Tips & Tricks

Speed through your Now Playing list

TiVo Tip: Speed Reading
Got a long Now Playing List and growing? Instead of blooping your way down each and every show, hopefully you've discovered this little (not-so-secret) secret: Use the CHAN UP/DOWN button to quickly browse page by page.

This especially comes in handy when you use "View upcoming episodes" following a WishList® search that garners umpteen results, e.g. Keyword: 2006, Category, MOVIES.

WishList basic search steps

WishList® Search Suggestions

Survey says you're still not taking full advantage of one of TiVo's best features: the WishList search. There is no better way to personalize your TV experience, so grab that remote and customize. From TiVo Central, select Find Programs & Downloads, then WishList search. Once you create your search term, you can choose to "View upcoming episodes" every 14 days or so, or set it to auto-record every match.

Bonus Tip: Use asterisks when you're looking for a range of similar words, or are uncertain how to spell a word. For example, the keyword AIRP* will find shows containing airport, airplane, or airplanes, as well as the movie Airplane! Use the SLOW button to enter an asterisk.

Get podcasts

TiVo Tip: Talking TV
Have you heard about the non-TV show that's all about a TV show? Many networks are keeping the conversation going, even during a program's hiatus, with ready-to-stream audio called podcasts, which are like mini radio shows that begin whenever you say so. You can hear ABC's Grey's Anatomy executive producers discuss the season finale and the fan questions Lost executive producers got at Comic-Con 2007. (Both are still available for listening under TiVo's Podcaster feature.) Next time you're comfortable on your couch, have a listen. Here's how:

• If you haven't already connect your TiVo box to your home network.
• From TiVo Central, select Music, Photos, Products, & More
• Select Podcaster
• From "Featured" or "Entertainment," select shows like "ABC's Lost" or ABC's Grey's Anatomy." Or enter the RSS feed of your favorite podcast.

Create multiple search terms in WishLists

By creating multiple search terms, like two actors, several keywords, etc., and putting conditions on them (this and that, this or that, this but never that), that TiVo Genie in our DVR will know precisely how to please. Let me explain… and since Halloween is upon us, I'm sinking my teeth right on in:

Let's say you've seen every last Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but are a sucker for every episode with Faith and wouldn't mind a surprise visit from Eliza Dushku (the actress who plays Faith) on your Now Playing List. From TiVo Central > Find Programs & Downloads > WishList Search, then Create New WishList Search, then:

• Highlight Title and enter BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, then select "Done entering title keyword."
• Next, use the Arrow keys to select Actor and enter: DUSHKU, ELIZA.
• When you see her name, highlight it and press SELECT.
• Now your WishList search will faithfully record every Buffy episode with Eliza. Easy enough. Now let's get our negative on. Maybe you want the classic Psycho, but not the color re-make with Anne Heche.

Create a new WishList search like above example, but exclude the movie with Anne by highlighting her name and pressing the Thumbs button (Up or Down) on your remote. A minus sign added to the Actor's name means that this term is excluded. Press the LEFT arrow when you're done.

You can customize even more. Press the thumbs button twice to make a term optional. Press it again to make the term required.

This may all sound overwhelming at first, but I promise, once you get in there and try it yourself, you'll see how you can suck the marrow right out of your cable lineup. Think of the possibilities: Maybe you like Jennifer Aniston but have had enough of her Friends. Or perhaps you love chocolate and strawberries but have an allergic reaction just seeing shrimp on your screen: Narrow your Category/Cooking WishList search by entering your favorite foods as inclusive Keywords, and excluding the ones you can't stand.

More Swivel Search tips

Search By Actor. Enter 'Harrison Ford' (or 'Ford, Harrison') to see a list of everything he's in over the next two weeks.

Filtering. Set a category filter prior to your search under 'Options.' Want just movies that are westerns? Filter Movies/Western and even enter your favorite actor or movie to see the results.

Actor Photos. Swoon over handsome headshots for the top actors in our database (over 1500 of them!). Just highlight an actor's name to see his or her magnificent mug and any of their work scheduled to air in the next 14 days.

Character Names. Now, when you highlight an actor for many movies and popular TV shows, you can see the names of the roles they played, too.

And if that wasn't enough, we've added more Tags to help you find more shows with similar themes to the ones you already love. Try it! From TiVo Central > Find Programs & Downloads > Universal Swivel Search. Then enter a show, actor, or keyword.

Silence is Programmed

Silence is golden, but sometimes it takes a moment to program your TiVo remote so you truly get it right. (This tip is dedicated to all of you TiVo subscribers who've gone to bed, only be startled awake sometime later because your TiVo box timed out to live TV and your A/V receiver, which is still on, is blaring away.) Yes, you can program your TiVo remote to turn off your receiver simultaneously with the TV. Here's how:

• From TiVo Central, go to Messages and Settings > Settings > Remote and Device Settings > Remote Control
• Complete Part 1 to control TV on/off, power & volume.
• Complete Part 2 to control A/V volume and mute.
• Follow the on-screen instructions to program the volume and mute. When you get the successful code, write it down.
• Still on the same screen, hold down the TiVo button and the Power button for five seconds, like you did on the Part 1 screen.
• Enter the code you wrote down in step 4.
• Press the power button. It should turn off both the TV and the A/V receiver.

De-dupe Your Now Playing List

Even more remarkable than the truth behind "My TiVo gets me" is the inspiring fact that many of you truly get the real genius of TiVo, and why a cable DVR couldn't even begin to compare.

If you like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, you know what happens when the show takes a week or two hiatus: Your DVR records lots of repeats because they stop listing the guests for each night. Why? When the networks don't provide unique guide data, TiVo can't determine if the show is new or a repeat, so it records them all to play it safe. Waste space and/or manual recordings no more! Martin T., from the Web's most beloved TiVo community forum, exercised the new-and-improved TiVo WishList® feature to to get us our daily Jon Stewart, without the three extra servings. Here's how:

• Go to Find Programs & Downloads, and create a new WishList® search.
• Enter the show title as your first Keyword: Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
• Select "Done entering Keyword."
• Next, select Keyword again, this time entering the generic program description (the following is the generic descriptor for Daily Show): A humorous slant on top news stories.
• Now give it a Thumbs down. (By default, your first Keyword gets a Thumbs up.)
• Set the WishList to "Auto-record" with "First-run only."
• Delete the old Season Pass recording for Daily Show.

So what just happened? You've instructed your TiVo DVR to record all new episodes and ignore episodes with generic guide data. No more reruns. No more multiple recordings. And if two of your tuners are busy at airtime, TiVo will choose to record a later show. Ahhhh…

"In addition to working very well for The Daily Show and The Colbert Report," explains Martin. "I use the above method for an ongoing 'Amazing Race' WishList search that will automatically record each new season, but ignore generic reruns, as well as 'Saturday Night Live' and 'Conan O'Brien' WishList searches that ignore generic, late-night reruns." Thanks for sharing, Martin!

Get the most out of Season Pass

As you start scheduling Season Pass™ recordings for all the new fall shows, don't forget, you've got options. Instead of just selecting "Get a Season Pass," and calling it a year, highlight "Options" and review the default settings. For example:

Who needs repeats? Opt to select "First run only" and save yourself from the inevitable disappointment of running home to watch your new favorite show only to discover it's a re-run!

Too much of a good thing. If you're recording the nightly news, "Keep at most" comes in handy. You only need 1. After that, even good news is old news.

Play it Safe! Say you love those premium channel programs, but not how they ignore the hour and half-hour marks, keeping you from watching all of "next week's previews." Play it safe and pad the recording. Adjust the "Stop recording" option to be at least five minutes past the scheduled time so you'll never be left hanging again.