the next update allows saving the 30 minute buffer as an option

Posted by: mrtickle

Indeed it does - but ONLY if you have your "default recording quality" set to "Best". I for one wouldn't have the disc space to do that (there'd be room for about one suggestion at a time if I did!).

Posted by: richard plumb

I've been watching a 'delayed live' program as TiVo got ready to record something else. I didn't know what would happen, but I'm pretty sure it let me watch Live TV up to the point where it switched channels.

So if you come in at 7.40, you can rewind to watch the start of Eastenders. At 8.00, you'll still have ten minutes of Eastenders to go, but TiVo can still switch over and record 'Clarksons car years' and you can watch the end of Eastenders.

Posted by: cyril

Just make sure you don't hit the Tivo button or you might wipe the live buffer in this case.

Posted by: kmusgrave

quote:
Originally posted by mrtickle:
Indeed it does - but ONLY if you have your "default recording quality" set to "Best".

Is this true? If so then its yet another badly-thought-out feature!

Kevin

Posted by: GarySargent

quote:
Originally posted by kmusgrave:
Is this true? If so then its yet another badly-thought-out feature!

Kevin

No this is incorrect - the point is the buffer is always best, so your recording has to be at best to record the buffer. This is completely seperate to the default recording quality.

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Find out everything TiVo: http://www.tivoportal.co.uk
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Posted by: mrtickle

If I was incorrect, then the PDF manual for the next software vesrion that you posted a link to is also incorrect, because that is where I got the information.

Pauljs wrote:

quote:

If you start watching a program late and hit the record button you lose the chance to rewind through the buffer. As I understand the next update allows saving the 30 minute buffer as an option

And i responded:

quote:

Indeed it does - but ONLY if you have your "default recording quality" set to "Best". I for one wouldn't have the disc space to do that (there'd be room for about one suggestion at a time if I did!).

I was specifically talking about pressing the "record" button, not about other recordings. If you turn on your TV and find TiVo has switched to a channel and programme you'd like to record but is not in your ToDo list, and you press "record", it uses your default recording quality. I have mine set to Medium. If I press "record" I always get a Medium-quality recording.

The new software will allow you to also add either the whole buffer or the part of the buffer after the start time of the programme - but as I said, this will ONLY happen if your default recording quality is set to Best. It will not stitch together a Best-quality buffer and a Medium-quality rest-of-programme.

[This message has been edited by mrtickle (edited 11-09-2001).]

Posted by: GarySargent

The updated manual is quite clear on this....

Different Recording Qualities cannot be saved in a single program. The Recorder is always saving up to the most current 30 minutes of live TV. If the Recorder has already saved part of the program you want to record, that part of the will be in Best quality. When you record from live TV, you can choose “Record this showing (Best Quality).” The recording will begin with whatever portion of the program the Recorder has saved up to that point and will be at Best Quality. If you decide to record the rest of the program at a different quality, your recording will start from current time; any part of the program that was already saved will be lost.

To select a Recording Quality other than Best when you record from live TV, first press the RECORD button or select the recording icon in the Channel Banner. You will see a transparent screen with three selections. Choose “More recording choices” on the transparent screen, you will see the Program Information screen. Selecting “Options” on the Program Information screen brings you to Recording Options (described in detail on page 12 in “What’s New in Pick Programs to Record”). From Recording Options, you can change a recording’s video quality.

After you change the video quality and choose “Record program with these options,” a confirmation screen asks whether you want to record the saved and the new portion of the program (at Best video quality), or whether you want to record only the new portion (at the quality setting you selected).

From http://www.tivo.com/images/manuals/..._sprifall01.pdf on page 46.

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Find out everything TiVo: http://www.tivoportal.co.uk
Have your say and vote for the features you want on your UK TiVo: http://www.tivosuggestions.co.uk
Got a bug? http://www.tivobugs.co.uk

[This message has been edited by GarySargent (edited 11-09-2001).]

Posted by: Brangdon

With the current software, if you rewind before you press record you'll be able to watch the buffer OK. It won't delete it until the play-back point reaches the end of the buffer, where-up you can switch to the recording in "Now Showing".

(Personally I'd prefer to be able to move back and forward through time, without having to stop when the channel changes or a recording starts.)

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It's only television.

Posted by: mrtickle

Apologies for my belligerence. I hadn't spotted that bit about the transparent box with extra options and thought it would behave the same as our current software.

Posted by: kmusgrave

quote:
Originally posted by GarySargent:
If you decide to record the rest of the program at a different quality, your recording will start from current time; any part of the program that was already saved will be lost.

This still sucks http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/frown.gif Why does it have to delete what it already has? Why can't it keep the current buffer at best quality and the new bit at the new quality? This would mean 2 entries on the now-playing but its better than losing part of the programme.

Kevin

Posted by: Milhouse

quote:
Originally posted by kmusgrave:
This still sucks http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/frown.gif Why does it have to delete what it already has? Why can't it keep the current buffer at best quality and the new bit at the new quality? This would mean 2 entries on the now-playing but its better than losing part of the programme.

Kevin

Why should it even mean two entries? Surely it's not impossible at some point in the future for TiVo to allow mixed quality recordings - ie. begin in Best and then switch to the default recording quality, if this generates two seperate files they should be seemlessly "stitched" together by the software, if not physically at least the TiVo should realise that the two recordings are linked and play one after the other in sequence. If you know what I mean. http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/smile.gif

I've often wondered why there aren't better editing facilities on the TiVo - why isn't it possible to "join" two recordings to form a single recording for instance? Or some sort of divide function to split a recording into two. Again, not impossible - version 3 perhaps?

Posted by: Paj

quote:
Originally posted by Brangdon:
(Personally I'd prefer to be able to move back and forward through time)

Great Scott! This could cause a temporal paradox which could completely destroy the entire universe!

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Paj sits down and sings about gold.